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For anyone interested, here is a pre-production image of the 3rd Rail FL9s from way back when we worked on these.  2012 I think?  Maybe early 2013.  I'll have to go back and look!  It was a fun project.  The New Haven version was especially satisfying as we got an actual color sample of the original correct color for Phase II FL9s which as a shade different than the Phase I FL9s.  That doesn't happen often in the modeling work. 

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GG1 4877 posted:

For anyone interested, here is a pre-production image of the 3rd Rail FL9s from way back when we worked on these.  2012 I think?  Maybe early 2013.  I'll have to go back and look!  It was a fun project.  The New Haven version was especially satisfying as we got an actual color sample of the original correct color for Phase II FL9s which as a shade different than the Phase I FL9s.  That doesn't happen often in the modeling work. 

IMG_0461

FL-9s were made only for the New Haven Railroad and only in the McGinnis paint scheme. All the rest of these liveries were applied to ex-New Haven locomotives by their subsequent owners.

MELGAR

MELGAR posted:
GG1 4877 posted:

For anyone interested, here is a pre-production image of the 3rd Rail FL9s from way back when we worked on these.  2012 I think?  Maybe early 2013.  I'll have to go back and look!  It was a fun project.  The New Haven version was especially satisfying as we got an actual color sample of the original correct color for Phase II FL9s which as a shade different than the Phase I FL9s.  That doesn't happen often in the modeling work. 

IMG_0461

FL-9s were made only for the New Haven Railroad and only in the McGinnis paint scheme. All the rest of these liveries were applied to ex-New Haven locomotives by their subsequent owners.

MELGAR

Completely understand that.  However, New Haven had two variations on the FL9 known as Phase I and Phase II based on order dates.  There were 30 of each (2000-2029 in 1956 and 1957 and 2030-2059 in 1960) for a total of 60 units.  When Penn Central assumed control in 1968 they were simply renumbered into the 5000 series, retaining their last two digits.  Amtrak purchased 12 from Conrail and Maine Eastern had two that were purchased from Amtrak.  The balance went to MTA and 10 to CDOT.  Two of MTA's were painted in a "heritage" scheme for New York Central.  The only paint schemes not done were Penn Central and Conrail Blue/Yellow.  I always found that attractive personally even if the yellow faded to white fairly quickly.

The 3rd Rail model represents, the Phase II variation (or the later order) of that locomotive regardless of original ownership.  Outside of the Overland brass 2 rail model, these are the only FL9s ever done in O scale.

Serenska posted:

Well, I'm still rummaging around my hard drive and I came up with two more photos of NH Budd cars.  Like the photos above, these were also taken on the Providence, Warren & Bristol RR right of way.

I could write about the PWBRR all day long, but I'll keep my comments brief.  A few interesting things about the PWBRR was that it was one of the first lines on which overhead electrification was deployed.  As part of this process, the New Haven dug a 1-mile long tunnel underneath the city of Providence, RI to enable the trains to pass under "College Hill" in Providence.

The first photo below shows another railfan excusion with a NH Budd car either emerging from or going in to the tunnel.  The photo is undated, but it must again be during the 1960s.  I read somewhere that these excursions were run about twice a year around this time.

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The next photo shows another excursion from around the same time.  The bridge in the photo is over the Seekonk River just to the east of Providence, RI.  You can see the catenary, formerly used for the electrified system over the RDCs.

PBWBuddCars

The Old Colony RR leased the PWBRR for 99 years beginning in 1891.  In 1893, the New Haven leased the entire Old Colony system, including the PWBRR, for 99 years.

Passenger service ended to Bristol, RI as of the 1938 hurricane.  Freight service ended to Bristol in 1973.  The entire line was abandoned in 1983 and is now a bike path.  Many vestiges of the railroad can still be seen.

Steven J. Serenska

One of the apartments I lived in in college was located above the portal of the other end of this tunnel on Benifit Street in Providence. At that time the tracks were not in use and a door welded over the end but I have walked through it a few times. The lift bridge over the Seeconk still exists but is locked in the up position. I have ridden the bike path many times. Thank you for posting the pics. 

