Santa Fe Sunday

While the SantaFe equipment is still on the layout.

F units just scream the golden age of railroading.

Well its SFSun again, and its a New Year...so I thought I might start with something a little different.  Here is a Santa Fe delivery truck leaving the Marx freight Station on the Leonardtown and Savannah.  What not a train?  Well somebody has to deliver all that freight you folks are carrying...right?

For passenger service, my little K-line Alco switcher takes the mid day local up the road.

Have a great upcoming week. Best regards

Don

This Sunday finds The Fast Mail Express heading east behind a 3460 class Hudson.

Meanwhile an ABA set of PAs heads west with The Chief.

I wish I had the ability to get some new photos.  My fast mail train is ready for the layout.  My consist is as follows based on information I gathered on the 1953 version of #7/#8

• 3 NYC through baggage cars - GGD, Lionel, K-Line
• Erie express boxcar - Athearn
• PRR through baggage (either a B70 or B60B) - GGD or Weaver
• PRR express R50B reefer - MTH
• 7 ATSF express boxcars - Pecos River, Lionel, Weaver
• 4 ATSF RPOs - 3 heavyweight and 1 streamlined - MTH, GGD
• 8 ATSF baggage cars - 6 heavyweight and 2 streamlined - MTH, K-Line, Atlas, GGD, Weaver
• Rider coach understanding that a baggage coach is more prototypical - GGD

If I ever get back to my club layout, I will finally get to run this beast!  Power will either be my 3rd Rail PAs or my AB E6 set.  The E6 is a stretch, but I just love the look of that locomotive.

Early morning delivery to the "Charles Street yard" of a straight load of 6" x 8" creosote treated ties for the tie replacement project...

@GG1 4877 posted:

I wish I had the ability to get some new photos.  My fast mail train is ready for the layout.  My consist is as follows based on information I gathered on the 1953 version of #7/#8

• 3 NYC through baggage cars - GGD, Lionel, K-Line
• Erie express boxcar - Athearn
• PRR through baggage (either a B70 or B60B) - GGD or Weaver
• PRR express R50B reefer - MTH
• 7 ATSF express boxcars - Pecos River, Lionel, Weaver
• 4 ATSF RPOs - 3 heavyweight and 1 streamlined - MTH, GGD
• 8 ATSF baggage cars - 6 heavyweight and 2 streamlined - MTH, K-Line, Atlas, GGD, Weaver
• Rider coach understanding that a baggage coach is more prototypical - GGD

If I ever get back to my club layout, I will finally get to run this beast!  Power will either be my 3rd Rail PAs or my AB E6 set.  The E6 is a stretch, but I just love the look of that locomotive.

The Fast Mail Express consists varied so much that you can basically run whatever head end or express cars you want in the consist. Just make sure it's 2/3-3/4 ATSF equipment and there's a rider car (basically a combine) on the rear and you'll be fairly prototypical.

@Lou1985 posted:

This Sunday finds The Fast Mail Express heading east behind a 3460 class Hudson.Boy

Meanwhile an ABA set of PAs heads west with The Chief.

Boy , no moss growing on top of those rails Lou .

Lou1985, I love that you hear the sound of the whistle in the backround long before the train even appears, just like the real thing!

@Lou1985 posted:

The Fast Mail Express consists varied so much that you can basically run whatever head end or express cars you want in the consist. Just make sure it's 2/3-3/4 ATSF equipment and there's a rider car (basically a combine) on the rear and you'll be fairly prototypical.

I have been using this resource to at least get me in the ballpark.  I realize a lot of the cars shown on this list indicate "as-needed".  Being an over-the-top train modeler they are NEEDED!

http://santafe.gmbus.com/7-8Fa...8FastMailExpress.htm

@Ulus Ekerman posted:

I thought for sure that 2-10-10-2 was going to take the corner of the building off!

@GG1 4877 posted:

I have been using this resource to at least get me in the ballpark.  I realize a lot of the cars shown on this list indicate "as-needed".  Being an over-the-top train modeler they are NEEDED!

http://santafe.gmbus.com/7-8Fa...8FastMailExpress.htm

That is a great resource for assembling ATSF passenger trains, especially trains like The Chief, The Super Chief, and El Capitan, which had the same equipment day in and out.

