Prototype Railroad Background

Has anyone ever heard of the Brandon Railroad in Omaha?  This company started operations in 1978, picking up the pieces from the South Omaha Terminal Railroad, a legendary switching operation that shuttled cars between the stockyards in South Omaha and the railroads that served the area (Union Pacific, Burlington, Missouri Pacific, Rock Island, Illinois Central, and Milwaukee Road).  The South Omaha Terminal was created in July 1927, a subsidiary of the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha.  The diesel fleet at the end of its life consisted of a few Alco S1 switchers.

In 1971, a rail car service called Autoliner purchased the South Omaha Terminal railroad and this company went out of business in 1978.  The car shop went through several name changes after Autoliner: Solano, Rail Car Nebraska, and then finally Rail Car America.  The Brandon Railroad was set up to take over the SOT operations – this involves switching cars for the car shop plus a handful of industries that are located in the old Stockyards area, which is the area on my model railroad layout.  The Brandon Railroad survives today as a subsidiary of Greenbrier Rail Services, which purchased Rail Car America in 2006.

I had thought about modeling a variation of this local Omaha terminal/switching railroad on-and-off before.  The problem for me is the name of the railroad in my era: Brandon.  Not entirely inspiring to me for something that used to be a great terminal railroad in Omaha.  I thought about crafting my own shortline that would take over the South Omaha Terminal (in fact, I have had an imaginary “Omaha Terminal” on the layout in the past); however, I really wanted to stay prototypical to cement the real feel of Omaha while I was growing up and any freelance shortline that I concocted never really seemed to have the right fit for me.

Since I changed my layout to be operated by a prototype railroad last year, I still didn't have the right feeling with the Union Pacific.  I really like the sense of location and connection to early railfanning that it brings, but I still wanted something that connects me to a small, industrial switching layout better.  My ultimate goal is to model a prototype with a very small locomotive fleet that allows me to easily model the entire roster.  So when I saw the photo of the C415 in the Rail Car America scheme – finally, I had a prototype railroad with a small roster in a name that sounded cool with a nice paint scheme and in my late 1980s era.  That’s when I went to work on figuring out how this terminal railroad would operate my layout.

This is the easy part, since my layout is mostly based in South Omaha on former South Omaha Terminal territory, with a small spur that heads out to Bellevue on the old Rock Island.  All of my industries are already based on real South Omaha industries, so I didn’t have to change any of that.  And the story of the South Omaha Terminal/Rail Car America taking over this operation, part of which would have been from the Rock Island, seems to make more sense than the Union Pacific adding another industrial spur at a time when they were getting rid of industrials in Omaha, like the ex-Missouri Pacific Belt Line.

Prototype Locomotive History

In 1978, when Brandon Railroad took over the South Omaha Terminal, they purchased an ex-Washington Idaho & Montana S3 and retained one of the original S1s.  In June 1981, Brandon purchased four Alco C415s from the Union Pacific, ex-Rock Island 421-424 (the Union Pacific owned Rock Island C415s 420-424 and leased them to the Rock Island).  C415s 421 and 422 were used as parts donors and 423 and 424 were sent to operate an ex-Rock Island branch in Kansas, now called “Brandon West,” which didn’t last long.  The 423 was sent back to South Omaha and the 424 was leased to an outfit in Montana.

C415 #423 was painted in a blue/white Brandon scheme in 1981, then repainted in this gray scheme by 1987.  It stayed in that scheme until the early 1990s and was repainted into a blue Brandon scheme, which was also given to an NW2 that was purchased at that time.  It appears that the C415 lasted until the mid/late-1990s, about when Brandon added an ex-CNW (original Rock Island) GP7 to its roster, which still lasts today, alongside a former BNSF (original Santa Fe) GP7u.  C415 423 was transferred to the Buffalo Southern in Hamburg, New York, and is still there today.

