New member and new to N scale

Discussion in 'N Scale' started by anunziata1776, Nov 8, 2013.

  1. anunziata1776

    anunziata1776 Member

    I'm new to the site. For the last 8 years I was into O scale. As I got into the hobby, I found myself getting into matching what each line runs. To make it look like it does in real life in O scale can get expensive. In N scale I hope I can mimic what the lines run. One of my favorite lines is BNSF. Now I got into the legacies of BNSF. I want to now collect BNSF legacies lines in N scale. SO I hope this site can help me keep things accurate for the Frisco line.

    -Anthony
     
  2. Jim James

    Jim James Staff Member Staff Member

    Welcome aboard. We have many Frisco experts here (not me) and they are all friendly and ready to help a fellow modeler. I'm into HO scale but I'm putting together an N scale Frisco train just watch it run around my small N scale loop. Charlie Dix will weigh in soon. He's all about collecting N scale Frisco cars.
     
  3. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Welcome Anthony,

    As Jim predicted, here I am weighing in. :)

    I have a little N Scale blog at http://nfrisco.wordpress.com where I keep track of new releases. Anything we can do to help, just say the word. I don't claim to be a good model railroader but I am a Frisco N-scaler.

    Charlie
     
  4. anunziata1776

    anunziata1776 Member

    Thanks Jim and Charlie

    I really want to be accurate on the Frisco cars that ran on the lines. So Charlie no needs to be a good modeler. I would like to see your collection though. The blog looks like the right direction though.

    Thanks,
    Anthony
     
  5. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Anthony,

    On the rosters page I have an Excel spreadsheet of my roster, although I have acquired several cars since I have updated it a few months ago. I need to do that. But, it is an excellent resource for finding out what has been released during the last 15 years or so and the road numbers that are out there.

    Charlie
     
  6. anunziata1776

    anunziata1776 Member

    Charlie,

    That roater is nice but I was talking about pictures. BTW way is the road number/name a good way to stay accurate to what runs on the lines?

    -Anthony
     
  7. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Anthony,

    I think most releases from manufacturers are accurate with road numbers, etc. There are just a couple I know of that are fantasy or are way off.

    As far as accuracy of the models, the major manufacturers are really good. Obviously, the smaller you go, the more detail that is lost but I am really happy with most releases.

    Charlie
     
  8. SteveM

    SteveM Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Anthony, like the other scales, the more recent models are more detailed and more likely to be close to prototype.
    I don't have pictures to go with my inventory, but there are places like the Fallen Flags website where you can find photos of cars to get weathering ideas and check against the models as displayed on manufacturers' or stores sites. There is also ORER info available for most eras to see just what the number series included.
    There are a few other N scalers on this group and most of us will be glad to help.
    If you want to represent the ancestors of the BNSF (Been Nothin' Since Frisco) you still need to pick a year. I do 1980 which was the last year of the Frisco. Do you have a target?
     
  9. anunziata1776

    anunziata1776 Member

    Steve,
    I’m not really too concerned about the details, like the numbers on the cars. I just want the colors and the large print on them to be correct.
    Can you please post the link for Fallen Flags and ORER.
    It’s not that important to be an N scale person for what I’m looking for here. I just want to make sure my purchases of Frisco trains match the real life trains. Like what you see in books and of course years ago in person.
    As for the year and target, I like diesel engines and cabooses. I know cabooses kind of ending when diesel engines came out. Also I’ll be looking into BN engines that pulled Frisco cars. This is where this site comes in. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

    -Anthony
     
  10. SteveM

    SteveM Member Frisco.org Supporter

    First up for your train would be whether the diesels are black/yellow or red/white. The red/white scheme was seen around a lot of BN trackage for a few years until they dumped green paint on them or retired them. The red/white cabeese also made it around; I think I've seen a picture of one in Seattle. Not much of the Frisco loco fleet survived into BNSF years and I don't know that any of those got repainted into a BNSF scheme. So if the red/white scheme works for you, Atlas makes some good locomotives and a caboose. These should be fairly available, I see them at shows and shops.
    Then you need to decide roofwalks or not or the transition between. Decide on that and we can steer you to the appropriate cars/brands.
    Of course if you like the older black/yellow scheme, you'll need roofwalks on everything. There's a fair assortment of stuff for that also.
    Use your search engine for "Fallen Flags railroad photos."
     
  11. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Anthony,

    A further added point to what Steve is saying; if you want to see pictures and what the stuff looks like, I suggest checking the N Scale category on eBay daily and searching for "Frisco."

    You can use my roster as a guide to finding what is out there and people on eBay post pictures of what they are selling. You can easily check road numbers, etc., as you buy things.

    Charlie
     
  12. anunziata1776

    anunziata1776 Member

    Steve,

    So you are saying if I want to mix the BN engines with the Frisco engines. I should go with the red and white scheme. Also if I want to use a caboose with out a roof walk. What is the lastest type of engine that would be seen with a caboose and/or BN engine F, SD or GP? What year did they come out with the black and yellow?

    Thanks
    Anthony
     
  13. gstout

    gstout Member Frisco.org Supporter

    The black and yellow livery was applied to Frisco's first diesels and remained the "OEM" scheme until the company began adding GP35s in the early 1960s (this does not include passenger E-units, which were delivered in a red and gold scheme). I can't say with 100% percent certainty, but by the date of the 1980 BN merger/takeover, all the black and yellow units would have either been repainted orange and white, or removed from the roster. There are several books available which can help you with this, including "Frisco in Color," by Lou Marre, my own "Frisco in Color, Vol. 2" (both from Morning Sun Books), or Lou Marre's "Frisco Diesel Power." In any event, if you are going to mix BN and Frisco equipment, you should be thinking in terms of orange and white (yes, it looks red to me, too).

    GS
     
  14. SteveM

    SteveM Member Frisco.org Supporter

    http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/slsf/slsf770abp.jpg
    Anthony, here's a mixed consist of SLSF and BN engines, taken in 1981, from the Fallen Flag site. There may be hundreds of Frisco photos, but not that many taken after 1980. The Atlas GP38-2 should be fairly easy to find. There are also GP-15, MP15AC and U25B locos by Atlas which can be found, all in the orange and white. You will find pictures of the F's in orange and white none of them made it to the merger.
    Some of the Frisco cars available for this period are:
    Athearn 60' plug door box (yellow), 53'-6" bulkhead flat, PS 3 bay covered hopper, 50' double door box
    Atlas Extended vision caboose (two numbers), 3 bay hopper (black), 2 bay covered hopper, 50' plug door box (orange), 53' flat
    Bowser 3 bay covered hopper
    Con-cor 4 bay hopper, 86' box car
    Kadee 50' plug door box (yellow)
    Micro-Trains 52'-6" gondola, 50' plug door box (blue)
    Red Caboose 4750 cf covered hopper (several numbers)
    Roundhouse 50' box (two versions), 52'-6" gondola
    One or two of these may need the roofwalk taken off.
    Hope this helps get you inspired.
     
  15. SteveM

    SteveM Member Frisco.org Supporter

  16. anunziata1776

    anunziata1776 Member

    GS Thanks for telling me about the books.

    Steve Thanks for the pictures. I think you are correct about the GP38. It would be the best to mix with the BN engines and box cars. Here is a site I found that has all the pictures I was looking for. It seems this guy is on this site Mike Condren. Well he has a link to this site on his.

    http://www.condrenrails.com/frisco.html
     

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