O Gauge C&NW

I'll join in on this. Running at Chicagoland Lionel Railroad Club.

Michael, I’d like to see your photos, but at least on my iPad, they don’t appear. The screen says, “Image Not Found.” Best, Keith Levine

Here's some MPC Lionel.

Chicago Lionel Railroad Club 1996 offering.

My C&NW E-4 Hudson #4008 is an MTH Premier model (20-3034-1) with PS-1 that was marketed in 1999. MTH has made some exceptional, high-quality die-cast models.

MELGAR

Awesome pics. I can see I'm not alone!

I'm Burlington guy, (CB&Q) and although I do not have any CNW models, I have always thought that the paint scheme was very attractive. And the streamlined steam engines, especially the E4 Hudson, would be one that I would like to have.

I do have some CNW items, the attached print by  IAW Johnson that my dad got back in the late 1940's. Two tall globe lanterns, one with a wooden handle and the other with a twist off font.

RAY

Ray, That print is so cool !!  Jealous.

Missing an image of the H1 (4-8-4) from Sunset, but here is my small sampling of CNW.

Same as Melgar's above with blackened drivers and upgraded to TMCC.

Very little (none) CNW passenger equipment is available so we have make it ourselves. This car was part of a special run of GGD painted to CNW by JD's (now out of business). The four car set was all coaches so I made this tail end car by adding markers and Tomar drumhead.

CNW E6 from Sunset's latest run. It looks like I will have to make my own passenger consist from 401 Models. Just have not had time (or money) to start this project. It is an AA unit. The Illinois Central is a Lionel AA, also from the last E6 run.

Charlie

@Charlie posted:

It looks like I will have to make my own passenger consist from 401 Models. Just have not had time (or money) to start this project......

Charlie

Funny you mention.  I just pulled the trigger on a huge order with Eddy!! Thanks for the contact info.

Thrilled at the prospect of super accurate CNW passenger cars for my Yellow Jacket (Minnesota 400) and extra cars (for a Twin Cities 400) in case Scott does a 2nd E6 run in the future.

Scheduling the project budget now and also working to locate enough Atlas 7071 2R trucks.  (Yikes! $$$ custom hand made aluminum passenger cars).

He is a super cool guy.  Total CNW nut.

Will

@WITZ 41 posted:

Funny you mention.  I just pulled the trigger on a huge order with Eddy!! Thanks for the contact info.

Thrilled at the prospect of super accurate CNW passenger cars for my Yellow Jacket (Minnesota 400) and extra cars (for a Twin Cities 400) in case Scott does a 2nd E6 run in the future.

Scheduling the project budget now and also working to locate enough Atlas 7071 2R trucks.  (Yikes! $$$ custom hand made aluminum passenger cars).

He is a super cool guy.  Total CNW nut.

Will

Fantastic news Will. I will move forward with 401 models as well, just not right now. So happy guys like Eddy are still willing to make custom items for us.

Good luck with the build and keep us posted.

Charlie

I like C&NW so here are some pictures. AC4400CW, Dash9, Dash8, SD60 plus some cars and a caboose

Looks like several of us took the bait when MTH made these. Mine is also a PS -1 locomotive.

Also have the complete 7 car matching passenger train?

My near latest addition,  a Weaver ALCO C-628 #6701, just a few days ago I got its twin brother, #6700.

Have 9, maybe 10 CNW locomotives total.

Lionel's FM H10-44, diecast frame and body, weighs a ton, TMCC equipped,  Pullmor motor.

@WITZ 41 posted:

Well, it's time to admit I have a sickness.  Not only am I infected with the U.P.  but it seems I have a fever for the C&NW too.

Yellow fever.

I married a gal that loves the green and gold, our son followed her footsteps. His first train his grandpa bought him for Christmas  was a CNW GP-7, 35 years ago, still have it and have been adding to the roster since then. (I'm a Blue and Orange guy myself. )

Always liked the early paint scheme

Me too, the post war paint schemes had class.

Some of my CNW engines

@third rail posted:

Me too, the post war paint schemes had class.

Agreed!

@cnw4ever posted:

Some of my CNW engines

I'd like to see some closer shots of that DL-109.....

@WITZ 41 posted:

I'd like to see some closer shots of that DL-109.....

Here you go

I did a senior college photo project long before dig cameras. I shot the C&NW yard at night, Sioux City, IA, at about -10 zero. I got a good grade on it and as I remember the brakeman helped me set up some of the photos telling the engineer where I wanter the loco in relation to the cars. Try doing that now.

Dick

Nice Bi-level cars!!!!

Familiar to me, having grown up walking distance to the Lombard station on the Galena/West line.

CNW4ever, thanks for the closer pics.

Was MTH the only manufacturer to offer a CNW Alco DL?

@WITZ 41 posted:

Nice Bi-level cars!!!!

