How Many of You Run Different Types of Diesels in a Train

The Reading routinely mixed brands of diesels. I followed prototypical practice with this set. Taken at an ATMA Spring Thaw meet a while ago. These are Weaver and MTH PS1/QSI equipped engines.

Chris

LVHR

I'll run steam double headed with a GG-1 and grin wide.

I don't even have two diesels of the same roadname; so they have never once matched.

They seldom match on the real tracks anymore anyhow. I'll see two black horse heads from time to time, but it seems a mishmash mostly and there is almost always an oddball name attached as well. (more paint than types maybe, I don't like the modern diesels much, they all look too much alike to me)

Yep, just like the real modern RR's. different types and different RR's leased locos.

I was told by an NYC guy, that the NYC did not do that until the locos went through a major rebuild when they about 15 years old.    Until then the MU connections were incompatible.    When the RR did the rebuild they went through making the MU systems compatible between various brands.

So based on that if other RRs took as long, if you model the 60s you could mix and match a lot.    But if you model 50s, you probably should keep brands together - EMD with EMD, Alco with Alco etc.

Conrail did it too.  But apparently the Alco unit here was on an Alco on the outside over an overhaul.

@jhz563 posted:

Conrail did it too.  But apparently the Alco unit here was on an Alco on the outside over an overhaul.

Was that Alco rebuilt with an EMD peime mover.  It has two exhaust stacks.

SP in the Houston area tended to put any sort of road power on any freight.  And when power short, there were so many SCL/L&N/Family Line power that the Houston Division looked as if it was taken over by them.

On my layout I have put a SP freight engine ahead of my Amtrak power saying an Amtrak engine had a power failure.

I probably do a little bit of both.  I mix roads and I mix engine types.  I don't mix eras, so I won't have a SD70 and a GP9 together as an example.  I also don't mix steam and diesel.  If it looks right to me, then I do it, or would consider it.

John

I currently only have two power units and one of them doesn't have couplers (Galloping Goose) so can't right now.  But when I do get more I'll run whatever I please.  It's my railroad and I make the rules! 

I mix Diesel types and road names like when I run Penn Central, I can mix in Pennsy, Reading, New Haven, NYC, EL, CNJ etc. 

If one models early CR, you could have a train with 7 units pulling, and one each with CR and one frpm each road that went in.

There is a classic photo in one of Don Ball's books that has a GG1 leading 3 RS-3s on a freight train.  PRR mixed and matched as required during the 60's on freight trains.  CNJ ran mismatched sets of their later EMD and Alco units as well.  The Baldwins and FMs didn't play as well with others.   

Penn Central grabbed whatever was running and sent them out.  I like to do the same.

Tom

I'm in the other camp.  My locomotive consists are "pure" because that's what Santa Fe did in the era I model.

However, I have been thinking about coupling an Erie Built unit and a couple of Alco PA1/PB1 units into a consist.  Santa Fe occasionally did that.  I'll need to know if they run at the same speed first, though.

@Number 90 posted:

I'm in the other camp.  My locomotive consists are "pure" because that's what Santa Fe did in the era I model.

However, I have been thinking about coupling an Erie Built unit and a couple of Alco PA1/PB1 units into a consist.  Santa Fe occasionally did that.  I'll need to know if they run at the same speed first, though.

I'm in the same camp. ATSF in the 1948-1951 time frame. All my F3s are ABBA consists, PAs ABA. 

On the TEXAS CHIEF, I have seen pictures of it being powered by an U30CG/U28CG combo.

And did some of their F45's have pass through steam lines so they could pinch hit on passenger trains?  That would have looked interesting if it did happen.

Yeah, it was common for CN to mix CLCs with MLWs and MLWs with GMDs.

I have never done so, as I have enough diesels of the same type and road name to construct my lash-ups. I have a bunch of the Lionel Legacy C-420s in various eastern roads that I would consider pairing up, but of course, they are all the same type.  

Pat

Back in the 70's, the SP ran mixed diesel consists all the time, whatever they needed to make up the power for the run, they would use them but if they had enough power to use all the same brand of units that was preferred.

