Locomotives
Athearn Genesis MP15AC- Having been offered in three early CSX schemes thus far- Seaboard System, CSX "Bookends" YN1, and CSX YN2, these are terrific additions to any early CSX collection. The tooling is state-of-the-art, and the mechanisms are extremely smooth-running. Overall, these are better executed than their 'competitor', the Atlas MP15DC, with one notable exception; those silly loose-fitting headlight bulbs. A common problem across the entire Athearn line, it can be fixed by replacing the bulbs with lenses and light-emitting diodes inserted into a short length of brass tubing, glued inside the shell behind the headlight openings.
Athearn Genesis SD45-2- This is a fantastic model and was offered factory painted in almost every CSX scheme worn by the prototype. From a detail standpoint the tooling is excellent, quite possibly Athearn's best ever, and the mechanism is a smooth runner, provided you avoid the early, difficult-to-program MRC sound-equipped versions like the plague. There were some lettering placement issues on the factory-painted CSX "Stripe" models; the large CSX side initials are misplaced; they should be closer to the radiator section. These models have roadname-specific details pre-installed; in the case of the CSX units, that would be the distinctive five-chime horns, sunshades, pin lifters, and wind deflectors. The models also feature correct headlight placement; cab or nose, depending upon roadnumber. They are a must have for anyone modeling early CSX mainline traffic. Like the Genesis MP15AC models, the only major issue with these is those loose-fitting headlight bulbs.
Athearn RTR SD50- The "late-anticlimber" version of this model closely matches the majority of the units from the final Seaboard System order, and the entirety of the final Chessie order, units 8603-8623 and 8624-8643, respectively. Aside from minor handrail stanchion spacing, air reservoir placement, and fuel tank differences, the model is a very good match. The "early-anticlimber" version of the Athearn SD50 does NOT match any of the CSX units, due in part to differences in the pilot sheets; other differences include the height of the dynamic brake access doors and the lack of X-pattern on the roof access hatches. Mechanically speaking, these weren't the best, since they use the old gold, flat-sided, open frame motor found in Athearn 'Bluebox' locomotive kits. Both of mine sounded like coffee grinders right out of the box, and I've read reports that they don't track well on tight curves; but since my minimum radius is 30 inches, I don't have any trouble. If you do, you can fix the issue by filing down the length of the middle axle in each truck; this gives the middle axles more side-travel and helps prevent binding on curves.
Atlas B23-7 and B30-7- General Electric introduced the "Dash 7" line of locomotives in 1977. These locomotives were intended to offer improved reliability and fuel economy over the previous "U Series". The B23-7 and B30-7 were designed to compete with the EMD GP38-2 and GP40-2, respectively. SCL, L&N, and C&O bought numerous copies of the U and Dash 7 series from GE, giving CSX one of the largest hand-me-down fleets of GE units in the late-1980's and early-1990's. It was no surprise then, that CSX modelers everywhere rejoiced when Atlas announced their high-end Master-line B23-7 and B30-7 models in 2005. The Bachmann B23-7 model had been available for years, but was barely above cheap train-set quality, leaving practically no way to easily model a Dash 7 unit; the only options were the crude Rail Power B23-7 body shell kit and various Overland brass units (and the hefty price tags that followed them). Following the announcement, Atlas wasted no time in offering the "Phase 1" B23-7 painted in CSX YN2, followed by the second run which contained "Phase 1" B23-7 models in L&N (Family Lines) and "Phase 1" B30-7 models in Chessie paint. Two more subsequent runs resulted in "Phase 2" B30-7 models in CSX YN2, Seaboard System, and CSX "Transportation" schemes. All of these units, with the possible exception of the Chessies, are recommended acquisitions for any modelers of early CSX mainline traffic. Atlas made the unfortunate mistake of reproducing an uncommon paint scheme quirk on their Chessie B30-7; they have the roadname riding about six inches lower on the hood than than the original paint specifications called for. It is painted well below the vermilion stripe on all of the Atlas models, which was a characteristic of C&O units 8255-8264, and most of the C&O 8245-8254 group as well; the units came from the GE factory painted this way. By circa 1985, the low-quality GE factory paint had pretty much reduced itself to its basic elements, and it was not unusual to see Chessie B30-7's with hardly a trace of any lettering at all. When they were repainted in the Chessie scheme at Huntington circa 1984-1986, the low-riding roadname was not repeated (in addition to having a few other paint differences). The prototype B30-7 class was overhauled by CSX circa 1991-1992 and most of them received YN2 paint at that time. On the other hand, the Family Lines paint as modeled by Atlas on their B23-7 is wonderfully done and a few of the prototype units remained in this scheme all the way into the Conrail takeover era (although by then they had received yellow nose patches and ditch lights). From a tooling standpoint, the Atlas B23-7 and B30-7 are of overall great quality, despite suffering from undersized radiator sections, and the hood doors immediately behind the cab on the B30-7 models do not match any of the prototype CSX B30-7 units I have inspected. Furthermore, on the Atlas "Phase 2" B30-7 models, the rear headlight/numberboard configuration does not exactly match the CSX units.
