Welcome to my Blog. The scope of this blog is to record the trials and tribulations of building and maintaining an HO scale layout, the trains and all of the ancillary projects that go with it. In 2017 New York Central subsidiary short line Empire Belt Railroad came into existence. The New York Central / Penn Central and Empire Belt are now the major railroads featured.
Empire Belt GP30s
The EBRR GP30s round a curve on the Empire City Belt Line.
"hello, my name is John and I'm a trainaholic post!
My local hobby shop, Trainmaster Models in Auburn Georgia, held its annual 50% off sale on used merchandise the weekend of May 4th to May 6th, 2023. With my self imposed 30 day probation and prohibition on model railroad purchases in January now expired I was at the store five minutes after its opening on May 4th.
Here are some of the train goodies I picked up at very attractive prices.
A Walthers Car Shop kit bought on speculation that I might be able to use it for a price I could not pass up. An MRC Control Master controller that I'll use for the upper level of the main layout. An Athearn non powered B&O GP35 for our combined fleet(previously shown in the GP35 follow up post). An Athearn powered AMD103 to help power my Amtrak Superliner train. The new AMD103 will give me a three unit consist with two powered units and one non powered unit.
Three BNFE Western Fruit Express 57' reefers to bring fresh western produce to Empire City. One Southern 65' mill gondola and one Frisco 52' mill gondola with steel coils to deliver steel products and serve the industries around the layout.
Two Santa Fe 45' trailers, a Penn Central tractor and trailer kit, four Flexi Van 20' containers, a Milwaukee Road covered hopper, a Kansas City Southern boxcar and two KCS 45' trailers.
A close up of the Flexi Van 20' containers.
Rounding out the purchases are a Walthers Southern 89' TOFC flatcar and a Walthers C&NW four truck depressed center flatcar kit.
A close up of the depressed center flatcar label.
Getting some of the new items into revenue service
I started working on the easiest items first. All items were sprayed with Testor's Dullcote prior to assembly and have extra weight added except for the TOFC flatcar.
The Flexi-Van containers received an ounce of weight.
The two ATSF 45' trailers under frames were painted flat black. The rims have been painted blue to match the Santa Fe lettering.
A 1/4 ounce of weight has been added over the wheels and kingpin. A completed car sits on a Walthers ATSF Twin 45 TOFC flatcar that I picked up at last year's 50% off sale.
The new Penn Central green 40' trailer rides on the new Southern 89' TOFC flatcar. I added a 1/4 ounce of weight over the wheels and kingpin and painted the rims green to match the trailer body. I like the way that looks and may do that to the other PC trailers.
The Penn Central tractor and trailer purchase gives me six PC tractors and five PC trailers. PC Tidbit: On June 7th, 1973 the PC won the Golden Freight Car Award for their Trail-Van Program. Having a good number of PC trailers on a TOFC train looks good to me!
The Athearn BB Milwaukee Road covered hopper came with Kadee #5 couplers. Proto 2000 metal wheelsets and one ounce of additional weight were added and the car is now in service.
An Athearn KCS plain jane boxcar that came with metal wheels and Kadee #5 couplers was basically ready to go out of the kit box. I added an ounce of additional weight and painted the wheel faces flat black.
Athearn BB Kansas City Southern 45' trailers are now in service. Dullcote, 1/4 ounce of weight above wheels and kingpin and red painted rims highlight these nice looking trailers. The KCS, the latest fallen flag, got a little love this day.
The Athearn Ready to Roll Southern 65' mill gondola handles long structural steel loadings like these steel trusses. Kadee #5 couplers replaced the stock plastic knuckle couplers and the wheel faces were painted burnt umber.
The Southern 65' gondola joins a Walthers EJ&E 65' mill gondola that I've had for awhile. Both can handle these long steel beams without the need for spacer cars. Note the height differences between the two cars.
The second Athearn Ready to Roll Gondola is this Frisco 52' Mill Gondola that came with steel coils and an ACI label. I brush painted the trucks and metal wheel faces burnt umber and sprayed the car with Dullcote.
