Basic loco collection...

[Tracklayer]

What would you guys consider to be a basic loco collection beginning with 1900 up to now a days that would represent each era of advancement in loco technology ?.

reyalkcarT

[doctorwayne]

Well, I'll stick my neck out on this one. How about a Bachmann Ten Wheeler, a Proto2000 Berkshire, a set of EMD FTs (not sure who makes these, since I model the pre-diesel era) and one of the newer AC power diesels, your pick. This covers basic steam, Super power, the real start of dieselization, and the present state of high-tech railroading. You could also add in a Broadway Limited GG1 and whatever is its present day counterpart. Obviously, there's a lot of small technical advances to go from one stage to the next, but your collection then would become unwieldy.

Wayne

[Adelie]

Add the Alco RS1 which started the shift to road switchers (as opposed to streamlined carbodies) for more versatility. Some would say the EMD GP7 was the star of that movement even though it came along a bit later. I'd probably also include one of the BIG steam locos (Yellowstone, Big Boy, Challenger, etc).

[orsonroy]

I'd go with:

Bachmann 4-4-0
Bachmann 4-6-0
BLI USRA light 2-8-2
P2K AMC 2-8-4
Rivarossi FEF-4 4-8-4
Athearn FT
Atlas GP7
P2K GP30
Kato SD-40-2
Kato "modern thing" (sorry, I've sort of zoned out on the last 20 years of diesel development!)

[selector]

This is a bit trickier than it seems at first...at least to a neophyte like me. For example, the ubiquitous 0-6-0 was a pretty primitive machine when it was first introduced, but by the early 1900's it had cylinder piston-valves as opposed to blade-type, and they added super heaters to them. That may warrant a "So what?", but those things signalled greater capabilities and were used for many years thereafter.

The first engine with a booster (dunno, whatever it was) seems to have been a step up. How about feedwater heaters? They were introduced on one prototype for a good reason, and that must have helped the engines to do more. Again, I do not know the answer to that one, but it must be germane?

Just thinking.

[Tracklayer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tracklayer

What would you guys consider to be a basic loco collection beginning with 1900 up to now a days that would represent each era of advancement in loco technology ?.

reyalkcarT

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute...

Sorry guys. I asked this question wrong from the get go ([V]). The question should have been what would you consider to be a basic loco collection beginning with 1900 up to now a days that would represent the various eras of loco evolution, as in, what would best represent 1900, 1920, 1940 and so on ?.

Tracklayer

[doctorwayne]

Well, that makes it even simpler. Bachmann 4-6-0: your basic steam engine.
Athearn FT: your basic diesel.
All steam locomotives after the 4-6-0 (or any other suitable choice from around 1900) are variations on a theme. Big Boy may be Superpower and BIG, but it's still "just" a steam engine. All the nuances, like combustion chambers, feedwater heaters, etc., are merely developmental steps from Richard Trevithick's original design, so you could start your collection in 1804, if you can find a model.
While the FT wasn't the first diesel, it was the one that really got the ball rolling on the dieselization of North America. Pick something earlier if you prefer (and can find a suitable model). Every diesel after that has been merely an incremental development of its predecessor, with some advances greater than others.
And, with apologies to the juice jockeys, skip the electrics: in the overall scheme of North American railroading, electrics were just a regionalized blip in the bigger picture.
So there. I've saved you tons of dough and you don't need a great big display case either. If you have a layout, you could even run them both if you choose the right era.
Wayne[:D]

[Tracklayer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by doctorwayne

Well, that makes it even simpler. Bachmann 4-6-0: your basic steam engine.
Athearn FT: your basic diesel.
All steam locomotives after the 4-6-0 (or any other suitable choice from around 1900) are variations on a theme. Big Boy may be Superpower and BIG, but it's still "just" a steam engine. All the nuances, like combustion chambers, feedwater heaters, etc., are merely developmental steps from Richard Trevithick's original design, so you could start your collection in 1804, if you can find a model.
While the FT wasn't the first diesel, it was the one that really got the ball rolling on the dieselization of North America. Pick something earlier if you prefer (and can find a suitable model). Every diesel after that has been merely an incremental development of its predecessor, with some advances greater than others.
And, with apologies to the juice jockeys, skip the electrics: in the overall scheme of North American railroading, electrics were just a regionalized blip in the bigger picture.
So there. I've saved you tons of dough and you don't need a great big display case either. If you have a layout, you could even run them both if you choose the right era.
Wayne[:D]

Thanks doc, but that wasn't quite the answer I was looking for. Still, I'll keep the 1950s in mind...

So what was the most popular loco of 1900, of 1920, of 1940 and so on ?.

Tracklayer

[doctorwayne]

Okay, I'll try to be serious.
1900: take your pick, depending on the region, 4-4-0 / 4-6-0 / 2-8-0
1920: again, depending on the region, 2-8-0 / 2-8-2 / 4-8-2
1940: similarily, 2-8-0 / 2-8-2 / 4-8-2 / 2-8-4

The 2-8-0 was pretty common right across North America for the first half of the 20th century, including transcons, shortlines, and regionals.
Pacifics, while widely used, weren't as prevalent because the were mainly, though not solely, a passenger engine.
Articulateds, while widespread in some areas, often seemed to be individual designs suited to each owning railroad's particular needs, and so there's not really one definitive type.
4-6-4s, while among my favourites, were mostly a northeastern type, and also usually passenger locos.
4-8-4s might be included in the 1940s group, but lots of roads had only a few, and even more, like the Pennsy, had none. And none on the shortlines, either.
The same could be said for the 2-8-4s also, but I choose them as representative of all non-articulated super power.
I'm sure that others will have their own list, since whatever's local (or a personal favourite) always looms larger than actual statistics. I'm in Ontario, if there appears to be a regional slant, but you'll notice that Northerns didn't make it onto my list, even though CNR owned more of them than any other road in North America.