GP 9, SW 9, SW 9 calf on point of a transfer freight. 

In the 1990s mixes of diesel power were commonplace on the Santa Fe, so yes...

GP30, GP38, C30-7:

B40-8, GP60, GP60M:

GP35, SD40R; C30-7:

Train Q-NYLA getting underway with a GE leading a mix of EMD power:

CPR had a thing for putting unmatched beasts at the head end. Also, I recall MR mag had a photo series years ago showing the opposite of matched stainless cars and ABBA sets. Think one showed a Rock Island consist with Es, Fs and mixed passenger cars with some RDCs spliced in for cutting out on branch lines. Run what you like, I say.

https://live.staticflickr.com/...974_91c728a701_k.jpg

I do from time to time depending on what I snag out of storage. Lately, I've been keeping my trains short so I don't have the need for paired large diesels -- usually just a pair of Geeps.

I've never done that.  It is interesting.  Did not know that about Miwaukee road

@Dominic Mazoch posted:

Was that Alco rebuilt with an EMD peime mover.  It has two exhaust stacks.

As I understand it,  yes that's exactly what was done. 

@Lou1985 posted:

I'm in the same camp. ATSF in the 1948-1951 time frame. All my F3s are ABBA consists, PAs ABA. 

My Pennsy themed layout’s time frame is 1949, and the Pennsy’s consists were pretty much “pure” at that time.  That is how I run my trains.

In the early 50s they started to mix diesel types, except for Baldwin diesels.  Those had incompatible air controls until they were rebuilt.

I have run a lionel gp-7, a lionel rs-3, and a k-line mp-15 together.  All are conventional control with the e units all fixed in the forward position. I  have to figure which engine goes on the lead,  which is 2nd and who brings up the rear because they all have different speeds. And the rs-3 has only one motor. 

I have run a MPC Preamble Express ahead of a Amtrak F3.  Same engine type as models.  Ues, the PE was on real life An E unit, now UP951.

I don't model any road or time frame, so I run it if I've got it.  This gets you some interesting mixes for sure, which I really enjoy.

Run mixed freight diesels

I generally run a dummy that matches the powered unit, but not always.

I remember this day some 5 years ago.  My son wanted to put every freight car we had at the time on the layout.  

BNSF SD-70, NS Dash-8, Reading GP-30 & GP35 used for power.

Then Christmas day later that year the addition of the Reading SD-70 ACE.  He loves to run the BNSF and NS together because we saw that combo one time when we were train watching.

If you have them, might as well run them.  It does not matter to us the roads names or era's.

Just Have Fun!

Ron

@jhz563 posted:

Conrail did it too.  But apparently the Alco unit here was on an Alco on the outside over an overhaul.

John

Do you know what “Ex” Railroad  that Alco could be?? 

@Tom Densel posted:

Penn Central grabbed whatever was running and sent them out.  I like to do the same.

 

Tom

Tom 

You have a mixed bag of everything I really enjoyed the video 

@Dominic Mazoch posted:

On the TEXAS CHIEF, I have seen pictures of it being powered by an U30CG/U28CG combo.

And did some of their F45's have pass through steam lines so they could pinch hit on passenger trains?  That would have looked interesting if it did happen.

It did.  

I rode the Super Chief from San Bernardino to Chicago in November, 1971, behind two F45's equipped with Automatic Train Stop and 90 MPH gearing, and two passenger F7B's that were modified to be fully functional* when controlled by the F45's.  The F7's had steam generators.

*  Dynamic brake control changed from field loop to potential line control and electropneumatic sand control installed.  Santa Fe did these modifications to about a dozen passenger F7B's.

Nov 71?  So it was actually an Amtrak train!

Technically yes, but as Tom knows much better than I could possibly, the Super Chief largely remained unchanged during the very early days of the Amtrak transition.  FP45's and F45s were leased by Amtrak on occasion along with the F units even after delivery began on the SDP40Fs. 

Correct me if I am wrong, but unlike many other roads, ATSF retained ownership of it's locomotives unlike other roads that donated or sold their junk equipment to Amtrak in the formative years.