Re: Warning to Ebay Users! Trainfred!!

Forgot about out LaBelle. They are very nice and have box cars and tank cars that fit your era as well as passenger cars. I would think with a little cutting and fixing you could shorten at least some of the passenger cars with out too much of a problem. Bruce

Trout Creek Engineering also has some kits for cars from the late

1800s, though none are Canadian prototypes.

Thanks Rick, I will check them out as well.

As for Canadian Roads, no one will have anything for the Credit Valley Railway, it only had 184 miles of track at their peak. Also they only existed from 1871-1883.

I will be doing all my own lettering for the CVR, that is why I am interested in the Accurail kits, they have "data only" models. Allowing me to add my own road name.

For the locomotives, they only had numbers on the locos and a simple "Credit Valley" on the tenders. Each 4-4-0 was named though. In the prototype section of my website you will see an example.

I can attest to this. I bought about half of Bill's stuff a few years back and, amazingly, he still has 90% of what he started with!

Apparently he has a magic attic, like that thing in Dr. Who - it's bigger on the inside than on the outside. ;-)

Peter King in NY

There's two problems with that approach, Will. The Accurail s/s boxcar is a USRA prototype dating from 1919, and the presentation of the data is in a style used after about 1926. With kits such as LaBelle, Westerfield and Trout Creek you are starting with a clean slate, so to speak. If you want to contact me direct, I have some older Master Car Builder's cyclopedias from the era you are interested in.

All the best,

Mark.

Thanks Mark.

I have the book, "Credit Valley Railway - The Third Giant", it goes into great detail about the Locomotives (gives a spec chart on all 19 of their

4-4-0s).

It covers the entire right-of-way, detailing each station, road crossing, and bridges. It goes into great depth about the politics of the business and contains a large chapter on "riding the train". Which is an indepth of where it goes and what you would see.

However, the part on rolling stock is sketchy. It only mentions that "in

1879, the company owned 100 cars and is expected to add in March 1880 an additional 6 engines, 350 freight cars and 18 passenger cars".

As to passenger service, the average daily consist was 2 baggage cars and 4 coaches.

They are standard gauge as the CVR accepted the standard set in 1874.

The company was formed in 1871, the "Line" was officially opened in Sept.

1879 and sold in 1883.

Will,

I got lucky on Alt.binaries.pictures.rail on an example of a period Link & pin setup. You might want to check out some of the other Bud Laws steam as well.

Bud Laws Saturday, January 31, 2004 1:48 AM

Re: US Northern Pacific Steam #1 & 5008

I sure hope this is readable when it comes out the other end. I hope you can link to it. If not let me know and I can email them to you.

Art

Will,

Take Mark up on the period Car Builder Encyclopedia information. It is doubtful if you will find a better source of info. I have never seen a copy back before the 1900s. Also, not sure how far back they went but there is a periodical that listed car types, capacities and/or lengths, quantity of cars owned, etc., for each railroad line in North America. That would be extremely good information to know before going to the Encyclopedia.

Take care,

Thanks Art already sent Mark an email.

Art, you are probably thinking of the "Official Railroad Equipment Register", commonly abbreviated as ORER. Like you, I am uncertain how far back they date, but I believe they go back at least to the turn of the 20th century. Al Westerfield used to offer old ORERs on CD, so perhaps he could provide some more information.

All the best,

Mark.

Even the Westerfield stuff does not go back to the 1880's. He does have a couple of Pressed Steel hoppers from the late 1890's and several cars from the early 1900's.

Al does offer some early CD's of the ORER. Check his web site for more information.

Howard modeling 1905 in Minnesota & Iowa

Howard, Mark and Art

I think I am going to have to go with a layout that "has the feel of" the

1880s.

I don't think I want to have hook and pin coupling and manual switches/turntables.

As long as it "feels" like it is in 1880, I will be happy. What is the term? "Poetic License"?

I wouldn't go with link and pin couplers, either. Too many potential dramas.

Yeah, I had one of those, but it was revoked. :-)

AKA: Common Sense?

Congrat's on great subject area. It looks really great on the screen. I certainly hope we get to see the real thing soon.

Just let me know if you need another swift kick and I will be happy to oblige!

Take care!

Art

Only thing needing a kick right now is my wallet. I still have some "company starting" debts to clear up. Things are looking good with the business though and I think I will be right on with my business plan to be stable as of June 1st.

Then I can start claiming some RR money. Maybe I should be more like George Laislaw, the Father of the Credit Valley Railroad. He got grants from each town to build the RR. Of course LBP don't have any money either.

(LBP = Little Bitty people).