Prior to the surprise purchase of the EMD SD-35 in the prior entry I was busy working on two locomotives for my Penn Central Fleet. The first one out of the shop is EMD GP30 #2232. The shell was stripped using 91% alcohol painted with rattle can black and lettered with Microscale decals.
A little background on the PC GP30s. The locomotive was introduced in 1961 and featured 2250 hp. Unmistakable with its bulging dynamic brake blister "shoulders" the GP30 was the first nationally accepted EMD second generation model. The NYC purchased 10 and the PRR 52. With or without dynamic brakes the big shoulders looked the same. On the PC the NYC 10 w/o dynamic brakes were assigned to the flat terrain around Collinwood. The PRR units with dynamic brakes were scattered around Morrisville, Enola and Conway. The GP30s were used in both symbol and secondary freight service.
GP30 freshly painted and awaiting lettering
2232 has been released from the paint shop. It features the red P as featured in the 1970 photo in
Penn Central Power color insert on page 126
The 2232 shown here coupled up to a PC GP40
PC GP40 3007, GP30 2232 and GP30 2218 haul a coal train towards Terminal Yard.
Some folks think the GP30 is one of the more unattractive locomotives but I've always liked them. They just seem to suggest power with their brawny look. I have Bachmann's version in Pennsy livery running on my layout. I like the red P logo on yours. Makes me wonder how many more fans the PC might have had if they had kept up with the alternative lettering designs instead of black and white. I know the red tended to fade though. Love the faded pink P's on some of the decal sheets. It was creative of the manufacturer to include them. I used one for a dummy loco once. PC 2232 looks great as part of the consist in the video!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, GP40 #3007 gets around! It has seen plenty of time on the Kings Port Division as well. I'll see if I can include a shot of it in my next railfan video.
Always impressed by your multi-unit consists and long trains John!
Thank you Ralph! Was not a fan of the GP30 at first. However they did grow on me and I have to say I really like their unique broad shouldered look. My GP30 fleet is all Bachmann. I painted and lettered 3 NYC and 1 PC. My 2 sons have 2 PRR and 1 B&O factory painted which I borrow from time to time. The red P does look nice. I also painted a PC GP40 # 3175 using the orange C. I like that as well.
DeleteGlad to see the 3007 racking up the miles! The 2232 was painted specifically to m.u. with #3007. As luck would have it 3007 is in the yard and 2232 with 3 other GP30s are on point of a long reefer train. I'll get that videoed and on the blog.
3 used clam shell coil cars have arrived on the property. All are weathered and look like they have seen some heavy service. Any tips on weathering the newly purchased clam shell coil cars? Yours look excellent. Here are the new arrivals.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lif-Like-HO-Classic-Set-of-3-Steel-Coil-Cars-Weatherd-See-Photos-No-Box-/291184599850?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item43cbf4632a
Nice score on eBay!
ReplyDeleteI use artists chalks for weathering. They are pretty forgiving. I imagine an India ink wash might look good on the silver covers but I chose to give them a somewhat rusty look with brown chalks. I highlighted some of the side panels with darker chalk so there is some variation.
I'll risk attaching three pics from photobucket despite its capricious nature. Hope you actually see three images of coil cars!
[IMG]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa145/Ralph59/005_zps5093192e.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa145/Ralph59/001_zps0b121cc0.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa145/Ralph59/008_zps72b08745.jpg[/IMG]
Hi Ralph,
DeleteThanks for the links. I tinkered with them a bit http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa145/Ralph59/001_zps0b121cc0.jpg
which opened the photo bucket album.
Thank you for the weathering tips. I'll give the chalks a try.
BTW a superb album of your layout. I'll be spending some time going thru the photos!
That's funny. I was hoping to find some way of sharing the album with you and I managed it unintentionally! :) You'll see several pages of photos of an evolving layout. I take so many because I post on two model railroad forums, the Big Blue Train Forum and The Whistle Post Forum. I like taking photos of my layout because it helps provide me with objective feedback and prompts improvements.
DeleteSo, I went back to check those pics...they seem to work if you highlight the link between the image tags (but don't include the tags) and then hit "open link". Orrrrr...maybe you'll see pics of some of my vacations! Who can be sure?!?
ReplyDelete