Familiar to me, having grown up walking distance to the Lombard station on the Galena/West line.

CNW4ever, thanks for the closer pics.

Was MTH the only manufacturer to offer a CNW Alco DL?

To my knowledge, yes only MTH offered the DL109.  I have the Proto 2 version from 2003.  In 2020 they offered a Proto 3 version.

I've had this steamer sitting unopened, new in box since I bought it.  Picked it up for a great deal.

Having started this thread I figured I'd better get it out for some photos and also a quick shake down for condition and testing. Also figured I need to pull out the tender battery for long term storage.

3rd Rail C&NW H-1 4-8-4 Northern (3R)

Whoa mama!  What a locomotive!!!

Details are fantastic! Sound is strong and clear.

And the fine details!  Nozzles on sand lines to the drivers.

Great back head details too....

3rd Rail did a great job on the H-1

My few gripes:

The hinges on the back of cab platform are very delicate.

Wire harness plug is a pain to insert and remove (*insert most locomotives here)

And finally....

Now what am I going to pull behind it?!

Check your stored locomotives. Be sure to pull the batteries if you haven't already.

Boy, am I glad that I did.......

No damage to the locomotive.  The connection had actually popped off the battery on its own. No corrosion on the wire piece.

@WITZ 41 posted:

I've had this steamer sitting unopened, new in box since I bought it.  Picked it up for a great deal.

Having started this thread I figured I'd better get it out for some photos and also a quick shake down for condition and testing. Also figured I need to pull out the tender battery for long term storage.

3rd Rail C&NW H-1 4-8-4 Northern (3R)

Whoa mama!  What a locomotive!!!

My few gripes:

The hinges on the back of cab platform are very delicate.

Wire harness plug is a pain to insert and remove (*insert most locomotives here)

And finally....

Now what am I going to pull behind it?!

Hey Will, all good points and I agree. There has to be a better way to make the connection between tender and locomotive. I feel sorry especially for the older guys that have lost dexterity and breaking the platform is all but a forgone conclusion that will happen.

I have #3016 and agree on what to pull. Since I am mostly a passenger train type person, I will have to make up my own mixed passenger train with GGD coaches and Pullmans as they become available on the secondary market. Since Protocraft now has decals I can buy just about any GGD car and paint is Pullman green and slap some decals on.

Charlie

These are photos of Alf Modine's 2RS C&NW layout taken at O Scale West in 2015.  This layout occupied about 3/4 of a two car garage.  A narrow walkway and a workbench filled the rest of the space.  As best that I can remember, the trolley wire actually worked.  You will see in some of the photos that the interurban crosses the mainline.  Collisions happened unless the engineers were careful.

Sadly, Alf passed away a couple of years ago.  I don't know if the layout still exists.  NH Joe

Also a CNW fan, though I've never set foot in CNW territory (except a few minutes at the airport on my way t York a few years ago). Over the years, I've acquired quite a few CNW items. Here are some shots taken on the club layout over the past decade:

MTH CNW AC4400. I've since acquired another unit with scale wheels and will eventually fix the pilots on this 3-rail unit

The first-issue MTH CNW AGEIR box cab. Based on the photos I've been able to find the unit should have been black, but I like it just the same. Bought another one a couple of years ago when they were re-released. At some point I'll remove the 3-rail couplers, clean up the pilots and install Kadees.

A pair of RS27's -- testing out the newly-installed turntable.

A set of MTH CNW FT's in freight paint. At some point I'll drawbar the A-B pairs and replace the diaphragms.

I also have a collection of UP Heritage units. I keep wondering what the CNW paint scheme would look like had they taken delivery of the SD90's around the time of the "merger" with UP.

MTH F7 ABBA set with scale wheels.

A lone GP38-2 testing the newly-completed upper branch/staging loop. Also with scale wheels.

A trio of scale-wheeled GP38-2's

MTH C40-8 conventional cab with scale wheels.

Sunset/3rd Rail SD9. When sunset released these, I gave my MTH S9 pair to one of my apprentices at the club.

Alf Modine-inspired Sunset/3rd Rail H1 Northern. After much searching I was able to find a set of MTH Heavyweights. Still searching for the sleeper-diner pair, though I was able to get hold of the RPO. Occasionally one of the H1's shows up on eBay. I don't run it much at the club because it's delicate -- usually bring it out for an Open House run.

One of the GP38-2's with some 2-railed MTH CNW covered gondolas.

A pair of weathered MTH scale-wheeled C44-9W's

MTH E4 Hudson passenger set. I purchased the add-on cars. I even bought the full dome car, though CNW didn't get one until after they were out of the passenger business (I think they got it from Milwaukee Road for the business train). I keep watching eBay for a Yellow Jacket Pacific at a reasonable price.

