Model Railway - Matching locomotives to rolling stock

[Sir Stinkalot]

Hi all,

When my father passed away I inherited his collection of model railway. In order to get them out of their boxes I want to make a couple of display boxes to hang in my sons room. There is quite an extensive collection and I was thinking of matching some of the locomotives with rolling stock to put on display.

The problem I have is trying to work out which rolling stock goes with each locomotive. Whilst accuracy probably isn't overly critical I would like to match them up the best I can. I was just hoping that somebody may be able to point me to a resource that may assist in matching up the locomotives and the rolling stock.

This morning I opened a few of the boxes and took some photos to see what I was dealing with. The final selection for display will depend on which trains I can make up.


Cheers

Stinky

[Chesand]

Stinky

I am not sure about photo 1 but suspect it is American. The brand would help in identifying it.

Photo 2 is American. Google "Atlas Model Railways" and you should find the Atlas catalogue

Photo 3 is definitely of Victorian locos (2 B class and 1 C class) B class were the first diesel locos introduced in Victoria in the early 1950s. Australian and particularly Victorian outline is my interest in model railways. I would be interested to know the brand of the C class.

Photo 4 is English

If you can find a Model Railway Club or Hobby Shop nearby there should be someone who can give you more info.

Hope that helps

[Sir Stinkalot]

Thanks Chesand ..... I have everything in its original boxes so getting brands isn't a problem. Knowing my father he most likely has every detail on every purchase made catalogued somewhere. I did find a big box of floppy disks and I wouldn't be suprised if each train is documented somewhere on there ..... I will have to buy an external floppy drive to be able to view them now


The photos taken are a mixed lot as I was looking for some variation for the display. I would think that the main interest of the collection would have been Victorian rail and after a little searching I have come across some good pages which will be helpful (Northeast). With any luck I can get some history on the locos and then hunt for the right rolling stock. It seems as if there is quite a bit of interest in the Victorian rail so finding info on that might not be too bad.

I do have a model railway shop down the end of the street so if I get stuck I might pay them a visit ..... I might need some track to put in the display boxes anyway so it would be a good excuse to strike up a conversation.

[chambezio]

My Father had a huge interest in Steam Locos/Railways from and early age. (born in 1914). As a young man he would go to Central Station in Sydney and look at all the "exotic town names" of the state of NSW then buy a ticket and have a couple of days experiencing steam travel and also taking photos of day to day life with train travel, both goods and goods. Consequently he has a unique collection of historically significant photos. He has been gone now for 7 years and my brother is custodian of the collection. (My brother also had more of an interest than I ever did)
Harking back to your Dad's trains, I do know that the little loco with the big funnel was what the "Wild West" was tamed with. Those little locos would service the crews forging west opening up the interior of America. They could be fueled with firewood if coal supplies were hard to get.
I can identify most of NSW stock of Locos and wagons but the ones you have just look American to me (they were probably sourced from American engineering shops and then imported.
You have reminded me too that Dad had a large Maarklin Model Railway. My brother would have it too.
Dad always said that a steam loco was "alive" when compared to a "dirty diesel", as he called them.

Its a great thing for you to display the collection for your boys!! It is a great way too for them to remember their Grandpa.

[Moti]

"I would be interested to know the brand of the C class."

Made by Austrains

Austrains - C Class

[Chesand]

"I would be interested to know the brand of the C class."

Made by Austrains

Austrains - C Class

I suspected as much but thought that perhaps there may have been another maker that had slipped under the radar.

[malb]

Like a lot of things, the boxed value later in life will be greater than the unboxed value. Make your display cases to show them off, but keep the original boxes somewhere safe so they can go back into them later on. That way, you can also rotate the goodies on display. If at all possible try to keep the disply units well away from UV light.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Like a lot of things, the boxed value later in life will be greater than the unboxed value. Make your display cases to show them off, but keep the original boxes somewhere safe so they can go back into them later on. That way, you can also rotate the goodies on display. If at all possible try to keep the disply units well away from UV light.

Thats true malb. Whilst I am not particularly interested in the value I have planned to keep the original boxes hidden behind the display units in the same case - for no other reason than to have somewhere to keep the empty boxes out of the way and ensure that they don't get lost!

[kiwigeo]

The Loco in the last photo is an LMS (London Midland Scottish) Class 8P 4-6-0.