freight yard locomotive

[Anonymous]

Hi all,i have just moved too the States from the Uk and would like too get in too moderling N-gauge over here. I know certain trains were perhaps not used in freight yards for switching? but not sure what is . Could somebody please put me on the right track.. exscuse the pun, with my question.. ty Andy

[Dr. John]

Greetings, Andy!
[#welcome]

If you are into N scale, you might want to try the Model Railroader forum. We mostly discuss O gauge and S gauge trains on this forum.

However, as to your question, in the old days of railroading (say, pre-1980), most railroads used lower horsepower units for swithcing and used higher horsepower engines for road use. You seldom saw an 4-8-4 or F-7 used for switching. Today, many railroads simply use older motive power for switching. SD-40-2s, which were once the queens of the mainline, are often used for freight yard duty today.

It depends on what era you want to model. If you are modeling the early 20th century through the 1970s, you would probably use switchers for yard or local work and "road units" for the mainline. If you model contemporary roads, just about anything goes.

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

oops ty , it was a great help