Here's a couple of photos of my newest acquisitions,  a pair of Weaver ALCO Century 628's with an ore drag in the hole waiting for a couple of CNW  Doodlebugs to pass after clearing the station.

Next we have an ALCO S2 hauling a hot metal freight from the blast furnace to the open hearth building for conversion to steel.

Lastly a CNW FM H10-44 with empty gondolas for the scrap yard.

Enjoy my pictures.

When I was a teenager, I use to throw snowballs at the Bi-Levels in the winter

Many thanks to Jeff S for his repaint of my previously Zito yellow Lionel F unit.

I bought this RS1 a long time age from my LHS it was on consignment and had no box but I really liked the paint scheme and I do like RS1s !

The MTH CNW crusader

Awesome CNW photos!  Thanks to all for sharing.

Here's a pair of CNW cars in the ugliest shade of green ever painted. 

This is a proper green car.

C&NW box truck by Corgi.

Wow guys. I'm away for a couple days and the passion comes out.  Great pics. Thanks for posting.

Matt,   I was wondering when you'd chime in.  Thanks for joining.

Bill,   I agree about the green!

Chris,   your Crusader is proof that a timeless color scheme looks fantastic on anything.

John,   love the Corgi truck.

Bob,   I have that same RS-1 I picked up a 3R with no box and broken couplers for a hundred bucks.  I bought the fixed pilot pieces and 2R couplers direct from Atlas and I'm going to 3RS it.  When I get to that project I'll post progress here.

Sorry if I missed any of you...

********* C&NW *********

Currently working on about a dozen Atlas O 6222 CNW stock cars.  Best steal in O gauge. Older Austrian made cars. Fantastic detail and surprisingly smooth runners even with their goofy plastic wheels, trucks, couplers.  I've picked them all up for $10-$20 a piece.

Quick dollup of nail polish remover on a Q-tip to remove the board graphics.  I replace and renumber with decals from Tichy Train group on ends and sides.  I don't mess with the smaller painted car info.  Replace the wheels in the existing plastic trucks and couplers with whatever I have on hand.  Dust decals with Dullcote.

Presto-change-o and I'll have a super inexpensive nicely detailed consist of fun cars to run behind the RS-1.  Not perfect, but lots of fun.  The decals are not as bright in reality.  The decals seem to reflect light the digital camera picks up, making them appear brighter than they really are.

a few pics.....

before and after....

Or.....you could buy new cars, from the exact same tooling, now in the Trainman line with better wheel sets and couplers for $70+ bucks.

Witz,

I like the stock cars. Nice job on the renumbering. I have a bunch of Weaver CNW cars that I have been 3RS each one. Added Kadee couplers to them and about 9-10 ounces of weight to bring them up to NMRA standards. Roll much better.

(Whole lot more where these came from )

Since I still have lionel couplers on my locomotives,  I made transition cars with a kadee on one end and a Lionel on the other.

Nice tinplate gftiv.  I Haven't seen those before!

All stunning!  Thanks for the photo tour.  I have no scenery to compare, but let me see if I have a couple shots to share.  For sure the H-16-66 is ready - sand-cast brass with CLW trucks and custom decals.

#2 and 3 were part of a group of models I did for Jim Seacrest.  I forget just exactly why we stole the trucks from the SD-9, but the paint was spectacular (MTH).  The E7 is an Overland that needed paint.  Black stripe was done with a Pilot pen.

I should add the baby Trainmasters - Jim had me shorten a couple of SP SD9s and repaint them - and convert to 2-rail.  Raoul Martin of NWSL helped by supplying kits for 2-railing that made the conversion almost trivial.

Bob, great pics! Thanks for joining in. Jim did have quite an awesome collection.  I'm glad that it lives on with so many who appreciate it.

A new book arrived today....

Just picked up this NOS pair of Williams RDC cars off the bay.  

With GGD's current aluminum car maker, they can do smaller runs down to 60 sets now or about 300 or so cars.  I'd lobby Scott for a correct set of streamlined cars for the 400.  While there are few ahead in line, pre-orders tend to move priorities.  The plastic heavyweight cars require higher MOU thresholds due to tooling being involved.  However, as I recall the Harriman cars that were released a few years back had some painted for C&NW.  At least I remember doing the graphics :-)

For the record I do own a C&NW K-Line GP38-2.  It came out of the collection of a now deceased friend and founding member of Desert Division TCA when his collection of largely C&NW and MILW went to auction.

A little late for that, after asking for years, I'd have to pass. That would be my luck, having just committed to a small fortune with Eddy for a series of accurate cars from 401 Models.

Nice Trainmasters.  Even nicer layout and hall.

@WITZ 41 posted:

A little late for that, after asking for years, I'd have to pass. That would be my luck, having just committed to a small fortune with Eddy for a series of accurate cars from 401 Models.

