Algoma Central 180 (Kato SD40)

These Kato models are nice, but they are a bit generic and not exactly prototypical. A lot of work is needed to bring them up to speed.

Algoma Central 182 (Kato SD40)

Snow shields, cab mounted bells, nose mounted headlights and ditch lights were all added to the factory painted model.

Algoma Central 184 (Bowser GMD SD40-2)

These Bowser models were highly detailed and prototypically correct right out of the box.

Algoma Central 1750 (Rapido FP9a)

I was thrilled to see proper FP9a’s release for the AC. These models are very well detailed and great runners right out of the box.

Algoma Central 1754 (Rapido FP9a)

Both Algoma Central FP9a’s can be found on my layout heading up the passenger train.

BNSF 5648 (Athearn “RTR” C44-9W)

This engine was purchased by my son at Trainfest several years ago. He liked it because it reminded him of a train video we had.

BNSF 8278 (Athearn Genesis SD70)

When these Athearn units were first released, I went a little crazy and bought a bunch of undecorated models. This one I custom painted.

BNSF 8284 (Athearn Genesis SD70)

Another custom painted model. These were some of the first Genesis models athearn put out.

CN 4809 (Athearn Genesis GP38-2W)

After the CN takeover of the WC, these became very common sights in my part of Wisconsin.

CN 5323 (Intermountain SD40-2W)

I know a lot of guys complain about the accuracy of this model, but I found it for a good price and was surprised that it already contained a decoder.

Chicago Northwestern 8717 (Kato C44-9W)

My coal drag is usually headed up by UP power, but a CNW unit adds a nice touch of color.

DMIR 406 (Athearn RTR SD40-2T)

OK, this unit makes little sense on my railroad, but I’ve always thought tunnel motors were cool.

EMD 1542 (Atlas SD35)

A brand new SD35 “brick” in the EMD demonstrator scheme. These were leased by the Wisconsin Central back in the early days of the railroad.

EMD 1554 (Atlas SD35)

A brand new SD35 “brick” in the EMD demonstrator scheme. These were leased by the Wisconsin Central back in the early days of the railroad.

Fox River Valley Railroad 812 (Proto 2K GP30)

The FRVR is one of those railroads that was made up of a lot of odd equipment. This unit required the usual gear swap due to the P2K split gear problem.

Green Bay and Western 312 (Atlas C424)

I ordered two of these sight unseen when there were announced by Atlas. This is the 1960’s scheme which I OK, buy I prefer the solid red of the 1970’s.

Green Bay and Western 313 (Atlas C424)

The GBW is one of the few railroads that rostered almost exclusively Alco locomotives.

Green Bay and Western 2405 (BLI Alco RSD-15)

These GBW “alligators” survived into the days of the Wisconsin Central but were scrapped by the mid 1990’s.

Nebraska Central 8102 ( EMD SD40-2)

This model makes no sense on my railroad! It was a gift from my wife who knew I was a Nebraska Huskers fan and thought is was appropriate.

Norfolk Southern 2584 (Athearn Genesis SD70)

This model started out life undecorated and gave me lots of trouble for my first two painting attempts. NS is a hard scheme to mess up.

Union Pacific 759 (Kato EMD GP35)

I purchased this model at a swap meet for $35. My intention was to eventually repaint it as a Wisconsin Central unit, but I’ll probably leave it.

Union Pacific 4165 (Athearn Genesis SD70)

Athearn did a nice job with the SD70’s except for the lights. The stock bulbs would burn out quickly, so I replaced all mine with LEDs.

Union Pacific 5961 (Proto 2K SD60)

For some reason I felt the need to pick up a bunch of these back when they were first released. These P2K units are incredibly heavy and are geared extremely low. Because of this they pull like crazy.

Union Pacific 9452 (Atlas GE Dash 8 C40-8W)  

This Atlas locomotive was the first sound model I every purchased. While it’s a good looking unit, I find the sound to be a bit janky.

Wisconsin Central 586 (Kaslo Shops SDL39)

Here it is in all its glory- the legendary SDL39. This resin kit took literally years of work and lots of modification to get it to work. See “Project SDL39” for details.

Union Pacific 9481 (Kato GE C44-9W)

I’m pretty sure I mis-numbered this unit when I painted it. 9481 is a C40-8W.

Wisconsin Central 307 (Athearn RTR RS-3)

I got on a kick about building units that were rostered by the WC at the very start. This one was a lot of work to take a phase 1 RS-3 and make a phase 3 RS-20.

Wisconsin Central 703 (Proto 2K GP30)

Many of the Wisconsin Central GP30’s were former Soo Line/Lakes States units. Maintenance near the end wasn’t a huge priority, so they got pretty rough looking.

Wisconsin Central 711 (Proto 2K GP30)

The WC rostered several of these distinctive GP units. This model was  factory painted, unfortunately there were several errors that needed correcting.

Wisconsin Central 713 (Proto 2K GP30)

In addition to the incorrect paint on the end of the long hood, these almost universally experienced cracked gears on the axles.

Wisconsin Central 719 (Proto 2K GP30)

This ex-SOO line rust bucket is my latest addition to the fleet. Weathering was achieved with several layers of oil paint.

Wisconsin Central 1401 (Proto 2K GP20)

I purchased this undecorated model on a whim on a long time ago. It is one of the few “foobie” models I still have and is roughly based on a WC GP7u.

Wisconsin Central 1550 (Athearn RTR SW1500)

When Athearn upgraded these little switchers, I decided I needed a couple. They are great little runners and look sharp.

Wisconsin Central 2005 (Atlas Trainman GP38-2)

This was the model I completed for the Atlas Forum Trainman Challenge. As with most GP38-2’s that the WC had, it started life as a Canadian unit, so the model needed a lot of modifications.

