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I hope E8's are done again.  I would love a Southern Green Crescent.

In my opinion Scott probably could keep re-running E5/6’s, E7, & E8/9’s in rotation & sell out every time. There’s too many good roads to collect & 3rd rail passenger diesels are the absolute best out there.

@GG1 4877 posted:

A future run of E8/9s is certainly a possibility in the not-too-distant future.  If the factory needs a filler project this would be a good one.  Hard to tell though when an opportunity like that might present itself.  The SD7/9, FT, or FL9s have also been suggested as possible filler projects.

For me personally, I'd like to see NJDOT E8s that never ran in the first run as I grew up watching those run past my house.  I opted instead for Amtrak, PRR, and the ATSF one pictured based on current trains I have.  However, I saw lots of Paducah E8 rebuilds up into my early teens.  I even remember the Crescent E8s running in their Southern paint in commuter service for NJDOT.

I would absolutely back-up-the-truck for E8's: CB&Q, Rock Island, GM&O, MoPac, B&O, UP, maybe an E7 Texas Special?  I would be paying those off for a while!  I already asked Scott about it so I won't bother him again.  If you want E7's, E8's, or E9's, please let him know!

@MikeH posted:

I would absolutely back-up-the-truck for E8's: CB&Q, Rock Island, GM&O, MoPac, B&O, UP, maybe an E7 Texas Special?  I would be paying those off for a while!  I already asked Scott about it so I won't bother him again.  If you want E7's, E8's, or E9's, please let him know!

Texas special E7’s with matching GGD cars would be a dream…. But Lionel & K-line beat this train to death so…. Yeah I may be dreaming.

Done to death as postwar replicas?  Lionel has only done them correctly once, am I right?  I'm talking legit E7's not F's or whatever.  It's remarkable how many Texas Special models have been made and very few actual scale E7's.  Did K-Line ever do them?  I know Lionel did the 6-31755 set 15 years ago and it still commands over MSRP on the used market.  So I suspect there are buyers like us out there for real scale models that are faithful to the prototype.

@MikeH posted:

I would absolutely back-up-the-truck for E8's: CB&Q, Rock Island, GM&O, MoPac, B&O, UP, maybe an E7 Texas Special?  I would be paying those off for a while!  I already asked Scott about it so I won't bother him again.  If you want E7's, E8's, or E9's, please let him know!

I asked Scott for a rerun of E8s a few weeks ago...hopefully we can plant the seed!

I asked also— PA’s as well it’s hard for most of us to order more than one per run — even though there are several you might want — given the wide variety of paint schemes and roads that used the E8 it seems to make sense— looking forward to the FA’s as well—would love an RS3 done right with fixed pilots — Scott at both GGD and 3rd rail nothing but good things to say

I asked also— PA’s as well it’s hard for most of us to order more than one per run — even though there are several you might want — given the wide variety of paint schemes and roads that used the E8 it seems to make sense— looking forward to the FA’s as well—would love an RS3 done right with fixed pilots — Scott at both GGD and 3rd rail nothing but good things to say

+1 on PAs.  Anyone with the DRGW Prospector cars on order might want a matching pair.  Same with the Southern E8s in the Crescent paint scheme.

Shawn Chronister,

I replied to your email this morning. My apologies for our paint scheme decisions on the KCS. Yes, the photo on our web site was of another scheme. I have since updated it with a picture of the scheme we produced.

We only made 5 of them for 3 customers including yourself. If you want to return your 2 engines, you are welcome to. We offer a 30 Day money back guarantee for direct purchases, for any reason.  (If you ordered through a Dealer, you need to abide by your Dealer's return policy.) Regards,  Scott Mann

Last edited by sdmann

Texas special E7’s with matching GGD cars would be a dream…. But Lionel & K-line beat this train to death so…. Yeah I may be dreaming.

Nothing wrong with dreaming.  
Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since 3rd Rail did the E7 Texas Specials. They are Really Quite Beautiful !!!!    
The ownership is shown by the forward road emblem.