Atlas (Master Line) GP38- The Atlas Master Line GP38 first hit the shelves in 2000, and right out of the gate, Atlas did early CSX enthusiasts a favor by offering their model factory-painted for both Family Lines and CSX YN2. The Family Lines models represent Clinchfield units repainted in the late 1970's at Clinchfield's Erwin, TN shops and therefore have quirks not found on most other non-Clinchfield Family Lines locomotives, namely yellow numberboards and inverted ribbons on the long hood end. Also, the "Family Lines System" lettering is less bold than was typical of units not repainted at Erwin. Since there were only ten GP38's on the Clinchfield roster, they were quite the minority in the Seaboard System and early CSX fleet; B&O, C&O, and L&N all contributed dozens of GP38 units to the CSX roster. At least one ex-Clinchfield unit, CSX 2180, kept its Erwin paint scheme until 1995. Subsequent runs of the Atlas GP38 contained models painted in B&O "Capitol Dome", Chessie, CSX "Stealth", and CSX "Stealth" with yellow nose patches. Atlas offers two intake filter options on their GP38 model, "Early" which simulates the smooth, contoured dynamic brake hatch of units equipped with oil-bath intake filters, and "Late" which simulates units equipped with paper-element air filters; these units are characterized by a large, angular box that interrupts the smooth design flow of the dynamic brake blister. While later GP38's came from EMD with paper-element air filters already installed, many older GP38's were retrofitted, including several of the ex-Clinchfield units. The L&N units featured nose headlights and "extended range" dynamic brakes, characterized by extra length and a small access door in the dynamic brake blister. The Atlas model represents a "Phase 1a3" GP38, making it a reasonably close match for the following:
- B&O 3800-3849 (CSXT 2000-2049)
- C&O 4820-4829 (CSXT 2120-2129)
- CRR 2000-2009 (CSXT 2180-2189)
Atlas U30C- General Electric produced the U30C from 1966-1976 as a competitor to the EMD SD40 and SD40-2. Although plagued by reliability issues typical of the GE "U series", the U30C gained lukewarm acceptance as a coal-hauling locomotive, and as such L&N ended up purchasing 79 units (over 13 percent of the domestic production total, the third largest U30C fleet in the United States). These units were primarily based out of Corbin, KY and spent the bulk of their lives shuttling coal from the eastern Kentucky coalfields south to power plants in Georgia and Florida by way of the "KD Sub" through Knoxville, TN. C&O and ACL both purchased modest single orders of the U30C as well, however the thirteen C&O units were retired prior to 1987 and never wore CSX roadnumbers, and the four ACL units left the CSX roster before 1990. The ex-L&N U30C units were in the twilight of their service years by 1990, and the last active ex-L&N unit left the roster by late 1992. None ever received YN2 paint, and only a combined total of 31 of the L&N and ACL units received full CSX paint at all. A few of the units kept their L&N paint until retirement, although typically the L&N logos had been painted out with plain gray by Seaboard System, leaving only the renumbering patch as legible lettering. The Atlas model is overall well done, the only minor quibbles being the thickness and shape of the pilot sheets and bottom steps, the giant view block inside the cab, and the incorrect