Wisconsin Central 2006 (Proto 2K GP38-2)

This patched ex-Algoma Central unit appears as it did shortly after the WC too over the line. Although it was nice that Life-Like released these, there was a lot of work needed to “Canadianize” them.

Wisconsin Central 1556 (Athearn RTR SW1500)

This heavily weathered model is based off of a photograph of the actual thing. The look was achieved with oil paint, acrylics and powders.

Wisconsin Central 2402 (Atlas SD24)

Here are two versions of the same engine. The one on the right is a factory painted version, while the one on the left is my custom paint job. The prototype of this engine is on display at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay.

Wisconsin Central 2402 (Atlas SD24)

This unit couldn’t hide its origin as a Fox River Valley Railroad unit. It wore these colors until retirement.

Wisconsin Central 2500 (Atlas SD35)

Unfortunately, this model is no longer in my roster. Thanks to a 6-year-old visiter to my railroad, WC 2500 took a drop to the basement floor and was destroyed. A new one is in the works.

Wisconsin Central 3007 (Atlas GP40)

Some day I’m going to get around to doing some weathering on these units to make them look a little more realistic.

Wisconsin Central 3018 (Atlas GP40)

This “dogs lunch” unit was cobbled together from parts of other engines. It only looked like this for a short while before being properly repainted. To date this was the most challenging model I’ve ever painted.

Wisconsin Central 3005 (Atlas GP40)

This is a straight stock model without any modifications.

Wisconsin Central 3018 (Atlas GP40)

This model is probably the most researched unit I’ve ever done. I couldn’t find a photo of this side of the  unit when I was building it, so I had to rely on descriptions from those who saw it first hand.

Wisconsin Central 3068 (Kato EMD SD40r)

“Red Balls” were lettered for the Wisconsin Central, but they were actually Oxford Leasing units. You might think this is a former Missouri Pacific unit, but that’s not the case.

Wisconsin Central 4133 (Proto 2K GP7)

Last winter I spent a lot of time working on early WC equipment. This GP can’t hide it’s CNW and Fox River Valley Railroad heritage.

Wisconsin Central 4151 (Proto 2K GP7)

When I decided to build these old GP’s it was a challenge to find the correct phases and versions. I had to do a lot of modifications to make each one as close to the prototype as possible.

Wisconsin Central 6001 (Kato SD40)

The 6001 was an ex-Algoma Central that had a lot of unique Canadian features. Unfortunately most factory painted models like this one don’t come with Canadian-specific details so they have to be added on later.

Wisconsin Central 6497 (Proto 2K SD45)

Lovingly referred to as “green weenies”, a good chunk of the WC SD45 fleet were ex-Burlington Northern units. I’m not sure why, but this BN scheme is not all that common in factory painted units.

Wisconsin Central 6574 (Athearn RTR SD45)

Long gone are the days of Athearn “wide body” SD45’s. These re-boots were well done and make a nice addition.

Wisconsin Central 6582 (Kato SD45)

Along with WC 6585, this was one of the first models I ever purchased.

Wisconsin Central 6583 (Kato SD45)

These early Kato SD45’s were amongst some of the first engines I ever purchased once I got back into model railroading.

Wisconsin Central 6585 (Kato SD45)

Even though these models are now approaching 25 year old, they still are excellent runners. This unit was the first one I bought back in the mid-90’s.

Wisconsin Central 6588 (Proto 2K SD45)

It was nice to have more SD45’s to add to the collection, however these P2K models have an odd gear ratio, so the only play nice with each other.

Wisconsin Central 6610 (Athearn RTR SD45)

Another model that is bone-stock. Some weathering will be applied when I get the chance.

Wisconsin Central 6636 (Kato SD45)

If memory serves me correctly, this was an un-numbered unit from the original SD45 run.

Wisconsin Central 6640 (Kato SD45)

A large percentage of the WC’s SD45 fleet were ex-Santa Fe units. Many are put into service with minimal changes to the paint scheme.

Wisconsin Central 6650 (Athearn Genesis F45)

For years the only way to get an F45 was to use the original Athearn blue box model as a start. These Genesis versions were a huge leap forward.

Wisconsin Central 6651 (Athearn Genesis F45)

Just like many of the SD45’s, the F-units were ex-Santa Fe engines. I really like the color these patched locomotives add to the layout.

Wisconsin Central 6652 (Athearn Genesis FP45)

This was the sole FP unit rostered by the WC. Originally the prototype of this engine was part of the Santa Fe “Superfleet”.

Wisconsin Central 7524 (Kato SD45)

One of the interesting things about the WC SD45’s is the variety of paint styles that were used on the end of the short hood.

Wisconsin Central 7525 (Athearn RTR SD45)

The WC just had a few themed engines. This “Operation Lifesaver was one of them.

Wisconsin Central 7528 (Kato SD45)

Here is another variation of the short hood paint scheme.

Wisconsin Central 7638 (Kato SD45)

When I decided to repaint this model, I was going to do the standard WC scheme. The hobby store only had this OLS set in stock, so that’s what I went with.

Wisconsin Central 8905 (Proto 2K SD60)

This is a “foobie” model based on a “what if” the WC had acquired some Soo Line engines.

Wisconsin Central 8906 (Proto 2K SD60)

In retrospect, I certainly could have painted these models in a Canadian National scheme since these occasionally show up on the form WC.

Wisconsin Central 8907 (Proto 2K SD60)

The third of my footie WC SD60’s.

Wisconsin Central 9093 (Kato SD45)

Starting with a factory painted model, I modified this one to represent an Oxford Leasing unit.

More to come!

More to come?