Starting a small NYS&W layout, questions

[mtoney]

I am starting to build up motive power and rolling stock for a NYS&W layout and I have a couple of questions. When did they remove the digital flasher beacons from the GP18's and when did the ex TP&W GP20's arrive and get put into the bumblebee colors? I just bought an old Hallmark GP18 that is beautifully painted into the bumblebee colors. I plan to upgrade her to a can motor and working flasher beacon on the roof. I also have an old Tenshodo GP20 thats in my stripper can to remove the old paint. The turbo stack is removeable, just leaving a blank hatch on the roof, so I could derate it back to a GP18 by adding the twin exhaust stacks, or leave it turbo charged. It will also get the bumblebee treatment eventualy. I know the TP&W units also had the digital beacons at one time, or twin strobes if they made it to the NYC style paint job prior to the takeover. Did the era of the GP18's with beacons and the GP20s overlap? If so then I can fudge it a bit and put the beacon on the GP20. If not they I will turn the GP20 into an 18 with the beacon. I acutaly have one of the real beacons, off a BN GP7u #1410, that is fully functional. I can just remember seeing the GP18's in service during that era during vacations out east. I have wanted to model the NYS&W since living in Erie, PA from 01 to 08. Just now getting the chance to do it. I have a small room, 100" by 110" that has a shelf type bench work around the walls, 24" deep. Right now I have a single track line with 1 long passing siding, small 4 track yard with 3 stall roundhouse. There are 4 sidings for future industires, although I may change one to a 3 track intermodel loading area. I just found this forum and I am still catching up on all the posts to educate myself more on the line. I will post up pics of my Hallmark GP18 as soon as it arrives from the dealer. All my motive power will be older brass imports with freight cars made up of mostly Athearn blue box, Train Miniature, Ulrich, Mantua and other older brands. I am very old school, love craftsman kits, brass engines ect. I hate all the RTR stuff we have today, takes the modeling out of model railroading IMHO. I run my own repair business for model trains as well as handling the repair work for the LHS. I specialize in older brass imports, remotoring, regearing and DCC/Sound installs, although I cannot program the engine at this time, just install the boards. My wife and I reside in Kokomo, Indiana now. Cheers Mike and Michele T

[mtoney]

I stopped in at the LHS and picked up two Susquehanna Athearn blue box cars, one is a Bev-Bel yellow 4 bay coal hopper and the other is a greenway products bay window caboose in the bumblebee colors. That was all they in the home colors. I know Accurail has a hopper and I have seen others in the Susquehanna road name. I need to get decals and the proper yellow paint for the engine I am prepping to paint. Paint is starting to work loose on the shell, that old factory Tenshodo paint is tuff stuff! She was a NYC lightning strip unit, but the paint was pretty well shot, and I need to custom make up a couple of hand rail sections for the pilots as they were missing. Cheers Mike

[mtoney]

Here is a pic of my Prime beacon light that is the same as used on the GP18's and D8-40b's back in the late 80's. Also a few pics of the layout under construction. Last pic is of my wife's xmas present, she is a C&O/Chessie fan, so this old Alco models RSD7 is getting the full as delivered C&O paint job. I have it in the basic blue with yellow pilot faces, waiting on decals now. It got replacement E&P Associates trucks, same as the early non sprung Samhongsa trucks and a TCS T1 decoder. This will be her first brass engine. MIke