New Software FramI Ibracadata! TRAIN ENGI EER DELUXE™ With Train Engineer Deluxen l from Abracadata®, you put on your engineer's cap, openi the throttle, blow the whistle and roll down the tradk as you race to deliver cargoes to their destinations time. Use the authentic cab controls and view action-deracked full motion videos with photorealistic scenery aid genuine train sounds. The excitement builds as yo add more trains traveling at faster speeds, but you must take� , greater care to avoid devastating collisions. You c ntrol the weather, time of day, number of trains, terraindr pickup/deliver schedules, customized routes and lots more. Order today and soon you will be r<pllingl down the tracks on your home computer. I Also available from Abracadata®: TRAINS: THE SCREEN SAVER™ The ultimate screen saver for trai 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™ I Includes both Design Your Own Railroad and the original Train Engineer on one value priced CD! Design Your Own Railroad™ A complete model railroa ing program that helps you design layouts on your home computer. Train Engineer™ JI Offers you the fun of being in the engineer's seat with complete interactive cab controls. I Train Eng ineer 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 Win/DOS (CD-ROM) .... ... .. .. ... ... .... ... ... ... $59.99 Win (CD-ROM) . ........ ....... ..... .... ................... $39.99 Macintosh (CD-ROM) .............. ........ ... ..... ... $69.99 *Design Your Own Railroad 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 AbracadataQlla/iTy sofTware since 1985 ® • ( 4 ) RAILROADINGMODEL April1997VOLUME 27 NUMBER 2 FEATURES 20 ... Freelancing! Cabooses - Part 1: An Interface 56 ... FREIGHTCAROLOGY of Prototype Inspiration & Imagination Norfolk Southern's Freight Car Fleet - by David A. Bontrager Part 5: Southern's Boxcar Fleet by David G. Casdorph 28 ... MODELING MODERN INTERMODAL Maxi-Stack® Well Car 60 ... E7 - The Standard Passenger Part One: The Prototype Diesel - Part 6 by Doug Geigel; MMR by George Melvin ... CP Diesels in Black and White 32 64 ... Southern Railway 2160 - the CL3 by Bob Boudreau. Another Engine that Never Was by Jim Teese, MMR 37 ... VEHICLE MODELER A Look at Vehicle Modeling Today 70 ... BEHIND THE SCENES by Bob Benson, Dan Goins and Chris Lane Wide Open Spaces 40 ... Lenses by the Dozen by Margaret Man5jield by Dave Donaldson 72 ... ON TRACK Orders of the Day: 53 ... DIESEL DETAIL CLOSE-UP Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range (DM&IR) EMD SD9 Track Maintenance by Rich Picariello by .Jim Mansfield DEPARTMENTS 5 ... Editorial 6 ... Letters to the Editor 7 ... Society Page 10 ... New Products 15 ... Product Reviews 18 ... Video Review 18 ... Book Beat 26 ... Computer Applications 48 ... Product Review 73 ... Dealer Directory 81 ... Your Trek Plan 86 ... Advertiser Index ABOUT THE COVER No, you haven't lost your color vision. During the power shortage of 1993-'94, CP Rail acquired some SD40-2s from GATX that were former Norfolk Southern and Kansas City Southern units. Although eventually repainted, they initially carried the CP Rail logo in their original colors. Turnto page 32 for more. Photo by Bob Boudreau. INSET: Vehicles play an important part on every model railroader's layout. This month we take a closer look at this segment of the hobby and see how one modeler has upgraded his tractor/trailer fleet by making lenses by the dozen. Photo by Dave Donaldson.. We've Computerized SignsGalore to help you get what Model Railroad you need. Over 147 sheets offset printe,d. Graphics Most at $3 Are Your Streets OUR VERSION OF THE PLAIN?? Use our signs or get signs you want. Call or writeI MOST POPULAR for details Please send $1 for Brochure, Catalog and Order FoIr m LOCOMOTIVE EVER. 9 carl iL� � : ��1�'8150 email-Ploch�[email protected]�� Voice &� FAX (904) 445-6�I53 DCC is Now Affo MASTER FROM A Photo of assembled MASTERSERIES kit Compare our features: • I Amp (1.3 Amps peak) power handl ing • Designed to easily fit HO narrow hood dieseIl s (2.25" x .650" x .25" size). Comprehensive assembly manual To B. Compatible with NMRA DCC Standards and Recommended Pract ices Support for both short (1-127) and long (0-9999) locomotive addresses Supports "programming on the mainline"" The most poplJar passenger locomotive ever built, the is Automatic conversion to DC operation E7 Headlight plus an additional function output now available in N scale from Life-Lil"e. It features micro-molded Smooth 14,28 or 128 speed step control Customizeable loco "speed table" response detail parts, interior bracing visible tlll'ough the side grills, laser­ with over 250 speed step resolution quality paint