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Tail car 100 is actually a business car for our HO scale executives, not a model of any prototype. It is made from two Varney streamliner shorties as an experiment in stainless steel painting technique. The paint is Rustoleum high temperature aluminum (muffler paint!) that when painted over gloss black laquer looks for all the world like stainless. Decals by John Arnold, the best there is! |
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An extravagance, an Overland NC&StL brass 4-8-4 number 580 sits at Kayne Ave yard west end. Number 580 was chosen because it was called to pull the City of Memphis after Marie 535 had to be retired due to a thrown rod. Diesels were not yet plentiful enough to use for that . 580 represents the last batch of ten J-3 Dixies, all delivered as “Stripes”. Here she still sports the Commonwealth pilot and nose cone and has her riveted tender. Later, she received 535’s welded tender we believe. |
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Modeling the NC is not always easy since few specific to prototype models are available. Often, one must do the best they can so re-decorating standard stock is a common.solution. Here a Rivarossi (Santa Fe or PRR?) heavyweight observation number 730 is painted in the late scheme that reflects parent L&N’s practice. A full interior, lowering and added details help the illusion of “scale model”. Decals By John Arnold. |
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To demonstrate how the City of Memphis might have looked in 1950 after 535 was retired, Dixie Type 580 takes the train out of Nashville. This is the Overland model of 580, and as Dain Schult (Author of the latest book on the NC&StL) says, the detail is “breathtaking”. Not only are they gorgeous, they run like the proverbial “Swiss Watch”. They prefer 26”minimum radius curves to run their best. I have one “tight spot” at 25.5” Radius where she has a little trouble. When broken in, she may do better on tight curves. |
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Another view of 580 at 30 MPH past Shops with “The City” in tow westbound. It is about 1:15 in the afternoon, the usual time to see the City here. Memphis on my layout is in yet another room. With a trio of holding tracks and industry it curves back on itself to feed the eastbound main into Nashville. Memphis is modular, so it can be temporarily removed if need be. Photo is from our new 5.5Mp digital camera. |
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Dyno car 90130 in process. This is Rev 2 of the Walthers dyno car with details heavily changed to better suit the prototype, which still exists. The parent company of the NC, the L&N ordered the car sold itself in the forties. They renumbered it and later changed it to a crew car. It will therefore wear L&N numbers and lettering. The prototype car is rusting away in Kentucky (but mostly intact), where I have visited to “study the real thing and count its rivets”. This is not however, a rivet counters model. Study of the prototype is always encouraged for better model making. It is painted Tuscan red as the L&N painted it, but the question is” what color was it on the NC?” |
© Tom
& Maryann Knowles, 1996 - 2011