placement of the L-shaped grab irons atop the nose. The model best matches L&N 1470-1498 and 1563-1582; all other L&N U30C units have extra reinforcement at the tops of the pilot sheets, which is not present on the Atlas model. Meanwhile, the four ACL units employed the earlier U28C style carbody, which is quite different from the Atlas model. Atlas has offered their U30C model factory-painted in L&N "Trapezoid", CSX "Two-tone", CSX "Stealth", Seaboard System, and Family Lines paint schemes, all of which are recommended purchases for a modeler of early CSX coal traffic in the middle-southeast United States. Here is a breakdown of the CSXT renumbering for the series that most closely match the Atlas model:
- L&N 1470-1498--(CSXT 7200-7228)
- L&N 1563-1582--(CSXT 7257-7276)
Atlas "Master Line" GP40- The CSX GP40 fleet is probably the most difficult unit class to keep track of and model accurately; practically every CSX predecessor road contributed multiple orders of the locomotive to the roster; between numerous phase differences and railroad-specified options such as fuel tank size and headlight placement, the variations are astounding. The ACL and L&N units are notable for their lack of handbrakes on the fireman's side of the nose, and the ACL units were also notable in that they were equipped with Gyralites both front and rear. The Atlas model represents a "Phase 1a3" GP40, making it a reasonably close match for the following:
- A&WP 726------(CSXT 6646)-------2600 gal. tank
- ACL 915-929---(CSXT 6657-6671)--2600 gal., gyralite bracket, no handbrake
- B&O 3684-3699-(CSXT 6500-6515)-3600 gal., extended range dynamic brakes
- GA 751-752------(CSXT 6653-6654)-2600 gal. tank
- L&N 3000-3009-(CSXT 6797-6805)-3200 gal., nose light, ERDB, no handbrake
- RF&P 121-127---(CSXT 6855-6861)-3000 gal. tank, no dynamic brakes
- SAL 600-650---- (CSXT 6672-6720)-2600 gal. tank
- WofA 701--------(CSXT 6790)--------2600 gal. tank
Freight Cars
Athearn ACF 2970 hopper- The only downside to this model is that its prototype was a relative footnote in the CSX fleet. Numbering at only 50 cars, WM 604950-604999 were nearly lost in a sea of 1,300 examples of their ACF 2700 brethren (distinctive Centerflow cars rostered only by three roads, two of which were C&O and B&O). WM 604950-604999 were delivered in gray paint with black Western Maryland "speed" lettering, and while there are plenty of Chessie-repainted examples, a few managed to avoid the Chessie paint booths and made it into the mid-1990's with their speed lettering still legible. CSX took their time repainting these into their beige covered hopper scheme, and when they finally got around to it, they made so many variations in lettering placement that it was pretty much impossible for Athearn to be fully accurate on more than one roadnumber when they released their factory-decorated model in CSX paint. Conversely, the Athearn WM "speed" lettering examples are superb, and the Chessie models are nice too, although the yellow is rather dark. Easily fixed with a white or light gray overspray from an airbrush. From a tooling standpoint, this may just be Athearn's finest freight car so far. Monon had a small group of these cars as well, which I do not have the exact number series for at present time, but they survived through Seaboard System and well into the CSX era; however they seem to have been repainted into CSX beige fairly early.
