Hello gang. I recently became addicted to the New York Central railroad and have purchased several items including a set of two tone gray ConCor smoothside passenger cars. The problem is I'm not sure what type of locomotive I should be using to pull them with to be historically correct... Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Tracklayer-
I have a set of those Con Cor two-tone gray NYC passenger cars, and I using a matching Walthers Proto NYC E8/9 loco to pull them.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hello Tracklayer, I've been suffering from the NYC addiction myself for over 20 years. As Rich pointed out above, E8A (no E8Bs on roster), E7A & B, Alco PA &PB, Faribanks Morse C-Liners and Erie Builts to name a few. If steam is what you are looking for a 4-8-4 Niagra or a 4-6-4 Hudson would do nicely.
Hope this helps.
John R.
Hello Tracklayer,
John's info is right on target.
Since you are strongly interested in the New York Central, I suggest that you consider buying books or magazines featuring this railroad which will help you with research as well as make your modeling more interesting.
A book I always recommend that NYC modelers obtain (out of print) is "Rails Along The Hudson". I still have mine. It's 95 pages with plenty of good black and white photos and excellent information on NYC operations on the east coast. Includes photos and info on passenger operations and the types of steam, diesel, and electric locomotives used. Shows up on ebay from time to time. I hope these links work:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rails-Along-the-Hudson-A-Pictorial-Review-of-Four-Decades-On-the-New-York-Cen-/160677082238?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item256919b47e
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAILS-ALONG-THE-HUDSON-New-York-Central-by-Crawford-Kramer-1979-Quadrant-Press-/300803982185?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item4609508369
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
I bought a nice set of brass NYC streamliners when I was in Japan in the 1960s. The came with an Alco PA and PB locomotives.
I never could run that train set because I never had any wide curves. When it returns to my rails it will be in my static display of NYP. Obviously I will be invoking some of the paragraphs of my poetic license to get them there, but what the heck. They are good looking cars, and they deserve more than sitting in a box on the shelf.
ROAR
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EmpireStateJRHello Tracklayer, I've been suffering from the NYC addiction myself for over 20 years. As Rich pointed out above, E8A (no E8Bs on roster), E7A & B, Alco PA &PB, Faribanks Morse C-Liners and Erie Builts to name a few. If steam is what you are looking for a 4-8-4 Niagra or a 4-6-4 Hudson would do nicely.
You might try the NYC Historical Society website for more prototypical data. They also have a modeler magazine on line that has great info as well, but from the model perspective. I model mostly NYC and grew up in NY along the Hudson River. I run E8/9, FA2, PA-PB and a 4-6-4 Hudson on my passenger runs. I have been aquiring some of the newer Walthers passenger cars as they are much better than AHM, Con-Cor and Athearn (I have all of these by the way!).
-Bob
Here is a link to the NYCHS and their magazine.
http://nycshs.org/nycentral_modeler.php
http://nycshs.org/
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
19481938
The question that has to be asked is...which two-tone gray scheme are they in??
When NYC streamlined the 20th Century Limited (behind "Dreyfuss" streamlined Hudsons) in 1938, the cars were light gray with dark gray thru the window sections. The first E-7 passenger diesels delivered in 1945 matched this paint scheme (except one pair that was black). A couple of years later the railroad reversed the colors, making the cars dark gray with a light gray section thru the windows. This is the scheme Walthers used on their recent 20th Century Limited. Con-cor offers both paint schemes.
Normally when someone says "New York Central two-tone scheme" they mean the second scheme, with the first scheme being the "reversed two-tone scheme"...even thought it really should be the other way around.
The streamlined "Dreyfuss" Hudsons were in the original scheme. AFAIK they were never repainted into the reverse scheme.
The NYC also streamlined the Empire State Express in 1941, but with stainless steel cars. After the war, it was common to see a NYC name train with a mix of heavyweight, stainless steel, and smooth-side streamlined cars.
By 1948, the streamlined Hudsons were de-shrouded. But you could you could still find Hudsons powering the 20th Century when the E8s were being serviced:
Photo courtesy of Harold K. Vollrath.
Here's a shot on my layout. Cars are Walthers. Head-end power is a BLI L-4 Mohawk.
"Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep 'em rolling" John.