What carriages do you use with BNSF & SFSC?

[thegurumb]

the lego 10133 BNSF and the lego 10020 Santa Fe???

Asking because i am struggling to find out which carriages you could use with both....

[jaster]

As far as I know, all ATSF f-units with the color scheme of the 10020 set were only used on passenger trains, so there are no train carriages that are cross compatible with set 10133 since, because BNSF was created after the formation of AMTRAK, BNSF has no passenger operations. Here is what most of ATSF's freight designated f-units looked like: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=287828

[henryhotspurs]

"...BNSF has no passenger operations..."

Very interesting to note. I'm glad I came here today.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Well, the Santa Fe Super Chief, I believe was designed off of the EMD FP45 from 1968-69', and only pulled passenger cars. Long since retired from operation, I have done the same and plan to set it on a few pieces of RC track as a "preserved display" for my city. The cars for this are too rich for my blood, I only acquired one. Besides I will need the extra 9V motor for the new Maersk. Apart from that it is just too elegant to haul cargo.

As for the BNSF GP-38-2 (produced 1974-75') is technically a switcher engine (not intended for long hauls) but, definitely looks good in front of TTX double stacks. Mine is hooked to a bunch of those, as well as, to miscellaneous rolling stock from other 9V sets (i.e. 4552 Cargo Crane). I prefer a little bit of realism when building my trains, though. Really its up to what you like and want to do. The above is MHO. Hope that gives you some inspiration

Edited April 6, 2011 by Leg Godt Gud

[Dan-147]

Well, the Santa Fe Super Chief, I believe was designed off of the EMD FP45 from 1968-69', and only pulled passenger cars.

Actually, the Santa Fe Super Chief is based on EMD's much older F-series; F3 built from 1945 to 1945, replaced by F7 built from 1949 to 1953, replaced by F9 built from 1953 to 1960. All three models were bought by ATSF and painted in that fantastic "War-Bonnet" livery for passenger. The FP45 is a somewhat more recent locomotive that is a lot squarer than the classic F-series.

ATSF and almost all other American railroad companies discontinued passenger service when Amtrak was formed. That is why passenger equipment looks out of place on more recent American lines.

EMD's GP series (including the GP38-2) are "road-switchers" and are used both for switching and for long-haul. Their distinguishing feature is the use of two-axle trucks. However, on long trains SD units (that have three-axle trucks) are prefered because the extra powered axles give more traction when starting the trains and also increase the dynamic braking.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Dan-147

[brenden perkins]

Dan, You are very right.

I use my Super Chief locomotive with the super chief cars on a dinner train similar to the old Railcruise America train that ran out of Union Station in St.Louis a few years back.

The GP-38 is used on general freight though, these days they're usually not that common. Most class 1 railroads use them as yard and local engines because they aren't very powerful compared to their modern counterparts and are generally a lot smaller. Some industries that railroads switch have tight curves that require 4 axle units instead of 6 axles. They're good engines but my favorite is the SD-40 that the Maersk locomotive is based on (though the trucks aren't right). They run very well. Class ones and shortlines use a lot of these old girls still. We have one where I've been lately and it's quite good at anything we throw at it.

[Tearloch33]

I have actually be looking into creating an old BN passenger train, modeled after the ATSF Super Chief. BN used the E9 instead of the F9 (or older versions) for their passenger trains, and had the nice green with white "hockey stick" paint scheme. Since I grew up near Burlington, and actually worked for BNSF right after the merger (at former BN yard in Galesburg, IL), my affection is to the BN side of things, even back to the old Burlington Route stuff. This will be a long MOC process, but will be well worth it when complete.

Here is a pic of the BN E9A used for passenger service: http://archive.trainpix.com/BN/EMDORIG/E9A/9925.HTM

One note is that the E9 is significantly longer than it F9 counterpart (F9 is 50ft long; E9 is 70ft long). Now I have to go back in and alter my LDD MOC. I was starting to think the Super Chief was not scaled correctly, but I think its consistent. Yesterday I did some looking and found the GP-38 (BNSF) and the new SD-40 (Maersk) have a consistent scale. Based on my calculations, the Super Chief should be about 27-28 studs long to be consistent with other MOCs, and an E9 build would have to be the same length as the Maersk (38 studs long) to be consistent.

Just looked throught the Super Chief instructions, and it is scaled to a length of about 31 studs, making it a bit longer than it should be to be realistic (or consistent with other LEGO trains).

Edited April 8, 2011 by Tearloch33

[henryhotspurs]

Great idea for a MOC. I will be looking forward to the end result.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Actually, the Santa Fe Super Chief is based on EMD's much older F-series; F3 built from 1945 to 1945, replaced by F7 built from 1949 to 1953, replaced by F9 built from 1953 to 1960. All three models were bought by ATSF and painted in that fantastic "War-Bonnet" livery for passenger. The FP45 is a somewhat more recent locomotive that is a lot squarer than the classic F-series.

Touche "Mr. Salesman", I looked them up on wiki before posting but, should have taken a look at the Lego itself. I was going on memory (apparently bad) as I had retired mine to the attic last year. Whoops Thank you for correcting me.