Athearn PS 2600 hopper- This model closely matches L&N 201000-201499 built by Pullman-Standard in September-November 1964 and used for cement and phosphate loading. In the mid-1970's, L&N began repairing and repainting/renumbering some of these cars into series 201500-201695; many times, but not always, applying some form of Family Lines paint. These cars apparently didn't age well and examples in plain gray L&N paint with italicized lettering were getting rather rare by the early 1990's. The Athearn model also closely matches B&O 600100-600199 and C&O 600000-600099, built in 1965 by Pressed Steel Car; these cars were delivered in gray but many got repainted into Chessie yellow, and tended to have wide variations in lettering placement that do not match the lettering placement on the Athearn factory-decorated Chessie PS 2600 hoppers. Photos of these cars in their original gray B&O "Capitol Dome" and gray C&O "For Progress" schemes are extremely rare, unfortunately, so I cannot comment on Athearn's paint jobs for those roads. Athearn has also offered their 2600 in L&N gray with italicized reporting marks, and Family Lines gray with non-italicized reporting marks. All Family Lines 2600's I have ever seen were in beige, not gray; but given the variations and one-offs that came out of the South Louisville, KY shops in the 1970's, it is very possible that at least one gray Family Lines 2600 hopper did exist.
Athearn PS 4740 hopper- This model was tooled in the 1970's, and therefore does not compare well with today's state-of-the-art models. The Tangent 4740 has essentially made this model obsolete from a detail standpoint. However, Tangent has largely ignored CSX predecessor roadnames on their model, exactly the opposite behavior of Athearn, who has offered theirs in Chessie (5-car multi packs, and singles, two roadnumbers), Seaboard System (singles, two roadnumbers), and C&O "For Progress" (singles, three roadnumbers) thus far. I don't own any of these so I can't comment on phases and detail differences at this time. I can say that the Seaboard System models were incorrectly painted gray, they should have been beige.
Intermountain PS 4750 hopper- This model was revolutionary when it was first released (1993?) but as of this writing (October 2012), has been made obsolete by the brand new Tangent PS 4750. Unfortunately, the Intermountain model requires substantial modifications to be accurate for any of the CSX and predecessor paint schemes, because it is based on a Soo Line prototype that has a running board, brake system, and large discharge gates not found on any of the CSX cars. After replacing or modifying the gates, adding a body-mounted brake cylinder and linkage, and changing the running board to the one-piece sloping type offered by Plano, the car is a good match for L&N 241800-241949, built in May 1977, delivered in beige Family Lines paint (the earlier scheme, with smaller reporting marks, and the herald to the left side of the roadname). Furthermore, filling the small triangular slots at the bottom of each side stake and carving the flanges from the side sills will net you an exact match for B&O 603700-603899, built in 1973 (these were the first new covered hopper cars to be delivered in Chessie paint). All of the above modifications, in addition to fabricating large replacement jacking pads from styrene sheet, will result in a good match for L&N 241950-242699, built in 1981 (and delivered in the "late" Family Lines beige scheme, with large reporting marks, and herald to the right side of the roadname). Despite all of this required effort, the Intermountain was still a viable option, and a 'necessary evil' if you wanted to accurately model the CSX grain car fleet... but that was before the Tangent 4750 was announced.
Vehicles
Athearn Kenworth W900- Introduced in the 1961 model year, the Kenworth W900 is still in production today, but aside from their front grilles and hood design, the modern day W900 prototypes bear little resemblance to the earlier examples. The W900 quickly gained acceptance in the trucking industry as a premier, upscale, long-haul road tractor, given its striking chrome trim and luxurious interior. The Athearn model represents a day cab design from the 1972 model year, but since the W900 went for several years in the 1970's with a minimum of design changes, the Athearn model also easily represents later examples of the W900. Athearn has a penchant for issuing their model fitted with dump bodies and cement mixer bodies, but it should be noted that prototype W900 chassis were not commonly found in said configurations; such duties were typically reserved for the more spartan Mack "R" series. It was/is also relatively rare to encounter a W900 in day-cab tractor form (without a sleeper), since the trucking companies/terminal operators that require day-cabs rarely see fit to incur the extra expense to purchase the W900 for such a service. Athearn has offered its model in both day-cab and cube-top sleeper-equipped forms; the small cube-top sleepers were common in the 1970's and 1980's, but quickly fell out of favor as larger sleepers were introduced. Despite being tooled decades ago, the Athearn W900 is exceptionally well done and holds up today in the appearance department; possible (but not necessary) improvements include replacing the side mirrors with Plano etched metal parts.