sch.en'les, Micro-Trains® compatible coupler pocl"ets, Support for advanced MU consisting. Adjustable sta n voltage, acceleration and highly detailed sideframes, blacl"ened metal wheels, no traction deceleration tires and more. And the Life-Lil"e E7 is available in powered A-units, with a 5-pole sl"ew wound armahlre motOl; 8-wheel drive Compare our price: and electrical picl"up, and dual machined brass flywheels, as well as Box of decoder kits: 15 $�88 Introductory two pack: 1.1l1powered B-units where appropriate. For even more details on 5 � 9 tIllS popular performer, visit your dealer today. Mastercard - Visa - Amencan Express accePt�d Shipping extra. NY residents include sales Jlax . AvaJable undecorated and in two nll1n.bers ead, of the following roads: Baltimore and Olno, Boston and Maine, Chesapeal<e and For our complete catalog call or write to: Ol,io, Chjcago anel Northwestenl, Great Nort),ern, New Yorb CentraJ, Rocl< Island and Union Pacific. North Coast Engineering (716) 671-0370 1900 Empire Blvd., Suite 303 WE BUILD THEM THE WAY THEY USED To. Webster, NY 14580 ©1997 [nc., Union Avenue, Baltimore Life-ukeR-cxlucts, 1600 MD 21211 http://www.mrains.com/n In CamcL" 140Applcwood Cn.'5Cent,Concmd, Onialio L"K 4E2. 4 ... MODEL RAILROADING APRIL 1997 EST EDITORIAL RAILROADINGMODEL EDITOR I PUBLISHER Randall B. Lee CONTRIBUTING EDITORS The Freelance Dilemma David A. Bontrager David G. Casdorph ears ago, all model railroads were freelanced. Most of us didn't know much about Doug Geiger, MMR how real railroads operated or functioned. Imagination was the key. Everything Patrick Lawson Ywas made up: the railroad name, its herald, where it ran, the city(s) it operated in, how it Jim and Margaret Mansfield operated, what motive power and rolling stock it used, and a myriad of other details were George Melvin all hypothetical. Rich Picariello Then along came maturity. The model railroad press began presenting articles about Larry J. Puckett real railroads and how they functioned. No longer could we be content with our igno­ Jim Six rance. We learned when certain railroad practices were abolished like certain brake Larry Smith, MMR types and roofwalks on boxcars. We discovered "era." In the last few years, the amount E. of prototype information has exploded. This has naturally led the hobby to be more concerned about the real thing since that's what we are trying to model. Manufacturers ART DIRECTORS have swept us along in this need for accuracy, too. Donna Pacheco Freelancing, as loosely defined by some in the model railroad fraternity, has always Michelle Ruffner meant imagination. Everything about the layout: paint schemes, towns, locations, motive power, reason for being are all fantasy. There is nothing "real" about the layout. CIRCULATION I OFFICE MANAGER Freelancing has, unfortunately, become a negative concept for many. At the opposite Donald R. Strait end of the spectrum is prototype model ing which implies duplicating a real railroad, even to scenery and operating practices. Which is the "right" way? There is a middle NATIONAL SALES MANAGER ground: prototype freelancing - fo llowing prototype practices on a freelanced layout. Chris Lane For many, this is the key. 1-888-338-1700 So just what is prototype freelancing? Some would call it as establishing a sense of reality on an imagined layout. By putting your model layout on an actual map, you give Volume Issue 27, 2. MODEL RAILROADING is published the viewer a sense of "rightness" or belonging. But what about the totally freelanced 10 times a year by Highlands Station, Inc., 2600 S. Parker layout? How does it fit in? Is there a truly "freelanced" layout or are we all just pursu­ Rd., Suite 1-211, Aurora, CO 80014, (303) 338-1700. ing degrees of prototype freelancing? Price per single copy is $3.95 in U.SA Subscriptions (12 Most of us begin model railroading very haphazardly. We mix eras of rolling issues) are $31.95 in the U.s.A. or $40.00 in Canada (or stock. We have Old West buildings next to modern concrete strLlctures. Everything foreign) - payable in U.s. funds. Unsolicited manuscripts about the layout is fantasy, including its setting, name and function. Then we read or photographs should be accompanied by return postage, and Highlands Station, Inc., assumes no responsibility for about the prototype and compare our layout with the real thing. The dream layout can the loss or damage of such material. No part of this publi­ quickly become a nightmare. Too many inconsistencies contribute to viewer and visi­ cation may be reprinted without written permission from tor confusion. the publisher Printed in U.SA For many of us, the layout is a very personal statement.