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Building Roster for Your RR

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Posted by rrinker on Monday, November 3, 2014 11:19 AM

richhotrain
 
rrinker

 Darn, read this whole thread and did not find any information on adding a rooster to my farm scene. Bummer.

 

 

Randy, you're in luck.

 

https://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/530-230

Rich

 

 Yeah but I like kits, not that RTR stuff.

No, you do not have to buy one, smash it, and send me the peices  Big Smile

            --Randy


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

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Posted by BATMAN on Monday, November 3, 2014 11:31 AM

richhotrain
Uhhh, dunno, what's a Greek urn? Confused Rich

Not enough to be able to afford "ready to roll"Whistling

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by richhotrain on Monday, November 3, 2014 11:32 AM

rrinker

 

 
richhotrain
 
rrinker

 Darn, read this whole thread and did not find any information on adding a rooster to my farm scene. Bummer.

 

 

Randy, you're in luck.

 

https://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/530-230

Rich

 

 

 

 Yeah but I like kits, not that RTR stuff.

No, you do not have to buy one, smash it, and send me the peices  Big Smile

            --Randy

 

So.............you would kitbash a rooster?   Hmm

Alton Junction

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Posted by Mark B on Monday, November 3, 2014 11:36 AM

You could turn him into a capon.

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Posted by BATMAN on Monday, November 3, 2014 11:54 AM

richhotrain
So.............you would kitbash a rooster? Hmm

That would be like pulling hen's teeth.Mischief

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Monday, November 3, 2014 12:19 PM

Mark B suggested:

You could turn him into a capon.

But Batman usually has a cape on.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by BATMAN on Monday, November 3, 2014 12:46 PM

MisterBeasley
But Batman usually has a cape on.

I do!

 

 

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by richhotrain on Monday, November 3, 2014 12:47 PM

Here is my entire rooster roster.

Alton Junction

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Posted by Bob Schuknecht on Monday, November 3, 2014 12:52 PM

My freelanced Detroit Southern roster consists of the following:

 

Alco:

RS3,  2

C430,  3

 

GE:

C30-7,  2

 

EMD:

F2A,  1

F7B,  1

GP30,  2

GP38-2,  1

GP38AC,  1

GP40,  2

GP60,  2

SD35,  1

SD40-2,  3

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Posted by Soo Line fan on Monday, November 3, 2014 1:35 PM

This was supposed to be about a rooster but alot of crowing is going on Laugh

Jim

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Posted by PM Railfan on Monday, November 3, 2014 1:46 PM

My rooster is all over the place! Since collecting from childhood i have amassed almost 100 diesels, and probably almost 100 cars aswell that dont fit the era or railroad i have decided to model.

Ive made it somewhat tolerable to stand by using my modellers 'license' and created a freelance railroad (3 actually). This explains what to do with what i have, but in the end, the steam era road will be my final choice, leaving my diesel era fleet without jobs.

So what do I do with almost 300 pieces of rolling stock? 75% of which has never even been out of the box (and may never)! And all the while, i am on a quest to purchase atleast one model of every model produced in the PM livery. Something done in 5 minutes in the 70's as there were only 2 PM models ever available then. Now, there are several and I am about 60% done with that quest.

My PM stock is closing on my childhood stock which is good. Thats what i want. However, what to do with whats left? I sold one loco earlier this year. I had the bright idea it was ok to get rid of certain trains ONLY if I took the proceeds and used them to buy PM replacements (trains for trains was the motto). This works, but also gives me a sick feeling inside.

Im just going to have to admit it - i have a sickness.... I am addicted to trains. I probably fit the profile of a "hoarder". What to do.... what to do?!!!

 

PS: no more batman bvd pics please. Or atleast give some warning, I about spewed my pepsi all over my screen when i was scrolling down, reading the posts.

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Posted by dknelson on Monday, November 3, 2014 1:53 PM

Well it is too bad that the one rooster joke I know might be deemed something that needs to be deleted so I won't risk it.

Some people complain that modern day railfanning is boring because the same relatively few models of big GEs are seen over and over.  There is some truth to the observation.  Back around 1980 guys were complaining that every train they saw had SD40-2s.  When I think back to the railfanning I did in the mid 1960s, C&NW main line, it was pretty much GP30s and GP35s, with now and then GP7s and GP9s.  Local switchers were EMD SW or NW type end cabs.  Sure the CNW had ALCos and FMs and Baldwins during that time, but they tended to aggregate them in selected areas so that parts supplies could be consolidated.  My memories and my Brownie camera snapshots verify that three or four models of EMDs prevailed on freights, and I have tried to share that same focus on my model roster.

