American Freedom Train.......
- Thread starter enjineerbill
- Start date
enjineerbill
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Thanks Rex, kinda cool to know that perusing the forum here pays off. I'm among equals......
Johnny
enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Hello Ray.
First I must say I'm a longtime admirer of the SLO&W. I just wasn't quick enough to tell you.
The Jordan kit is a nice one in that; It's a straight forward build and it's actually two kits(1904-Olds and 1904 railroad inspection car. The car comes with an optional "rag-top". Pretty nice little kit.
JORDAN # 360-228.
I see them on Flea-Bay from time to time. But have had better luck snooping the hobby shops.........If I can help further........
Johnny
enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Time for an AFT update...
Some have requested shots of the flatcar loads for the train. Here are all 10 wagons, the forklift, Blazer and van......
Enjoy;
And my newly completed PNWC 76. This was the tool car for the SP 4449, and the PNWC stood for; Pacific NorthWest Chapter who owns the car. It was the only car in the American Freedom Train to have a small white stripe below the blue one. This was done to match the 4449.
Johnny
Some have requested shots of the flatcar loads for the train. Here are all 10 wagons, the forklift, Blazer and van......
Enjoy;
And my newly completed PNWC 76. This was the tool car for the SP 4449, and the PNWC stood for; Pacific NorthWest Chapter who owns the car. It was the only car in the American Freedom Train to have a small white stripe below the blue one. This was done to match the 4449.
Johnny
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enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Hi Jim,
All of the "wagons" are built using 20' containers as a starting point. The undergear is scratchbuilt as are the tongues. The printing/graphics are decals made from the actual photographs of the real deal. The best representation come on the display cars, they are also reproduced from photographs. There are 40 different ones; 4 on each car, 10 cars. Here are the first nine(10th one is being completed) of the 'panel' side. That is, the side that had panels flush with the sides of the car. Someday I'll post the shadowbox side.
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
The decals are from Accuen Media. The owner used my models to develope the decals and uses my equipment in his advertising/press releases. Keep in mind, that all the lettering is crystal clear when viewing the train in person. The pics do not do it justice!
Thanks Jim,
Johnny
Johnny, that's some fine decaling work you've done. Nice work on all those exhibit cars too.
NYSW, the three locomotives that pulled the train across the country still exist, two on display and one, the 4449 that Johnny is modeling, is still in occasional excursion service. The train itself was sold (or leased, not sure which) to Canada for their Discovery Train. The cars were repainted and toured Canada for two years. The train was returned to the AFT Foundation after that. The flat cars were sold off for circus work but the AFT was unable to sell any of the passenger cars. They sat in Omaha, Nebraska for 18 years, where the UP gave the Foundation free storage. Unfortunately, they were stored in a swampy part of the yard and neglected for the whole 18 years. Between time, weather, and vandals, the cars were in very poor condition. In 1995, they were sold to a scraper in Nevada. The cars were hauled to the Blue Diamond branch of the UP just outside of Vegas. The Blue Diamond branch had suspended service by this time so it was a good place to dismantle the cars and load the parts into hoppers for delivery to a scrap metal dealer, I believe in Richmond CA. The section of the UP yard the cars were stored in and the Blue Diamond branch of the UP have both been torn up. The cars ceased to exist by 1997 as the last scrap was shipped out. The only thing that remans are the three locomtoves and some artifacts from inside the train. Pretty sad fate for a national treasure.
NYSW, the three locomotives that pulled the train across the country still exist, two on display and one, the 4449 that Johnny is modeling, is still in occasional excursion service. The train itself was sold (or leased, not sure which) to Canada for their Discovery Train. The cars were repainted and toured Canada for two years. The train was returned to the AFT Foundation after that. The flat cars were sold off for circus work but the AFT was unable to sell any of the passenger cars. They sat in Omaha, Nebraska for 18 years, where the UP gave the Foundation free storage. Unfortunately, they were stored in a swampy part of the yard and neglected for the whole 18 years. Between time, weather, and vandals, the cars were in very poor condition. In 1995, they were sold to a scraper in Nevada. The cars were hauled to the Blue Diamond branch of the UP just outside of Vegas. The Blue Diamond branch had suspended service by this time so it was a good place to dismantle the cars and load the parts into hoppers for delivery to a scrap metal dealer, I believe in Richmond CA. The section of the UP yard the cars were stored in and the Blue Diamond branch of the UP have both been torn up. The cars ceased to exist by 1997 as the last scrap was shipped out. The only thing that remans are the three locomtoves and some artifacts from inside the train. Pretty sad fate for a national treasure.
enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Hello Rex. Hoping to get it all done soon for a run-by set of pics. Thanks for the comments.
