My model of Iowa Interstate’s SW1200 250 just got a sound upgrade. It has a Loksound Select decoder and I had been using ESU’s 16 cylinder 567 prime mover sound. But ESU recently released a 12 cylinder 567 which is a perfect fit for the engine. 

The sound is incredible. Since the 250 is my layout’s primary locomotive, having the correct prototypical sound is very important. The 12 cylinders have a nice throaty chant that ESU captured well. 

If interested, you can hear the sound at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EYTMJWnMT0

Hi, I am trying to figure out the kind of locomotive I used to see in the U.P. of Michigan. It looked like a GP20 but had 3 axles per truck instead of 2. It reminded me of a SD40-2 except half the length. Any ideas on what kind of locomotive it might be? thanks!

Athearn Sw/7 Cow and Calf.  Cow powered, Calf Dummy - who makes a good draw bar for these?  The railroad in question used a draw bar, so it is prototypical, and it solves the bad coupler issue I was looking at.

Got a show coming up this Saturday, so a good time to look for them at various vendor stations, but I need to know whose part to look for.

My first ever Lionel didn't come to me inside wrapping paper. I was in 4th grade, and it was at the town dump. A friend of our family saw it, and grabbed it for me. It was MPC era, and appears to be a incomplete, slightly mis matched 1970 "Yardmaster" set. I was going on a biking trip with my family that day, and couldn't wait until I could see the train. I dug it out of the box, and looked it over. Funny thing is, the container it was in was by coincidence a trash can, without a lid. The train was in junk condition. But it was complete. The tracks were rusty.