Will, let us know when you get your kits. I would be interested in exchanging tips on how to best build the cars/set. Did you take a look at Protocrafts new decals for the CNW passenger cars yet? My will be used in a 3 rail environment so the wheels/trucks will just be generic. Did Eddy give you an update on the observation car? ETA and/or price?

Thanks

Charlie

@Charlie posted:

Will, let us know when you get your kits. I would be interested in exchanging tips on how to best build the cars/set.....

.....Did Eddy give you an update on the observation car? ETA and/or price?

Absolutely.

Based on Eddy's recommendation, when I asked for his suggestion on trucks, I'm currently trying to locate enough Atlas 7071 2R black California Zephyr trucks.  I have found enough for 4 cars.  I need 7 more pairs. (1 is extra in anticipation of the possible Parlor Observation car in the future.) I really don't want to have to mess with painting silver ones (7070) if I can help it.  Atlas was responsive to my inquiry, but unfortunately no ETA on more any time soon. If you are going 3-rail maybe you can order trucks/parts from Lionel's new 21" cars??

I'm researching as much as I can on my own. I'm working on getting floor layout drawings of the particular cars etc.

Eddy's a super knowledgeable guy.  Especially in the particulars of each named 400, period paint schemes, and minor details.  He seemed genuinely excited about the project.  I might actually try to meet him halfway sometime or for delivery. Maybe at the Rockford O Scalers.  He spoke highly of them.  Or maybe the March Show.

(I laugh every time the March Show gets mentioned because I lived in Lombard most of my life and didn't get back into trains until after I moved away!)

Going for the yellow and green with black striping and silver-white lettering to match the Pacific I have for a Minnesota 400.  Plus extra cars if I want to run a longer Twin Cities 400.  Which would be appropriate for your E6 Charlie.

I saw a picture of the parlor observation prototype he's developing. All I have to say is I am VERY EXCITED.  He is still working out the design.  Maybe sometime next year?  We'll see.

Payment goes out to him this Friday.  Should have more details after that. These will definitely be prestige pieces for my collection.

I will share more as I can.

Will

Latest locomotive to enter the CNW  fold.

This is an MTH Virginian  premier 0-8-0 that was Frankensteined. Replaced the original tender with one from a Railking CNW  switcher. New tender was longer than the VGN  but hey, it worked.

I don't own any CNW equipment at the moment, but I would love to get one of the second gen EMD units (preferably an SD40-2) with the nose mounted "gong bell" if someone made it.

I mostly have C&NW, UP & Chessie.  The items I could get a quick photo of that are out and about.  Also have the MTH Premier brown passenger cars, they go on a shelf at Christmas, when the Christmas trains come out.

There are some very nice engines here- not to mention some spectacular layouts.  I had no idea these existed!  Thank you for sharing.

Hi Will,

If you are ever passing thru Rockford, feel free to contact the Rockford O Scalers and see if a visit would work out.  Or if things work out, meet Eddy here for the delivery of your kits (we have always enjoyed Eddy's visits).  We have a fair amount of CNW stuff (and recently big UP power has shown up too).  On November 2nd, Frank added a video to the Rockford O Scalers facebook page that you might enjoy.  It is a  of our C&NW Dakota 400 (and the cars were built by Eddy).

Cars look awesome John. Thanks for sharing.  Great video too!

My 2021 calendar arrived today from the historical society......

@john handlogten posted:

Hi Will,

If you are ever passing thru Rockford, feel free to contact the Rockford O Scalers and see if a visit would work out.  Or if things work out, meet Eddy here for the delivery of your kits (we have always enjoyed Eddy's visits).  We have a fair amount of CNW stuff (and recently big UP

Not sure where you live Will, but please do try to get to the Rockford, IL area and catch up with John and the others at the Rockford O Scalers layout. Beside the CNW cars from 401 Models, if you are at all interested in passenger trains you will be very impressed. The layout is nice also and the guys are really friendly.

Charlie

.

Still have some shim work to do.......

How about some K-Line cars....

21" Parlor Observation....

21" Coach...

K-Line Woodside Reefer K742-1311...

Pretty impressive value for rolling stock.   Fine details with opening doors and ice hatches.  Removable roof. Comes with Kadee couplers and boxes, hanging beef, hooks, and "ice".

I bought the 2-car and four-car passenger sets several years ago used.  They have a few issues but are still beautiful cars.

The reefer is brand new. Amazing.

Enjoy...

Looks nice Will. I'm still excited you are starting the "400" project with Eddy and hope to be right behind you in the build process.

Charlie

Me too - wish I had sprung for four 21"ers when my supplier was getting deals for me at $75 each.  I did get UP, B&O, GN, PRR, an a pair of CNW high levels.

Here’s a pair of Lionel F7 units I painted to match a set of K-Line 21” high-level cars for commuter service. The original colors Lionel used were not even close.

