Southern RR Fans- PHOTOS

Thanks Dewey.
Couldn't remember if the Southern Eries 2-8-2 where class 6's OR 7''s

David,

This is as MTH shipped it to local train shop. It is as built by the little "girls" across the BIG pond. I do not recall if I have ever taken it out of the box to see if other side bay window is same. As I recall the bay windows are a separate piece, so obviously the Erie one was slipped in in stead of the Southern one.

Back in mid-2007 I was talking through local train shop from O-gauge section to book room. I literally skidded to a stop and backed up. I caught sight of the Southern Caboose with a lightning bolt and word "RADIO"on bay. Without seeing the Erie diamond I knew this was something Erie. I road the Erie to see the Indians play. Pulled the box off of the shelf asking did anybody notice what was wrong here. No one had yet noticed. The other three or so on shelf were OK. So bought it.

Ron

Before this thread runs out, I thought I'd post a 'tour' taken by the PS4 as she traverses some other unfinished areas of the layout. Departing the Key West Station, she is admired by a couple of ladies at grade-side. Note the nice artwork on the K-Line FEC Reefer


After crossing the long wooden 'Gulf Bridge' she cruises past a control tower heading into the Appalachians


Passing a GP9 and FM Trainmaster, she cuts through the yard


She heads across and towards a bridge crossing a gorge


After reversing her course in a loop, she aims for the mountains before turning south to the water


and steams back the other way


Crossing Key West Causeway, the same gal is awaiting in her classy automobile! Must be a railfan.

c.sam I really like the fall colors on your backdrop. More interesting than the usual "different shades of green" approach.

Nice trip cross-country on the Crescent C.Sam.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the kind comments. Hope to meet you all sometime being that we all live in the same state!

Well since I've been put on notice I'll post some shot of my SD45 when they come in.

C. Sam, SRR Sean,Neal Jeter,Roger Whitsett and the SRR Kudzu Crew:

If I ever again achieve the tolerance and reach the low frustration level required for posting photos it will be akin to handing a unhappy terrorist a loaded automatic weapon! I will post and post and I might even post a picture of two of my Southern diesels--namely both of my green John Deeres fwd tractors.

After locating a friendly host[John Boy} I last posted a few layout photos on Christmas Day. Since then I haven't been able to master the right jpegs or whatever[?] and my pictures won't upload to the host.

Anyway I've got work to do, my little layout is stripped of everything except tools and junk as I continue rust painting rail sides in prep for the thrill of ballasting. Also rehabbing my hinged drop section[Barrett Gate]. It is serving on its third layout and is kinda beat up. Also gonna put some "through plate girder" bridge sides on it---thinking that a "pretend" bridge is better than just a flat plywood & foam right-of-way section.

Joseph at Model Structures made me a diesel fueling tower for my Service Yard in case Roger ever brings any of his "stinking diesels" over for a run. He painted it medium brown, weathered and decaled it with the Southern Ry Herald.
About $60--I like it!

quote:

I guess I better charge-up my digital camera and take an up-to-date photo of my Southern Rwy. motive power display case. It doesn't hold everything, but has a variety of some 10 Southern locomotives (all MTH PS2).

We would certainly like to see your photos Alan!

Dewey, you sent me some photos (via regular mail) when I first started here and if memory serves me correctly, you had a nice set-up which I gather was in Banner Elk. We look forward to some more!

So far, just painting for ourselves. I have dabbled in painting some scenes of trains and images from the Lionel catalogs and elsewhere but have no buyers as yet! I'm still am amateur..




Would consider helping someone paint a backdrop sometime if needed

Does anyone here have the Lionel aluminum 15" Tennessean passenger cars from several years ago? I have these and run them with the post-war 2356 F-3 ABA set. If anyone else is using a similar combination I would love to see some photos (I can't do pics myself unfortunately).

And Sam, I've said it before but I still think that painting is worth serious money. It's that good. Do you have some more of those to show us? What other SR scenes do you think would rate a painting?

Sam,

That's some good artwork you have there!

Here's some photos of that drawing I mentioned of Ted Lannoms:







I have no artistic talent whatsoever (shows in my scenery as well ) but some of you guys really have the knack for sharing.

Recent acquisitions of an MTH dummy Locotrol SD-35 tagged by a Southern “radio-receiving car.” Obviously the RC car is the excellent work of David Friedlander. But I must pop the hood on the SD-35 to boot out that lazy featherbedding crew. Next week there will be a new Locotrol SD-45 on point.



