• Has your prototype ever been involved in a wreck or accident

  • Discussion related to everything about model railroading, from layout design and planning, to reviews of related model tools and equipment. Discussion includes O, S, HO, N and Z, as well as narrow gauge topics. Also includes discussion of traditional "toy train" and "collector" topics such as Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, and others. Also includes discussion of outdoor garden railways and live steamers.
Discussion related to everything about model railroading, from layout design and planning, to reviews of related model tools and equipment. Discussion includes O, S, HO, N and Z, as well as narrow gauge topics. Also includes discussion of traditional "toy train" and "collector" topics such as Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, and others. Also includes discussion of outdoor garden railways and live steamers.

Moderators: 3rdrail, stilson4283, Otto Vondrak

  by Tom6921
 
With VIA 6400 recently wrecked and now looking like it will be written off, :( , I had painted, detailed, and decalled an undecorated Spectrum F40 as 6400 back in 2007, I am understandibly upset about the circumstances as my model of 6400 was one of my "pride and joys". Has anyone else done a custom model of a particular unit or car only to have the prototype wrecked. I know of at least one or two people who also made models of VIA 6400.
  by Cadet57
 
I haven't had a model that has wrecked. But my amtrak AEM-7 is 901. I bought it after my first trip by train to DC and 901 was our locomotive from NHV to WAS. It was also the same loco I had pull me from WAS to BOS twice. And if it is ever wrecked I think I would feel the same way as you. I consider 901 to be "my" AEM.
  by ApproachMedium
 
I thought the 901 was wrecked recently? I know the 902 was going to be retired after they set it on fire in penn station from the axles burning up. Gotta love it!
  by Cadet57
 
ApproachMedium wrote:I thought the 901 was wrecked recently? I know the 902 was going to be retired after they set it on fire in penn station from the axles burning up. Gotta love it!
I saw 901 on 1/5 in NHV. 900 and 902 were wrecked. But 901 was still going strong as of January.
  by ApproachMedium
 
Ah good to know. Someone told me the 902 was at the NJT MMC sometime last fall. I know they talked about just canning it after the fire in penn station last summer.
  by timberley
 
Tom6921 wrote:With VIA 6400 recently wrecked and now looking like it will be written off, :( , I had painted, detailed, and decalled an undecorated Spectrum F40 as 6400 back in 2007, I am understandibly upset about the circumstances as my model of 6400 was one of my "pride and joys". Has anyone else done a custom model of a particular unit or car only to have the prototype wrecked. I know of at least one or two people who also made models of VIA 6400.
I had the same thing happen....only I just finished painting/detailing my Walthers F40 as VIA 6400 a week (yes, one week) before that derailment...

I do not expect 6400 will be written off. The damage isn't quite that bad. It was supposed to be rebuilt a second time later on, to the same standards as the rest of the rebuild fleet (extended carbody for HEP generator, 3rd HID headlight, etc.). The expectation is that it will now just be rebuilt to the same as units 6402, etc. This still means though, that even when 6400 is rebuilt, our models will still be inaccurate, unless we go to the extra length of extending the carbody and kitbashing that HEP generator bulge....and the 3rd light.

Interestingly, this is not the only VIA unit I have that has been in a derailment. My first Walthers F40 is VIA unit 6450 (in the "Canada" scheme). This unit was leading Train 14 at Mirimachi, NB, on January 30th 2000, when it hit a switch locked in the wrong direction and was diverted into a string of parked freight cars. The front truck came off and destroyed the fuel tank, and the front of the body was badly damaged.

This is the most recent photo of it:
http://www.canadianrailwayobservations. ... ia6450.jpg

So, parts of it may be riding around as elements of other F40s.....but for my purposes, it will stay the way it is!
  by timberley
 
Cadet57 wrote:According to the scuttlebutt on Railphotos, there is frame damage and will be scrapped.
So I see, thank you. That's rather unfortunate news. 6400 was the first F40 VIA received, and it's sad to see it come to such an untimely end.

All in all, it seems I now have two scrapped models on my hands.... (well, 3, if you also count the N scale 6400 I did up!)
  by ns3010
 
timberley wrote:
Cadet57 wrote:According to the scuttlebutt on Railphotos, there is frame damage and will be scrapped.
So I see, thank you. That's rather unfortunate news. 6400 was the first F40 VIA received, and it's sad to see it come to such an untimely end.

All in all, it seems I now have two scrapped models on my hands.... (well, 3, if you also count the N scale 6400 I did up!)
Dude, you need to stop modeling VIA! Pretty soon, you'll have killed off half the roster! :-D

Well for me, not scrapped, but sold. I had a NJT 4115, which was recently sold to Metro-North. I'm almost positive it's still hanging around (ApproachMedium, I know you work for NJT, could you confirm this?) and the only one that has been sent out for a rebuild is 4123. Fortunately (for me, kinda), it was getting old and kicked the bucket (as in the model), and I was able to get a replacement for a pretty good deal. Haven't decalled it yet, but it'll end up as 4126.
  by timberley
 
ns3010 wrote:
timberley wrote:
Cadet57 wrote:According to the scuttlebutt on Railphotos, there is frame damage and will be scrapped.
So I see, thank you. That's rather unfortunate news. 6400 was the first F40 VIA received, and it's sad to see it come to such an untimely end.