Nice job on the paint Jeff. Sometimes one just has to buckle down and do it. Thanks for posting.

@Charlie posted:

Looks nice Will. I'm still excited you are starting the "400" project with Eddy and hope to be right behind you in the build process.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie.

He also makes kits for 'The Challenger' cars that the CNW ran.

Eddy sent me some teaser photos of some cars he had already previously been working on.

Here's a peek of one of his photos..... I cropped out other things he's working on.....

.

Weaver Ultra Line PS-1 40'

CNW Express Boxcar

@WITZ 41 posted:

.

Weaver Ultra Line PS-1 40'

CNW Express Boxcar

Will,

Beautiful looking express boxcar. I have a trio of Weaver's in CMO lettering.

Disregard the hopper.  I attached it by mistake.

Nice Bill!  I seem to recall reading somewhere that the plastic material that Weaver used to make the rolling stock was different than most plastic models.  Partly to make it easier to accept paint? Can't remember exactly.

I have a few of these Atlas cars in CNW/CMO livery.  Here's a picture of one of them. Atlas Steel Re-built USRA Box Car.......

Very nice. It seems that the Atlas  car's shade of yellow is much brighter than Weaver's.  Don't know which is more representative of the true color.

@third rail posted:

Very nice. It seems that the Atlas  car's shade of yellow is much brighter than Weaver's.  Don't know which is more representative of the true color.

I've seen variations in prototype colors, so it's hard to say which is correct/incorrect. One thing with CNW paint that made things nuts was "Zito" yellow. Apparently, it faded badly (to almost white) and quickly (less than two years as I recall). Atlas did a PS4750 covered hopper in that color and it's really bright, especially in natural sunlight.

Indoors:

Outdoors (they could probably see these from space):

Nice pics Matt. Thanks for posting. Yes, it seems the CNW yellows we're all over the place after the post war period.  So often photo evidence is inconsistent when it comes to accurately capturing it.

I fear I may have infected you. 😉

Good luck on your next endeavor with the Wichman kits.  I think you snuck in after me but ahead of Charlie!

************************

A couple of MTH offerings:

MTH Steel Sided Cupola Caboose

A fantasy I'm afraid.  The CNW had many Woodside Cupola Caboose.  I can't find any evidence of a steel sided one.  The details are nice and an interior with figure too.

Oh, to lay my hands in an accurate brass one at a reasonable price.   

MTH Steel Sided Stock Car

Also not entirely accurate. But nice just the same.  Here it is next to the Woodsided Atlas for comparison sake.....

W.

Guys,

Love this topic.  CNW is pretty awesome.  Your photos make me appreciate my entire rolling stock collection.  When you zero in and snap a photo of a lot of our cars, you really appreciate the fine detail, realism and unique design and real custom paint job of each car.   Atlas is really spectacular and exceptional.  I wish I had more of them.  I shudder over their higher prices, yet, like a lot of O Gauge stuff, when I pull the trigger and spend more I never regret it.

Thanks for the focus on these special cars.

Mike

Picked these up today.  Now just need to get an observation car for the end.  Might have to get one painted.  Don’t think MTH ever did one in this paint.

While looking for something else, I came across this engine that I did not forget about, but I typically use this during the train season and since we have no train season for the modular group, I had not taken it out of storage, plus, my interest has been away from freight engines for a long time now.

So... here is a fixed pilot, horizontal drive Lionel Legacy engine from about 2008. This is the slowest, most consistent engine I have and that included all other Lionel, Sunset 3rd Rail and MTH engines in my collection. Absolutely will crawl at a snail pace if needed. I was told that is due to the electronics and/or program software used for this production run of engines. Sound is a bit soft. Fine for home use, but will get drowned out in any type of public setting.

Charlie

@Charlie posted:

Missing an image of the H1 (4-8-4) from Sunset, but here is my small sampling of CNW.

Same as Melgar's above with blackened drivers and upgraded to TMCC.

Charlie

I have the PS1 version of this loco, too. I have blackened the drivers, but have yet to upgrade it to ERR. I am sort of torn, as I have no particular affinity for the CNW, but the loco is gorgeous and it's a 4-6-4. 4-6-4's are hard to not want. It's too pretty - exquisite, even - to fiddle with the paint and decoration (or to sell), so what do I do with a CNW loco? Heck, I even have a set of passenger cars that match; I ran across a fantastic price on the package years ago. Sigh - it's a burden. 

Did you know that the C&NW was a subsidiary of the Southern Railway?

Joke - kind of. The "Carolina & Northwestern", abbreviated "C&NW". I believe that it owned only one Southern-scheme diesel locomotive (a GP-something) and had small "C&NW" lettering on the cab side near the engine number. One has been offered in 3RO - Weaver, I think.