When modeling The Fast Mail Express or The Grand Canyon (which I'm starting to put together) you just need to know the gist of what most consists had, because they changed so much. That kinda gives you the freedom to run whatever you want on those trains, within reason, and be accurate.

@RSJB18 posted:

While the SantaFe equipment is still on the layout.

F units just scream the golden age of railroading.

Nice layout and engine images!

@Lou1985 posted:

When modeling The Fast Mail Express or The Grand Canyon (which I'm starting to put together) you just need to know the gist of what most consists had, because they changed so much. That kinda gives you the freedom to run whatever you want on those trains, within reason, and be accurate.

You are onto something, Jonathan.

The only mainline Santa Fe passenger trains that ran from their originating to terminal stations without changing any cars en route were the Super Chief, El Capitan, and the short haul Tulsans, San Diegans, and Golden Gates.  (The transcontinental Pullmans were interchanged with B&O, NYC, and PRR at the terminating station for the Super Chief, Chicago.)

The Chief carried Denver cars, picked up and set out at La Junta.  The San Francisco Chief carried Texas cars picked up and set out at Barstow, Clovis, and Amarillo.  The Chicago-Texas trains picked up and set out cars at Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Gainesville, Fort Worth, and Houston.

And there were the maids of all work, the Fast Mail (including the southern Fast Mail via Amarillo) and the Grand Canyon.

In spite of the picking up and setting out, the Grand Canyon was a clean train with good equipment and service, right to its end on Amtrak Day.  It just had a slower schedule than the Chiefs, to allow for all the cars -- not just head end equipment, but Pullmans and a few chair cars also -- that were added to or subtracted from the consist.

@Number 90 posted:

You are onto something, Jonathan.

The only mainline Santa Fe passenger trains that ran from their originating to terminal stations without changing any cars en route were the Super Chief, El Capitan, and the short haul Tulsans, San Diegans, and Golden Gates.  (The transcontinental Pullmans were interchanged with B&O, NYC, and PRR at the terminating station for the Super Chief, Chicago.)

The Chief carried Denver cars, picked up and set out at La Junta.  The San Francisco Chief carried Texas cars picked up and set out at Barstow, Clovis, and Amarillo.  The Chicago-Texas trains picked up and set out cars at Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Gainesville, Fort Worth, and Houston.

And there were the maids of all work, the Fast Mail (including the southern Fast Mail via Amarillo) and the Grand Canyon.

In spite of the picking up and setting out, the Grand Canyon was a clean train with good equipment and service, right to its end on Amtrak Day.  It just had a slower schedule than the Chiefs, to allow for all the cars -- not just head end equipment, but Pullmans and a few chair cars also -- that were added to or subtracted from the consist.

Modeling the Fast Mail or Grand Canyon is kinda neat because of the variety. You can use up the extra head end or passenger cars in your fleet and put together a train that doesn't seamlessly match. The only issue is you have to scrounge a bit for cars, since in O everyone wants to sell you complete sets instead of individual cars.

@Lou1985 posted:

Modeling the Fast Mail or Grand Canyon is kinda neat because of the variety. You can use up the extra head end or passenger cars in your fleet and put together a train that doesn't seamlessly match. The only issue is you have to scrounge a bit for cars, since in O everyone wants to sell you complete sets instead of individual cars.

The thrill of the hunt in finding individual cars is most of the enjoyment for me when it comes to putting these kinds of trains together.  I need to start a separate thread called "Show us Your Baggage Cars"

For Santa Fe Sunday:

From the new 2022 Lionel catalog page 59 ...

Here’s some pics of a Custom painted Lionel FA I did. Thanks for keeping this going guy’s.

Thanks for starting it Lee!

Bob

The Chief

@RSJB18 posted:

Thanks for starting it Lee!

Bob

No Bob thanks to you and the gang keeping it going nice pic.

The "Chicagoan" rolling thru town heading east to Chicago. The locomotives are custom Lionel E7's from Pat's Trains. All the cars are MTH. I know the Santa Fe never had E7's but I could not resist the Warbonnet paint scheme. They look pretty good.

Enjoy the video.

Donald

Question for the Santa Fe experts....

I am getting the MTH Premier Warbonnet F3 A-B-A. What are the "correct" passenger car options for this engine in terms of past MTH, Lionel or K-Line releases? I'll most likely be looking for cars in the 15 - 18" range. (21" does not look good on my 0-72 curves)

Not exactly prototypical, but the coil cars match up nicely!