Speaking of featherbedding crews, WHY does MTH have to fill the cabs of dummy units and cabs of trailing “A”-Units???!!!!

Ron

Ron,
It might be possible that the crew is deadheading!!

Like you suggest, it's economies of scale or however the expression goes. That's why crews in dummies. Atlas puts them in theirs too. Another thing they do is to put traction tires on dummies. I don't know if they all do that or not. Seems to me the importers could save money by telling the Chinese makers to skip those, but there must be some reason they don't. IMO the traction tires on dummies are not only a maintenance issue, they also act as a "dynamic brake" of sorts by exerting a slowing influence or drag on curves. Another thing I don't like seeing on dummies is for all the gears to be engaged with each other, for the same reason I don't care for the traction tires.

Anyway, my Southern fleet contains Lionel post war diesels, Lionel scale steam and Atlas modern engines - Southern, C of G and S & A.

Thanks Ginsaw. I would like to offer to paint from anyone's photo of their layout or favorite locomotive if interested. My prices would be most reasonable (before I become famous!) The SOU F3s painting is available.

We now have 4 pages (!) going with this thread. Would indicate that the Southern is alive and well...

I may be biased but all of these pictures with the beautiful Southern engines both steam and diesel are fantastic. Thanks to everybody for posting and keep them coming. I will too when I have a chance. Maybe someone will see these and get curious about the SRR! The more Southern modelers the better!

Jeff

here are some photos of my mth-premier southern abba E-6 diesel engines..........rogerw

Very nice Roger. I was pleasantly surprised to see that your layout looks a whole lot like mine. Mine probably is much smaller however - a medium size 10 x 11. But, I have much the same MTH buildings, much the same looking track plan, the same green surface, I also skipped ballasting (to make it easier to disassemble one day), the same one level and no mountains, the same sort of vehicles, the same general benchwork and I also skipped a curtain around the woodwork. A couple things I did differently were to stain the woodwork (it did wonders for the appearance) and put the shelves with the transformers under a corner of the layout. I run mostly in command and so don't need to frequently get at the manual controls.

Otherwise, you might say "great minds think alike".

But, I don't have the E-6...I do have the Lionel Southern Mountain taking turns with the Lionel Ps-4 at the head of the Lionel heavyweight Crescent Ltd.

Anyway, the big news from my layout at the moment is, we just got a digital camera and are learning how to post photos..

thanks ginsaw!! i'm not very good at scenery, but i can lay track and do electrical work. anther reason why i don't have scenery is that i like to add new products to my layout. i don't want to tear out scenery materials every time i want to add something new. also the size of my layout is 37' x 20' and i run in dcs command mode. all of my engines are mth-premier...........rogerw.

Just got the new six car set of Southern boxcars from MTH last night. Not great photos but will give some idea about the cars. Photos are MTH car compared to an Atlas car. MTH car is more red and Atlas car is brown.

Forum member Larry Childers from the Greenville, SC area asked me to post these pics of his layout. He is quite a SOUTHERN fan and runs these regional roads.

Candlelight dinner on the Tennessean. I sent this MTH diner to Jack Pearce a TCA member who specializes in lighting diecast vehicles and railroad equipment. He added the candlelights and the utensils to the diner.



Neal Jeter

Those candles are fantastic Neal, thanks for the post.
We are constructing some small dioramas to use with the club modular layout. We keep them at home are are able to add scenes to our home pike as well. Here's SOU 2356 stopped at the cafe

SOU Trainmaster No. 2312 pulls in later on the front track

My latest addition to my Southern Railway roster.
Something for Passenger revenue.

quote:

Originally posted by JeffT:
Just got the new six car set of Southern boxcars from MTH last night. Not great photos but will give some idea about the cars. Photos are MTH car compared to an Atlas car. MTH car is more red and Atlas car is brown.

Besides the paint, the Atlas car shows the Southern boxcars when new in 1945, while the MTH version (and I think Lionel's PS-1 version as well) fits more into the 1950s era. The difference is in the Southern logo. On the Atlas car, the lettering in the SR circle is closer together, while on the MTH there is definite spacing. As for the colors, there was a difference between the orginial 1945 order and teh later 1950s repaints, so each of these appears correct for the eras they interpret. Check out the Southern Railway Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment book to see good color photos of these two cars and their differences.