The little steel coils that came with the car are nice but get lost inside the 52' gondola that should be able to handle more tonnage so I've added a pair of steel coils made by PC Ralph that dramatically enhances the cars look.. We'll close it for today. In future blog posts we'll take a look at bringing the new BNFE Western Fruit Express cars up to layout standards, putting them into "revenue service", building the C&NW four truck 75' depressed center flatcar and adding the Amtrak P42 to the fleet.
Final Thoughts and Comments
I usually start these posts with the "hello, my name is John and I'm a trainaholic, statement. However, I believe I showed some restraint this year as I spent less than at last years big sale. I'll take this as a win!
Also, I focused my rolling stock purchases on brands that had metal wheels and body mounted couplers that would need only minor upgrades such as Kadee couplers. The exception was the MILW covered hopper that had Kadee couplers and stock Delrin wheels.
While the 50% sale was on "used" merchandise most of the items purchased were still new in their respective boxes. The KCS and MILW cars were "used" but had been upgraded by a prior owner.
In Locomotive Spotlight #5-2023 we took a good look at both the prototype and the 1:87 scale models used on my layout. Today we'll take a look at some improvements to the models and add another GP35 to the fleet.
"5/12/78, CS GP35 3554" by OHFalcon72 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/2.0/jp/?ref=openverse.
After photographing the GP35 models I wasn't pleased with the numerals in the number boards of some of the GP35s and worked to correct that. I also added another GP35 to the combined fleet as I was putting the GP35 blog post together.
"4/26/76, CR GP35 3676 (ex. EL 2570)" by OHFalcon72 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/2.0/jp/?ref=openverse.
Here is an example of my discontent about the number board numerals. The black numbers on white background are prototypical for the EL GP35 #2570 as seen above but the word perfect adhesive mailing labels fall short when viewed up close. Maybe if I had painted the clear "glass" white it would look better. Too late for that now.
Improving Current GP35 Models
B&O GP35 #3508 number board numerals are what I wanted to add to the rest of the GP35 fleet and that B&O F7A. The B&O #3509 is the new engine mentioned earlier and has just received its numbers.
That's much better!!! I scrounged thru numerous decal packets to find appropriate sized and colored numerals.
The combined GP35 fleet looks much better now!! I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille!!!
A New GP35 Joins The Combined Fleet
So what are the odds that while working on the GP35 Locomotive Spotlight post my LHS would have a big sale and one of the first items I find is this Athearn BB GP35 dummy unit? Pretty good I'd say because here it is still new in the box.
A minor mistake on my part shows in the discolored area around the number boards. I like to install the metal handrails and spray them with Testor's Dullcote prior to brush painting them with hobby paint to match the color of the locomotive. I did this but should have added the numerals first as the Walthers Solvaset discolored the clear coat.
I mixed some blue and black hobby paint and painted over the discolored area. Under a spotlight you can discern the minor color difference which isn't readily visible under normal viewing conditions
Another stroke of good fortune is that this unit, number 3509 is one number off from B&O GP35 #3508 that is already in the fleet. Here it is awaiting final assembly. One ounce of weight and Kadee #5 couplers have been added.
Coupler check looks good to me. If you look closely you can see I even brush painted the wheel faces with burnt umber.
And another B&O GP35 lash up is born!!!
A Late Observation
By the way, did anyone notice that the APRR GP35s are riding on Alco / AAR type B trucks instead of the EMD Blomberg trucks? I was so busy admiring the paint scheme I missed this the first time around.
Photo by 1:1 Sir Neal. Used with permission.
Railroads known to have purchased GP35s with trade in Alco / AAR trucks were the GM&O, Southern, Ann Arbor, TP&W, Frisco and Soo Line.
"Gulf Mobile & Ohio EMD GP35 640" by Digital Rail Artist is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
Southern 2651 sporting Alco type B trucks.
"Southern 2651 (GP35)" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
Final Thoughts and Comments
When the spotlight shined on the GP35 combined fleet things that were once satisfactory were no longer satisfactory. Case in point were the numerals in the number boards. In 2010 the word perfect number board numerals were easy to make and a big plus for the many models that lacked them.