Top Frisco with closed pilot

2AC5DC5C-3BDB-4931-AF82-7182B0F9092C

Below MKT

E2A05600-7958-45E8-AEB7-F4169A4C1A70

3rd Rail E7s anyone ????? 🤔

Cheers !!!! 😜

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  • 2AC5DC5C-3BDB-4931-AF82-7182B0F9092C: GGD Frisco E7
  • E2A05600-7958-45E8-AEB7-F4169A4C1A70: GGD MKT E7
@TrainBub posted:

Nothing wrong with dreaming.  
Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since 3rd Rail did the E7 Texas Specials. They are Really Quite Beautiful !!!!  

That's what I'm talking about!  Nice.  Those are legit Texas Specials.  Rare as hen's teeth.  Question for folks who have been involved in this hobby for a long time:

Are those Sunset 3rd Rail E7's and the Lionel 6-31755 set the only scale E7 Texas Specials ever produced in O?

@MikeH posted:

That's what I'm talking about!  Nice.  Those are legit Texas Specials.  Rare as hen's teeth.  Question for folks who have been involved in this hobby for a long time:

Are those Sunset 3rd Rail E7's and the Lionel 6-31755 set the only scale E7 Texas Specials ever produced in O?

I think so. I don't think MTH did them.

I have the full original lionel set and added a more recent Lionel heavyweight coach and full baggage as well as an MTH rpo.

Lionel's second run of the Texas Special wasn't thought out very well....

@Rob Leese

Your TZ FW&D E5 shell looks FANTASTIC !!! 

What road number did your model start out as ?  Did this start out as a 3rd Rail Run 2 E5 Red Stipe model ?

Did you make your own decals ?  If yes, from enlargement of MicroScale HO decals or from use of software (e.g., RailFonts) ?

Did you add  the SILVER CHIEF name to the side yourself ?  (FW&D's E5A Silver Chief & E5B Silver Warrior had GREAT Silver Names that evoke the imagery of the Old West history !!!).

How did you remove the previous factory-applied road numbers from the cab sides ?   Was the original factory silver paint undamaged or did you have to touch it up ?

How did you change the illuminated number boards from the factory-applied numbers to your custom 9980A ?  What materials did you use ?

Do you also have the matching "red stripe era" E5B for upgrade to Silver Warrior #9980B ?

Please share the details of your steps, materials< & any photos of your upgrades ?

I plan to Revise 3 of my 5 E5 models:

For my Run 1 Black Stripe E5A #9915A Silver Carrier, I plan to upgrade it to #9909A Silver Bullet with updated illuminated number boards,  cab-side numbers, E5 plates, loco name plates, & EMD-EMC builder plates. 

For my Run 1 "black stripe era" E5B Silver Power, I plan to upgrade it with painted 9910B numbers, E5 plates, & EMC-EMD builder plates. 

For my Run 2 Red Stripe E5A #9914B, I plan to upgrade it to #9910A Silver Speed with new illuminated number boards, painted cab-side numbers, & loco name plate. 

Rob, you inspire me to tackle these upgrades !!!

CB&Q Bill

@Shawn Chronister

I do not know what the specific KCS E6 livery is that you wanted & that 3rd Rail had advertised in their original ad.

Is there any chance that you can modify it yourself like Rob Leese did for his CB&Q E5A ?

I empathize with your disappointment about the livery change with no update from the 3rd Rail team.

Sunset / 3rd Rail makes great models.  However, they sometimes get ahead of their skis & neglect customer communication regarding changes. 

CB&Q Bill

@CBQ_Bill posted:

@Shawn Chronister

I do not know what the specific KCS E6 livery is that you wanted & that 3rd Rail had advertised in their original ad.

Is there any chance that you can modify it yourself like Rob Leese did for his CB&Q E5A ?

I empathize with your disappointment about the livery change with no update from the 3rd Rail team.

Sunset / 3rd Rail makes great models.  However, they sometimes get ahead of their skis & neglect customer communication regarding changes.

CB&Q Bill

Not sure how they got ahead there ski's.

