Model Railroad Podcast

MRC Show # 20 Notes - Designing your MRR World

• Crew Lounge: Sweet 16 DVD is now available!, Threaded forum in testing-phase, subscription & support discussion, and all your great feedback.
• Roundhouse: Part 3 of Designing a Model railroad you can enjoy and be proud of.
• Coaling Tower: Track Planning For Realistic Operations, by John Armstrong (3rd Edition)
  
• Archives: The Southern Pacific's diesel schemes from 1937-91
  
• TYRTH: 1981
• Branch Line: Ironside Roger's Guest broadcast
  
• Interchange: Our 'links of the week'

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 20 (AAC)

Crew Lounge
Will update: Some discussion on the rolling stock I've come into ownership of, and my thoughts for getting a layout sorted.
Ryan Update: Finished Sweet 16 DVD and being shipped out as we speak
Site Update: Sponsorship options available to use via Paypal and a threaded forum is almost completed testing
Show Update: Both of our giveaways are still running! (guess Will's age - email ryan, and the Support Posters)

Railway Post Office
Feedback and updates from all you nice chaps!

Roundhouse
The third part of a 4-part (or so) series on designing your model railroad.  From a basic layout to a crafted master piece you can enjoy and be proud of.

This week, the plan we chose, and why we chose what we did. How the tracks laid out work prototypically and operationally to the benefit of everyone. Here's the plan of what we discuss:

Further plans (including a full-size plan with scenic details) is available here.

Coaling Tower
After some prompting from our listeners we delve into a book written by John Armstrong - one of the true pioneers of model railroading. His book, "Track Planning For Realistic Operation" provided the foundation for many thousands of modellers and the concepts he introduced then were proven correct in his own layout, the Canandaigua Southern.

Archives

SP Diesel Schemes:
1937 - 1944
SP's first fully owned diesels, were SW1 switchers, and received a paint scheme based on EMD's SW1 demonstrator #804. Most references say the lettering was white, but SP's later Lettering Diagram for the Black Widow F-units calls Aluminum-Bronze lettering. There is probably a better than good chance that the lettering and striping were in fact Aluminum-Bronze.

The early diesels came in all-over black, with a thin frame pinstripe, and a parallel pin-stripe placed just below the cab window, and running the length of, the cab side, the long hood and wrapping around over the radiator and according to the Kato NW2, the back of the cab.

1944 - 1946
SP changed the yard-switcher paint scheme in 1944. These came with Orange diagonal stripes applied on the entire long hood end, up to the bottom of the windows, the frame, the pilots and the air resevoir. There was also an orange pin-stripe along the top of the hood.

Yard Switchers 1947 - 1956
Orange diagonal stripes on a black carbody, commonly known as Tiger Stripe, was the paint scheme applied to all new diesel switchers from 1947 to 1956. It was also applied to all diesel switchers repainted up to 1957/58.

Black Widow Scheme 1947-1958
On cab units - silver splash on the nose with orange horizontal stripes underneath, and a red sill stripe.

Road Engines 1949-53
By the end of 1949, the Road Switcher Tiger Stripe paint had been finalized as all over black, with Daylight orange tiger stripes on the pilots, side sills and air tanks. The hood ends and lettering on black surfaces were aluminum, with lettering on aluminum surfaces being black.

Road Engines 1953+
Beginning with the Train Masters in 1953, Black Widow paint was specified for Hood units too. (silver hood ends, one with the splash and orange horizontal stripes, red sill stripe)

Mid 1958
The term 'Halloween' was never an officially adopted 'name'. Anecdotally though, Shop paint crews were heard to refer to this scheme as Halloween, and the term _was_ generally used in a derogatory manner. Depending on your viewpoint, the term Halloween can either mean every locomotive that SP painted into solid orange and black, or those locomotives that were not originally painted Tiger Stripe. ie. F and E units, and possibly passenger GP9's and H24-66's.

During a recessionary period in 1958, SP was looking at a cheaper paint scheme, than the expensive to apply 4 color Black Widow scheme. Legend has it, that this scheme was first applied to an HO Scale model, with nail-polish during one lunch break at Head Office...

End of 1958 until 1991

Bloody Nose

Branch Line
By our guest contributor, ISR (aka Tim) - an Operation Lifesaver piece by Jay will be available for download on the website too, in addition.

Interchange
http://home.comcast.net/~lynn_n_milt/ - Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway in HO Scale

http://www.icgrr.com/ - Illinois Central Gulf Railroad model railroad

http://cypress-engineering.com/ModelRailroad.htm - The Flea II turnout controller

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 20 (AAC)