Athearn Mack "R"- First introduced in the 1966 model year as a replacement for the Model "B", the prototype Mack "R" quickly gained a reputation for being an extremely tough, powerful, reasonably-priced design for heavy-duty applications requiring a truck that will withstand a lot of abuse; dump bodies and cement mixer bodies being the two most common applications. However, from its debut until the early 1990's the Mack "R" design was often combined with a longer frame and medium-sized cube-top sleeper for long-haul road tractor service; the design was never as popular in this service as its more luxurious competitors, the Kenworth W900 and Peterbilt 359. The Mack "R" was one of the longest-produced designs in the history of trucking industry; it remained in production until the 2005 model year. Mack maintained a modular mindset over the 40 year production run, making changes to the radiator grille, or substituting different hoods to create an updated appearance with a minimum of changes to the cab and interior; the model "RD" and early-1980's "Superliner" are two examples. Probably the most famous example of a Mack "R" came in 1978 with the release of the Sam Peckinpah movie "Convoy". The Athearn model is exquisite, and, while pricey, is probably the finest example of an HO scale truck thus far. Athearn has offered their model in numerous paint schemes and five major variations; dump truck, cement mixer, tow truck, and a pair of day-cab (no sleeper) road tractor options: two-axle and three-axle. The model features a short or tall air intake per prototype. The radiator grille as modeled by Athearn represents the 1974-1978 model years, although the model can be backdated or forward-dated by carving out the grille and replacing it with Plano "Apex" running board material. Not much else can be done to upgrade this fine model, perhaps replacing the side mirrors with Plano parts (not even really necessary) and trimming back the compound curve of the top end of the exhaust stack on the dump truck examples (I have yet to encounter a prototype Mack "R" with this curve in the exhaust pipe, and it seems to project out far enough to cause clearance issues on the prototype).
Athearn RTR 40' and 45' Fruehauf Z-Vans- The Fruehauf Z-Van was a very common trailer design employed in railroad piggyback service from the late 1970's to the early 1990's. The Ready-to-Run Athearn Z-Vans are former A-Line/Milepost 501 tooling acquired in 2007 and are not to be confused with Athearn's other 45' Fruehauf trailer, which has been available for nearly three decades in bluebox kit form, and does not feature the same quality as the RTR Z-Vans. The Athearn RTR Z-Vans are probably the best trailer model currently available; they feature sliding bogies (tandem wheel and axle assemblies), an etched-metal bogie-locking mechanism release lever, add-on extended or retracted landing gear, and separate door latch bars (two or four per prototype). It should be noted that the 45' Z-Vans represent prototype trailers that were built in the early 1980's as 40 foot trailers and then "stretched" to 45 feet after Federal laws passed in 1982 allowed 45' trailers to roam unrestricted on US highways; several of the Athearn factory paint schemes are for post-1982 trailers that were **built**, not stretched, to 45' length. A few other Athearn schemes attempt to simulate stretched 45-ers, but the lettering placement makes them unprototypical due to the fact that lettering and/or striping was often not carried over into the stretched portion of the trailer; the Conrail Trailvan scheme is the most notorious example.
