Gene;

Go to your local building supply and look for broken ceiling tiles for dropped ceilings. They make a nice sandstone/shale/limestone cliff when broken and are inexpensive when broken.

Dan

Mostly Y6 Mallets. N&W retired the smaller steam (with the exception of the 0-8-0s) before the Y-6s, and had switched to GP9 and RS3 power for the smaller branches, adding the RS11 in the late 50s. The only steam pictures I have seen with the 1st generation diesels were those of 2-8-8-2s, and 0-8-0s in the yards in the late 50s. The Mallets were the most economical to use on the heavy coal drags.

The current issue (Spring 2008) of Classic Trains has an article on the last days of N&W steam in 1960. The 0-8-0s were actually retired, and then brought back when needed, before finally dropping their fires in 1960, according to the story.

Oops...looks like I typed too slow....

Roger;

You're welcome.

Something I've learned in 56+ years of rail interest is that there is no universal rule when it came to railroads. Even the N&W, back in the 1800s, had the engine number on the side of the kerosene lantern mounted on the slopeback tenders. But they apparently did away with that in the late 1800s.

And transition era tenders had the tender number, capacity, AND N&W on some of them, as well as tech info for employees use, such as "Stoker sides removed from tender - beware of screws..." etc. (That last info was even included on the Bachmann model of the N&W J class tenders.)

"What do you mean by "equipment number"?"

The tender number.

Check O. Winston Link's Book, The Last Steam Railroad in America, on page 25 and 36 for two quick examples. The pictures show the tender number and the tonnage.

Pg. 25 it's Number  90030   and  15tons.

Pg. 36 shows number 130030 and 15tons.

That is the only writing on the rear. The sides had Norfolk and Western on the tenders after about 1936 IIRC. Prior to that the N&W had the name in small letters on the cab under the window with the engine number over the name. There was nothing on the tender sides, as demonstrated on the current Life-Like heavy Mountain N&W model.

You can find pictures here also:

http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/browse.php?folio_ID=/trans/nss


Be prepared to spend a lot of time on the Virginia Tech site.....

"All tenders carry the road number, with no exceptions.  Some in big bold numers on the side of the tender, some in bg bold numbers on the rear of the tender and some will small numbers on the rear of the tender but they all carried the road number."



Norfolk and Western did not have a locomotive road number on their tenders. They only carried the equipment number on the rear.

You're welcome.

I used the short coupler on my set, and have found that the short coupler is the best for most of my cars. Coupler length is dependent on the car truck mounting location and the curves used on your layout. Sharper curves sometimes need longer couplers to allow for movement without derailing.


Dan

http://www.micro-trains.com/n%20trucks.htm


Click on Buckeye for the crane and Roller Bearing for the boom car. You have a choice of coupler length on the roller bearing trucks.


Dan