Johnny
enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Johnny, that's some fine decaling work you've done. Nice work on all those exhibit cars too.
NYSW, the three locomotives that pulled the train across the country still exist, two on display and one, the 4449 that Johnny is modeling, is still in occasional excursion service. The train itself was sold (or leased, not sure which) to Canada for their Discovery Train. The cars were repainted and toured Canada for two years. The train was returned to the AFT Foundation after that. The flat cars were sold off for circus work but the AFT was unable to sell any of the passenger cars. They sat in Omaha, Nebraska for 18 years, where the UP gave the Foundation free storage. Unfortunately, they were stored in a swampy part of the yard and neglected for the whole 18 years. Between time, weather, and vandals, the cars were in very poor condition. In 1995, they were sold to a scraper in Nevada. The cars were hauled to the Blue Diamond branch of the UP just outside of Vegas. The Blue Diamond branch had suspended service by this time so it was a good place to dismantle the cars and load the parts into hoppers for delivery to a scrap metal dealer, I believe in Richmond CA. The section of the UP yard the cars were stored in and the Blue Diamond branch of the UP have both been torn up. The cars ceased to exist by 1997 as the last scrap was shipped out. The only thing that remans are the three locomtoves and some artifacts from inside the train. Pretty sad fate for a national treasure.
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the cudos. You correct about some of the trains remains. But some cars did survive. Read Below. Indeed sad that not one of these cars made to a museum in Freedom Train colors........
Johnny
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enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Well, fit this into what Jim has laid out;
Before the display cars were finally scrapped, they were involved in a runaway on the branchline where they were stored. Vandals turned loose a cut of cars which struck and derailed some of the former Freedom Train cars.
And more of the cars still survive, albiet not in Freedom Train regail, Go to this website, http://www.freedomtrain.org/ click on 1975-1976 train towards the lower right, then click on "where are the trains now". It gives information provided by the research team.
Johnny
enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Been a while for this thread.....
My Freedom train is 2 cars away from being complete and most of the delay comes from getting sidetracked from other projects and the ever-present "honeydew" list. So I thought I'd throw up a couple of quick shots of some work for a client out east.
These are reworked Lionel showcase cars. The windows were most of the project, being changed from the incorrect Lionel ones. The original cars are in the first pics of page 1 of this thread. BIG difference.....
Inside of the car sits a scratchbuilt B & O "Arabian", an early grasshopper type of thing that is being test fit. The car is in finishing stages of touch-up paint.
When I started my train, the observation I used was from the Lionel set. But the car is incorrect and needed to be changed. The real car(AFT 205) was built using a Reading coach as the starting point. So I did the same thing and from a coach created the observation platform. The last four cars of the train were Reading equipment of this type the only difference being that the pie-car (AFT 202, pictured in previous posts) had baggage doors at one end.
This car is also in the last stages of completion.
Keep on Modeling.........
Johnny
My Freedom train is 2 cars away from being complete and most of the delay comes from getting sidetracked from other projects and the ever-present "honeydew" list. So I thought I'd throw up a couple of quick shots of some work for a client out east.
These are reworked Lionel showcase cars. The windows were most of the project, being changed from the incorrect Lionel ones. The original cars are in the first pics of page 1 of this thread. BIG difference.....
Inside of the car sits a scratchbuilt B & O "Arabian", an early grasshopper type of thing that is being test fit. The car is in finishing stages of touch-up paint.
When I started my train, the observation I used was from the Lionel set. But the car is incorrect and needed to be changed. The real car(AFT 205) was built using a Reading coach as the starting point. So I did the same thing and from a coach created the observation platform. The last four cars of the train were Reading equipment of this type the only difference being that the pie-car (AFT 202, pictured in previous posts) had baggage doors at one end.
This car is also in the last stages of completion.
Keep on Modeling.........
Johnny
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enjineerbill
Avid People Watcher
Thanks Dan, hope to get it finished soon.......
Hi Jim, It's scheduled to make it's first appearance hear in SW Wisconsin in March. Thanks for following the thread.
Johnny
Hi Jim, It's scheduled to make it's first appearance hear in SW Wisconsin in March. Thanks for following the thread.
Johnny