Post-Christmas of '58, I came within a few dozen cases of Pilsner of getting him to spring for an unsold #2350 EP5 in a #2259 set from '57. The beer won (out as it did several times a day), but I always had my eye on the McGinnis scheme, even if I was just a kid from the Canadian prairie province of Alberta. Now I live on the coast and enjoy all the fallen flags and buy what I want and need. NH is still big in my house. I've got two regular #2350's, two NH shells (one I've restored) and maybe my treasure is a so-called 'salesman's sample' LIONEL NH shell that was decorated by Elliot Welz, but has an immense missing piece on one front. Elliot just used the good side to show. Pix 2-4 show my attempt at a strip and repaint of a damaged shell (not Elliot's). Reason for bad pix on the Elliot Welz Lionel salesman's copy is the unit is packed for now, so only had pix of 3 "tiff"'s...Amy's B:day NH #1 #2350 stripped shell #2 I had the separation #3 Real on bottom my repn't top #4 Welz 1 Welz 2 Welz 3  The NH is still big for many!

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  • Amy's B:day NH #1
  • #2350 stripped shell  #2
  • I had the separation #3
  • Real on bottom my repn't top #4
  • Welz 1
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  • Welz 3

In the most recent copies of "Classic Trains" and "Passenger Train Journal" the R&LHS is advertising a 32-page booklet "The wreck of The Federal Washington, D.C. ,January 15, 1953. The picture in the ad is of PRR GG1 motor #4876 laying over with a NH coach apparently still coupled to it and another NH coach standing beside them.  The placards on the coaches are the era "New York, New Haven and Hartford."

Earlier spoke to as a kid in the later 50's admiration  for the Lionel catalog image of the EP-5.

Well mind arrived August 2 with one of the pilots snapped off.

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Fixed it literally.

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Added some cars

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Will run with consist extended with a couple of Pennsy ribbed cars (very prototypical) and end with say the Adophus or JOMAR business cars.

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Photos show my New Haven Railroad R-1-a steam engine #3310 made by Lionel (6-28058) as offered in their 2000 Volume 2 catalog. The model itself depicts a USRA 4-8-2 Light Mountain type with Baker valve gear and built-up trailing truck. This configuration is correct for New Haven R-1 steam engines #3300 to #3309 and this model should have been numbered as such by Lionel. The real New Haven #3310 was an R-1-a – a similar locomotive but instead with Southern valve gear, cast Delta trailing truck, and sand dome above the second set of driving wheels.

New Haven R-1s were standard USRA designs built by ALCO’s Richmond Works in 1919 with 69-inch drivers. They had 27 x 30 cylinders, 200 psi boiler pressure, 53,900 pounds of tractive effort, and gave outstanding performance on the New Haven. In 1921, an R-1-a derailed while backing through a slip switch into Boston’s South Station after which its 4-8-2s were barred from the station. They continued in passenger service elsewhere but were used mostly on freights.

MELGAR

MELGAR_NHRR_R1A_3310_1MELGAR_NHRR_R1A_3310_4

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First photo shows what once was New Haven Railroad Signal Station 44 (renamed Berk Tower by Penn Central) at milepost 41.3 on the New Haven (now Metro-North) mainline in South Norwalk, Connecticut. This tower was built in 1896 and controlled the junction at which northbound trains branched off to Danbury, Connecticut and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Second photo shows the adjacent truss bridge which carries the 4-track mainline across the intersection of Main and Washington Streets in South Norwalk. Both photos taken while on a Metro-North train from Danbury to Norwalk on June 1, 2017.

MELGAR

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MELGAR posted:


Second photo shows the adjacent truss bridge which carries the 4-track mainline across the intersection of Main and Washington Streets in South Norwalk. Both photos taken while on a Metro-North train from Danbury to Norwalk on June 1, 2017.

MELGAR

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Thanks for these photos.

I used to live a short distance away from South Norwalk in Rowayton, CT.  Unlike every other resident of those two towns who would use I-95, when driving to "SONO", I enjoyed traveling near the water along "Old Trolley Way" and stopping near where the car barns were located.

One of my favorite parts of that bridge is located along the base.  The diagonal, vertical, and horizontal side struts are all supported by what looks like an operable hex "nut" about 1-2 feet in diameter.  The photo below shows one of these:

[Sorry; image removed to avoid potential copyright issues.  Contact me offline if you'd like a private copy.]

When passing over or under, I always imagine a large crescent wrench being used to tighten 'er up.