I have specific communications with Scott.

He used the Picture from Brass Trains that I found and Scott even switched the wing on the front to point left looking at the front of the engine. Technically the wing facing right was used on the E3's but was switched to the left when they got the E6's even on the E3's because it was just not aesthetically pleasing.

I am trying to work something out.

e6-kcs-wings4b6cce904b6ccea04b6cceb0

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Last edited by Shawn_Chronister

Not sure how they got ahead there ski's.

I have specific communications with Scott.

He used the Picture from Brass Trains that I found and Scott even switched the wing on the front to point left looking at the front of the engine. Technically the wing facing right was used on the E3's but was switched to the left when they got the E6's even on the E3's because it was just not aesthetically pleasing.

I am trying to work something out.

4b6ccea0

I would love to see the antenna built up installed on this. What a wonderful model to do. Fabulous 👍 We did them in HO at Division Point F3s

Last edited by Erik C Lindgren

I would love to see the antenna built up installed on this. What a wonderful model to do. Fabulous 👍 We did them in HO at Division Point F3s

Not going to happen unless I can find an AA with the proper square windows.

I tried to get them from Scott but he has none left.

I am still trying to figure out where the round porthole E6 version came from? KCS purchased only 2 E6's none were porthole and not seeing in any of my books where they were changed 25 was rebuilt to an E9m. I am thinking about returning the E6 in KCS for this reason I do not like doing this but incorrect decisions were made and cannot be corrected easily with the portholes.

@CBQ_Bill posted:

@Rob Leese

Your TZ FW&D E5 shell looks FANTASTIC !!!

What road number did your model start out as ?  Did this start out as a 3rd Rail Run 2 E5 Red Stipe model ?

Did you make your own decals ?  If yes, from enlargement of MicroScale HO decals or from use of software (e.g., RailFonts) ?

Did you add  the SILVER CHIEF name to the side yourself ?  (FW&D's E5A Silver Chief & E5B Silver Warrior had GREAT Silver Names that evoke the imagery of the Old West history !!!).

How did you remove the previous factory-applied road numbers from the cab sides ?   Was the original factory silver paint undamaged or did you have to touch it up ?

How did you change the illuminated number boards from the factory-applied numbers to your custom 9980A ?  What materials did you use ?

Do you also have the matching "red stripe era" E5B for upgrade to Silver Warrior #9980B ?

Please share the details of your steps, materials< & any photos of your upgrades ?

I plan to Revise 3 of my 5 E5 models:

For my Run 1 Black Stripe E5A #9915A Silver Carrier, I plan to upgrade it to #9909A Silver Bullet with updated illuminated number boards,  cab-side numbers, E5 plates, loco name plates, & EMD-EMC builder plates.

For my Run 1 "black stripe era" E5B Silver Power, I plan to upgrade it with painted 9910B numbers, E5 plates, & EMC-EMD builder plates.

For my Run 2 Red Stripe E5A #9914B, I plan to upgrade it to #9910A Silver Speed with new illuminated number boards, painted cab-side numbers, & loco name plate.

Rob, you inspire me to tackle these upgrades !!!

CB&Q Bill

I can tell you are excited.  It will take some time for me to finish these conversions since I do not get to work on them very often.  My wife and I run a 35,000+ acre cattle ranch, and it runs us most of the time.  When I get further along with the project, I will post it all on its own thread, tag your forum name, and try to step through it all.  For now, I might say how the name boards on the A and B units were left blank, and I appreciated that.  The decals being applied are a combo of new K4 decals printed for the Texas Zephyr and a set of old Microscale O gauge decals made specifically for CB&Q E5's.  The latter are possibly out of print and difficult to find.

As with reworking aluminum and silver plastic passenger cars, the more I dink with these models the more battered and weathered they appear.  If done carefully it actually makes them look more realistic.  We all have different preferences, and I prefer the weathered look on rolling stock.

This is all way-off-topic for this thread...my apologies.

Not going to happen unless I can find an AA with the proper square windows.

