what is the most popular type of locomotive on your layout

[doctorwayne]

are those former CN sw 12200s, the stack sure look like former CN units. they look great

Thanks, Stuart. I based them on the CNR units, but didn't bother with the light and number board package (offered by Juneco) or the increased capacity fuel tank (included in the Juneco kit), choosing instead to build them to suit my free-lance road. The locos (Athearn blue box) originally came with switcher trucks with metal sideframes. I upgraded them with new white metal Flexicoil sideframes from Juneco, but when Athearn released their version, in plastic, and much more well-detailed, I re-equipped all four locos with the new-style trucks and sideframes. Unfortunately, this resulted in a loss of tractive effort due to the lighter trucks, and I had to re-do the cast weights inside the locos. All were equipped with Mashima can motors and ran great with almost any of my locos, including steam. For small locos, they're fairly powerful, too: all four of them pulled a 71 car train around my layout, and, if you've seen pictures of the layout, you know how many curves and steep grades are involved.


Wayne