There are very few commercial products available. BTS has a few HO cars. The Bachmann HO oldtime 4-4-0's are mid-1870's engines and have the dreaded tender drive and bad flanges. I model the 1870's in OO scale using the oversize HO IHC 4-4-0's merged onto the new HO Athearn/Roundhouse 4-4-0. Here is the merge under construction.
I have why the 1870's is viable in OO scale at:http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/why/
Thank you if you visit
Harold
The Conferacy used them to move troops for the first time in history
No they didn't. The USA, Germany, England and France all moved troops around regularly in the 1850s. The Germans started building their rail netowrk in the 1840s specifically to transport troops. And how do you think Lee and the Marines got to Harpers Ferry so fast in 1859?
Ray Breyer
Modeling the NKP's Peoria Division, circa 1943
yougottawanta wrote:While at the LHS this weekend on an importatnt errand I looked for civil war era engines. To my surprise they did not have any and Walters only had two. Given the emence importance in the history of trains ( The Conferacy used them to move troops for the first time in history ) , the huge response to the civil wars series a few years back why is there not much interest in model railroading for this era ? Am I wrong here and just not looking the right place ?
You can still find the General on eBay. Also check out these two Yahoo groups. Both groups have files and photos sections with a lot of information.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Civil_War_Railroads_Pix/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Civil_War_RRs/
Harold has useful information for modifying Mantua rolling stock.
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/lower_mantua/
rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Although neither side in the Civil War was the "first" to move troops by train, the CSA was the first to move troops within a theater to directly influence the tactical outcome of a battle (Bull Run/1st Manasses. The CSA was also the first to use railroads to move troops for a strategic advantage in a specific theater (moving several divisions of Lee's army from the eastern theater to fight at Chickamauga in the west) - which the USA did one better by moving eastern troops of their own - on a much better rail system - resulting in victory at Chattanooga in the same campaign.
Credit should be given to the Prussians for being the first to actually plan a war based on railroad movements (the Franco-Prussian War).
hminky wrote: I have why the 1870's is viable in OO scale at:http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/why/Thank you if you visitHarold
It looks great with those high drivers, and I recognize the J. Bowker stack & headlamp.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
A lack of decent quality products is a major reason why very few people model 19th century trains.
richg1998 wrote: You can still find the General on eBay. Also check out these two Yahoo groups. Both groups have files and photos sections with a lot of information.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Civil_War_Railroads_Pix/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Civil_War_RRs/Harold has useful information for modifying Mantua rolling stock. http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/lower_mantua/rich
FWIW, the Mantua/Tyco General (as are most models of the General) is of the prototype as it appeared in the 1870s. Before rebuilding, the General of the Civil War era had an outside frame, and numerous other differences.
'Tis true (unfortunately), that the further back one goes in the 19th century, generally the less the availability of commercial models and parts. There is a little bulge at the Civil War era simply because of somewhat greater interest than the 1870s. Many railroads in the West weren't planned until the 1870s, and didn't start active construction until the 1880s.
my thoughts
Fred Wright
....modeling foggy coastal Oregon, where it's always 1900....
I suspect the lack of interest in the Civil War era or much of the 1800's is that it wasn't the high point of railroading. Steam railroads peaked in the era around WWI in terms of mileage and passenger traffic as a percentage of travel. They peaked in the 30's/40's in terms of locomotives. Interurbans peaked at WWI and narrow gauge around then also. Diesels of course keep getting bigger and faster for the modern era. The Civil War in terms of U.S. history is very important and interesting, but the trains just aren't as interesting as the later periods.
Enjoy
Paul
Someone years ago, I think it was PFM, during the Civil War Centenial, produced a set of the General and the Texas. They were nice models but required a tender drive, so they didn't run well at all. This was the only HO model of the Texas ever commercially produced.
If you're ever down Atlanta way, go to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, at Kennesaw,Ga, where the chase began. Inside they have alot to see in the way of Civil War RR memorabilia, as well as uniforms, guns, part of a locomotive shop common to the era, etc. along with the General on permanent display. Also at Grant Park in Atlanta, is the site of the Cyclorama. It is a huge 360` painting of the Battle of Atlanta. It starts in front as a three dimensional life size diorama, then "fades" into the painting. You can get some great scenery and backdrop ideas there. For you Gone With The Wind fans, (Frankly, My dear I don't...) one of the three dimensional wounded soldiers in the foreground is a model of Clark Gable. In the basement, the Texas is on permanent display. The entire complex was closed for a time for upgrades and repairs, but is open again.
Due to the fragility and age of some of the displays at Kennesaw, esp. the real uniforms, some areas of the mueseum is off limits to cameras.
For some more information, go to http://www.southernmuseum.org/
Carey
Keep it between the Rails
Alabama Central Homepage
Nara member #128
NMRA &SER Life member