OMI made a standard E6 or repaint one of the new SS units. I'd rather repaint a SS, the OMI is a clunker from 1984 with pot metal gears. You pick up a Key E6 maybe one the UP sets or similar and strip and repaint it in Belle. The antenna is pretty straight forward using brass tubing and wire, some strapping etc solder it up. Options get limited fast in o that's for sure. What about a Lionel? I agree the SS is a better model but didn't Lionel make a factory Belle job?

OMI made a standard E6 or repaint one of the new SS units. I'd rather repaint a SS, the OMI is a clunker from 1984 with pot metal gears. You pick up a Key E6 maybe one the UP sets or similar and strip and repaint it in Belle. The antenna is pretty straight forward using brass tubing and wire, some strapping etc solder it up. Options get limited fast in o that's for sure. What about a Lionel? I agree the SS is a better model but didn't Lionel make a factory Belle job?

I run 3 rail MTH and Lionel both made them and the MTH one would be good but I wanted the fixed pilots.

Scott and 3rd rail have really been hitting it out of the park with the diesels— looking forward to the gp9’s and FA’s — and hoping for e7 e8 PA and F3 reruns

I’m game for any of those.
Add the FTs to that list. Recently I’ve see some beautiful 3rd Rail FT models that are Really nice. It’s been a long time since FT run 1. I think they are under appreciated.

20230221_095137

You can see the inspiration of the paint scheme plainly here in my yard looking southwest at the Front Range on a vibrant morning, those Blue Bird skies vibrant and blue with the touches of golden yellow in the grasses and the silver and white to bring alive the snow on the Rocky Mountains. Beautiful paint scheme. These are not those cool Sunset models but my Key Model Imports 7003 set they are built and engineered as 2 rail models. You could probably gut them and cut up the trucks and make the larger wheels and pick up rollers work if you needed, not sure about the pilot if you need to make it swing, you could use a Dremel and cut it off and paint it I suppose. I’m a 2 rail enthusiast so I’ll refrain from cutting them up for a 3 rail conversion. These both have Loksound decoders and Tang Bang speakers and sound just as good as any MTH Protosound I’ve heard. No smoke, sorry my asthma won’t tolerate it.

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Some quick grab shots of my KMI 7003 on one of my photo modules. Without any arguments my personal favorite variant is the blue pilot, I would post the 1947 color Frank Novak collection shot of the Colorado Eagle departing DUS to show just how 7003 looks in that blue pilot, I love it 🥰 but it’s copyrighted violation. You can see the image in Kalmbach ”Great Trains West” 2016 special issue on pages 80-81 acting as the centerfold! 😁 But hey, they are both very nice, but I’m a sucker for the blue, and the slight mods after 1946 so I can run with the domes. Let’s hear it for Sunset for the Eagle cars! Wahoo! 👍☺️

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lit gauges and control stand

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Full engine room detail and at least a dozen incandescent light bulbs.

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Last edited by Erik C Lindgren

20230221_095411

A67A07ED-087C-48CA-91DA-026E1A084D51

20230221_095621

Some quick grab shots of my KMI 7003 on one of my photo modules. Without any arguments my personal favorite variant is the blue pilot, I would post the 1947 color Frank Novak collection shot of the Colorado Eagle departing DUS to show just how 7003 looks in that blue pilot, I love it 🥰 but it’s copyrighted violation. You can see the image in Kalmbach ”Great Trains West” 2016 special issue on pages 80-81 acting as the centerfold! 😁 But hey, they are both very nice, but I’m a sucker for the blue, and the slight mods after 1946 so I can run with the domes. Let’s hear it for Sunset for the Eagle cars! Wahoo! 👍☺️

20230221_095320

lit gauges and control stand

20230221_095347

Full engine room detail and at least a dozen incandescent light bulbs.

Nice images. The blue pilot is a neat change. 👍👍👍
It would be cool if you could stage a view at Palmer Lake if the area hasn’t been over “developed”. Perhaps one with a view of Mt. Evans in the background might be easier. 🤔🤔🤔

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