For Illinois Central Fans.( Celebrating over 1000 posts )

[icmr]

Will Tuesday work?



ICMR

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[waltersrails]

ill see what i have planned

[icmr]

Thats good. I aint got anything going on that day.



ICMR

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[waltersrails]

ok i'll see what i can do.

[icmr]

Allright.



ICMR

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[waltersrails]

well see you bright an early.

[Anonymous]

icmr, that's a cool pic of engine #1776

[icmr]

Yes it is dingoix. I found it while I was looking for IC info on google.



ICMR

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[icmr]

The operation of my layout has ceased. After careful consideration I decided to cease operation for rechartering of the mainline and remodeling of the benchwork. I havent been happy with the track plan since a week after I laid the track. I hope that the railroad will be better and will see more traffic after the remodeling.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



ICMR

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[Anonymous]

QUOTE: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

right back at you -tearing up the layout are you? i've thought about redoing mine a few times but i don't want to be without an operating layout for very long. The reason i've thought about it is i see a layout article in model railroader , see someting i like and say "i've got to have that on my layout"- but i'm happy w/ my simple 4'x12' (for now at least)

[icmr]

I liked my layout but for the past month I have been thinking of ways to rebuild it. Ive been helping a friend build his layout and I like the way we are building his better than the way I built mine.



ICMR

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[icmr]

My layout (right now) is 8'x16'.



ICMR

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[Anonymous]

well, if you can improve it and don't mind not running your trains for a while go for it!

[icmr]

Im going for it. Im getting ready to start planning sometime tonight.



ICMR

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[Anonymous]

I grew up in Mattoon, Il. I was born in 1966. The house that ,I lived in back then was two blocks from the old big four round house. I remember walking those tracks to school .me and my buddies loved to check out those old ruins of that round house. We were probably 10 or 11,at that time most of the old bays were still intact with old chains still hanging from the ceiling, where work would have been done to the old engines. There were also some of the old maintance sheds on the grounds too.We marveled at the sight of all the old buildings We were late going to school quite a bit, back then. The big four railroad was were trains from Chicago, ST Louis, Cleveland and Cincinnati could be switched to the tracks of the two other systems crossing through Mattoon. The Big Four round house used to sit at what is now 8th and 10th street of Richmond Avenue , There is now a set of ball daimond parks sitting in its place. Everytime I drive by I still remember. Well back to the topic I model my layout to the I.C. as much as I can. Most of the models , Ive picked up were at train shows, or from John Shoemacher. He has a shop called coryville station ( http://www.coryvillestation.com) heres a link you can check out to find buys on different things that John can order for you. He's a al-rite guy. John has traveled all over the country , setting up train shows and helping fellow model railroaders with advise. I model in HO scale. I have one Illinois central. U33C that Im proud of . The old color scheme of orange/white with black logo. its a Atlas. great running engine, quite too. I also have a I.C SD70 MAC by athearns genesis. Its a modern proto-type. good engine. I also have a old proto 2000 green diamond switcher ,and i ve got an old I.C F9 PASSINGER TRAIN color sceme brown/orange. my layout is 12'x 8' modelled around midwest area of the country. Time line, around1970 to 2000. My layout has 5 levels 8 ovals, 2ovals per level these lower levels run into tunnels and over bridges, then a point to point layout on the top of all. Im still working on the top level. thats where my city or town is going to be. the top layouts going to be a trolley line, with two train switching. Im adding blocks ,so I can run cab control. All together ,ive spent about two years on this layout so far." Well have a good one, and getter done".

[waltersrails]

i hope you have a good plan. and you get it the way you would like it. its not fun unless you like it the way you want

[Anonymous]

welcome I.C.66 the picture in my signature is my Atlas U33C. i'm very proud of mine too. It's a great runner. Very smooth. It is pretty quiet too. here's another pic of it and my IC boxcar

[icmr]

[#welcome] to the forum I.C.66. Thanks for posting. Thats too bad that they put ball diamonds over the roundhouse. I also have one of the IC SD70 Athearn Genesis units.
Oh and Im not redoing my layout. I had a lot of time to think about it today and there are a lot of good reasons not to rebuild.



ICMR

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[Anonymous]

that's good that you're not rebuilding because now you can RUN TRAINS!

