Ferguson "Family" Lines New Software From Ibracadata! WithTRIIN Train Engineer ENGI Deluxen, fromEER Abracadata®, DELUXE™ you put on your engineer's cap, open the throttle, blow the whistle and roll down the track as you race to deliver cargoes to their destinations on time. Use the authentic cab controls and view action-packed full motion videos with photorealistic scenery and genuine train sounds. The excitelllent builds as you add more trains traveling at faster speeds, but you must take greater care to avoid devastating collisions. You control the weather, time of day, number of trains, terrain, pickup/deliver schedules, customized routes and lots more. Order today and soon you will be rolling down the tracks on your home computer. Also available from Abracadata®: TRAINS: THE SCREEN SAVER™ The ultimate screen saver for train lovers and hobbyists! Includes ten screen saver modules to choose from, many with live train sounds. FREIGHT TRAINTM Run your way-freight trains on a short line railroad while enjoying real train sounds. TRAIN PAK™ Includes both Design Your Own Railroad and the original Train Engineer on one value priced CD! Design Your Own Railroad™ A complete model railroading program that helps you design layouts on your home computer. Train Engineer™ Offers you the fun of being in the engineer's seat with complete interactive cab controls. Train Engineer Deluxe Freight Train Win (CD-ROM) ..................... ...... ..................... $59.99 DOS (3.5" Disk) .................... .... ....................... $29.99 Macintosh (CD-ROM) ........................................ $79.95 Train Pak* TRAINS: The Screen Saver Wi n/DOS (CD-ROM) ... ................................. $59.99 Win (CD-ROM) ................................................ .. $39.99 Macintosh (CD-ROM) ........................................ $69.99 "'Design Your Own Ra ilroad and Train Engineer are available individually on disk. Call for information ORDER TODAY! CALL 1-800-451-4871 P.O. Box 2440 e-mail: [email protected] Eugene, Oregon 97402 Compuserve: 70751,620 (541) 342-3030 AOL: Abracadata Abracadata®Quality so/h.-are since 1985 • FAX' (<;41, h�'_ I q?<; RAILROADINGMODEL March 1997 VOLUME 27 NUMBER I FEATURES 20 T DIESEL DETAIL CLOSE-UP 33 T FREIGHTCAROLOGY Lehigh & New England (LNE) Norfolk Southern's Freight Car Fleet - ALCo FA1/FB1 Part 4: Norfolk & Western's Boxcar Fleet by Rich Picariello by David G. Casdorph T T 23 ON TRACK 36 "Family" Lines - The Drew Ferguson & Chessie New Track and The Decrepit Mountain Railroads by Jim Mansfield by Ned and Drew Ferguson T T 24 E7 - The Standard Passenger 42 The Delaware & Hudson Railroad's SD45s Diesel - Part 5 Foster Children in Railroading's Troubled 1970s by George Melvin by Mark E. Sharp 29 T A MODEL REVIEW ARTICLE 52 T BEHIND THE SCENES Greenville Steel Car Company Mill Gons A Hike into Calamity Canyon From Proto 2000 by Life-Like by Margaret Mansfield by Jim Six 54 T MODELING MODERN INTERMODAL 31 T Modeling an ACL Bethlehem 41' Building a "Triple 57" - Fixed-End Gon from a Mantua Gon The Wide-Body Piggyback Flat by Jim Six by Doug Geiger, MMR DEPARTMENTS 5 T Editorial 10 T Letters to the Editor 14 T New Products 17 T Product Reviews 61 T Computer Applications 62 T Video Review 62 T Book Beat 63 T Society Page 65 T Dealer Directory 73 T Your Trek Plan 78 T Advertiser Index ABOUT THE COVER Since the signals have malfunctioned, EL SD45 802 can proceed only with the express permission of the dispatcher. (Actually the signals are intended for operators on the Northern Virginia Model Railroaders' layout and do not reflect prototype indication.) Mark Sharp describes how he built this superdetailed EL unit and a more modestly done D&H SD45 starting on page 42. Photo by Mark E. Sharp. INSET: Model railroading is a fa mily affair in the Ferguson home. Visitors to this year's NMRA National in Madison, WI, will get a chance to visit both the Drew Fergu­ son & Chessie Railroad and the Decrepit Mountain Railroad in the Ferguson home. Father Ned and his nine-year-old son give new meaning to Family Lines starting on page 36. Photo by Henry and Joe Koshollek. .