Trains of the Old West

[Christian]

Choo choo!

Hi guys, my first post in a while. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break and all that I've entered the new year with a hankering for some Old West action, and wanted to know if anyone had a decent resource for trains of the Old West?

My project will likely be in 1/72, or HO scale, and combine an electric train kit with some gaming too. Should be fun!

So yeah, any pics or other resources would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[bandit86]

there are alot of train site, it's a big hobby.  Just go to Google and put in model RR  I am sure you would find tons of stuff

[Doc Twilight]

Christian does have a point though.

You know, Christian, I was tempted a while ago to do a troop train, maybe even an armored train, taking troops to the front in WW1, but
I've never been able to find appropriate period trains or information. Most of the kits that I found seem to be for a much later period, though I did find some very interesting early stuff (just too early for WW1).

Good luck with your search! Hope you find some useful stuff.

-Doc

[Cory]

As bandit86 said, there is quite a bit of information out there.

The Union Pacific and Central Pacific made up the first transcontinental line which ran from the Chicago/St Louis area to San  Francisco in 1869. This is the classic railroad of the American west. It was followed by the Southern Pacific which ran across the American southwest and the Great Northern and Northern Pacific both of which ran across the upper tier of states.

In addition there were numerous narrow guages such as the Denver and Rio Grande which ran shorter distances, often connecting mining concerns to the mainlines.

You'll want a train set with a 4-6-0 engine. This will have the large stack so commonly associated with the period.

[Cory]

Doc, were you talking about the narrow trench lines?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_railways

http://www.rmirailworks.com/WW1_Trench_Train.html

[Christian]

Hi guys, thanks for the responses so far. You're right, it's a big hobby. Thanks to Cory I now know where to start looking I will post up what I have found so other people can use it too!

[HerbyF]

I have found that the toy railroad sets & even some Christmas trains work better than model trains for 25/28mm. Most model trains are HO which is too small or much larger scales. If you can find them S gage is in scale with 25/28mm figures. I have a number of sets plus some odd cars I picked up at thrift stores. I even got some useful buildings out of some of the sets.

[sukhe_bator]

Alternatively you could take another tack. Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time in the West' was more about the advancing construction of a railroad than about the trains themselves. They rarely featured. There's excellent scope for modelling/wargaming without ever seeing a train - work gangs, possibly even Chinese, with the option to introduce shady characters hawking opium, girls, liquor etc., the labour camps themselves, tent towns, foraging parties etc. All you need is track etc. A good campaign objective could be to stem the advance of the Railroad...

[dodge]

i love once upon a time in the west , atruly remarkable story

and a good idea 

dodge

[Christian]

That's a great idea! Seems like this idea has trailed off into oblivion though That is a good flick, might have to pull it out again... might even get some painting done while I'm at it!

[Hawkeye]

I love the idea of a campaign being about the advance of the railroad, but before it's actually physically there. In part, it's because Once Upon a Time in the West is such a great movie, of course.

That said, I managed to get my Toys 'R Us Western Express train, and I was VERY impressed at how closely the scale matches up to my 28mm Artizan and Foundry miniatures! Of course, I've only painted one Old West model so far, although I've converted another couple and LOTS are based and ready to paint. Now all I need to do is find the time...

Once I do, though, and once I have a good lightbox for photos (my miniature photos are usually terrible) , I'll be starting a project log.

I should add, I'm new to the forum, and I love it. I've been meaning to get my Old West models painted, and get some buildings built, for a while now, so this is a good excuse to do it! Also, I think the Pulp thread is great, which means that I'm now tempted to get interested in yet another era/game type. Oh well!

[axabrax]

Does the Western Express toy work with any model track? They don't give you much track with it do they?

[Schogun]

The Western Express (and other FastLane/Goldlok) trains are 1/48th scale and use American O gauge track.

[Hawkeye]

O Gauge track, you say? That's good news, Schogun, because it's true what axabrax says - you don't get a lot of track with it (well, straight sections, that is). I had been thinking of getting another one, just for the extra track, but if O Gauge is the same size, then...

[Cheeky Monkey]

Sorry about the necro-post but just came across it in my travels through LAF and thought that if anyone was still interested I'd post a link for those interested in narrow guage/western rr's.  http://www.railserve.com/Models/Layouts/Narrow_Gauge/
this is a directory site listing dozens of model RR's - most are HOn3 or On30 - and the links to the builder's sites with pics and layouts. Enjoy