Just for Friends

After some prying, I discovered Frank's and Russ' "guilty pleasures" and made them some pictures.

Frank first -- has a basketfull of heavy electric locomotives, including 9 Virginian E-33s (that is 75% of the total number built!), but admits that his favorite is the VGN side rod (jack shaft) box cab electrics.  So, here's such a locomotive, hauling coal for Frank's Chesapeake and Iron Range:

Frank is also fond of the Swiss Crocodile heavy electrics, so I cooked this up for him.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist this one

(Crocodile Tears, of course)

Finally, Frank also owns a brass model of a Japanese Bullet Train.  Obviously, a Japanese Bullet Train can't run on an American railroad, so Russ and I came up with a way for Frank to make use of it.

Frank of course is interested in diesel locomotives as well, and is something of a Virginian fanatic, so I cooked these up for him

If Fairbanks Morse had stayed in the locomotive business, the VGN might have ended up with some of these later model higher horsepower Trainmasters

Or, failing that, SD-45s

The C&IR is heavily committed to steam motive power, in some cases very unique steam motive power.
For example, consider these examples of C&IR 2-12-0 drag freight power, early and more modern

Russ, on the other hand, admits to an early and lasting fascination with the Maine 2 Ft. gauge railroads, although his current road (at least part of it) is based on the W. M. Ritter logging operation in W. Va.  (You know the one, they shared trackage with the Buffalo Creek and Gauley, and are famous  for fording streams rather than bridging them.)  Here we see a transplanted Maine 2-4-4T Forney hauling logs and fording a creek somewhere back in the hills.

Russ is also fond of "critter" diesels, and when I found this picture of a small  side-rod diesel, I couldn't let well
enough alone

Jim Boyd inspired this one by telling me the story of how English Electric hoped to sell their famous Deltic diesel here in the states,
and that in his opinion the most likely buyer would have been the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Finally, my friend Sam Berlinner inspired this Lima "push me pull you" switcher