New to American Railroad Modelling

[LMSR]

Hi guys!
I’m Tony, I live in England and I am new to American Model railroads â€" but have been dabbling with the British stuff for many years.
Is there a definitive listing anywhere of Bachmann E-Z track showing all available sizes and radii?
I have purchased enough nickel silver track (26” radius curves) to make a fairly large oval on which to run my 4-8-4 Niagara and coaching stock (the largest available British sectional track curves are approx 22½” radius). Now I’ve been bitten by the bug, I’m looking to add a second track with another loco hauling a freight consist but I’m not sure which is the “next size up” from 26” radius.

Also â€" on an historical note â€" The period I’ve chosen is obviously late forties and fifties, looking at the wealth of freight stock to choose from, how can I be sure that the freight stock I buy is contemporary with my chosen modelling period? Any good tips and pointers gratefully received.

Tony.

[Guilford Guy]

Any "PS-1" or 40ft freight car which wears a reddish brown color. Any New York Central Steamer larger than a 4-6-2/2-8-0. Any New York Central diesel which wears the lightning strip scheme. Any flatcar, shorter than 50ft with a wood plank deck. Most Hopper Cars with only 2 "bays(chutes on the bottom for unloading the raw materials they carried)."

[Atlantic Central]

Tony,

Welcome. I hope you are ready to be over whelmed with info, because you will likely receive lots of it on here.

I don't know how much you know about North American railroads, so I will start with some basics and keep them in the time period you mentioned. Some of this may seem very basic, but things are/where different here so I just want to give you a good foundation.

For all practical purposes, US railroads of that era operated with very little government input. Regulations controlled rates charged and safety issues, EVERYTHING else was determined by industry associations and each individual line, of which there where many. Competing lines paralleled each other all over the country, some big (New York Central, Union Pacific, Pennsylvania, etc) some small (Maryland & Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor, etc).

In 1956 the American Association of Railroads listed over 400 lines which owned 300 freight cars or more.

Rolling stock - we use some different terms over here, so if you not sure, please ask. Box cars (wagons), mostly steel by the late 40's, generally 40' or 50' long and a capacity of 50 tons. Many other types similar in size and weight.

Freight trains normally 50-70 cars in those days, but most modelers even with big layouts stay in the 20-30 car range to try to simulate those trains.

Locos - Any steam built after 1912 or so was likely to still be in service somewhere or some kind of line. Diesels took over quickly after WWII and by 1950 represented 70% or more of the power. By 1956 steam was basicly gone.

Early Diesels - EMD - F3, F7, E6, E7, E8, GP7, GP9, SD7, SD9, BL2; ALCO - FA1, FA2, PA1, and lots more but this should give you a start when looking at the offerings from the various model manufacturers.

OK, digest this, ask some questions, I will write more latter. I'm sure other will offer help as well.

Good luck,

Sheldon

[BIG BEAR]

     Hey Tony,

   Want EZ Track? try this:

  http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/?sel_category=80&sortOrder=id

[LMSR]

Hi Barry,
thanks for that but those pages I've already found!
I was thinking along the lines of something more like this from the UK Hornby site
http://static.hornby.com/images/width510/track-geometry-3915.jpg
It's not a very good picture but it is reproduced in the Hornby Catalogue and shows at-a-glance what is available.

Tony.

     Hey Tony,

   Want EZ Track? try this:
  http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/?sel_category=80&sortOrder=id

[LMSR]

Thanks Sheldon,
that's very informative (yours too, Guilford Guy).
I have done a little research on the subject and it seemed to me to be a bit anything goes (within reason). Over here the railway companies built their own designs, or had them built, I guess in the US the companies bought in standard designs.
I will read and digest...

Tony.

Tony,

Welcome. I hope you are ready to be over whelmed with info, because you will likely receive lots of it on here.

[Guilford Guy]

Often only the diesels were standard mass produced models. USRA steam locomotives that some companies bought were often common locomotives, but most companies had them designed specifically for their needs.

[Yampa Bob]

Tony
Bachmann's 2008 catalog is out, has all the parts listed, plus all the newest locomotives and rolling stock.  It cost $10 and they pay the postage. You might want to give them a call.  I'm not sure how to contact the overseas branch.

