Glad to have you Avrnut. I did a little looking on E Bay and found some Proto 2000 BL 2's.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Proto+bl+2&_sacat=0
The engine them self's are pretty much up graded Athearn Blue Box engines. Athearn motors may fit (I have not tried) and the center gears will fit. I picked mine up for a round $35.00 or so 6 years ago. I ran the heck out of mine till I went DCC. They where old and motors drew to much power and cooked the decoders. There are new motors available made just for the BL 2.
Just remember they are 30 years old. I saw one listing that claimed it was new in the box, yea fat chances. 2 of the ones I bought the seller said the same thing.
Make sure you stop by Elliot's Dinner, it is sort of a social center where you can talk about trains and other things. Lot of nice people there.
Hope you post often and post pictures.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Thanks for the Welcome, Cuda Ken. And thanks for the cool video links. Our Layout will just be DC for starters. We can always add DCC later. We hope to begin construction this fall. We have a huge cellar & right now we're in the process of sorting & getting rid of 40 years worth of accumulation of "stuff", most of which will go to the flea market. I have a 25 foot by 28 inch work bench down there. Five feet of it at one end will be kept as a workbench for working on layout projects. The other 20 feet will be incorporated into the layout, which will be an elongated "J" shape by adding two 4 x 8 tables, bolted to the existing workbench portion. Planned dimensions are 20' x 10' x 12', so a good sized layout that we can do a lot with, duplicating the Aroostook County towns & countryside of the 1950's.
A sizeable portion of the 28" by 20 foot section will be devoted to re-creating the AVR's railroad yard, which was right beside & connected to the BAR's mainline, running through Presque Isle. Will be doing a fair amount of scratch building & kit-bashing to recreate many structures, including the AVR's engine house, a tiny piece of which is visible in my avatar photo. I have many photos of it to work from. No kits of engine houses like theirs available, that I know of.
One other engine that we will be adding at some point is a Baldwin 2-8-0 Steam Loco. The BAR had a bunch of them & one was still running up there until 1956. I remember seeing her when I was a kid. Was in the thick of bidding for a NIB undecorated IHC 2-8-0 on Ebay recently, but apparently so was half the population of the planet & I didn't get it. Ah, Well. One will come my way, sometime.
"I could never belong to any club that would have me as a member."
AVRNUT I am all so a BL 2 fan, but I like mine in Monon Colors.
Look om E Bay and they pop up now and then. The PK 2000 BL 2 is a well made engine and has pretty good details. Just remember they are around 30 years old and may take some work. You can still get a lot of the wear item parts.
Is your layout going to me DC, or are you going DCC?
Did you you know there is still a working BL 2?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9w2MLRKe9o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ9M2Y7Qalc
Hope to see you in the site and
Thanks so much for the reply. That's kind of what I figured & was already thinking I'd have to fabricate them. We've been picking up a few things here & there and just stashing them away for when we start construction on the layout. I found the AHM BL-2 at a local flea market, still in the box & appears little used or never used. It's in the original BAR 2 color scheme (circa 1949-50) & original engine # (550). For $10., I couldn't leave it there. It fits our timeline for our layout theme, early/mid 1950's when I was a kid in Fort Fairfield, Aroostook County and I remember seeing that very engine running the line. I will have to take a closer look at the other BL-2's you mentioned. It's kind of tough to get a hands on look at much up here in Maine. Hobby Shops have become almost non-existent up here. So many have closed in the last few years. Nearest one is about 85 miles away.
BTW, my Avatar is Aroostook Valley's Engine #12, one of three GE 44 Tonners that the AVR bought in 1945. I recently got a good deal on a Bachmann Spectrum GE 44 Tonner, NIB & Undecorated. She will be done up as AVR #12.
Welcome Back tp Model Railroading!
The BAR winterization boxes appear to be 'custom made' by BAR for the harsh Maine enviroment. Also, the old AHM model is rather out of scale compared to the P2K offering from Life-Like or Walthers.
That 'box' could be fabricated with sheet styrene. Most of the commercial winterization detail items are for standard EMD factory options.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Hello All:
Greetings from the great state of Maine! I just signed up here & look forward to joining the discussions. After a 40+ year abscence from model railroading,both my wife and I are catching the bug again. We're nearing retirement & are looking forward to getting involved in the hobby again. (Yes, she's a model train enthusiast too.) We are in the planning stages of a fairly large & extensive HO layout based on two railroad lines: The Bangor & Aroostook and the lesser known Aroostook Valley Railroad. (I grew up in Aroostook County in the 1950's & well remember both lines).
Does anyone know if anyone makes winterization hatches to fit the AHM BL-2 Diesel? I've searched everywhere on the net & found winterization hatches for just about every conceivable type of Diesel......EXCEPT the BL-2! Hoping someone makes them or will I have to scratchbuild?