Howdy, If you are a modeler, what is your modeling era? If you are not a modeler, do you have a specific period that interests you? Please vote in the attached poll. Best Regards, mike
1978-1982. This way I can run (not all at the same time): Frisco pre-merger Frisco post-merger old BN locomotives (GP7, SD24, RS3, F units) newer BN locomotives GP50, 6-axle GE units (U30C, C30-7) other new equipment from interchange roads. Cheers, Colin
The last 7 years or so- this way I can include F9Bs with my SD45s, run GP7s and GP15-1s together, and have GP40-2s on my hotshots. I do have some "retro" locomotives (RS1, RS2M, 44-tonner, 2-10-0, E8A) on my roster that I run from time to time. At any rate, in my era I can run Santa Fe, SCL, KCS and UP diesels on run-throughs.
I think I posted a reply to this somewhere earlier (??), but I can't model the Frisco without passenger trains and since I'm in N scale where the steam engine selection isn't much good, I chose the 1955-1963 period (so as not to have any mandarin and white or "simplified" paint schemes on the property). You have the heyday of the streamline Texas Special and Meteor and "Race Horse" E-units, but plenty of HW passenger cars and black and yellow freight and switch engines. Tom
I just noticed there are at least 5 intrepid souls out there modeling the "Foundation Years" and "Golden Age." I'd be curious to hear more from them - we've been fortunate enough to see some of the fine work that Jim James has done with his Zalma Branch. When one reads through the old Frisco Employees Magazines from the 1920s it sure makes for a compelling argument to backdate!
Don, aside from the obvious motive power appeal, what led to 1943 for your era choice? When I was even more ignorant of the Frisco, I picked this year on the presumption that war traffic was really starting to ramp up; therefore, it would be plausible to run troop trains, second/third freight sections and lots of extras as needed. Best Regards,
When I was working with old head engineers in the early 70s, they would talk about their experiences during the war years. If you have the space on your layout you can actually run trains with eight sections and be prototypical. One of my engineers told me that they would have an order for a straight meet for tr x at siding a, and they would watch train after train after train (well you get the picture) carrying the green until eight sections of that tr x had passed. I read somewhere years ago that during the war the Frisco moved more tonnage/mile than any other single track railroad. When you consider the oil refineries and the military bases and the cities on the Frisco, it is easy to see how that could be. If you have a copy of "Frisco Power" by Joe Colias, look at the train order on page 173 for an example operating issues the crews had to deal with. When I see that order it amazes me that more accidents didn't happen. Terry
Thanks for sharing the story, Terry. This is the type of operational information that I thoroughly enjoy reading. Yes, I've read over that train order in Frisco Power many times, and decided that I likely could not have been either an engineer or a dispatcher during that era. I think the caption in the book alludes to this, but I suspect there was an extra degree of stress trying to read that much on a flimsy at night, in a poorly lit cab. Best Regards,
I actually model two Frisco eras, the 1940-1960 steam/diesel transition and the 1960-1980 second generation diesels, but I never pass up a chance to acquire a Frisco locomotive from any era. George
I'm with you George, those are two very interesting time periods in the life of the |-|Frisco|-|. Can't resist steam, 1st Gen Diesel, 2nd Gen Diesel, 3rd Gen Diesel and the equipment that trailed them all.
