A diesel on display F
or 99.9 percent of us, a good looking, well-detailed model of a diesel locomotive on our rail- road is all we need to make us happy. If everything is in the right scale and in the right spot, if the grab irons are the right size, if the couplers look good, and if the model sits correctly on
its trucks, then we’re happy. We might even install a crew in the cab. Then there are those adventurous souls among us that not only have the extraordinary vision to try and take detailing to the next step, but the extraordinary talent–I assure you, I am not one of them–to take everything one step higher. These are the people who can look at an existing model and figure out how to detail it to the nth degree not only outside, but inside. These are true scratch- builders–and there is absolutely no shame in not being one–where even the thought of building a model with parts purchased at the local hobby shop is abhorrent. They are people who can look at the prototype and figure out how to make a model of it using empty soda cans, wire, and pieces of brass stock, and then go to their machine shop in the garage or basement and return weeks or months later with the most exquisitely detailed model of an SP 2-6-6-2 cab-ahead, or a Baltimore & Ohio wagon top boxcar, or the best Pennsylvania GG1 the world has ever seen. And, naturally, it will run perfectly.
I really admire these people and you should, too. They possess modeling skills the majority of us cannot even imagine. Think I’m kidding? My idea of success is assembling a “shake-the-box” plastic flat car kit and not having any parts left over. As a child I was thrilled that I managed to keep my Athearn Hi-F rubber band drive GP9 running. I kid you not. For the vast crowd somewhere in-between those super-creative modeling geniuses and the likes of my incredibly inept skills, may I suggest a modeling project that has the potential of fulfillment on a number of levels: a display locomotive. Over the decades, prototype locomotive builders and railroads have done this not only to satisfy public curiosity, but as a wonderful public relations tool. Lately, it can be used as a device to demonstrate to lawmakers and concerned citizens of their ef- forts to provide a cleaner environment. A primary example is Union Pacific SD59MX No. 9900. Internally (all that heavy duty piping and extra equipment) and externally (that lovely hump in the middle of the long hood) make it dif- ferent from the other two dozen SD59MX’s on the railroad roster. Used as a test bed for some of the latest equipment to meet federal Environmental Protection Agency rules for clean burning locomo- tives, it provides the UP with an excellent platform to see how the equipment works in the real world. By letting the world know about it–and it is important to do so–it again illustrates that to- day’s railroaders are working extremely hard to not only meet federal environmental standards, but also to be good neighbors. Union Pacific, as are all North American railroads, is fully committed to being that good neigh-
bor. To that end, locomotives the likes of the 9900 are washed, cleaned and spruced up for their pho- tographic moment in the sun. They are spotted in good light and have their doors flung open. Their photos are attached to press releases. They are made available for local newspapers, and television and radio stations, for an up front and personal experience with the press. They are, for a fleeting moment, media stars. After all, special events need special announcements, and something as im- portant as a new locomotive with equipment for a cleaner environment is one such example. For the modelers that chooses to duplicate these efforts in the scale of their choosing, one-off loco- motives such as the 9900 present their own fresh set of challenges. What modeling material should be used? Should new parts be purchased or created in the shop? Should styrene be used, or cast- ings, or re-purposed diet soda cans? And, how much time should be spent on this project–perhaps another month in the machine shop? Decisions, decisions, decisions. Me? No decisions and no problems. I’m going to pop open one of those diet soda cans, power up my model railroad and try not cause a derailment. For me that’s challenge enough.
DAVE MORAN photography/DAVID LUSTIG 40 APRIL 2013
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