All in all, it seems I now have two scrapped models on my hands.... (well, 3, if you also count the N scale 6400 I did up!)
Dude, you need to stop modeling VIA! Pretty soon, you'll have killed off half the roster! :-D
Well, thankfully my two other F40's (6429 and 6444) are still running fine, although 6444 has now been rebuilt (rendering my version obsolete), and the model I have of 6429 is in the short-lived Home Hardware promo scheme. My VIA P42s (912 and 915) are still running, but have now had an extra HID headlight added to the front, so they're inaccurate now anyways :P
  by Cadet57
 
timberley wrote: Well, thankfully my two other F40's (6429 and 6444) are still running fine, although 6444 has now been rebuilt (rendering my version obsolete), and the model I have of 6429 is in the short-lived Home Hardware promo scheme. My VIA P42s (912 and 915) are still running, but have now had an extra HID headlight added to the front, so they're inaccurate now anyways :P
Hey, don't feel too bad, my AEM-7 is in Amtrak Phase 3 paint and has been rebuilt to AEM-7AC. Still haven't taken the time to update mine :P
  by ApproachMedium
 
Whats this HID headlight on a locomotive that you all speak of? Must be a canadian thing, i have yet to see any US railroad have the thought to invest in such complex technology beyond a sealed beam halogen.
  by timberley
 
ApproachMedium wrote:Whats this HID headlight on a locomotive that you all speak of? Must be a canadian thing, i have yet to see any US railroad have the thought to invest in such complex technology beyond a sealed beam halogen.
It's a Xenon pencil-beam High Intensity Discharge (HID) light, something like this: http://www.offroadunlimited.com/orustor ... duct=12503 It's directed far down the tracks, to provide better long distance visibility. From what I've heard, crews have foudn them helpful at night, but also during the day for showing reflective safety vests etc. at a greater distance. On dull, rainy days, they are also helpful.

VIA has added them to all of the rebuilt F40s, some of the not-yet-rebuilt fleet, and has been adding them to all of the P42s.

Here are some examples:

A P42 with the extra light, mounted above the regular 2 lights:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 057&nseq=7

A rebuilt F40PH-2d, with the light mounted below the regular 2 lights:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 37&nseq=13

And finally, a not-yet-rebuilt F40PH-2d, with the light mounted below the regular 2:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 960&nseq=1

Hope that clears things up.
  by workextra
 
How many lights do these trains need? If I remember correctly it was a Canadian railroad that started with the now accepted practice of auxiliary lights.
The current setup with the headlights (top/middle) and Auxiliary lights (lower left & right) seem to be bright enough. What purpose does this 3rd light serve?
If the practice becomes law in Canada, and work's successfully, It won't take long before the FRA catches the bug the all railroads must install this new cosmetic feature.
  by timberley
 
workextra wrote:How many lights do these trains need? If I remember correctly it was a Canadian railroad that started with the now accepted practice of auxiliary lights.
The current setup with the headlights (top/middle) and Auxiliary lights (lower left & right) seem to be bright enough. What purpose does this 3rd light serve?
If the practice becomes law in Canada, and work's successfully, It won't take long before the FRA catches the bug the all railroads must install this new cosmetic feature.
It was indeed after a derailment in the Rocky mountains that ditch lights were introduced, and became standard in Canada long before they were implemented throughout the US. It was also Canadian National that first fully implemented the "comfort" or "safety" cab, now standard in North America.

This new headlight on VIA Rail's units is for extra visibility farther down the tracks. There are many lines their trains run on that go through wooded areas with lots of animals that may stray on tracks, or through heavily populated areas, and at high speeds, making visibility more of an issue. Unlike Amtrak, whose high-speed lines are mostly closed off to vehicular traffic, VIA has a lot of level crossings through its "high speed" corridor routes. At higher speeds, seeing farther ahead on the tracks is a more significant priority.

I have heard from one VIA engineer, who commented that he found the new headlight worked great. Night visibility was a lot better, farther down the tracks, and it was also very helpful on dull days for lighting up signs, safety vests, and other reflective surfaces.

While it is working well for VIA, I don't expect to see it adopted any farther than that. The only likely application in the States would be with Amtrak, as they have the high speed concerns, but even that I don't expect to see.

Interesting thing though...with comments about Canadians and extra lights, you may wish to recall the Southern Pacific, and the extra lights they often had:

Image

http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/7 ... 505600.jpg