My point is that it is tempting to cherry pick a roster and end up with one of everything you find interesting, but a realistic roster would likely concentrate on having several of the most common types of the era just as the prototype tends to.  It is also worth remembering that in the early days of diesels, many railroads including the PRR tended not to mix and match but preferred running sets of the same model.  For the C&NW there were some features that made MU'ing different types together a challenge, even different orders of the same model could not always be readily MU'd, often due to the airbrake type installed.  

Dave Nelson

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Posted by Burlington Northern #24 on Monday, November 3, 2014 2:47 PM

Building a roster.... Hmmm, Since I'm modeling the SP&S(poorly attempting to model the SP&S I should say) The majority of the power is Alco with EMD shoe ins that the SP&S bought. I've also bought Foreign power in the form of NP, GN, and CB&Q units. Essentially I'm pulling off a fictional BN merger that took place on paper rather than the army of Cascade Green that would become the face of the BN(though I'll be getting a couple BN units just because). my carfleet roster is reflecting both the SP&S prototype and local modeling area. Boxcars, woodchip gondolas, flatcars, and more boxcars will be the foundation of my revenue fleet. I also plan on starting a sizeable MoW fleet, reflecting SP&S relief trains stationed along the line. 

Roster 

SP&S 

RS3 x 2 

RS1 x 1 

GP9 x 3 

E7A x 1 

F3A x 2 

NP 

F7A x 2 

FP7A x 1

F3A x 1 

GP9 x 1 

NW2 x 1 

CB&Q 

F3A x 3

F3B x 1

GN

SD45 x 2

GP35 x 1

RS2 x 1

(eventual) GP9 x 2  

 

SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.

 http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide 

Gary DuPrey

N scale model railroader 

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Posted by pt714 on Monday, November 3, 2014 5:07 PM

Wow, so many extensive rosters! It seems like no small part of that is from years of amassing locos. Is there anybody here that's just starting out in the hobby, or that has a small amount of rolling stock (for prototypical, practical, or personal reasons)?

P

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Posted by angelob6660 on Monday, November 3, 2014 6:02 PM

I forgot to mention about my Amtrak roster.

It contains 16 Superliners in Phase IV, 9 P42 in Phase IV.

8 Superliners in Phase II.

8 P42 in Phase III, 6 MHC Phase III, 8 F40 Phase III, 16 Superliners in Phase III, 2 baggages and coach dormitory coaches.

2 Phase I baggage cars and a 4 car Phase I set, 1 E8 Phase I.

19 Superliners in Phase IVb, 4 P42 in Phase Vb, 4 P42 in Phase V and 12 Amfleet coaches and a baggage car.

4 P42 in Amtrak Heritage paint schemes.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by steemtrayn on Monday, November 3, 2014 6:10 PM

richhotrain

 

 
steemtrayn

 

 
richhotrain

 

 
mobilman44

 

   "WHAT'S A HENWAY???"

 

 

 

Somewhere between 2 and 4 pounds.  LaughLaughLaugh

 

 

 

 

Next question: What's a Greek urn?

 

 

 

Uhhh, dunno, what's a Greek urn?   Confused

 

Rich

 

About $3.75/hr

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Posted by Jimmy_Braum on Monday, November 3, 2014 7:15 PM

I used to do the Pennsy, but that got too expensive. So I switched to a seldom modeled reigonal-The Wheeling and lake Erie. Plus a fictional class three. The AVDC. Both railroads use EMD products-mostly SD40-2s. 

(My Model Railroad, My Rules) 

These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway.  As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).  

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Monday, November 3, 2014 7:30 PM

Kyle
What does your rooster look like? How do you decide what locomotives to add to your rooster?

My roster looks horrible.  I started going the 1890s look, switched to N-scale, switched back to HO and 1940s GN, then to NP,  moved to model Pueblo Colorado C&S/MP/D&RGW/Santa Fe/C&W in 1964, etc.  All the time not selling much of the prior attempts.

If you freelance, do you try to follow prototype, or do you just buy whatever you like that fits your era?

By definition if one is doing a freelance it is not following a prototype.  However when I was doing freelance I found it much easier to focus the roster onto equipment that made sense together.  That is because if one just buys and uses whatever, the railroad has no character or identity and becomes a big mess of toy trains.

Currently, for my era I have an GP38-2, GP40-2,SD40-2, SD45, SW1500. I have been considering adding some locomotives that have wide safety cabs to add variety.

So your railroad is one that as focused on EMD to reduce maintenance costs. 

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Monday, November 3, 2014 7:32 PM

Burlington Northern #24
Since I'm modeling the SP&S... The majority of the power is Alco

Interesting side note.  Do you know why the SP&S purchased so much from Alco?

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Posted by FRRYKid on Monday, November 3, 2014 11:48 PM

With all the puns going on with the rooster error, i've got one that I think takes the cake. I grew up on a egg farm. When we decided to go out of business we ended up with a few buildings empty that housed the birds. One of those buildings (a 2 story building) was the building where we kept the baby chicks and moved them when they started to lay eggs. We did have a rooster in there at times. That building was later converted to a shop by removing a section of the 2nd story. My layout is upstairs in that building.

