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Any idea if an older Atlas GP40 would be easy to convert to DCC? Or would it even be worth it? This would be from when they made them in Austria. It looks like this:

I am looking at putting a GP7 hood onto a GP20 frame. Does anyone know if an Atlas GP7 hood would fit the frame of a Proto 2000 GP20? There seems to be more Atlas shells available than Proto 2000. Thanks for your help!

Does anyone know if there are loads for these cars or if loads will be made in the future? http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/920-37009

I am working on a fleet of modern boxcars for the Rock Island. I bought several Roundhouse 50' Hi-Cube boxcars, both in the double- and single-plug door combinations (photo below). I am trying to figure out if these cars should have 33" wheels or 36" wheels. I have tried both on them and it...

The weekend is upon us - lets see your photos! I was able to run some of my latest locomotive projects at my friend Don's house last night with Matt. Here's the best photos: First, a little peek at the immensity of this layout. A shot of my Alco switcher I ran my newly...

I am working on a set of modern boxcars (1990s era) and am trying to find a decal set for them. I found a set for freight car data, 1970-1980, but there is no image for the set...

I have been working on these projects in the last month or so. These involved repainting, decals, weathering, and standardizing. I only added a decoder to the U33B thus far; I have yet to figure out the internal workings of the Alco. Enjoy! Alco C415 This started life as an IHC Rio Grande...

The Alco PA is perhaps my favorite passenger locomotive. As a modeler of the modern Rock Island, I had always thought, what would a PA look like in the Rocket paint scheme? So I thought I would try it out! Microscale offers a nice decal sheet for this and the painting of curves and stripes was...

Here's the latest to come out of the RI Denver Shops, besides the GP9. RI 8081 is a Kato, former CPR and 8099 is an Athearn, former beansniff. This is the second Kato I have bought (first is an F40PH) and I am really impressed with it and can't wait to run it! Here's a few production...

I just finished my website based on my fantasy modern-day Rock Island railroad: www.rockrail.com This website serves as a virtual representation of my model railroad empire. I will be updating this site in the future as I finish new modeling projects and as I have more time to create new...

So I am working on some locomotives that require this decal set: The problem is, they are all sold out at Microscale, Walthers, and my local train store. Plus, I have scoured the internet via Google, Model Railroader's web directory, and all sorts of internet retailers. Does anywone know...

Continuing with my recent interest in unique switchers, I would like to take on modeling a modern Rock Island C415 by Alco. However, this project has to main delimmas: where to get the locomotive and what color to paint it. As for manufacturers, I have found that only IHC makes a model C415...

I have been reading a book on Rock Island in the early diesel era and that got me to thinking: it might be cool to model a GP7 or GP9 with a chop nose, which could survive into the modern day and be used for switching purposes. I looked around for a model and found a cheapie...

Here's the latest to come out of the Rock Island paint shop: Athearn SW1500 Atlas U36C Broadway Limited AC6000CW The AC6000CW came out worse than expected, but it was poorly repainted when it was in the SPSF pinstripe scheme, so I didn't have too high of expectations. I...

I haven't started this in a while, so I'll take a stab. This is the first time I have run trains since the Sunrise club closed down last fall... my friend Matt and I went to a friend's house to run trains with a couple other folks we know. This layout is amazing! It was without a doubt the...

As a modeler of the modern-day Southern Pacific Santa Fe, I am always looking for ways to paint my locomotives easier. I had an idea to use BNSF's new paint scheme as the starting point for my painting, and decided to try it out on an Athearn RTR AC4400CW. The advantage here is that I can have...

This is a true fun weekend for me! I started it out right by running trains at the club last night and will be taking an Amtrak trip this weekend. Only Denver to Omaha and back, but it will be nice to ride the rails! I just finished an RDC project. I used old Athearn RDCs, which aren't...

:) Ahh, the weekend is here at last! I started it out right again by running trains at the club. I am finally a member in good standing now... This time I ran a 12-car boxcar train with 4 transit vehicles and a caboose, with 2 SD45T-2s at the point! I think the conductor told me these...

Yay! The weekend is here! I started it out right by running trains at the local club last night with my friend Matt. I ran a 20-car local mixed freight of mostly boxcars. Old SD40T-2 5187, a former Rio Grande (still painted in the post-takeover scheme from '84) is on the point...

Weekend Photo Fun for the weekend starting on Friday, June 30, 2006! I haven't posted in a while because I have been out traveling a lot lately. And I took my first Acela trip a couple weeks ago! Now for the model trains - these were taken at the Sunrise Club last night. My...