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Errr... Brian, great sarcasm, but flawed. What he didn't really mention was the ability to consist the engines together through multiple unit cables. MU cables were generally universal, and allowed a ostler to create consistes of almost anything he wanted. So in that term, yes, you could hook...

As a further note, the main reason that the FT was offered as a drawbarred 2 or 4-unit set initially was for marketing purposes. The FT was billed as either a "four unit, 5400 horsepower" or a "two unit, 2700 horsepower" locomotive, making it more on par with common "super steam" engines of the...

Err... okay, noted. All future posts will come with a disclaimer.

Which doesn't contradict the point that before they did not.

The Smithsonian project will be undertaken by Doyle after he finishes the 190. There is not enough room (much less manpower) to do both above what Brooklyn already handles.

Oh, and for the record, there is only one PA restoration in the U.S at this time, the NKP 190 project. The Smithsonian project has not been started yet, and probably will not be for many years.

Head end power did not exist in the 1940s and 1950s in any significant way. Cars were heated using steam, provided by steam generators aboard the power and distributed through a steam line under the cars in much the same way that air is distributed to the air brake system. Power to each car was...

UGLY???? Dirty, funky, trashed, thrashed, beat, rusty, corroded, grimy, greasy, black, sooty, tagged cars are what railroading *is*. How much more boring those cars would be clean!

Well for the record, there are cars from the 60's still in service. I'm not questioning you choosing to freelance the continuation of an F3A so much as why an F3A and a 60's era car can't be together...?

F3A? 1980s? They were built in the 1940s and largely were gone from service by the 80s. Unless it's a commuter F-unit from around Chicago -- if even they survived that long -- I doubt the C&NW would have had any alterations or paint dating from the 80s.... As for my era, as in the footer...

Yes, an obvious point I forgot to mention. Again, for rule of thumb, if the car has a roofwalk, it'll probably have friction bearing trucks, while if a can has no roofwalk or is built after about 1960, it will likely have roller bearing trucks.

If you're modeling the modern era, most of those (non-intermodal) cars will have 36" smooth back wheels, but a few will have 33". For example, centerbeams tend to have 33" wheels, as will chip gondolas and most gons in general. 50' standard height boxcars will also likely have 33" wheels, as...

Most modern manufacturers such as Athearn, Accurail, Walthers, etc..., metal wheels from Intermountain, P2K, or Kadee should pop right in. Regarding ribbed back wheels, note that ribbed wheels represent wheels that were made of cast iron, which would only be seen on an older car. Some people...

There will be a noise differance, unless you're also using, say, ply underneath the foam. That may deaden it a bit. One big thing is cork is far easier to hold track down on. It's also prototypical for bringing it up higher. You may also try Bill Darnaby's trick off the Maumee, and use unsplit...

I was referring to length, not weight. Older rail was not only lighter, it was also generally shorter. Stick lengths of 39' are generally a 20th century length -- rail length was determined by the average length of railcars capable of carrying it, and 40' gons or flats were uncommon prior to...

56' rail is awful light, and would probably have been rolled in the 1870s or 1880s. A more likely length of the time would be 30'. Rail will be piled haphazardly even when intended for re-use. A better indicator is if it's a single stick laying randomly, or a pile. Piles tend to be re-use rail...

Rare? Miles, Miles, Miles.... Remember what I keep telling you about the 70s? That was *normal* then. Matched sets of Fs were rare after the late 50s, and they begna to be mixed in with just about everything. Standard BN secondary power from the 70's through the early 80's was a mixmatch of F...

Blogger.com is the most used, and they'll host it for free.

July 2003 issue of Trains was all on Chicago. Multiple eras, many maps, tons of info. http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=TRN&MO=7&YR=2003&output=3&sort=A Great start and you should be able to get back issues directly from KPC.

<-- *Conrail fan cries*