On a more serious note, I have a little bit of everything. (But then of course I have 6 different railroad entities that have engines on my layout.) I have:

BN/NP

2 Life-Like P2K GP-18s (1 NP, 1 BN)

FRRY (my freelance railroad that the BN Interacts with, similar to how the BNSF interacts with the MRL)

8 Tythearn GP20 (2 Passenger Scheme, 5 Green scheme, 1 Pink scheme. Yes that is not a typo. The engine is a pink with a green roof [Tribute engine for my late Maternal Grandparents {Green was my Grandfather's favorite and mine. Pink was my Grandmother's}]. Tythearn is a kitbash of a Tyco GP20 shell on an Athearn GP35 drive)

SW1000, SW7s, F7A

OTCX (Car Ferry Terminal Railroad)

SW1

FFX (Team track Industry for receiving freight)

SW7 (CSX Blue, GN Orange and white. Yes, I am a big Denver Bronco fan.)

MTP (Railroad operating on "Foreign" track that shares a passenger station siding with FRRY)

S4, F7B (Snow plow power)

PTTX (Tourist line that shares MTP trackage)

4 2-6-0 switchers for pulling the passenger cars for the tourist line.

S4 (for assembling trains and switching supply cars)

As for freight cars:

Gondolas of many different types, 9 34' woodchip hoppers (converted Athearn hoppers [Top of one cut off and attached to another]), 62' Woodchip hoppers, Log cars, Mech reefers, 50' modern boxcars, three different types of covered hoppers (with more coming for Grain Traffic), three different types of cabooses, 2 Thrall all-door boxcars and probably a few I have forgotten about)

I have more rolling stock than I do track to put them on!

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by Burlington Northern #24 on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 3:25 AM

Texas Zepher

 

 
Burlington Northern #24
Since I'm modeling the SP&S... The majority of the power is Alco

 

Interesting side note.  Do you know why the SP&S purchased so much from Alco?

 

 

THe 900 series Alco made Z-6 and Z-8 4-6-6-4 locomotives(known as challengers on the UP and NP but as 900's on the SP&S) 

SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.

 http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide 

Gary DuPrey

N scale model railroader 

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Posted by E-L man tom on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 9:51 AM

Well um, my rooster, I mean my roster ('scuse me, just had to get in on the act!) consists of mainly diesel locos from the 60s and 70s, as that's what I model. They are mostly all Erie Lackawanna, Erie, DL&W, as well as Chessie System (yellow, black and vermillion), as I model the pre- and early Conrail days (before any Conrail paint jobs were applied to most of the locomotives, cabooses and rolling stock). So, the roster consists of first and second generation diesels from Alco's (S-1's RS3's PA's, etc)to EMD units (F's, GP7/9's, SD7/9's, SW's) to GE's (mainly U-boats). Right now, I'm modelling a freelanced short line switching RR that has but one SW9 and two cabooses which are all painted and lettered for this short line. This line interchanges cars with the Chessie and the EL. The time period is the 1970's

Tom Modeling the free-lanced Toledo Erie Central switching layout.
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Posted by ACY Tom on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 10:32 AM

If your rooster includes critters, would you have to call them "peeps" or "chicks"?

Anyway, it's hard to say what locos a freelance modeler should have.  Depends very much on the railroad's geography, purpose, traffic, etc.  When did the road dieselize?  Did management buy all new items from the builders?  This would imply some consistency.  Did they buy second-hand equipment?  That would imply a more diverse roster.  Is your road the product of a merger?  That could mean your road has a lot of mismatched equipment because the motive power philosophies of the merger partners were different. 

Here's a prototypical example.  There was a time in the 1950's when the DT&I and AC&Y considered a merger.  It never happened, but the roster implications are interesting to consider.  Both roads bought modern steam locos (different designs of 2-8-2's from Lima) as late as WWII.  AC&Y put Alco diesel switchers in their principal yard in the early 1940's and decided they would dieselize the road as soon as they could.  DT&I bought EMD switchers for their principal yard operations in the 1940's.  AC&Y wanted to buy Alco road switchers for their mainline operations in the late 1940's, but Alco couldn't fit them into the production schedule, so they committed to dieselizing road operations with Fairbanks Morse road switchers, beginning in 1948.  DT&I didn't begin to dieselize their road operations till the early 1950's, when they bought GP7's, and they completed their dieselization with GP9's.  If they had merged, that combined road would have boasted a very unusual mix of F-M, Alco, and EMD locos.

I find that it's easier to follow a prototype than to freelance because many of these freelance rationalizations just don't pass the plausibility test.  I believe I read Bill Darnaby's ideas about this many years ago.  It might have been in a Koester article. 

