Layout Ideas: Locomotives

Part of the planning stage for my layout will be deciding which locomotives I want to add to my roster. Since I am not focusing on any one railroad in particular, there will be plenty to choose from. That being said, I thought I would put together a quick list of some that have caught my eye recently.

While the road numbers are not exact, these all match pictures taken of prototype locomotives that have passed through the state of Michigan at some point. Ideally I would like to get some of these and renumber them to match what I can find on the RRPictureArchives.net website.

The first one is an Athearn GE AC4400CW in a Canadian Pacific paint scheme. Aside from the red and white striped band around the platform and the position of the ditch lights, this one looks pretty similar to the prototype. Of course there are some smaller details missing like the wiper blades and the hoses on the front end, but overall its a pretty nice looking locomotive.

Athearn GE AC4400CW, Canadian Pacific Railway #9502

The next one I came across was an Athearn Genesis EMD GP38-2 in a Norfolk Southern paint scheme. This one appears to be much closer to the prototype than the one above. The only detail that sticks out right away is the blacked out circles underneath the number boards on the front end. In the model they appear to be white.

Athearn Genesis EMD GP38-2, Norfolk Southern #5029

The third one is this MTH EMD SD70ACe in CSX's "dark future" paint scheme. From what I can see in the pictures, this one also looks pretty close to the prototype. I was even lucky enough to find one only six numbers off for the road number.

MTH EMD SD70ACe, CSX #4847

The last one I have for now is an Atlas EMD GP38-2 in a Grand Trunk Western paint scheme. This one is quite a bit different than the prototype in the picture. A few things I noticed include the lack of ditch lights, wiper blades, and the yellow stripe along the side on the model. Overall it's not a bad looking model, unless you want it to be 100% accurate, but for $49.99 that can't be expected. 

Atlas Trainman EMD GP38-2, Grand Trunk Western #5812

I hope to have a few more posts like this in the future before I get to buying locomotives for my layout. For now these are all just ideas and they may or may not end up as a part of my future layout.