So I have my prototype with a very small locomotive fleet and while the temptation is there to model an S1 or S3 to complete the roster, I might just stick with the only locomotive to carry the Rail Car America scheme, C415 423.  I am also looking forward to having that Alco sound on every local switching job on the layout.

Here are a couple more photos of C415 423 in the Rail Car America scheme.  The first one is from June 2, 1987, taken by Jerry Bosanek (a slide I purchased) and I am not sure of the other photo, although it shows the other side of the locomotive.

Getting Started with the Model

I have actually modeled a C415 before, twice.  About 10 years ago, I purchased an IHC C415 and repainted it Rock Island blue/white to go with what I was modeling back then.  I added DCC to it and it ran terribly, so I shelved it for a while.  I brought it back out in 2013, replaced the drive and part of the chassis with parts from an Atlas/Kato RS3, added some new details to the shell and replaced the handrails, and added sound.  At this time, it was going to be a transfer run from South Omaha as part of my fantasy Omaha Terminal concept. 

This only lasted a few months and then I used the drive and decoder to build an Iowa Interstate RS36:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/spsf-meadow-sub-iais-rs36-for-south-omaha-transfer-12203521

This idea also did not last long and the RS36 is long gone from my roster.

So I dug through my parts bin, figuring out what I still had to build this C415 for the third time.  I still had the shell, although it was not in the best shape, and the chassis was a complete wreck.  However, this gave me an opportunity to do an even better job at modeling the chassis.  After thinking about it, I settled on two options: I could go with the Atlas/Kato drive and trucks again, or I could use a drive and trucks from a Stewart/Kato F7, swapping the sideframes for a set of AAR-B truck sideframes that I had on hand.  While the Stewart/Kato U25B AAR-B truck sideframes are not a pefect size for the real trucks, they are very close and the bearings match those of the C415s in the later years.  Plus, the slightly shorter truck length is a little more forgiving under the chassis.  I decided to buy a few parts and try things out, then sell what I didn’t need.

Here is a photo of (from top to bottom) the Atlas/Kato RS3 chassis, the Steward/Kato F7 chassis (milled down, from a slug project that I never completed), and a frame from a Proto 2000 FA, which has very similar dimensions to the C415.

First up is the RS3 chassis.  What I don’t like this is that the truck mounts are very large.  The truck centers (distance between the pins) are 30 feet and would need to be shortened about two feet to get to the 28-foot C415 truck centers.

Second is the Stewart/Kato F7, also with 30 foot truck centers.  The disadvantage here is that the frame is very thick and would not complement the sill.

And third is the Proto 2000 FA frame – still a little thick and the very short truck centers, while close to the prototype, would mean that I would have to cut down the driveshafts.

I came up with a fourth option during this process, using a Stewart/Kato U25 frame.  The frame easily accepts the Kato parts, has nice coupler mounts, and is fairly easy to cut down to the right truck centers.  I decided to compromise here and go with 29-foot truck centers because this works with the driveshafts and should run well.  Here is a photo showing the frame in the process of being cut down (I went through about seven Dremel cutting wheels, not as easy as I thought), the old IHC shell, and an Atlas C424 sill.

And here is a photo of the IHC shell, the Stewart/Kato U25B frame cut down to the correct length, and the Atlas C424 sill (also cut down to the correct length).

Backtracking a bit, about the sill and other plastic parts for the chassis: the Alco C424 is perhaps the closest to looking like the C415 – it has fairly accurate steps, pilots, and handrails that match the C415.  So I bought a pair of C424 sills from Atlas and cut down the rear of the sill of each one to fit the approximately 49-foot length (pilot-to-pilot) of the C415.  I used the March 1985 Railroad Model Craftsman as a guide here, which has an HO-scale diagram with the lengths noted.  Using the C424 sill means that the handrails fit perfectly and the stanchions closely match the C415 stanchions.  I glued the metal frame to the plastic sill using CA glue and it seems to be a solid chassis.

