Out to pasture

Here are a few prototype glimpses of the scene around the IAIS's Council Bluffs enginehouse in May 2005.

IAIS 413 and 431, patched and restenciled for new owner Power Source Supply (PWSX), May 15, 2005.

IAIS 401 just hours after receiving its own rebranding, May 15, 2005:

IAIS 401, 483, 413, and 431 all lined up and ready to depart the railroad they'd faithfully served for 21 years, May 26, 2005.

IAIS 401 and 413.  These are Intermountain GP10s with the drives and gearing removed so they can roll freely for their interchange move to the UP.  Weathering was done with Pan Pastels and oils, with road name and reporting mark patches done with Future floor finish and Microscale decals.  Since the prototypes were wiped clean prior to patching, I left the Future area shiny around the patch.

Old meets new.  IAIS GP10 402 meets its replacement, GP38-2 717.

Next up for patching and departure:  IAIS GP7Ms 408 and 405, along with GP8 466, which will go on to become IAIS slug 650:

I didn't have room for all those on the layout, so they're represented on my layout by GP7M 405, kitbashed from P2K components by my friend Ole Pade in Sweden.  I weathered the 405 with PanPastels.

Question

I admire your work. Stunning. Do you know of any “how-to” videos on the Future wax procedure?

Thank you

Thanks very much Mark.  I probably wasn't clear about my use of Future, because there's really nothing to it.  I just brush it on straight out of the bottle for those areas needing a gloss finish.  It's my go-to product to prep a surface for new decals, such as when repatching a car or locomotive, and most often, I'll apply Dullcote afterward the new decals are in place in order to remove the shine.

I also use Future when I simply want a shiny surface that'll remain, such as on fresh paint, like LLPX SD38-2 2802's new fuel tank:

I believe I heard that Future is now marketed under the name "Pledge for Floors", at least in the US.

Pledge Floor Gloss

Joe, it looks like Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss is the name of the product today.  I just looked at Wal*Mart a few weeks ago and I think it was Pledge for Floors as you mentioned.

Robert

I really like the modern transition eras!

Hi Joe,

Thanks for calling attention to the modern transition eras, I feel they don't get enough attention.  I personally like the early 1990s, when the widecabs were coming on the scene and microprocessor-equipped locomotives were replacing the first and second-generation diesels on Class I railroads (similar to what is going on with your railroad in your era).

And thanks for showing what's going on in your enginehouse at the time, the IAIS was certainly making a lot of progress then!  It's cool you get to model a little bit of both - you get some new power and can still retain some of the older diesels before they left!

A new definition of "transition era"

Once again Joe, you captured a moment in time. Well done. Modeling a different "type" of transition era; never thought of it that way. I agree with Eric; there are many of them out there in different "shapes and colors". My B&O layout is set in late September 1956. This was at the very beginning of a transition era when the B&O just started to renumber their diesels from 3 digits to 4 digits and steam the other way around. Since I am an all diesel guy, maybe I could have one in the 4 digit scheme to help set the "time tone". 

Thanks for sharing and giving us a different way to look at "transition era".

Fran Giacoma

The Modern Transition Era

That's a good way to describe it, Joe.  I'm modeling 2004 for those same reasons.  I feel like I can justify the use of a small fleet of Alco power, but clearly they will be on their last legs.  Another reason that I chose a similar era was that I didn't want to have conspicuity stripes appearing on all of my equipment.  My fondest railfan memories and experiences were formed mostly in that early 2000's period up to 2005 or so, spending a lot of time on the IC&E along the Mississippi River in Illinois and Iowa.  Regrettably, I didn't devote enough time to IAIS before most of the older geeps were out of the picture.  The rebuilt GP and SD38-2's were leading trains in droves by the time I put in the effort.  Thankfully, we have your layout to turn to for a nostalgia fix!

Seeing a modern transition era locally.

