RITS Newsletter
Issue 117 First Quarter, 2001 Volume
28, No. 1
Speaking of Models
by Steve Hile
It
seems like forever since I have written one of these columns. I apologize
for the delay. A huge number of Rock Island models have come on the
market. Rather than pursue one or two in detail, I would like to
list as many as I can along with a few photos, sort of an extended Short
Hauls. Well, (deep breath), here goes. In no particular order,
these are all HO scale:
Athearn has been busy. They have upgraded their SD40-2, and added
a new 50-foot outside post boxcar painted white and lettered for ROCK.
They have done a very nice job here with added details including individual
hand grabs. I added a platform across the coupler on the ends.
The ends are predrilled for this part (which can be obtained from Plano).
I touched up the hand grabs with white paint. They have painted their
age-old 40-foot boxcar in the RI Centennial scheme, which is as bogus as
the car number used.
Accurail has made a very nice model of the USRA double-sheathed 40-foot
boxcar. It includes AB brakes, which would be correct for the �50s,
and very nicely executed Andrews trucks. For the RI model, all three
components of the brake system should be on the same side of the center
sill, with the reservoir located to the right of the triple valve as viewed
from the side when the hand brake wheel is to the right.
Kadee has done several PS-1 boxcars in the last few years. There
are two numbers in 40-foot cars with 6-foot doors and two more 40-footers
with 8-foot doors. So far there is one 50-foot car with 15-foot double
doors. Another one of these seems likely.
Atlas produced their RS-3 in the black and red wings scheme.
Since this is not detailed for the commuter service, the unnumbered locomotive
might be a better choice as it can be numbered 470-475 for freight service
locomotives. They have a new run of GP-40s coming, none decorated
for RI, so far, but with a choice of no dynamic brakes in the undecorated
version. They did a nice job on the 60-foot �Precision Design� boxcar
in Rock Island.
Sunshine Models has released a 40-foot steel auto boxcar in resin kit
form, and has announced a kit for the aluminum express boxcars as well.
Sticking
with resin kits, Rocket Express (Ron Von Werder, RITS member) has added
a 50-foot single-sheathed auto boxcar to his 40-footer. The prototype
is still observable at the Illinois Railway Museum.
Other new Life-Like offerings include a new run of 4,427 cubic-foot
capacity P-S covered hoppers depicting the large block lettering scheme.
Different numbers are available both pre-assembled and in kits, available
singly or in pairs. Their 52-foot 6-inch flat car is dead-on for
RI and goes together easily.
Stewart�s new Baldwin VO-1000 could be decorated for Rock Island.
They have not yet announced doing the RI painting for us. I hope
they will.
Eastern Car Works has done a 3,600 cubic-foot airslide hopper and Oddballs
Decals has created two nice decal sets for this particular model (of which
the RI had only a few.)
In passenger cars, Walthers has announced a Budd-based coach decorated
for Rock Island. I would not waste any time on IHC passenger cars;
the bodies don�t match Rock Island prototypes.
Overland Models has announced brass outside braced cabooses in several
paint schemes, as well as the magnetic rail defect detector cars 1800 A
and B. These will be very limited and pricey.
Tichy has released a new plastic kit for the 53-foot 6-inch war emergency
gondola. It is undecorated, but includes decals for RI and other
roads. The RI lettering could be done better, but is adequate.
This is another choice for this particular prototype, in addition to the
old Ulrich kit or the resin offerings from Sunshine or from Funaro &
Carmelengo.
As has been discussed on RITSList, Greenway Products offers a brass,
sloped front, �sports model� cab for USRA locomotives. They could
be used with the Athearn light 2-8-2 or the P2K 0-8-0 to bring them closer
to RI prototypes.
That should do it for now. I am sure there are others that I
have missed, but oh how far we have come in RI model availability.
As always, sales of existing models are used by the manufacturers to gauge
what other models/paint schemes to produce. Please continue to support
those manufacturers who bring out models for our favorite road!
Until next time�..