For the fuel tank and air tanks, I went with some leftover parts that I had from a Bowser C630 (I can’t remember where I got these parts – I may have gotten it from a C630 that I used to own, or perhaps I bought some parts from Bowser).  I cut the tanks apart and glued them to the sides of the metal box that houses the Kato drive using CA glue.

Here are some photos that show the chassis in various stages of building.  Next up is restoring the IHC shell.  I have already done the major work like sanding off the extra fan on top of the long hood, adding the bell and air horn.  I just need to add the grab irons again and work on the windows a little.

very interesting

I'm impressed

I'm impressed by the amount of modeling projects you can get out of moderately sized shortline layout, and the inventiveness in finding solutions to the C415 problem.  Probably a lot of people are sitting in their chairs waiting for Bowser's project to materialize.

Keep the blog posts and articles coming.

Question

Hi Eric,

Is it going to be dc or DCC in the end?  If DCC with or without sound?

Looks like a fun project and a great premise!

Nick

Thanks!

Scott - maybe this will inspire you to get your project off the ground?

Graham Line - I have a penchant for being indecisive when it comes to motive power and keep building things and selling them off... I hope to reach stability someday.

Nick - This will be DCC with sound, I already have a SoundTraxx Tsunami decoder, CurrentKeeper, and speaker waiting for it.  I realize it won't have the 100% prototypical sound to it, but it will be an Alco 251 turbo sound, and that's close enough for me since this project is all about compromises.

Decals!

(Sorry for the absence of updates - Flickr was down for a couple days while I finished up the project!)

Since this paint scheme is unique to only one locomotive in the world, and worn for a short time period, I had to get custom decals for the project.  I no longer have access to Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop and can't design my own decals anymore, so I had to enlist the help from someone else.  A good friend of mine recommended Precision Design Company:

https://www.pdc.ca/rr/custom_decals/

I was very pleased with Bill's quick turnaround and also how well the decals were designed and sized for the C415.  They came out perfectly and look superb on the model!

Shell Detail Work

I worked a little on the chassis and shell every night so that I could have time to wrap up the project on the weekend.  With the handrails and fuel tank details done on the chassis, I turned my attention to the forlorn shell, which had taken a bit of a beating since the last locomotive project.  I first tried removing the window glazing, which resulted in some of the window openings coming out and then the whole roof of the cab came off.  So I would have to restore most of the windows.  I stripped the shell in 91% isopropyl alcohol to remove the last paint scheme, which was a pretty nice fantasy OL&B scheme (I don't even remember why I painted it in that scheme, it's like you get a second-hand locomotive and wonder where it came from!).

I had to add the grab irons again because I used them on some other project, so I drilled the holes again and added them.  I used Atlas C424 grab irons for the curved grabs, which are a really nice touch to set off the unique Alco Century series look.

For the window restoration, I use the same technique as before: I cut out windows from a B23-7 cab.  This way, it would be fairly easy to add the glazing back in.  Because of previous B23-7 projects, I have a lot of these parts on hand and the dimensions match pretty well.  This involved a lot of filing to get them to fit perfectly, using styrene glue, and then adding putty to fill in the gaps.

Here are a couple photos of how the shell looks after these details:

Ready for Paint

Here are some photos of how the whole locomotive looks like before painting.  I decided to add a few more details that I noticed on prototype photos: the KarTrak ACI panel mounts and the jack brake mount along the handrails.

DCC and Sound

For DCC and sound, I used a SoundTraxx Tsunami2 Alco PNP decoder.  This fits nicely on top of the Kato drive and is easy to add LED lights to, attached the pickup wires from the trucks and drive, and add a speaker to.  For the LED lights, I use Stretch Magic material and attach it to the LED light with shrink wrap tubing to create a fiber optic system.  I added a CurrentKeeper to help with movement over switches and any other rough patches of track.  For the speaker, I initially purchased a nice Bowser speaker, but it actually was too big to fit in the rear of the locomotive.  So I tried to cut it down, which then ruined the sound.  Looking in my parts, I found an old iPhone 5 speaker, which still worked and fits nicely in the shell.