-+---+---+---'-� The HO Scale Spe�trumTMEM� Gas Electric I Preproduction model shown ITEM# DESCRIPTION 81401 Undecorated 81402 Painted Pullman Green (unlettered) 81403 Santa Fe 81404 Baltimore & Ohio (trlue& gray) 81405 Union Pacific (yellow, gray & red) 81406 Pennsylvania 81407 Great Northern (orange & green) SHIPPING NOW limited Edition: 3600 pieces each BACHMANN INDUSTRIES, INC. SuggestedRetail Price: $59.95 1400 EastErie Avenue I Philadelphia, PA 19124 RAILROADINGMODEL EDITORIAL EDITOR I PUBLISHER Randall B. Lee CONTRIBUTING EDITORS David A. Bontrager What Issue is This, David G. Casdorph Doug Geiger, MMR Anyway? (Revisited) Patrick Lawson ell, you know what they say about the best laid plans. Jim and Margaret Mansfield After several months of trying to make up a few days George Melvin eachW month on the production schedule to gradually get the Rich Picariello magazine back on schedule, I finally decided to swallow my pride and admit I'm not Su­ Larry J. Puckett perman. After receiving and weighing all the advice, comments, complaints and expres­ Jim Six SIOns of support from readers, dealers and others who have been in a similar Larry E. Smith, MMR predicament, the decision was made to not publish issues with a January or February 1997 cover date. ART DIRECTORS So how does this affect everybody? Well, dealers will be happy because they will Donna Pacheco have the "current" issue for display. Although most of our dealers have been very sup­ portive because they realize their customers are more concerned about our content than Michelle Ruffner the cover date, not having an issue reflect its actual release date did cause them confu­ sion and extra headaches. Some just wanted to know why they were getting their Decem­ CIRCULATION I OFFICE MANAGER ber issue in late January or early February, while a few just decided they didn't want to Donald R. Strait be bothered with an "old" issue and cut the top part of the cover off to send back for credit on the day they received the issue ...they didn't even bother putting the issue on NATIONAL SALES MANAGER display! Needless to say, this didn't help anyone - dealers, readers or us. Using valuable Chris Lane time to repeatedly explain to subscribers and dealers why the issues were late prevented 1-888-338-1700 us from using that time to get caught up - your proverbial Catch 22. Having completed the December issue, we had fulfilled our obligation to the postal Volume 27, Issue 1. MODEL RAILROADING is published service to publish " 12 times per year." By re-filing with them this year to say that we are 10 times a year by Highlands Station, Inc., 2600 S. Parker "monthly, except January and February" this year (and a subsequent re-filing next year to Rd., Suite 1-211, Aurora, CO 80014, (303) 338-1700. again say "monthly") we are able to make a clean start and get "back on schedule." But $3.95 (12 Price per single copy is in U.SA Subscriptions does this mean that subscribers will be "cheated" out of two issues? Of course not...you $31.95 $40.00 issues) are in the U.S A or in Canada (or should know me better than that by now. Although I had fears that extending subscribers' foreign) - payable in U.s. funds. Unsolicited manuscripts subscriptions by two issues might require making a change to every subscriber's record, or photographs should be accompanied by return postage, was delighted to learn that our subscription-fulfillment software primarily tracks and Highlands Station, Inc., assumes no responsibility for I the loss or damage of such material. No part of this publi­ "issues remaining" rather than what month the subscription expires. If subscribers check cation may be reprinted without written permission from the expiration date on their mailing labels, they will find that this month's issue shows an the publisher. Printed in U.SA expiration that is two months later than what was shown on last month's (December's) The information contained in the various articles in this label. So you are assured of receiving 12 issues for each year's subscription. magazine is presented in good faith, but no warranty is For those of you who might be wondering what the final trigger was that prompted given, no results guaranteed, nor is any freedom from any this decision, it was a letter from Bill Critzer of Los Altos Hills, CA. I had just gotten patent or copyright to be inferred. Since we have no con­ the December issue out and had lost all of the time I'd made up on the November issue trol over the physical conditions surrounding the applica­ because of the holidays when Bill's letter arrived. I've received many supportive letters tion of information in this magazine, Highlands Station, hom readers, but Bill's letter took a slightly different look at the problem of the late Inc., and the various authors and editors disclaim any lia­ issues. In part, his letter read: bility for untoward results and/or for any physical iniury in­ curred by using the information herein. "Congratulations on your venture with this magazine. I've enjoyed reading it over the past couple of years, and I think you have been successful in improving each issue. Copyright © 1997 by Highlands Station, Inc. "I wanted to add my opinion to the cover date issue. Most subscribers like a maga­ zine that is current, at least as far as the date on the cover is concerned. Therefore, I'd ADVERTISING urge you to reconsider your decision to catch-up over time.