@WITZ 41 posted:

A couple of MTH offerings:

MTH Steel Sided Cupola Caboose

A fantasy I'm afraid.  The CNW had many Woodside Cupola Caboose.  I can't find any evidence of a steel sided one.  The details are nice and an interior with figure too.

Oh, to lay my hands in an accurate brass one at a reasonable price.   

I have the book CNW FINAL FREIGHT CAR ROSTER  from the CNWHS. Northwestern had only Bay window cabooses at the time of merger.  The only cupola cabooses came from the Rock Island or the CGW, which were used in MOW  trains.

This must be one of those cabooses. This photo was taken at Proviso Yard in 1943 by Jack Delano, and is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

@jay jay posted:

This must be one of those cabooses. This photo taken at Proviso Yard in 1943 by Jack Delano, and is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

Note that this C&NW caboose is NOT the same as the MTH model photos, posted above. That MTH model is simply a Santa Fe caboose painted up for C&NW (note the windows and cupola are typicle Santa Fe).

I would like to know whether the 1943 Jack Delano photograph of the C&NW red caboose #12432 was taken with color film or black-and-white and colorized.

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

I would like to know whether the 1943 Jack Delano photograph of the C&NW red caboose #12432 was taken with color film or black-and-white and colorized.

MELGAR

The photos for which he is best known were taken on color film. I believe he shot with early Kodacolor, using large format equipment. I have a book featuring his great railroad photos.

@MELGAR posted:

I would like to know whether the 1943 Jack Delano photograph of the C&NW red caboose #12432 was taken with color film or black-and-white and colorized.

MELGAR

I believe that Mr. Delano did actually use color film on occasion. Most likely Kodak ASA 10, color negative film in the 4X5 format.

Melgar, the Delano image was (Color 4x5), actually there are at least two images from this session, there may be more, but I have only seen two. Since there are several Delano images from the Proviso Yard, (where the caboose images were taken), I assume he was passing through Chicago on his way west.

Regarding the MTH Caboose the Bill T posted, The MTH caboose is a Santa Fe Steal Prototype (Ce 3~4? type) and the Chicago & North Western Caboose is a Woodside Caboose.

Just to add a bit more information regarding Delano images. While much of the volume of work was done in B&W, there is a fairly large collection of Color work also and much of it was shot in Chicago, not all though.

One idea that had crossed my mind is that developing color on the road was very difficult and for a traveling photographer, nearly impossible. I suspect, the proximity of a Kodak lab in Chicago might have had part in making the decision to have Jack Deleno shoot color. One correction I made, is that based on the date of the images, he would have had to shot 35mm or 828 film as 4x5 Kodachrome did not come until later. Regardless, Kodachrome or Color negative, it would still have been difficult to have processed while traveling so I do suspect his location to a Kodak lab probably had an impact on what medium he shot - this is just a guess though.

Hope this helps.

Charlie

@WITZ 41 posted:

Nice pics Matt. Thanks for posting. Yes, it seems the CNW yellows we're all over the place after the post war period.  So often photo evidence is inconsistent when it comes to accurately capturing it.

I fear I may have infected you. 😉

...

Oh, to lay my hands in an accurate brass one at a reasonable price.   

MTH Steel Sided Stock Car

...

W.

Thanks. I got lucky a few years ago and happened upon a Division Point brass CNW Woodside Cupola caboose. It comes with additional detail parts which I haven't installed. I've run it on occasion at the club a couple of times, but I don't want to ding it up. They show up on eBay on occasion. DP did a nice one with a cupola windows and a cargo side door in H.O., but to my knowledge they didn't do one in O scale.

Still looking for that elusive Yellow Jacket Pacific at a reasonable price.

As I stated and Bill, and John, and Jack, and Matt concurred the MTH caboose is not prototypical. It's just fun.

Matt, great pic.  I've been looking for a Division Point one myself.  I'm kit bashing a drover myself. And I spoke to Brother Love about perhaps he making a couple for me.  I have the necessary CNW drawings files for the Drover cabose and photos, 2 rail trucks and decals.  It is the next $$ project $$ after the Wichman 400 cars.  If others are interested maybe we can all work something out.

Awesome discussion about the Delano photographs.

Now on the more silly side....

I was running an errand today and passed by this newer restaurant/pub in Bloomington......

I have not been there but it has some interesting style. Don't think I'll bother with any discussion of prototype on this one!

@AGHRMatt posted:

Thanks. I got lucky a few years ago and happened upon a Division Point brass CNW Woodside Cupola caboose. It comes with additional detail parts which I haven't installed. I've run it on occasion at the club a couple of times, but I don't want to ding it up. They show up on eBay on occasion. DP did a nice one with a cupola windows and a cargo side door in H.O., but to my knowledge they didn't do one in O scale.

Still looking for that elusive Yellow Jacket Pacific at a reasonable price.

