Doublestackitis

rockislandmike

Active Member
I've been working feverishly on a number of projects, not the least time-consuming of which is Redrock Canyon on my 7x12 layout in the garage. A Rock Island doubletrack skirts the top of the canyon and then crosses it, while Santa Fe has trackage through the bottom of the canyon. In order to show off a couple of my most recent locomotives, an Overland GP40X, and a Stewart U25B (which I actually acquired almost a year ago, but just got around to assembling recently - it still needs to be weathered, but it was a gift so I wanted to capture it unweathered first).

(1) A Rock Island doublestack moves along the top of Redrock Canyon, westbound towards Oklahoma City, and eventually Memphis. It is led by U25B #201 (from Stewart).

doublestack1.jpg


(2) The helicopter view shows more of the doublestack, and the forboding hills that the Rock had to bore through.

doublestack2.jpg


(3) It appears as though The Gauge has branched out - six containers in three paint schemes are included in the Rock train. Down below a Santa Fe doublestack is just starting to move through the main part of the Canyon.

doublestack3.jpg


(4) Under the dual bridges, the Santa Fe track through the bottom of the canyon is occupied by another doublestack, led by GP40X #3802 (my most recent acquisition, and my only brass locomotive, from Overland). Trailing it is SD45 #5614 (from Bachmann).

doublestack4.jpg


(5) A closeup of #3802.

doublestack5.jpg


(6) Looking west, you can see I still have a lot of work to do in the canyon. But it's already looking tres-kewl (IMHO anyways).

doublestack6.jpg


(7,8) Once the locomotives move on, you can see that this train happens to be exclusively for the transportation of Amaeus containers (a fictional company).

doublestack7.jpg


doublestack8.jpg
 

TomPM

Another Fried Egg Fan
Nice going Mike. Looks like things are coming along real well. Some very fine models you have there.
 

RailRon

Active Member
This looks very good, Mike! :cool:

Shot 6 looks like a midwinter photograph - lots of snow and ice around. But I guess you will still bring Summer to the scene. :D

It always amazes me when I see pics of doublestackers with a long container on top a shorter one. Obviously it works also with the 1:1 railroads - but it looks definitely topheavy.

Beautiful rolling stock and impressive trains!

Ron
 

SD90

Active Member
Nice work! Did you make those containers your self or are they just custom painted? I didn't think anyone made a GP40X, NICE!
 

SD90

Active Member
BTW, how does that Bachmann SD45 run? I saw 2 of those really cheap at the LHS, but I wasn't sure how they ran. Do they have a split frame? Flywheels?
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Originally posted by SD90
Nice work! Did you make those containers your self or are they just custom painted? I didn't think anyone made a GP40X, NICE!

His are brass, but Rail Power Products used to offer plastic models of the gp40x to run with Athearn drives. Now that Athearn has bought Rail Power Products, I would expect them to come out with gp40x's in the near future.
 

rockislandmike

Active Member
Containers are made of cardstock - designed by yours truly, however.

Bachmann SD45 runs, like most other Bachmanns, so-so at best. I haven't really been very happy with any Bachmann's I've owned to date, regardless of whether they're Spectrum or Plus or not.

(( Course, that being said, I have on order a ballast regulator I'm going to paint in Rock blue ))
 
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