With thirteen years of painting, decal experience under my belt since then and a plethora of decals on hand I now had the skills and materials to upgrade these units so I took the time to make that happen. The GP35 fleet is better looking as a result.
Today the spotlight will shine on the Electro Motive Divisions GP35 that was manufactured between July 1963 and December 1965. Lets take a look at the prototype and models.
Prototype Info
The GP35 is a four axle diesel electric locomotive introduced in 1963 as the successor to the GP30 with a 16 cylinder 567D3 prime mover that was upgraded from 2,250 HP to 2,500 HP.
EMD once again changed the face of dieseldom with the introduction of the spartan cab GP35 that would be their standard cab for the next twenty years. Here is a very colorful GP35 Demonstrator #5654 and coupled to a DD35B which was basically two GP35s on a long frame with four axle trucks. The motive power horsepower race is definitely on!!!
"GM-GP35" by railsr4me is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/2.0/jp/?ref=openverse.
EMD GP35-DD35 Demo / New York Central Tidbit
David R. Sweetland reports in his book New York Central Lightning Stripes part 2 that early in 1964 EMD demonstrated its 5,000 HP DD35 B unit on the New York Central. Working eastbound from Collinwood GP35 #5654(above) with two DD35s and another GP35 left with tonnage for Selkirk. The DD35s never arrived because they derailed at Tribes Hill, NY, west of Amsterdam. The NYC passed on the DD wheel arrangement but purchased thirty one GP35s.
GP35 Production
EMD built a total of 1,334 GP35s. 1,251 for US railroads, 26 for Canadian railroads and 57 for Mexican railroads making this a big seller to say the least and improving on the 938 predecessor GP30 units sold.
The GP35s came with various options like dynamic brakes. The Erie Lackawanna bought 36 units with dynamic brakes like the 2562 below. The EL units were numbered 2551-2586. The EL GP35s would be conveyed to Conrail on April 1st, 1976 and renumbered 3657-3692.
"Erie Lackawanna EMD GP35 2562" by Digital Rail Artist is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
The RF&P took possession of 8 GP35s without dynamic brakes numbered 111-118 and later renumbered 131-138. The RF&P GP35s would go to CSX when the RF&P became part of that RR and and then serve various short line railroads.
"Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad 135 (GP35), 91 (SW1500), and another Geep in Alexandria, VA on April 29, 1969" by railfan 44 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/?ref=openverse.
The Southern Railway and subsidiaries purchased 78 GP35s with high hoods. The letter "W" after the road number was a check digit for the Southern Railways computer system entries. A good spotting feature of the GP35 is the fan arrangement of two large fans and a smaller one in between as seen below. The SOU GP35s would become part of the Norfolk Southern fleet in 1982 and a number of them would later end up with Guilford Transportation's Springfield Terminal RR.
"Southern 2651 (GP35)" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
The Chicago & Northwestern purchased 43 GP35s numbered 824-866. The 844 below is part of a small group of CNW GP35s that had extra large fuel tanks and torpedo tube air tanks on top of the long hood.
"Chicago & Northwestern EMD GP35 844" by Digital Rail Artist is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
The NdeM ordered 55 GP35s numbered 8200-8254. NdeM 8215-8229 were passenger equipped with high short hoods as seen below on the 8225. That's a nice looking engine.
"N de M GP35 8225 idling at edge od San Luis Potosi, S.L.P., Mexico passenger ststion. Takewn from Train 2, the Aguila Azteca as it backed into the station on September 7, 1966" by railfan 44 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/?ref=openverse.
The Pennsylvania RR purchased 119 GP35s numbered 2252-2370. These would be the last four axle road switchers the PRR would purchase.
"PRR 2269 (GP35) in Logansport, IN Yards, November 25, 1966" by railfan 44 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/?ref=openverse.
Ex PRR 2308 in full Penn Central paint. The 2308 would eventually become Conrail 2308 on April 1st, 1976.
"PC 2308 (GP35) at 59th Street Yard, Chicago, IL on April 9, 1970" by railfan 44 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/?ref=openverse.