Actually, Division Point did make an O scale brass C&NW side door caboose.  I picked one up many years ago:

@WITZ 41 posted:

Now on the more silly side....

I was running an errand today and passed by this newer restaurant/pub in Bloomington......

I have not been there but it has some interesting style. Don't think I'll bother with any discussion of prototype on this one!

Is that Bloomington Illinois?  If it is I smell a road trip! Only 90 minutes from my house.

@Jtrain posted:

Actually, Division Point did make an O scale brass C&NW side door caboose.  I picked one up many years ago:

The hunt begins. 😊

Well, all of the post-war and semi-scale C&NW I happen to have access to has already been posted...howsomeever, there's still pre-war and early post-war tinplate.

Ives

Marx

Well, since we're talking tin, this one is by Hafner, but I don't think its prototypical.

Robert, John: Fantastic tin plate collections and thanks for sharing. Proof again that there are many ways to enjoy this hobby!

Charlie

I assume everyone has seen the new premium from Menards.

The just released MTH hoppers on my layout.

@DG posted:

The just released MTH hoppers on my layout.

Do you have the part number on those? I totally missed these.

The part number is 20-97390 and they are from the 2020 Volume 2 catalog.

Cool truck Jay

Nice hoppers DG.

Williams GP9 that the USPS tried to destroy in shipment.

I replaces all that was broken and straightened the frame and railings.Looks and runs great now. has an older kicked Goose horn.

A matching Williams Caboose coming soon from TRAINZ.

@DG posted:

The part number is 20-97390 and they are from the 2020 Volume 2 catalog.

Thanks.

12/16/20 Update: The pair just arrived. Going to switch them over to scale wheels and Kadees this weekend and will post photos.

Took the photos for my inventory database at the club Wednesday. Put MTH scale trucks and Kadee 745's on them yesterday. will run them on the layout tomorrow. It's harder to get the car apart than change out everything. Thanks again for the heads up, DG.

Two-railed and ready for testing.

Glad to help..they look nice with the scale wheels and Kadee couplers.

Also finished assembling a trio of Weaver 34-foot PS2 covered hoppers. I love the 34-foot PS2 hopper because it's a scale sized car that works well for smaller layouts. In 3-rail, they'll negotiate O-27 (13.5" radius) curves.

My understanding is that they also carry different commodities, which makes them suitable for various industries. I have a BUNCH of them in various road names which I'm going to eventually switch over to 2-rail.

Here are my MTH Premier CNW PS-2-CD high-sided covered hoppers.

They are accurately painted. One thing they could not recreate is the tiny, intricate CLINTON CAR SHOPS decal.

Also shown are the two Atlas O Trainman CGW/CNW PS-2 3-bay covered hopper.

Andrew

Falcon Service

Nice hoppers guys!

Steve at Mr. Muffin's Trains was kind enough to contact Lionel for me to see if these were still going to be made.  He confirmed they would.

I just placed my order....

Lionel 3-18210 - LionScale - Woodside Reefer "Northwestern Refrigerated" (6-Car)

These will be my first Lionscale cars.  I'm interested to review quality and build.

@WITZ 41 posted:

Nice hoppers guys!

Steve at Mr. Muffin's Trains was kind enough to contact Lionel for me to see if these were still going to be made.  He confirmed they would.

I just placed my order....

Lionel 3-18210 - LionScale - Woodside Reefer "Northwestern Refrigerated" (6-Car)

These will be my first Lionscale cars.  I'm interested to review quality and build.

Those are the Weaver/Crown molds. Should be nice. If they're consistent with some of the more recent Lionel releases, converting them to scale wheels and Kadees should be pretty easy. I would opt for using Atlas replacement trucks as the Lionel 33" scale wheels are pretty expensive.

K-Line CNW diecast hopper, K623-9013

@AGHRMatt posted:

Those are the Weaver/Crown molds. Should be nice. If they're consistent with some of the more recent Lionel releases, converting them to scale wheels and Kadees should be pretty easy. I would opt for using Atlas replacement trucks as the Lionel 33" scale wheels are pretty expensive.

That's what I heard Matt.  Based on what I've read, I'm hoping they really are as easy to 3RS or 2R with Kadees and scale wheels as Lionel has advertised. 

@WITZ 41 posted:

That's what I heard Matt.  Based on what I've read, I'm hoping they really are as easy to 3RS or 2R with Kadees and scale wheels as Lionel has advertised.

I have the set of Lionel CNW 66-foot Mill Gondolas (nicely done cars, by the way) that I switched over to 2-rail. The conversion was pretty straight-forward with the Lionel wheel sets, and the cars were set up to take Kadees, but the wheels are code 145 tread width and I sometimes get derailments when I run them at the club. In hindsight, the Atlas trucks are a better call because they don't cost much more than the Lionel wheel sets and they have code 172 wheels. I inadvertently put the wrong bolsters in the first car and have since fixed it. I have a BUNCH of cars I'm switching over to 2-rail -- it's going to be a LONG project.

