What does your first locomotive look like?

AndyWS

New Member
I've already posted these pictures elsewhere, but here they are again. :)

This isn't my "first" locomotive (that came with a Bachmann train set in 1989), but looks just like it and replaced it when it broke down. The Santa Fe F unit seems to be the most popular locomotive there is for train sets, or at least it was for awhile.

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This Athearn Milwaukee Road GP9 was purchased only a year or two after the train set, and ran with the train set Bachmann F unit when the "layout" still consisted of only the circle of train set track. It is still a regular fixture on the head end of trains on our layout.

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First steam locomotive, from Bachmann. Ran for only 2-3 years, has been in storage since.

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TrainNut

Ditat Deus
TrainNut said:
I wanted to participate in this thread but it took me a while to dig down to the bottom of the box and find my "first loco". Well guess what? FOUND IT! My grandmother bought it for me for Christmas when I was but 8 years old (late 70's) . It is a Bachman EMD GP 40. It ran strong for the longest time. I don't know if it still does or not. All of my other cheapy engines have come and gone but this one holds a sentimental spot as my grandmother passed many years ago.
I thought ya'll'd get a kick out of this.... we were digging through some boxes the other day and lo'n behold, a photo of me receiving my first loco from my grandmother!!! So that's where it all started....
 

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I took a glance through this thread..... Great locos, but I'm kinda suprised how many steamers there are!? I guess I figured most people started with diesel then graduated to steam. Speaking of which;

I've got trackwork with minimum 18" radii.... some spots are only fair, but everything rolls on it well enough. I dream of getting a steamer one day. What wheel configuration 0/4/0 etc. would be the most forgiving?

Oh, here's my first loco Atlas GP40 B/N... :wave:

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MilesWestern

Active Member
Um, I have the smae problem, and I've been able to run up to a 2-8-0, but that's the MAX!! Any 6 coupled driver engine works exceptionally well on 18"r curves, and 4 coupled locos work ok, but lack pulling power and electrical pickup. There ya go!
 
MilesWestern said:
Any 6 coupled driver engine works exceptionally well on 18"r curves, and 4 coupled locos work ok,

Coupled driver engine? What does that mean?

Also, what does MOW stand for?

Thanks....
 

91rioja

Member
From way backa whena

When I was younger, these were my first three locos. Don't you love the paint job a 10 year old does? I couldn't tell you what they are (all except my N&W GP9). The I got older and I got the 4-8-4 early this year when I got back into MRRing.
 

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rfmicro

New Member
My first real loco was an American Flyer 2-4-2 (I believe) circa early 50's. My grandfather and I built a 4' x 8' plywood layout in the basement. Before that there was a wooden loco set I ran around the floor.

Trent
 

shaygetz

Active Member
EngineerKyle said:
Coupled driver engine? What does that mean?

Coupled drivers refer to the wheels on steam locomotives and some early diesels that are connected by the drive rods.
 

Harpo

New Member
First loco? I still have it!!! Somewhere...in the original box. It's an 0-4-0 camelback...can't remember the maker, possibly a forerunner of IHC. Bought it in a LHS in Wauwatosa Village, Wis., in about 1959 for about 6.95 or 7.95. I think the box still has the price tag on it. Great, now you all have tweaked my interest...I now have to rummage through piles of stuff stored in various forgotten places...but who knows what other treasures may also lurk there?

Harpo
 

Twiget

New Member
This is my first loco. almost 1 year old.sign1 It is a BLI model of a CNJ USRA Heavy Mikado 2-8-2.
 

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TrainNut

Ditat Deus
A little over a year since the last comment was posted to this thread and we've gotten lots of new members in that time period. Anyone else have pictures or stories of their first locomotive?
 

jbaakko

Active Member
My FIRST locomotive was an Alco C424 from Tyco... not pictures, though have the shell somewhere around here.

Here's the first one I bought with my OWN money:
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Thats technically my 6th unit though. The Tyco, then my nephew gave me a life like F7, then I got a life like train set with 3, THEN I bought that one. I've since sold the rest besides the tyco.
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
My FIRST locomotive was an Alco C424 from Tyco... not pictures, though have the shell somewhere around here.
Somewhere a long time ago, my dad got me a Tyco Sharknose Burlington Northern. It was a beautiful engine but I have no idea what happened to it. I'll bet it was confiscated and put in a box to never see the light of day again.
 

Herc Driver

Active Member
First one...

Had a Tyco set in early 70's with a PRR F-unit/E-unit? (I can't remember which). Got the "Spirit of '76" set too and promptly dropped the engine showing it off to a friend. Here's my first Nscale loco - don't know how old it is. Bought it at a garage sale in '78, it stayed in a box for almost 30 years until my kids begged me to get it out and set up a layout. I weathered it just a year ago or so and did a horrible job (which you all were kind to overlook - but I appreciated the advice and encouragement to improve). One day, I'm going to clean it up a bit and weather it better. It's a MiniTrix U28CG I think...sort of hard to pin down since it doesn't exactly look like any prototype. It still runs - not well - but it does run.
 

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PWRR-2207

Rogue Islander
Fleischmann 2-8-2

Still have my first engine, a 1961 Fleischmann 2-8-2 #1367 with tender and UP markings. The road number is hard to read because I wore off the paint playing with it :eek:ops:

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CNWman

CNW Fan
Well, ALL of my 6 engines are firsts for me!:mrgreen: Lets see here....

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My VERY first model engine, CNW 4056, a P1K F3 from a few years back. She's been around almost a decade, but she's still dedicated to her work!:mrgreen:

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My first self-bought engine, CNW RS-32 #4242, an Atlas Trainman, and my smoothest runner:thumb:.

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My first 'weathered' engine, Conrail B23-7 #1992, a Bachmann no less. I aquired her at a meeting of my local NMRA division about weathering with makeup (so you can probably guess how I weathered 1992:p). The speaker, Matt Snell, even brought some junk stuff for others to practice on, and he let me keep the engine I was experimenting on, #1992, which was at the time, missing a few details. (most of those have been replaced by now.)

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My first P2K model, CN FA2 # 6750. She's really fun to run about on my layout, especialy when in an A-A consist with #4056:mrgreen:

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My first engine to be equiped with DCC, C&O BL2 #1845, also a P2K, found alongside my PA2, and bought at the same price as my FA2: $10. This engine was not my first P2K due to it's need for repairs and the offer of the guys at the LHS to fix it for me at no cost, plus even adding DCC compatability for free, too!:mrgreen: 1845 still suffers from occasional minor electrical connection interuption, but she's still a good runner when you open the throttle!:drag1:

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My first 'free', first custom painted, and first rebuilt locomotive, Riverside RR #1116, one of the infamous Athearn Hustlers. I aquired 1116 before #1992, but I've organized the introductions of my locomotives to the order they entered 'service', and 1116 was only recently pressed into service. Anyways, I first encountered 1116 as a dissasembled bunch of parts (some missing or needing repair) in a sandwich bag in the junk box of an LHS in San Fransisco. The owner of the shop was very nice, and gave me the engine free along with some old tyco cars (those are is storage awaiting modifications). I only found out the Hustler's problems after I got home, but I see it as a good first experience in locomotive repair. Anyways, 1116 is still a bit jumpy (it wouldn't win any of the Hustler Dashes), but the foward gear is pretty smooth, and it can haul EVERY peice of rolling stock I own (and almost all of them are at least twice its size!)
 
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