Penn Central GP35 2250 along with a GE U25B in NYC paint and another EMD hustle a Flexi Van train north of Altoona, PA in 1970.
"Penn Central GP35 2250 north of Altoona, PA on July 13, 1970" by railfan 44 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0//?ref=openverse.
PC GP35 2366 and what looks like six mates including a GP30 power a TOFC train in this undated photo. Is this big lash up for speeding the priority train to its destination, adding power to climb grades along the way, dead heading units to cover other trains needing power or wasteful dispatching hoping enough would stay online to make it to its destination and not block a hot mainline?
"File:Hugh llewelyn 2366 (5961222912).jpg" by Hugh Llewelyn is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.
Whatever the reason for the seven unit lash up they are fun to run on the layout! Check out my "Having fun with Wasteful Dispatching" blogpost link at the bottom of the page for more on these big lash ups.
The Chessie System would roster a total of 88 GP35s purchased by their component railroads. (B&O 41, C&O 42, WM 5). Many would end up on the CSX roster in 1980 and some would have extended lives as road slugs.
"Chessie System Chesapeake & Ohio C&O 3531 (GP35)" by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.
BNSF GP35 2577 looking good in its ATSF paint. The ATSF purchased 131 GP35s. BN predecessor roads GN and CB&Q purchased 24 and 22 units respectively.
"File:BNSF 2577 EMD GP35.jpg" by terry cantrell is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.
The Models
The bulk of the GP35 models in the combined fleets of my sons and I are the older Athearn blue box wide body models with gold flywheel motors. These are straight DC units that have proven to be rugged and reliable for more than two decades.
NYC GP35 #2399 greets older brother GP30 #2197 as it enters Terminal Yard. I painted and lettered the 2399 in 2010 as NYC 2397 and renumbered it to prototype number 2399 in 2019. The 2399 was almost repainted with Penn Central lettering and a PC herald as I had bad information that NONE of the NYC GP35s had dynamic brakes and that started to bother me.
The prototype NYC 2399 was originally EMDX 5661/1964 that was displayed at the 1964 /1965 Worlds Fair in Flushing NY. In 1965 EMDX 1964 became EMDX 1965. At the end of the fair the 1965 was sold to the New York Central.
The 2399 originally numbered 6155 was the highest numbered of the thirty one NYC GP35s(6125-6155). The NYC GP35s were renumbered in 1966 for the pending merger with the PRR(2369-2399). The 6155/2399 was the only NYC GP35 to have dynamic brakes. The 2399 would retain this number thru the PC and Conrail.
Athearn Blue Box Power. Simple and effective.
There's a new engine in town!!! The 2399 joins older brother EMDs in the Terminal Yard engine terminal. The GP20, GP30s and 2399 have post 1966 road numbers.
PRR GP35 #2320 is a factory painted Bachmann Plus model that had its poor running motor removed and is now a free rolling unit. The PRR purchased 119 GP35s (2252-2370).
The free running PRR GP35 sees a lot of action in various consists. The GP35s were the last four axle road switchers purchased by the PRR as they turned to six axle power starting with forty SD35s in 1965.
I painted and lettered Penn Central #2252 in 2012. The maintenance base lettering below the 2252 on the cab reads Harmon reflecting my early preference to base my locomotives on the New York Central's Hudson Line with no consideration for prototype fidelity.
The ex PRR 2252 is one of a group of GP35s that wore the red P. The 2252 was actually based at Enola Yard.
Also in 2012 I painted and lettered Penn Central GP35 #2327 with the traditional white PC emblem.
The 2327 was also maintenance based at Enola.
PC GP35 #2294 is a factory painted Bachmann model and part of 1:1 Sir Neal's 1:87 scale PC fleet. The 2294 was lensed at the APRR's Rock Ridge Yard in Rock Ridge NJ and can be seen in our Penn Central Car Movements virtual operations.
Photo by 1:1 Sir Neal. Used with permission.
B&O GP35 #3543 and a GP40 in Chessie paint leads a train of covered hoppers. I can do this with a pair of GP35s!!
"6/3/78, Chessie System GP35 3543" by OHFalcon72 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/2.0/jp/?ref=openverse.