The Portland & Western has quietly announced that most or all of their SD/GP 7 & 9 locomotives will be gone by the end of the year. It's not that they aren't working well - by all accounts, former SP SD7 #1501 is the best yard switching locomotive they have - but apparently the company wants to standardize on EMD 645 powered locomotives. They currently have an inventory of GP39-2's, some GP38-somethings's (one of which used to be a  GP35), GP40s and SD40s of assorted heritages (some were SD45's with radiator flares, I believe).

567 -> 645 transition

The Grafton & Upton just went through a similar transition.  At the beginning of their revitalization about 10 years ago they had acquired several older EMDs - an F7, a CF7, a couple GP9’s, and painted them all up nicely in a new paint scheme.  It was cool.  But in the last couple years they’ve bought 3 or 4 used MP15’s and leased a couple more.  Apparently the fuel efficiency of the MP15’s compared to the older engines makes it well worth leaving the older engines with the nice paint jobs sitting unused.

Thank you

Robert - Thanks for the update on Future/Pledge.  For those who haven't tried it yet, it's definitely a useful addition to your arsenal.

Eric - Thanks very much for your encouragement.  Yep, I definitely had motive power variety in mind when I chose this era.  Really a neat mix of power, and as a bonus, four UP detours ran over the West End that month as well, offering another neat juxtaposition of new against old.

Fran, your idea of having one 4-digit diesel on hand as a sign of things to come sounds really interesting.  I love it when little touches like that help to tell a story on our layouts.

Ryan, I think you're in good shape regarding those Alcos.  The IAIS's MLWs stuck around many months into 2005.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of what you're planning.

Jeff and Ken, the P&W and G&U sound like some neat operations.  Nice to know that their 567s hung on for as long as they did!  It's been 12 years since the IAIS sold their last 567s.  I sure miss them.

Regionals in Transition...

sure make for great modeling!  I'm a huge fan of the GP10 Paducah rebuilds myself.  I'm modeling a somewhat similar regional, if a bit smaller, Farmrail in western Oklahoma.  Both started on remnants of the Rock!  I discovered that I could have a lot more variety, and more carload traffic, by not modeling the present day on the railroad, and instead modeling the late 90's and early 2000's.  I enjoy following your work!

Alex

Same with me, only 2005.  For me to model the present day IAIS in my current space, I think I'd have to switch to N scale due to so much of the traffic transitioning from carload to unit trains.

Thanks Alex!  Us regional guys have to stick together.

Perpetual Transition

For almost as long as railroads have existed, there has been some form of change occurring and with it the establishment of a different operational definition of "transition era". I grew up during that early 2000s time and despite being young, it seems like things have changed for the railroads I used to and still see today from back then. Some new power then is now about a decade older while units on their way out then have now exited stage left to either a new life or retirement. Train traffic through my hometown is still decent, but they eliminated the single-track bottleneck that used to exist there and elsewhere which used to make things really busy. Even now the local short line I've known for their whistling not only changed operators a couple years ago, but now may be edging closer and closer to potential abandonment.

Despite growing up in modern times, I've always found myself attracted to older railroads as well as the older style of railroading that gradually disappeared on big roads in the later part of the 20th-Century. I'm primarily a mid-70s modeler due to my own "transition era" period definition since the railway scene was changing. Some older interesting 1st-generation diesels are almost done on major Class I railroads while most 60s 2nd-generation diesels are still earning their keep. Early eastern railroad consolidation is already appearing with Chessie System, Family Lines, and even Conrail. ACI labels are still standard equipment but will soon be abandoned altogether due to massive reliability issues while consolidated stencils and lube plates are becoming the new normal for freight equipment. Although I have some interest in the mid-late 60s as well as the early-mid 80s, the mid-70s provides most of what I want. However, the 60s and 80s have their own "transition era" definitions as the former really kicked off railroad industry trends that would continue in the 70s while the latter saw mass consolidation and rebirth of railroads following the Staggers Act.

I remember

I remember all of those Paducah builts coming in. I grew up blocks from the old Joliet Main, and was ten when the Rock folded. Besides the RTA (soon to be Metra) trains running through, you never knew what would run next. Suddenly it was strings of dilapidated geeps still in IC paint that were printed "Iowa Interstae". Weird to think those locos lasted 20 years.

Eric