Con-Cor Gas Turbine&Tender

[Anonymous]

I got this Con-Cor Gas Turbine & Tender back in 1999 never once did I run it on the my layout cab#64 man is it nice and heavy too I know I 'm going to put some hours on it now .During the 1940's, the Union Pacific Railroad, allways a lover of big power, experimented with a wide variety of motive power on it's long runs over Sherman Hill between Omaha and Cheyenne. The Gas Turbines were one of those experiments. Called the "Verandas" long roofed walkways, they became as common as the Big Boy steam locomotives that they replaced.

[nfmisso]

Your history is a bit off; the Big Boys and the Verandas co-existed for more than a decade, and neither made it much past 15 years. The Big Boys being retired in '59/'60 and the Verandas traded in on/rebuilt into GE U50 in '63-'64. The Big Blows 8500hp (later 10000hp) turbines were traded in on GE U50C a few years later.

FYI; the ConCor model is N scale. And they offer a U50 on the same chassis.

[lupo]

turbine history:
the first UP turbine were steam turbines UP 1 and 2, used for a short while in 1939 but returned to GE to be used by Great Northern Service in 1943 than returned to GE and scrapped in 1944.
from 1949 - 1951 UP ( and late 1951 SP) tested a GE demo turbine UP 50
the picture of the resin model in the other turbine topic is a standard turbine, UP51 - 60, build 1952-1953, used from 1952 - 1964
Than came the veranda turbines: they used GP9B's as extra on all but 6 the veranda turbines #61 - 75 build in 1954, they ran from 1954 - 1964
The big or the super turbines, Lead engine, B unit and tender, 8500 - 10000 HP, UP1 - 30 were built between 1958-1961 and ran from 1958 - 1970
As an experiment in super kit-bashing late 1959 they started building a coal turbine, UP80 (later renumbered 8080) even bigger than the Super turbines, after static tests in 1962 it ran short periods in 1963 and 1964.
this giant consisted of a control unit rebuilt from an ALCO PA-1, a coal-burning turbine unit made from Great Northern straight electric locomotive 5018 and a coal supply tender from ar etired 4-6-6-4.

[Anonymous]

Hey lupo, I've been trying for more than a year now to locate a decent line drawing of UP1 and UP2, but haven't been able to. Any Ideas? Do you know of one in existance on the internet any where????? Thanks in advance.

[lupo]

Hi emeraldidsle,
I'm sorry have not seen one yet, my AJ.Wolf book on the "UP turbine era"
only has loads of pictures in it, I guess you tried the internet search engines to look for these drawings, if you want my train bookmarks I be glad to send them, just drop a mail
LUPO

[Anonymous]

Hi, Lupo, Ya, I've tried just about ever search engine on the internet, and every site that might have anything to do with UP. Only a couple of photos but nothing else. Thanks anyway. And now back to Never Ending Stars.....[:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

I've got a book with a blue print of a turbine, if that helps.