BINO GP35 #3508 is a factory painted Athearn BB unit that joined the fleet several years ago. I added the number board numerals and painted the handrails blue and yellow.
Adding numerals to the number boards is a good way to add some prototypical detail to older locomotives not so equipped.
B&O GP34 #3547 is one of my first locomotive purchases and has been in the fleet for about thirty years. I added the numerals to the number boards using Microsoft word and mail labels.
The Chessie System came to be in 1972 with the merger of three railroads, the B&O, C&O and WM. The colorful corporate paint scheme is one of my favorites and I like that each component road retained their identity with large reporting marks displayed on the cab sides.
Erie Lackawanna GP35 #2570 is a factory painted Athearn BB unit that has been in the combined fleet for around 25 years. I added the prototypical black numerals on white number boards using the word and mailing labels. This close up tells me I should revisit this...
The EL rostered 36 GP35s (2551-2586). They would be conveyed to Conrail on April 1st, 1976 and renumbered (3657-3692).
Summer of '76. EL GP35 2564 leads ex PC/ NYC GP35 2398 and a GE U Boat on a hotshot Trail Van train on August 10th, 1976. We can approximate this lash up!
"8/10/76, CR(EL) GP35 2564" by OHFalcon72 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/2.0/jp/?ref=openverse.
The EL 2570 leads PC 2327 and a U Boat in a Summer of '76 consist.
Conrail GP35 #3635 is a factory painted Athearn BB model that has been part of the fleet for over 25 years. CR #3635 in ex RDG #3635.
On April 1st, 1976 the Reading Company became part of Conrail and conveyed 37 GP35s (3620-3656) to the newly formed savior of the Northeast. The ex RDG units would be retain their RDG numbers.
It's another Summer of '76 lash up! I've always liked the Conrail rainbow era and these GP35s convey that quite nicely on the layout.
Second hand market for the EMD GP35s
When the 1:87 scale Atlantic Pacific Railroad acquired a short line railroad in South Florida 1:1 Sir Neal looked at the used locomotive market and authorized the purchase of four Bachmann EMD GP35s (361-364) to meet the power needs of this new subsidiary.
The second hand GP35s were sent to a custom model painter in Dedham, Mass to be painted into the APRR corporate colors and be upgraded to FRA class 1 standards.
APRR 361 is fresh out of the paint shop and sits in Rock Ridge Yard awaiting inspection by APRR management.
Photo by 1:1 Sir Neal. Used with permission.
The APRR GP35s are Bachmann models that have been upgraded with not only a beautiful paint scheme but with the addition of beacon lights and whip radio antennas.
Photo by 1:1 Sir Neal. Used with permission.
All of the APRR GP35s proudly display Operation Life Saver and Zero Injuries decals.
Photo by 1:1 Sir Neal. Used with permission.
The APRR GP35s reflect a corporate commitment to present the railroad in the best possible terms to potential shippers and undertaking the expense of the repainting and upgrades tells potential customers this railroad means business and is in it for the long haul. (no pun intended)
Photo by 1:1 Sir Neal. Used with permission.
The EMD GP35s in action around the layout
Final thoughts and comments
The EMD GP35s introduced in 1963 were a big seller and arrived at a turbulent time when many railroads sought mergers and fought for their very lives. The GP35s performed well for over twenty years often for several different railroads.
The GP35 ushered in the standard EMD look that the company would use on subsequent locomotives for twenty years. EMDs original GP40x, EMD 433A, with new 645 prime mover was built on the GP35 frame. The New York Central impressed with the GP35 and GP40x experimental unit signed up for 110 preproduction GP40s.
The Athearn BB models of our combined fleet have been simple and reliable running locomotives for well over two decades. Their life span fits in perfectly with my preferred eras and their size makes them perfect for the layout.
Looking at some of the close up photos of our GP35 models tells me they need some upgrading, especially the number boards. That work is under way and will be reported in a future blog post.
A PC GP35 consist enters Terminal Yard and encounters younger brothers PC GP40 #3175 and GP38-2 #8024.
We'll take a look at these best sellers in future locomotive spotlights.
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