@Yellowstone Special posted:

Vern, I love covered wagons, especially the SF Warbonnets! It would be nice to see the full F7 ABA set, because that era of Lionel (mid 2000's) the models were beautiful. I have a couple of Lionel SF Warbonnet F3 sets from the same time period, so I'm a fan! Thanks for posting!

@yamawho posted:

From the new 2022 Lionel catalog page 59 ...

This might be an oversight by Lionel, but the B unit has silver trucks and the A units are black? Also, just a note for rivet counters, these would be for freight primarily as non of the units have vents for steam generators that would be needed for passenger trains. Personally, I really like the yellow and blue warbonnet paint scheme.

@Bruce Brown posted:

Question for the Santa Fe experts....

I am getting the MTH Premier Warbonnet F3 A-B-A. What are the "correct" passenger car options for this engine in terms of past MTH, Lionel or K-Line releases? I'll most likely be looking for cars in the 15 - 18" range. (21" does not look good on my 0-72 curves)

For lightweight, streamlined equipment solid stainless cars. Santa Fe never had any stainless and red stripe streamlined cars. They were all solid stainless.

Heavyweights would be coach green with black roofs/undercarriage and gold lettering.

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

This might be an oversight by Lionel, but the B unit has silver trucks and the A units are black? Also, just a note for rivet counters, these would be for freight primarily as non of the units have vents for steam generators that would be needed for passenger trains. Personally, I really like the yellow and blue warbonnet paint scheme.

These were former passenger units leased to Amtrak in the early 70s. The red of the traditional warbonnet was painted yellow and the nose emblem was changed from yellow to blue. The were frequently used on Amtrak passenger trains that ran on Santa Fe lines.

See page 66 here:

atsf_f_units.pdf (sfrhms.org)

@BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Nice looking switcher BAR .... and made a lot nicer looking after you worked your magic. 

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Nice looking switcher BAR .... and made a lot nicer looking after you worked your magic. 

Dallas. Thank you. That is a rebuilt K-Line MP-15 and get fixed pilots, Kadees, air & fuel tanks, cab interior.....

Johan

Well hello everyone on SFSun!!  Today I am posting some objects I purchased at my FIRST TRAIN SHOW in nearly 2 years...COVID cancelled everything from about March of 2019 until this January not just here in the Dallas area but more or less throughout Texas.  I have watched you all post your Santa Fe locomotives with the blue/yellow livery vice red/silver and have wanted to participate...so on Saturday I purchased my first blue / yellow livery Santa Fe engine!!

She is a Lionel (MPC) #8351 Alco "A" unit from 1973-1975.  Not sold as anything other than a stand alone A.  So now at 47 years of age, the question was ... did it run?  Well at first the answer was "not really".  However a Lionel authorized repair man at the train show, really showed me some of that friendly help we often talk about and after about 15 minutes of testing, lubrication and a little cleaning (at no cost ) ... she runs FINE and all the lights work etc... Today I had her pulling a short freight of some mixed cars (PW, MPC, and a Lionel PW illuminated caboose) and she did just fine.  So for this fine Santa Fe Sunday, here is my "new" Santa Fe Alco freight engine.

Here she is, first day on the layout.

Here is a short video with her at work!!

Best wishes for the upcoming Holiday

Don

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Vern, I love covered wagons, especially the SF Warbonnets! It would be nice to see the full F7 ABA set, because that era of Lionel (mid 2000's) the models were beautiful. I have a couple of Lionel SF Warbonnet F3 sets from the same time period, so I'm a fan! Thanks for posting!

Thank you, Scott. I used to own a couple of those F3 sets until I was lucky enough to stumble onto Lionel's SF F7 ABA set. So I obtained it and sold my f3 sets. This F7 set is my baby on the layout. It was available only one year, 2007, and seems to run better and has superior sound than the F3 sets. I also like the wrecking lugs, top dynamic brake fans, ladder bars up the right side of the cab nose, and of course those upper grills which the F3s don't have. So, I'm with you, and love the SF Warbonnet covered wagons as well.

Business train on its return trip:

RM

There's a lot of beautiful Santa Fe pictures here on this thread, all are so colorful, great thread. Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry and Rich :  Great scenes and Larry great video.

Don