My catalog lists 28" 33.25" and 35.50" radii, all 18 degree divergence angle, plus various short sections at 6 and 12 degrees.  (1/3 and 2/3 sections)  By the way, the 12 degree piece will return their #5 turnout back to parallel.

Bob

[Atlantic Central]

Tony,

Like Guilford Guy said, diesels where and are standard catalog type items, there would be a few options to tailor it to the railroads needs, but basicly and EMD F3 is a EMD F3, on the Santa Fe or the Baltimore & Ohio.

Steam was a little different. By the Early 20Th century there where just a few major builders, Badwin, ALCO, Lima. They had both standard designs AND they built designs provided to them or developed jointly with the railroads.

This makes for lots of different, but similar locomotives. Each builder had standard parts it used where it could and, outside vendors supplied the same parts to all the builders for some items.

Also, many large to medium sized railroads, especially in the industrial east and upper midwest, operated large shops and build some or most of their own power.

Notable railroads that build their own locos include:

Norfork and Western
Pennsylvania
Baltimore & Ohio
Reading

To give you some idea of the large scope of railroading on a continent this large, locomotive ownership by Class I railroads in the US was nearly 44,000 units in 1945, most of those steam. By 1955 it had fallen to 32,000 units and only 6,000 where steam. Because diesels required less maintenance, fewer locos where needed to move the same tonage of freight.

The "average" steam loco in the US was built in groups of 10 to 25 at a time, to specifications set by the railroad in question, even if it was based on a "standard" design from one of the makers.

Depite the flashy locos that get all the press (Big Boy's, N&W J class, SP GS4, PRR K4, etc), most of the locos of the work a day world where 2-8-0's and 2-8-2's built in the teens and twenties and upgraded over the years.

Many of the "flashy" locos existed in very small quanities for very short times because, while they may have been the ulimate refinement of the steam loco, they where still no match for diesels.

Well, there is some more think about - glad to help

Sheldon

[SteamGene]

Hi, Tony,
You chosen a great time period.  You've received sound advice from both GG and Sheldon.  Have you decided WHERE you want to model?  One might assume the Northeast based on the NYC Niagra, but that may not be the case.  Eastern mountains equal articulated locos, while the Mid-west had few of them. 
In general a small loco of any sort looks better on a small layout than the monsters.  Th American standard layout - the 4x8 really looks better with nothing larger than a 2-8-2 on it  - maybe a light 4-8-2, but nothing bigger. 
Your biggest clue to the correct era of cars is to look for roof walks and full ladders on the box cars.  These were outlawed some time after 1960.  You might also look around for paint schemes and see when they changed.  For instance, you won't see any C&O donuts before 1948 and that design changed at least twice after introduction. 
Gene

[Paul M.]

Norfork and Western
Pennsylvania
Baltimore & Ohio
Reading

The Texas & Pacific built a few steam locomotives of their own, but not very many.


Tony,
The 1950s is a great time period to model. The trasition between steam and diesel locomotives was well under way, and cabooses were still on trains. Almost any steam locomotive would be OK period-wise, because usually the smaller,older  steam locomotives actually stayed around longer than the newer, longer steam ocomotives because the old steam locomotives weren't able to switch as well as the shorter locos.

Try searching for "transition era train america prototype info", or something to that effect, on a search engine like Google. You should find a lot.

[Yampa Bob]

I envy you guys who model the 50s.  At that time my interest was hot cars and girls, drag and jalopy racing.  It took 6 years in the Army to settle me down, I was one of those "90 day wonders".

But I can say, I had my first train ride from Topeka to Fort Smith for induction, then to Fort Bliss for basic training. I even had a cheap folding camera and didn't take pictures of the train.   Anyone have an idea what the locos might have been?   It would have been  Santa Fe, but that's all I know.  Excuse the "side track", but all this 50s talk got me wondering.

Bob 

[RAM]

Bob, I would think that you took the Santa Fe to Kansas City. and either the Mop or Frisco to Ft Smith.

[Yampa Bob]

Ram
You are probably correct, although I don't recall changing trains.  I was wondering more about the  specific locomotives, probably diesel by that time, but what type?

Bob

[SteamGene]

bob - for the '50s - WHEN is a very important date for locomotives.  Early 1950's a passenger train's diesle would have been a cab uint - but by the end many were road switchers.   I remember a LOT of steam in the mid-west prior to 1954. 
Gene