Tom 

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Posted by Kyle on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 9:54 PM

riogrande5761

Kyle, you should probably go in and edit his topic title so folks browsing the General Discussion will know you aren't asking about a farm animal.  Just sayin!!!!  Unless you put Rooster in there just for a laugh...  ya never know!

 

I meant to put in roster.Oops - Sign  It was somewhat late, and I am not the best at spelling.  

At least we all get a laugh out of itBig Smile

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Posted by Kyle on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 10:33 PM

Texas Zepher

 

 

 
If you freelance, do you try to follow prototype, or do you just buy whatever you like that fits your era?

 

By definition if one is doing a freelance it is not following a prototype.  However when I was doing freelance I found it much easier to focus the roster onto equipment that made sense together.  That is because if one just buys and uses whatever, the railroad has no character or identity and becomes a big mess of toy trains.

 

 

I meant to type prototypes, with an s.  I apologize about that typo.

So what I meant about that question is do you refer to real railroads as inspiration for your rooster. 

 

I have to agree and disagree with your second statement about buying in using whatever.  If you are running locomotives from different eras, like a steam engine next to a SD40-2, the your statement is correct.  However in the modern era it is not unusual to see locomotives from different class 1s MUed together on another Class 1 railroad.  You could also have a SD70ACe next to a GP7 (possibly even an F7).  It all depends on how you build your layout.  If the old locomotive is patched or painted for a branch line, and you build a branch line for your layout, it wouldn't look out of place.

If you want to run steam or old diesels (like E7s, RS2s, etc) on your modern era layout, then you could model a museum that runs excursions.

 

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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 10:52 PM

Kyle:

I'm glad you took the ribbing well. My spelling is terrible too.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by "JaBear" on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 3:45 AM

pt714
Wow, so many extensive rosters! It seems like no small part of that is from years of amassing locos. Is there anybody here that's just starting out in the hobby, or that has a small amount of rolling stock (for prototypical, practical, or personal reasons)?

Well I guess we all started off small, I had a lot of fun with my first loco, a Mehano RS-3, though I had the advantage of having a club layout to run it on.
Cheers, the Bear. 

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by rrebell on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 11:03 AM

I buy for my time period and also for my tight curves. Then I test everything on my layout on which the trackwork is great. Had to get rid of a lot of engines that just did not cut it, sure I could have fixed them and did a few but for the most part I needed to downsize anyway.

SPV
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Posted by SPV on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 6:24 PM

I'm modeling a handful of interconnecting freelanced narrow gauge shortlines in Utah and Arizona, circa 1907, and trying to make them as plausible as possible.  As such, their rosters employ a mix of second-hand items (largely cast-offs from other narrow gauge lines, mostly in Colorado, as they modernized, standard-gauged, or went out of business), and new power similar to comparable nearby railroads.  In some cases, I've managed to find holes in the historical record and used them to fill my roster.  For example, of the D&RG's original order of C-16 class 2-8-0s, 2 appear to have gone missing: the engines that would have worn the numbers 292 and 293 never appeared on the Rio Grande roster, and to the best of my knowledge no one knows where they wound up.  So that's the backstory for 2 San Pablo Valley RR engines - they were purchased new from Baldwin from an oversized lot of engines ordered by the D&RG.  There are a handful of other historically-based "missing engine" stories, and others that are slightly tweaked from the actual history - locomotives that the records show were scrapped, but in my version will roam the 3' gauge rails of the southwest for a few years longer than history allotted them.

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Thursday, November 6, 2014 4:24 PM

Kyle
So what I meant about that question is do you refer to real railroads as inspiration for your rooster. 

Ah!  The answer is yes.   Would seem silly not to, because then it isn't a "model" roster but a fantasy roster. 

However in the modern era it is not unusual to see locomotives from different class 1s MUed together on another Class 1 railroad. You could also have a SD70ACe next to a GP7 (possibly even an F7).

So those fall into the category of "makes sense together", more so the former than the latter.   

It all depends on how you build your layout.  If the old locomotive is patched or painted for a branch line, and you build a branch line for your layout, it wouldn't look out of place.

Once again that falls into the category of makes sense together.   A real railroad that can afford modern power would relegate the old equipment to branches.   A time line for a model railroad has to be from the most modern equipment backwards as a natural aging process would be.

If you want to run steam or old diesels (like E7s, RS2s, etc) on your modern era layout, then you could model a museum that runs excursions.

That is an reason in use by many.  It gets into the often discussed category that we most often model the exeptions and unusual (everyone wants a heritage painted unit) rather than the common and ordinary.  Muesums and excursions are almost getting into the "overused" category like a scene where a dog is hiking its leg to a fire hydrant.  sigh.

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