C&NW Geep pulling 5 grain covered hopper cars out from RIP track, thru car repair shop and going to main line.

North Western diesel facility in Marshalltown, Iowa

C&NW diesel house in night time in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Happy Friday! Westbound North Western manifest train with 4 engines MU running on main line of old Overland Route through Marshalltown, Iowa.

Here's a shot of our last custom car we did for the Mid-Continent Ry. Museum, depicting a car for the North Freedom Canning Co. Also, Lionel did make a reefer years ago, but I can't tell you the number right off hand. Also Lionel's version of C&NW 10-wheeler #1385; and the nice freight units from MTH.

Fantastic videos and pictures!  I really enjoy coming back and finding so many.

- CGW, great shots on those night time shop photos.

- Jeff, I like the ten wheeler. 

I'm in a bit of a holding pattern as I'm waiting on my 400 passenger car bodies.  Eddy is a real cool cat.

I did however recently sell the fantasy steel Caboose shortly after the photos I posted because I was able to locate a Division Point DP-101 similar to the one you have Matt.  Should have my hands on it relatively soon.

Many thanks to David in the UK for his pleasant communication.  I appreciate the agreeable direct negotiation outside of the ridiculously fee intensive auction site.

Keep 'em coming.

@john handlogten posted:

Hi Will,

If you are ever passing thru Rockford, feel free to contact the Rockford O Scalers and see if a visit would work out.  Or if things work out, meet Eddy here for the delivery of your kits (we have always enjoyed Eddy's visits).  We have a fair amount of CNW stuff (and recently big UP power has shown up too).  On November 2nd, Frank added a video to the Rockford O Scalers facebook page that you might enjoy.  It is a  of our C&NW Dakota 400 (and the cars were built by Eddy).

Hey John,

Can you reach out to me offline? My email is in my profile.

It will likely be a few more weeks before Eddy has my carbodies ready, but I'm in Normal IL and he's in Wisconsin so I'll  be shooting straight up I-39 for the hand-off.  It might be an opportunity to make some connections. Thx.

- Will

One of my favorites, a Weaver Pacific.  

@cnw4ever posted:

One of my favorites, a Weaver Pacific.  

Nice! I'm a sucker for Pacifics.

Decided poke around a little bit today with my 3-rail Atlas O RS-1.  I think I bought it for 70 bucks with no box and both of the couplers were broken off and dangling from the wires.

I bought the parts directly from Atlas to fix the pilots sometime ago.  Well, let me tell you trying to take those shells off to see if I could remove the trucks.....Yikes!  What a pain.   I tried tracking the 3R coupler wires back to their source and finally gave up.  I just snipped and secured them.

So I settled for just adding the scale couplers.  Even that required some dremel work...

Not only that the process of putting in the coupler box is not simple.  It was like building a ship in a bottle!

Got one done. The second will go easier now that I know.

Naturally, I'll have some painting to do. Yet it has great detail for a cheapie locomotive.  It'll be a runner, I won't be entering any contests with it 😉.

There's something oddly satisfying about the sound of pulling the tension out of a dozen Kadee coupler equipped cars......

@WITZ 41 posted:

There's something oddly satisfying about the sound of pulling the tension out of a dozen Kadee coupler equipped cars......

What kind of trucks are those under the Atlas stock cars?

@AGHRMatt posted:

What kind of trucks are those under the Atlas stock cars?

Matt,

They are the same original plastic trucks with Intermountain IRC20050 insulated 33" 2R wheels put in. These are the older Atlas 6222 Austrian made cars.  I'd like to see anyone notice much difference while the train is moving.

Super easy modification.  I can post a quick Vid tonight. Pop off the trucks, remove the plastic 3R coupler tongue, pop out the brake shoes pieces and wheels.  Add a drop of oil to each journal hole, then the pointed IRC wheels.  Using downward pressure and pinching in on the ends of each axle with both hands, work the truck back and forth on a piece of track untill the points work into the trucks enough to have them roll easy.  I have a system to make sure all wheels are installed with the insulated wheels on the same side of every car.  I put all the original parts in a baggie inside the car when I'm done installing the Kadees.

They then ride super smooth.  I don't mind the plastic trucks because they have nice detail, ride low and smooth.  I think they look great.

I've been picking up these old cars for peanuts whenever I seem the offered for next to nothing.   I add Kadee 805 couplers with shims, 2R wheels and have been re-numbering with Tichy Train Group decals.  I just think it's a fun and inexpensive way to get 2R/3RS CNW rolling stock. Trainman line now offers the same tooling cars for $79+ a piece but the new ones obviously have metal trucks.

Some other photos earlier in this thread.