Steven J. Serenska

Last edited by Serenska

This bridge is an excellent example of structural design from the days long before computers. Both photos show "pinned connections" which are cylindrical pins secured at their ends by hex nuts. In such connections, the member is free to rotate about the pin. They were (and are) used because they result in zero bending moment about the axis of the pin, thereby eliminating bending stress in the member. Only tension/compression stresses remain. It appears that pinned connections are used throughout the South Norwalk truss bridge.

MELGAR

Serenska posted:
MELGAR posted:


Second photo shows the adjacent truss bridge which carries the 4-track mainline across the intersection of Main and Washington Streets in South Norwalk. Both photos taken while on a Metro-North train from Danbury to Norwalk on June 1, 2017.

MELGAR

MELGAR_SOUTH_NORWALK_TRUSS_BRIDGE

One of my favorite parts of that bridge is located along the base.  The diagonal, vertical, and horizontal side struts are all supported by would looks like an operable hex "nut" about 1-2 feet in diameter.   When passing over or under, I always imagine a large crescent wrench being used to tighten 'er up.  The photo below shows one of these:

July 30, 2019 MELGAR removed photo posted by Serenska.

Steven J. Serenska

 

Last edited by MELGAR

My MTH Premier New Haven Railroad ALCO PA locomotives #0760 and #0764 with PS-2 are about 15 years old. The New Haven purchased 10 PAs (class DER-3a) in 1948 for use on passenger trains. They had 2000 HP and were geared for 80 MPH, then re-geared for 90 MPH in 1953. They were superseded by the FL-9s after 1956. These MTH engines were part of an A-B-A set, but the New Haven never had any PA B-units.

MELGAR

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During the McGinnis presidency (1954 to January 1956), it became the policy of the New Haven Railroad to reduce electric operations and replace them with diesels wherever possible. After McGinnis resigned, George Alpert continued this policy until the New Haven filed for bankruptcy in 1961. Under Alpert, the railroad had very low cash reserves and was focused on saving money. The EP-5s and FL-9s were painted in the McGinnis scheme at the time they were manufactured, but very little repainting of the older electric locomotives was ever done. The EP-4s entered service in 1938. By the late 1950s, they were relegated to secondary trains and the Danbury branch. A McGinnis scheme painting diagram was prepared for the EP-4s but never implemented. The last of the EP-4s ran in 1961.

MELGAR

Note that the McGinnis paint scheme on Brian’s ALCO PA model (first photo) has the red band on top and the white band on the bottom. My MTH model (second photo) has the two colors reversed. The first two PAs repainted into the McGinnis scheme were done like Brian’s, but the white band on the bottom quickly became dirty in service. So, the colors were reversed on New Haven PAs that later received the McGinnis scheme. Other diesels, such as EMD FL-9s, Fairbanks-Morse CPA-24-5s and ALCO FAs, also had the red band on the bottom. EP-5 electrics had it on the top.

MELGAR

briansilvermustang posted:

MELGAR_NHRR_ALCO_PA_0760_0764_4

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MELGAR posted:

Note that the McGinnis paint scheme on Brian’s ALCO PA model (first photo) has the red band on top and the white band on the bottom. My MTH model (second photo) has the two colors reversed. The first two PAs repainted into the McGinnis scheme were done like Brian’s, but the white band on the bottom quickly became dirty in service. So, the colors were reversed on New Haven PAs that later received the McGinnis scheme. Other diesels, such as EMD FL-9s, Fairbanks-Morse CPA-24-5s and ALCO FAs, also had the red band on the bottom. EP-5 electrics had it on the top.

MELGAR

briansilvermustang posted:

 

MELGAR_NHRR_ALCO_PA_0760_0764_4

Here are my Lionel NH PA's... Luckily, they run on a meticulously maintained, spotless layout and will NEVER get dirty regardless of any amount of service     Personally, I think I prefer the white on the bottom.

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TWXNewHavenCustomLayout

Ha! Roger recently designed this layout and he and I just returned from Connecticut where I had the pleasure of seeing the real RR! A first time for me being from NM. This layout is currently on the McGowan Street Studio floor and the Traingineers are working on the table tops:

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Happy Tracks!

Traindame aka Dorcie Farkash
www.blog.traindame.com 
TW TrainWorx
2808 McGowan St.
Dallas, Texas  75203
(214) 634-2965

 

 

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  • TWXNewHavenCustomLayout
  • Table Top Floor Plan
  • Table Top Pieces
  • Table Top coming together
  • Table Top on work bench
  • Table top upside on studio floor

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