I would like to eventually acquire some of the Southern MTH cars if somweone is willing to break up the sets.

I thought I would share a project i have been dabbling with for a while. I have an old Weaver Southern RS-3, No. 2133, that I have been detailing to better represent a SOU passenger RS-3. The brass detail parts are from P&D, and paint touch-up is with Scalecoat Southern Sylvan Green. I will also use decals to correct the color of the imitation aluminum stripe along the bottom.

I have had this model for a few years, long before the new Atlas Southern RS-3 came out. I do not know which model, Weaver or Atlas, is a better operating model.

quote:

Originally posted by DaveJfr0:

What is that brass part on the side of the body by the cab? Almost looks like some sort of ATC.

You are correct, it is part of the ATC control. I have not installed the box yet beside the cab. I have the shoe as well, and will work on the steam generator vent and exhaust as well. I think P&D has the correct screen to go over the exhaust fan on the roof.

My SD45 arrived. Tested it on Local Train Shop layout before acquisition.



Now only if MTH or Atlas would make an GP30!!!

Made another great acquisition today with pics to follow.

Ron

quote:

Originally posted by PRRronbh:
My SD45 arrived. Tested it on Local Train Shop layout before acquisition.



Now only if MTH or Atlas would make an GP30!!!

Made another great acquisition today with pics to follow.

Ron

I really like that long nose engine and the bell placement is neat. Need to get one some day.

I have my SD45 Powered and dummy unit on order to bad I have to wait until April to get them for my birthday. Now all I need are some Highhood SD40-2 or SD40 to go with my SD24 and SD35!!

Here a close up shot of 2133 from George Elwood website.

Sean,

The 2133 had lost its steam generator by the date of that shot but the ATC (Automatic Train Control) boxes are still evident as well as the shoe on the truck. I am keeping my 2133 model in the green era to eventually pull passenger cars.

If I ever come across another Weaver RS-3, I could decorate in this scheme to have a before and after model!

I also have a custom painted Southern Lionel GP-7 that I will detail as they appeared during the 1960s. It was one of the conventional versions from the late 90s with magnetraction and a strobe on the roof, so my main objective is to remove the strobe and find appropriate parts.

My newest acquisition is a Lionel brass 4501. If I can find another one at a descent price (and decals), I will paint in in the black scheme.

here is the latest additions to my railroad.....norfolk-southern center beam flat cars with lumber load................rogerw

Roger, I like the way you used those girder bridges in the last set of photos. It looks like they are serving the dual function of acting as a bridge over the open corner and at the same time are protecting the trains from being so close to the edge. Did you cut one bridge down the middle for that? If so, I think it's a great idea and I might try it where mine runs close to an outside edge too. I had been wondering what to do when you can't place a single bridge because of clearance problems with a parallel line.

thanks Ginsaw! yes i did cut the girder plate down the middle. that girder bridge is made by k-line by lionel. the train loft in winston-salem north carolina still has some in stock. i also have pictures on photobucket, myspace, and videos on youtube...... thanks for looking.................rogerw.

John, you are oh so right! The SD45 in Southern Tuxedo long hood forward just looks so right. MTH ended up doing a nice job on these. They power up long hood forward with class lights on long hood, markers on short hood. Only if the bell was painted black plus horn does not look right. They sure are nothing like what was cataloged.

Well my other acquisition the same day as the SD45 came from a semi-local train store.





I had been looking for a set of Southern Heavy Weight "Crescent Limited" car for my Ps4 for a year or so. And these had been at this store right under my nose. But really did not notice them until a week ago.

Ron

Ginsaw, you are right the Southern did NOT have any of these "C&O" K4 Kanawha's or any other "modern" steam engine for that matter.

The Claytor bothers brought in the C&O K4 Kanawha 2716 from the Kentucky museum for Steam Excursion when 4501 was down for maintenance.

MTH's green Kanawha is just the fantasy of "what if."

I recall that somewhere in this thread the 2716 is pictured. I did not order one since both times MTH pictured it in catalog it was why wrong, not the engine I had road behind. But, luckily I was at the local train shop the day they came in. It looked as it should, bought it.

Ron

Ginsaw
I am sure you know that the Southern Ry never had any heavy Berkshires. However the old original Norfolk Southern Ry, which Southern acquired,had light Berkshires especially designed to negotiate the wooden trestles accross the N.C.Coastal Sounds.