Wayne

[grayfox1119]

Buy the encyclopia of steam locomotives, it has everything you need, even the rosters of the various RR's. It discusses the evolution of each wheel configuration. You can then pick and choose what you need based upon the RR you want to model, or generic if you so desire. I believe that Kalmbach sells this. I can check later for you, I am so tired now atmidnight that I am mistypin g left and right...yawn

[Tracklayer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grayfox1119

Buy the encyclopia of steam locomotives, it has everything you need, even the rosters of the various RR's. It discusses the evolution of each wheel configuration. You can then pick and choose what you need based upon the RR you want to model, or generic if you so desire. I believe that Kalmbach sells this. I can check later for you, I am so tired now atmidnight that I am mistypin g left and right...yawn

Thanks doc Wayne and ***. I appreciate your help very much.

Tracklayer [;)]

[pedromorgan]

1900's ten wheeler?

1910's a bigger steamer?

1920's perhaps a big ish UP loco?

for the 1930's you have to have something art deco. i am not really up on the american locos but was the daylight 1930's?

for 1940's you have to go for a very austair loco. again dont know the types but i sugest one of the USRA loco's

for 1950's dont know

1960's burlington zepher

for 1970's f-unit?

1980's sd-40 ?? dont really know about that one as i dont really know the dates for diesels!

1990's does it have to be american? a TGV power car??

2000 japanese shinkansen 500 series?

[Tracklayer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pedromorgan

1900's ten wheeler?

1910's a bigger steamer?

1920's perhaps a big ish UP loco?

for the 1930's you have to have something art deco. i am not really up on the american locos but was the daylight 1930's?

for 1940's you have to go for a very austair loco. again dont know the types but i sugest one of the USRA loco's

for 1950's dont know

1960's burlington zepher

for 1970's f-unit?

1980's sd-40 ?? dont really know about that one as i dont really know the dates for diesels!

1990's does it have to be american? a TGV power car??

2000 japanese shinkansen 500 series?

Say what ?... And I thought I needed to do my homework...

Thanks all the same pedromorgan, but I think we'd better let those that really know for sure take it from here.

Respectfully, Tracklayer

[pedromorgan]

ok i concede defeat!! i actually read the post wrong! i thought we were trying to come up with locos that personified a particular era. i started the post to add my vote of an art deco loco for the 1930's bot got a bit carried away. now if it was brittish loco's i would have been far more on eht mark with the dates! i still stand buy the last 2. i think the rassau TGV power cars are perfect for a 1990's choice. and i also stand buy the JR500 for the 2000 choice



For 1970's i would actually go for a brittish loco number 87001 (or was it 86001?) it was the first loco to be fitted with thyristor control. but the APT was also 1970's and thad had hydrodynamic breaking and was also the worlds first tilting train! so many choices but none of them american!

Peter

[joegideon]

The steamers seemed to come in pairs. After the 4-4-0 begat the 2-6-0, the 4-6-0 and the 2-8-0 in many cases shared common boilers(or at least could have. Then the 2-8-2 and 4-6-2, then the 2-10-2/4-8-2, 2-8-4/4-6-4. The trailing truck- or lack of it- seemed to indicate just where the loco was in the technological scheme of things. As diesels were being readied for their assault on the steamer, there were 4-8-6s and 2-10-6s on the drawing boards(the 6-wheel trailing truck- representing the "next step"- debuted on the Lima 2-6-6-6 Allegheny and the PRR Turbine. It allowed the loco to have a muc h larger firebox, thereby creating that much more horsepower. 2-whl. trailers arrived at the turn of the century, 4-whl. in the '20s and 6-whl. in the early-'40s... just in time for the FT!

The RS1 was just too ugly for mainline use, I guess. Aesthetics were still important back then. Of course, the 1954 GP7 proved those '30s Alco designers correct...

I ignored trains for a while. When I 'came back', locomotives seemed to be twice as big as they had been. As a progression, I would suggest FT/RS1>F7/GP7> GP30- although the first low-nose road switchers might represent a keyframe... but the "2nd Generation is generally thought to have been introduced with the Geep 30. Passenger power remained "E-based 'til Amtrak and the F40s. I was amazed to wake up one day to discover that they, too, were almost gone! A couple commuter lines...

Now, it's the monster AC powered locos... and maybe by now, a 4-8-8!

So- a roster...

Bachmann 4-6-0
Bachmann 4-8-2
P2k 2-8-4
FT or RS1
F7(if you wi***o distinguish pre and post-war... maybe do the RS1 for 'pre-war')
GP7- the road switcher as a mainliner- Alco shoulda been looking over their shoulder...
GP38-2- a GP30 is tempting, but the -38 has endured for almost 40 years
-or an alternate: GE U25B. EMD shoulda been looking over their shoulder!
AC4400

Add an E-unit and an F40 for texture and there you have it!

Snyder
Monterey

[IRONROOSTER]

If you want one loco from each 20 years then I would recommend as follows:
1900: 2-8-0, the quintessential freight locomotive.
1920: 4-6-2, the passenger engine
1940: GG1, one of the best electrics and streamlined.
1960: F7 diesel
1980: SD45 diesel
2000: C44-9W diesel
Enjoy
Paul