Conrail SD50/60

[GonzoCRFan]

I went back and re-checked the e-mail discussion about the walkways, and I was mistaken. New units were delivered with black walkways. Upon being repainted, the walkways were typically painted blue. Then the unit might have the black non-skid paint applied. This is one of the many things that makes Conrail a true pain in the a$$ to model, but it is a labor of love.

[randgust]

Well, I'm not even close to being a Conrail modeler.

But I did live on the Southern Tier line (west) between 1983 and 1992, on the ex-EL main at Waterboro Jct.

As soon as the SD50's came out, a pair was the standard power on ELOI and OIEL, the only two through trains we had.  For some odd reason, I'd heard that the STW was 'unusual' in that respect, hanging onto the SD50's longer than most areas, just like we held onto cabooses longer.  When through traffic was cut in 1991, that was one more good reason to move.  But I'll admit, a pair of those units back-to-back was every bit as 'pretty' as E-L paired SD45's that I saw in the 70s'.  They were usually clean, well-maintained, and photogenic.  I sure took a lot of shots of that time.

But I'll also be honest.  I couldn't tell you trucks, fans, anticlimbers, whatever.  They were just the 6700's, and they were pretty much all we had!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Randy, you wouldn't happen to have those photos scanned would you?

[randgust]

Actually I do, some of the best ones, as they have been used for several purposes.  I'm not sure how many feature the 6700's.  I don't have any on my web space library though.

My brother-in-law was in the Navy then as a photographer, and I was given a CASE of free Kodachrome slide film that was too close to expiration and was 'disposed of'.  I put it in the freezer and shot that stuff to death.  I've never shot so much stuff before or since.  Only about 3% was ever scanned and that's mostly been the prints; the slide stuff was published but never scanned.

If you go back to TRAINS magazine, the little feature "Conrail Blues", that's me, and that's the spot.  My house was just up the hill on the north side.  Also did a couple articles for Railpace.

[ljudice]

Pairs of SD50's were common on the Lehigh Line as well - prior to the C40-8W's, a large proportion of merchandise trains were SD50/SD50, while intermodal trains were GP40-2/B40-8/B36-7 combinations.

My reason for bringing this up is that - using the 12 inch or so rule here - it sounds as if taking Atlas SD60's and renumbering them (with black numberboards of course), and repainting some of their walkways rusty blue - and applying some dust and grime is probably the least bad way of assembling a small group of SD50's.  Yes the trucks are wrong, but could be fixed, no way I would touch that rear doorway, but the anticlimbers would be much closer.