New guy Here

S

spectre

New Member
Jan 11, 2002
2
0
1
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Hello to you all

First of all, I want to say, I am very new to this hobby and am interested in getting into N Guage trains ( I currently collect 1:400 and 1:500 aircraft)

ok, to my question...
is there any online resource to what locomotives are in service with what companys..also, what modern locomotives can be used with other locomotives? Driving cross country I see a lot of differient looking locomotives hooked together..and I can't really tell what is what ( Like I said..I am very new)


A little about myself,
I am 29 years old, and a Flight Engineer for the U.S. Air Force on the C-130H1 Hercules. Newly Married and always away from home :) but hey, thats my job :)

Thank you in advance,
Todd M. Allen
 
First off, welcome.

Second, depending what railroad you're interested in, you can usually find a roster somewhere on the web. You might want to start with this link, which has quite a few.

http://www.ole.net/~rcraig/MPR.html

If you're interested in some off-beat ones, you may have to ask here, or most railroads have historical societies where someone might know the answer.

Most any locomotive can be used with any other locomotive. Many railroads like to run similar units together, as tractive effort, etc., is more easily matched. I.e., GE with EMD, or even down to the models, like GP38-2's together in a consist. But again, with today's advanced technology, it's my understanding there's no real rules about this anymore - whatever's available is what's going out on the road.

Another website that might be handy is the following:

http://urbaneagle.com/data/RRdieselchrono.html

It's a chronology of all diesel locos through 1989. If you want anything newer than that, though, you're out of luck. Fortunately, I model 1980, so that website provided me all the info I needed.
 
Rule of thumb....

Welcome to the world's greatest hobby!

Starting out can be intimidating, but don't let it get you down.

A good place to start is choosing your favorite RailRoad and location..

A lot of times this comes from a person's own background.

If you lived near a railroad as a child, which one was it?

What year was it?

Mountains or prairies?

Do you like a particular paint job?

Do you prefer steam or Diesel?

Visit a local club, layout or hobby shop to get information, advice and inspiration.

The best thing to do is get a starter set with a circle of track, a power pack, a loco and a few cars. The sooner you get a train running the better.

The only thing that is constant in this hobby is change!

You can make changes as you go along.

Most of all, stick with the gauge and we'll give you all the help we can.
 
Hi Todd,
Well, as far as I can tell, you're a very fine and discriminating young gentleman. You've obviously picked the best service, you fly in one of our finest aircraft, and your choice of birthdays is unsurpassable!!!:D :D
Now, let's discuss your choice of scale......
:rolleyes:

And yeah, did you bring any beer?
(just trying to be helpful)
 
Thank you all for all the kind words of welcome.

I am interested in present day trains..Infact, yesterday durring my flight ( we flew a local) we kept crossing over the tracks here in Abilene. Lots of UP (one with a SP rednose leading the way)...I could not keep my eyes off of them....trying to see the differiences in the locomotives ( I am still learning how do identify them)....But I did grow up in San Diego...so I was subject to a lot of Santa Fe...

whats wrong with N Guage cidchase? I feel HO is too big for my limited space..

Beer..did someone say beer? Hell yeah! I got Guinness..and Shiner Bock
How about some Cigars also?

again, Thank you
 
Hi spectre,
Don't take me seriously. There's nothing wrong with N scale. Why, some of my best friends are N-scalers!!

BTW, my daughter & son-in-law are stationed at Grand Forks, ND.
He's on KC-135's she's in the finance office. He's working up to starting an N-scale layout, but he's on his second tour of the Gulf area and has limited time at home. Throw me a Shiner Bock...

From Olive Branch
 
Todd - Welcome aboard!!
There's nothing wrong with N that I can see. 'Course I switched to G because it was easier to see.. :D :D

That's the spirit - If you're gonna fly in a plane - it might as well be a BIG one!!!! :D :D :D

They are Beautiful "ladies"!!!! :D :D :cool: :D :D

~~ Mikey (Moderator)
 
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