N&W J's. Hands down best looking and operating locomotive. I even like the N&W K's that they made (but they modeled them after the Js). I like the N&W A's too. I have a soft spot for any steam loco, but I like Diesels too.
Modeling the N&W freelanced at the height of their steam era in HO.
Daniel G.
As far as deisels go I love the BNSF paint scheme on a AC 4400 or a Dash 9. A close second would be the same two locos with the balck Norfolk Southern scheme.
Steam-No doubt about it the BIG BOY 4-8-8-4
Little Joe
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
I like the Burlington stainless steel E5 A and B units.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
As far as steam locomotives go, there's nothing like a Berkshire. Beautiful machines.
Call me biased, but for paint schemes, I just love the Monon's black and gold. It's simple yet striking, matches my collegiate alma mater's colors, and helps to preserve dim memories from my childhood. Plus, it's also a very cool herald.
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
The Allegheny of course and the Mallets of the N&W and the Clinchfield for their sheer massive size and pulling power Big Steam rules the rails and made this country what it used to be not what it has become
Mine is hands-down Michi-Cal Lumber Company Shay #2:
http://www.trainweb.org/foothill/images/micaltbm.html
It's a classic Lima class A (2 truck, two cylinder) Shay.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
"Madam Queen" and Uncle John's 5001 and 5011 Classes--THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
One of my favorites is a CN M636 in the Stripe scheme. As luck would have it I just bought an undecorated Brass M636 on ebay and I can't wait to paint it in CN colours!
Southern Pacific Daylight GS4
Jeff
Well, i might as well tell yall my favorite steam loco to.
Has to be the N&W J-class loco. The most elagant steam loco.
Mine has gotta be an EMD F7A in the Canadian Pacific tuscan and grey paint scheme.
A high nosed SD40-2 in the classic Southern RWY Paint scheme , tied with this ALCO RS3 in any paint scheme .
Pretty tough question, and if I re-read this tomorrow, I'll likely disagree with myself. Three answers to favorite locomotive.
1. Any T&P locomotive with the Elsco feed water heater, sitting on the top of the smokebox like the roll of hair pulled back from the forhead on some late 40s movie star in a Bogart movie. Reminds me of standing trackside in the Union Terminal in Dallas, as the Texas Eagle/Louisana Eagle (likely a Class 700 Pacific) brought my grandmother back from a visit to Jefferson, Texas, c.1947, and I sometimes got a little steam bath--not too hot, but smelled of machinery. Nothing like it.
2. Souther Pacific E8 (?) in Black Widow paint featured head-on and at speed in the opening scenes of the 1957 (?) movie "Bad Day at Black Rock". If you're a train buff, especially SP, and havent seen it, then move that to the top of your list.
3. On any given day, T&P GP-7s, NW-2s and SW-7s in Swamp Holly Orange and Black.
Mike
Diesel: Santa Fe's F3 with the elongated warbonnet; FM Trainmaster in demonstration scheme
Steam: Big Boy; Chapelon's 242 A1
Electric: Sweden's 101; the wood looks like in a million $ yacht Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/se/electric/historic/5.jpg
BIG BOY
DD40X
UP, OF COURSE!!
Always like the green and orange on the GN GP-30's, something about the colors and the GP30's was always eye catching.
Diesels: F45 in BN
Steam: GN S2 Northern
Electric: Milwuakkee little joes
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Diesel: any Alco FA, PA, or RS, or a FP45 or F45.
Steam: Souhtern Pacific P-8 4-6-2.
- Luke
Modeling the Southern Pacific in the 1960's-1980's
Well, mine would be steam. If we're talking about the locomotive that made the first impression on me, I'd have to say it would be the Southern Pacific AC class 4-8-8-2 cab-forward, which is really one of the first locmotives I remember, when I was a kid in Truckee. In fact for the first years of my life, I thought that ALL articulated locomotives ran cab-first, LOL! And of those AC's, I think that my favorite was the AC-6, which was the last 'flat-faced' of the series, and the true transitional cab-forward of that wheel arrangement between the 'utilitarian' AC 4/5 and the more 'streamlined' AC's of later classes. They were brutes, and spectacular to watch.
Later, when I found out that most articulateds ran boiler-first, my favorite articulated became the huge Missabe M-3/4 2-8-8-4's. But those SP AC's are still a REALLY close second.
Other favorites: Rio Grande's L-131 2-8-8-2's and L-105 4-6-6-4's. And those big, hunking handsome Z-series Challengers from Northern Pacific and SP&S (Alco's finest hour, IMO). And C&O's 2-8-8-2's and 2-6-6-6's.
As far as diesels, I always liked the "Black Widow" scheme of the SP F-units and the "Daylight" scheme of their PA's. I sorta lost interest in their diesels with the more simplified "Bloody Nose" scheme EXCEPT for their spectacular "Tunnel" motors.
My absolute favorite diesel paint schemes though, are Rio Grande's. First their black and yellow scheme, then their later Aspen Gold and silver, and finally the really business-like look of their black and orange hood units.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
There are a lot of answers to this question... I could say that a Conrail SD-40-2 stands out as an icon, based on the fact that I cut my railfanning teeth around the Middle Division in the mid 1980's. But at the same time, I really dug the "rainbow" era of CR, and in particular the Reading GP-30 paint outs I saw on coal drags into Baltimore.
But then again, while I didn't have much direct experience watching them, the second generation power on the WM, black speedlettered GP-35's and SD-40's stand out as modern power on an efficiently run railroad, but just as iconic were the surviving WM F-units, and what might be my all time favorite, the rugged old BL-2's that handled switching duties at Hagerstown, along with their tag-along slug units.
So which is my absolute favorite? Yes!
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
I have two--any Virginian articulated---for sheer gall and sw1200's in CN colours---branchlines rule!
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
I know all we talk about is model trains. But what if we sit back and think about the trains we are modeling. What i am asking her is what your favorite locomotive is and in what paint scheme. As one famous man said, "You can tell a lot from a trains paint scheme, where they go, where they been. I've seen a lot of trains, I bet if i think real hard i can remeber my first train." (What if Forest Gump actually said that?)
Mine would be a F45 in Santa Fe's freight scheme