Atlas Ford LNT9000- Debuting in 1970, the Ford LNT series was intended for the low-end heavy-duty truck market and was commonly found in dump truck, crane truck, and day-cab road tractor applications. The Atlas model represents the 1984 model year with its round headlight bezels. Two quirks about this model are the small fuel tank and the two-hole "disc" wheels, both of which were options on the LNT line but not commonly selected by customers, who often went for the spoked "Dayton" wheels and a medium or large fuel tank. It bears mentioning that the LNT was very popular among railroads in the 1980's, and was often the basis for maintenance-of-way vehicles (and, in some cases, intermodal yard shuttle tractors). L&N was one of the railroads that favored Ford products for its company service trucks, since Ford was a major patron of L&N's freight hauling services; the railroad even served the Louisville, KY plant where Ford built its heavy-duty trucks such as the LNT series. Without a doubt, some of the L&N Fords lasted into the early CSX era. C&O was also known to have rostered the Ford LNT, complete with Chessie logos on the doors. Atlas has responded by offering its LNT model in various railroad maintenance-of-way schemes, including CSX "Quality In Motion". Unfortunately, the Atlas model is a bit pricey to be so short in the add-on detail department; it lacks both mirrors and mudflaps. Plano makes mirrors to fit the Atlas LNT, and mudflaps are available from A-Line (or can be fabricated from .005" thick styrene sheet and a short length of .010" diameter brass wire serving as a hanger).
Atlas Pines 45' Trailers- The Atlas Pines 45' model represents a "Type III" design, which was produced from 1992 to 1995. One distinctive feature of the Pines trailers is the large triangular gussets on the landing gear. Several of the Atlas factory schemes were never found on prototype Pines trailers at all. The paint schemes most applicable to early CSX modeling are as follows: Norfolk Southern (built 1993), Redon (built 1993-1994), CSX (built 1994), Vermont Railway (built 1992-1993), Kankakee Beaverville & Southern (built 1993-1994), Xtra Lease (built 1995) and Xtra Intermodal (built 1995); all other paint schemes were either never applied to prototype Pines trailers or were applied to the earlier "Type I" and "Type II" designs, which differ from the Atlas model.
Boley International (Navistar) 4900- Recently bought out by Walthers and repackaged under their "SceneMaster" line, this model represents a medium-duty truck that first appeared in the 1989 model year, as a replacement for the International Harvester S-Series. Like the S-series, the 4900 sold thousands of copies in the United States during its 12-year production run and it quickly became the go-to choice for any industry or agency who had a need for medium-duty trucks; many public works and road departments purchased fleets of the 4900. Many lumberyards, dairies, produce shippers, and farms found uses for the design as well. The long-framed version of the 4900 chassis, the 3800, was a very common application for school bus bodies. The Boley model is composed of diecast metal and plastic parts and is surprisingly well executed for its relatively low purchase price (examples can be often be found on eBay for as little as four or five dollars each). The model's appearance can be vastly improved by the replacement of the side mirrors with corresponding Plano etched parts and the addition of mud flaps (available commercially from A-Line, or cut from .005" sheet styrene) painted black and installed behind the rearmost axle.
Norscot Peterbilt 389- This model is representative of its prototype's 2006 debut model year, which is far too new for an early CSX layout; however I am including it here because the prototype 389 was the replacement for the Peterbilt 379, which was first introduced in the 1987 model year. Very little changed in the interim period and between the two prototype designs; the most notable difference being located in the contour of the headlight bezels. It is quite possible that the Norscot front grill/headlight assembly can be swapped out with the similar Herpa/Promotex part in order to backdate the model to a late-1980's version; I plan to explore this possibility soon. The Norscot Peterbilt is extremely well done considering its purchase price, and the paint and chrome trimwork are excellent; it is well worth backdating. The model displays a large airdam atop the sleeper, which does not seem to have been commonplace on the early 379. Unfortunately, the airdam is molded as an integral part of the sleeper, so it would be impossible to backdate it to a 379 sans airdam, at least without performing major surgery. Norscot offers the model as a stand-alone tractor, or packaged with a lowboy trailer and construction machinery load (wheel loader, bulldozer, off-road dump truck, or trackhoe). At least five paint colors are available on the Norscot 389--black, red, yellow, white, and green. The model can often be found on Ebay in stand-alone form for six or seven dollars. The model lacks side mirrors, but Plano etched metal mirrors should be a straightforward installation.
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