[Anonymous]

I'm going to start modeling the IC from Bloomington-Normal, IL to St. Louis (thinking the mid-70's for reasons below) as soon as I get into my new house. I grew up in Normal with an IC line in our backyard that ran from downtown Normal to the north. We would see a train every two months or so, always one engine with maybe 2-3 boxcars. I think they would switch them in Hudson because we always saw the train coming back a few hours later...but anyway...as for modeling this run, it turns out my grandfather was an engineer for the IC (he says he ran GP-30's). He would take freight from Bloomington, making deliveries and such all the way down the line to St. Louis. He'd spend the night and then make the reverse run the next day. IC would pay for the hotel room - but NEVER for meals! He's still upset at that and he'd been retired for like 20 years. He's got some good stories from those days, but I have to drag them out of him sometimes...I decided to model this part of the IC to honor him
So anyway, I'm glad to have found this thread with other IC fans. I'm sure I'll have some questions later. I'm going to have to do a lot from memory and research. I'm in Idaho now!

[Anonymous]

welcome Minidoka- if you are modeling the 1970's it might have been Illinois Central Gulf then but i can't quite remember when it became ICG

[ICRR1964]

It was in mid 1966 the the orange and white paint was used on the first engines U30B's.The first GP40's in the same paint came in early 1967. ICG came about on August 10,1972 when it merged with GM&O. Any and all IC and most of the GM&O were all painted orange and white and the word "GULF" added to the already orange and white IC loco.

[ICRR1964]

Here is my line up of loco's I own;

[4] GP7's Green Diamond P2K
[4] GP9's Green Diamond P2K
[2] GP18's Green Diamond P2K
[2] SW8's Green Diamond P2K
[4] GP35's Green Diamond Athearn BB
[2] SW7's Green Diamond Athearn BB
[4] SD40-2's Death Star Athearn SE BB
[2] GP40's Orange and white ICG older Atlas
[2] GP38's Orange and white ICG older Atlas
[2] 2-8-2 Mikes relettered and numberd for IC Athearn Genesis
[2] RS2's being reapainted for Green Diamond, these are Atlas newer versions

Also have an old AHM E6 [2] and 8 Passenger cars all made by AHM that is on a display shelf, these engines run terrible, but make a good display.

[Anonymous]

cool engine lineup ICRR1964-- the Athearn SE SD40-2 death star is cool (i don't have one) is that the set w/ one powered and one unpowered?-- i have a former green diamond GP35 that's a repaint to C&NW

[icmr]

[#welcome] to the forum Minidoka!!!! Im glad to see a new member / IC fan on here. If you have any questions just ask. I like your engine line up IC1964. My line up is one IC SD70 #1006. I started ballasting my track last night and been doing it all day today.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



ICMR

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[ICRR1964]

The SD40-2's are both SE kits that came in Power and Dummy, they run good out of the box, but I ended up changing the wheels out to NWSL wheels and using an A-line motor with flywheels, they run just as good as a KATO now. I don't run these very often on my layout because of the time frame I model, which is from 1950 through 1975. I got them real cheap at a train show a few years back for $20.00 each set. Some vender had a whole stack of them and was selling them cheap. I had a Kato engine that was painted in the IC with Deathstar and was to impressed with it, sold it almost a week after I bought it at a loss. The RS2's that I am getting painted by a freind of mine who is really good at it, just gave them to him a few days ago, he said it would take a few weeks, I am in no hurry. I don't know if you guys look around on ebay, But the older Atlas GP40 and 38 in the ICG paint have been going high the past couple of moths for some reason. If you ever go to a train show and see one of these for $20 to $30, buy them, they are the older roco drive and are really good runners. These were made in the late 1970's. I think over the holidays my wife and I are going to take a full inventory of all my engines besides my IC engines. I think I am going to start getting rid of some of the older engines, I know I have well over a 100 of the BB Athearns in all kinds of roads and sizes. The steam part of my collection has been sold off over the years, had so many, I could not tell them apart, got a couple of old brass loco's that don't run, and are shelf warmers.

[icmr]

Thats a lot of engines ICRR1964. I wish I had that many in the Death Star scheme.[;)]



ICMR

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[ac4400fan]

Merry Christmas Everyone! thought id add this photo here also Icmr was talking about this car a week ago heres a pic of it ,and the building im essembling



Carl...

[Anonymous]

Nice I.C.G. three bay hopper. All the ones I have are are black or orange. I'd like to find some that were grey like yours. The grain elevator in the back I have one like it. Its a Walthers cornerstone kit. I chose ADM for its name. They had three other decals in the kit. ADM,CARGLE and F.S. I chose ADM cause when, I was a kid me and my dad use to go visit my uncle in Deacatur ,IL. and thats where ADM STALEY'S was located. Well have a good one.

[icmr]

Looks good ac4400fan. I need to get one of those grain elevators so I can an ADM plant on my layout. I hope you guys had a good Christmas.



ICMR

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