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Modeling & Detailing Diesels, Volume 1

Diesels have been a part of the railroad scene now for more than 60 years.* Soon after their appearance on America's railroads, they also began to appear on the layouts of modelers. But by today's standards, those early models were crude, lacking any significant level of detail or sophistication.

In fact, many modelers felt that prototype diesels were devoid of any real detail. so they didn't worry about anything beyond a paint scheme. Manufacturers painted their models for the most popular roads, paying little attention to whether or not a specific railroad actually ever owned the diesel being modeled. And for the most part. everybody was happy.

That's the way it was for decades, and the way it still is today for many modelers. But even from the earliest days, there have been those modelers who have striven for greater prototype fidelity. Although numerous detail parts for steam engines have been available for decades, detail parts for diesels were virtually nonexistent well into the '70s.

The advent of "prototype modelers" during the '80s, coupled with the ever-increasing availability of quality diesel detail parts has brought about a change in how many modelers look at diesels today...and has created the need for a book like Model Railroading's Guide to Modeling and Detailing Diesels — Vol. 1.

On the pages that follow, noted modelers Dave Bontrager, Patrick Lawson, Larry Puckett, Jim Six and Jay Tatum provide information about specific construction techniques which will help you improve your diesel modeling skills...whether you build the models they built or apply their ideas to your own projects. And Rich Picariello's "Diesel Detail Close-Ups" provide all the information about detail parts, paint and decals you need to model a specific prototype.

Taken from the pages of Model Railroading magazine, the articles in this book have been grouped by railroad and compiled to provide a handy reference guide for the diesel modeler. All of the articles were originally published in Model Railroading between October 1989 and September 1991. When necessary, information has beer updated and corrected prior to inclusion in this book. — October 1991.

Randy Lee
Editor

 * In August 1931 the first Alco diesel demonstrator, number 600, was delivered to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It was a 600-hp, single-engine switcher with a six-cylinder, four-stroke McIntosh-Seymour diesel engine directly connected to a DC generator which supplied electricity to four axle-hung traction motors.