Greetings all,
My name is Matt, 38, and from Iowa.
I have a story to share if you will humor me it has a point.
I have been modeling Santa Fe ever since my father bought me an Athearn blue box Kodachrome SD40-2 as a kid. As far back as I can remember, I always wanted a Bicentennial SD45-2. Back then you had to kitbash like nothing else and find someone willing tackle the paintjob. I never found anyone but I continued collecting post cards, photos, etc of the ATSF Bicentennial Unit.
I lost interest in Model Railroading when I hit high school but you never really grow out of it. Fast Forward 18 years.. Due to issues beyond my control I went from a skinny kid in high school to gaining a massive amount of weight after high school. Eventually I found myself tipping the scales at 625lbs by age 32. I was told unless I did something drastic I would never live to see 40.
March 25th, 2009 I underwent gastric bypass and due to complications was stuck in the hospital for an entire month including my 33rd birthday. My dad walked into my hospital room, said happy-birthday bud, and placed a yellow box with a cardboard slip-cover on my bed. There in all it's glory, the Athearn Genesis Bicentennial SD45-2.
Just like that, the model railroading bug bit me again and I decided I wanted every bicentennial I could get my hands on. By sheer luck I googled them and found a man selling his late brother's collection. He said his bro would be happy knowing his collection went to someone who loves them as much as he did. He said if I agreed to take the entire collection off his hands that he would be willing offer me a deal. I bought 2 locomotives a month for 7 months at $45 plus shipping for each unit. My final purchase, a Precision Craft T1 4-8-4 Reading American Freedom Steamer @ $90 plus shipping.
By 2011 in just 2 short years, I stepped onto the scale on my Surgery Anniv. I had managed to loose 425lbs. through extreme pain and discipline.
As my Bicentennial collection continued to grow, so did my Santa Fe HO scale rolling stock.
Here is my RTR collection thus far:
Bicentennial Locomotive Collection
Athearn
GP38-2:
Boston & Maine #200
Durham & Southern #2000
Detroit Toledo & Ironton #1776
Grand Trunk Western #1776
Illinois Central Gulf #1776
GP35: Soo Line #1776
SD40-2:
Milwaukee Road #1776
Burlington Northern #1876
SD45:
Erie Lakawanna #3632
Norfolk & Western #1776 (High Nose)
SD45-2: Santa Fe #5702 (Athearn Genesis)
SD45T2: Southern Pacific Cotton Belt #9389
Atlas & Atlas Master/Silver Series
MP-15DC: Belt Railway of Chicago #534
U30C Phase 3: Burlington Northern #1776
U23B: Delaware & Hudson #1776
Alco RS-1: New York, Susquehanna & Western #252
GP40:
Western Pacific #1776 (Presidential Seal)
Western Pacific #1976 (Liberty Bell)
I acquired those 2 WP units last Dec. after a 4 year search. They were not part of Atlas's regular releases but a limited run for Peterson Hobby Supply out of Portland OR.
InterMountain
FP7: Alaska Railroad
Bowser Executive Line
GE U-25B: Southern Pacific #6800
Athearn/Bachmann Hybrid Kitbash
GE U-36B Seaboard Coast Line #1776 (The very first Bicentennial Locomotive)
Bachman Blue Box
4-8-4 GS4: Southern Pacific American Freedom Train Steam Locomotive #4449
Precision Craft Models
T1 4-8-4: Reading American Freedom #1 Steam Locomotive
Non-Bicentennial Patriotic Locomotives
Athearn
SD40-2: United Way #3300 (Snoot Nose)
Bicentennial Locomotives I am looking for or have yet to pick up:
Kato
SD38-2: Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway #668
Atlas
GP38-2: Long Island Railroad #252
Future Releases:
Athearn Genesis
SDP45: Erie Lakawanna #3638
Bowser
Baldwin S-8: Youngstown Steel #805
S-12: US Steel #16
US Airforce #1863
RS-12: California Western Railroad #55
I also have over a dozen accurate bicentennial rolling stock both factory and custom jobs.
I am very proud of this collection as hunting all these down helped to keep my mind off the extreme pain I experienced post-surgery and all the other pitfalls.