Even though I finished the DCC/sound assembly after painting and weathering (since the frame and sill are one complete piece), I started putting everything together earlier so it would be ready to drop in.

Here is a photo of the DCC and sound installation, except that I don't have the large Bowser speaker in there.  This shows the model already painted and weathered.

Paint and Decals

With the shell and chassis work done, I painted the chassis Engine Black and the shell SP Letter Gray, both Badger ModelFlex paints.  I hand painted the steps and railings Signal Yellow.  Then I added some gloss coat, put the decals on and let them dry, then another coat of gloss.  After this, I weathered the locomotive using a diluted light brown paint for dirt and then used gray and black pastels for some grime.  After that, I assembled everything.  I had some running issues with the trucks and ended up filing off the small nubs on top of the Kato trucks and it ran much better.  I used tacky glue to keep the Stretch Magic "fiber optic" LED lights in the light openings, secured with kapton tap.  I use silicone adhesive to keep the speaker and CurrentKeeper in the shell.  Then I let everything dry overnight and gave it a good test run the next morning.  The shell fits well over everything and I lightly secured it to the chassis with a little CA glue, so I can fairly easily get back in the shell for any maintenance in the future.

Here are some finished photos and a little video at the end:

NICE!

VERY nicely done Eric! You really nailed it, and it looks like Bill did a great job on your decals. 

Thanks, Joe!

Yes, this is definitely going to be my favorite locomotive now! And I was overly impressed with the decals, the colors came out great!

HO Alco C415 Project

Very nice job on a very interesting engine.

I did a project several years ago very similar to yours. I modified the old ATT body and modified and shortened an Atlas RS3 frame and running gear. I was going to add sound but couldn't find a decoder withe the Alco 251 V12 engine so just waiting. I model NP & SP&S so had to have this. 

Great job!

Looks very good.  I like the description of the work to get a good C415 and how the task was broken up into easier to accomplish projects.  Seems like it was one of those projects that once gets started just had to get finished.

Thanks!

Thanks, Larry and Tom.

Larry - That's a nice looking SP&S C415!  I like how you were able to put on the hi-ad trucks and use the RS3 mechanism.

Tom - you are right, it was one of those projects that I just had to finish once I got going.  I also wanted to get the decoder tested to make sure it works.  And I love that Alco sound!

Such an Awesome Build and

Such an Awesome Build and thank you for sharing! I've wanted a C415 for sometime now and this is quite the inspiration! Especially seeing the DCC/Sound added! Maybe I'll be able to find one someday too ;-P

Inspired by Eric and Larry! So I made two C415's

I was so inspired by Eric and Larry's work,  I decided I needed two C415's.  Though,  I certainly didn't put the time and effort in that they did.  I start with Life-Like Mehano shells and grafted them onto Kato rs-1 chassis.   Added Econami dcc/sound, led lighting,  handrails and a new paint job for the RI C415.  Love them Alco's!

C415 Nation

Mine is a Mehano that runs surprisingly well. No flywheels. It will creep. Has a NCE decoder and LED lights and Beacon. Replacing the handrails is next. I have a spare shell. And just so happen to have a spare U25B chassis and C424 sill. Thanks for the ideas.

Source Document

Eric, would it be possible to get a copy the article in the Mar, 1985, RMC that you used?  I no longer have that issue and Carstens sold the publishing rights to White River, which does not have an archive that old.  I need the proper dimentional data and a drawing, if it exists.

Eric "Ric" Zimmerman

Alco C415

I wanted to know if you can give me a total list of parts you got to make the Alco C-415.  I sent your a message also on Facebook Messenger which might show up as a message request. hope to hear from you

Looks like you are about done

But if you  search C415 in ebay you will find a Rock Island body ready to go.

Michael H