New HO Dinner Belle Train and Restaurant

DISCLAIMER:

These new items don't specifically say Frisco or SLSF on them but because of the possibilities they offer.

Walther's is releasing a generic HO Dinner Belle Train and Restaurant. To me it offers an opportunity for us modern era modelers to offer special movements to accommodate this. I welcome responses from all of you as to how you could work one of these your version of the Frisco. Possibly a "Peanut Butter Special".

http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/dinner_belle

 

It is a pity that so many modern railroad operations refrain from adopting classic color schemes for their equipment. Many regional and shortline railroads, rapid transit and trolley lines as well as dinner trains carry colors that belong on carnival trains instead. Even Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey´s all aluminum circus trains look much better than some of the regional and shortline railroad schemes in use today.

I have often asked myself why the A&M doesn´t use the Frisco black and yellow scheme as an example? With the famous Santa Fe Warbonnet scheme having been applied on the old Lionel FAs in HO scale why the Grand Canyon didn´t paint their FAs in that scheme or even the blue and yellow freight scheme. Lionel´s O27 FAs wore that scheme complete with red stripes that seperated the colors.

A dinner train with red and gold Frisco inspired E unit colors on the motive power and passenger cars in a Texas Special scheme would really look sharp and help keep the heritage of classic American railroading alive. The great thing about model railroading is a modeler can protolance or freelance a dinner train or "restore" a favorite steam or diesel locomotive to suit personal taste to operate on his or her layout.

Joe Toth

 

Joe, you have to realize that the folks who started up the A&M were not locals, had no Frisco connection. As business people, they had to impress potential customers that they were not the BN in any shape or form. New attitude/new image. Otherwise we wouldn't have a railroad of any kind to remind us of the old Central Division. The original and the current management deserve praise for revitalizing the line and continuing to develop it.

 

I think you have to give the A&M management group, and their workforce as well, a lot of credit for putting together a heads-up operation. I have spent considerable photographing short lines and regionals, and without question the A&M is one of the sharpest-looking. Many of these operations have a locomotive fleet that is a dog's breakfast of second- or third-hand units running on track that is barely good for 10 mph. I think the A&M is fine just the way it is. For nostalgia's sake, yes, it would be nice if they had gone with yellow and black, but then, the Frisco never owned any of the second generation Alco units that A&M operates (this in itself is a VERY rare treat), so it is just as well that they went in their own direction.

GS

 

I´m not picking on the A&M at all nor do I expect them to change their corporate image. A former Frisco Alco in b/y sure would look good smoking up the Ozarks though! Mabie they would consider a heritage locomotive? I still would love to see a good old EMD GP7 saved as well in my lifetime. This Fourth of July I make a big turn onto "Route 66" and will not give up hope that this project gets a start too.

Joe Toth