Model Train Journal

Went to a local estate sale yesterday looking for some plant stands for my niece. I found a couple of nice fern stands for a few bucks, along with this Lionel 8757 Conrail GP9:



A look-up revealed that this was the first bit of Conrail motive-power Lionel released a year or so after the company's formation. While I'm not much interested in the General MIlls/Fundimensions/MPC era, I figured this was a neat bit of history. Walked by a few times and there seemed little interest in it and a number of other boxes of Lionel stuff, so I grabbed the 8757 on the way out.

It was absolutely filthy...looked like it had been in the owner's damp basement for quite a while (I think this was made in 1977). Some surface rust on the frame and caked with grimy dust, I gave the shell a good bath and used a tiny bit of machine oil and the Dremel to polish off most of the surface corrosion. Now it's presentable. The lights worked and even the Pulmor's traction tires were still in place. Gave it a lube, set it on the track and off it went. A pretty simple little loco; just a single motor, reverse unit, and lights at either end. No horn, no sound...pretty basic.

I recall driving past Enola back in the 1990's and seeing Conrail-blue locos lined up at the service facility. A bit of nostalgia, really...can't believe this thing's nearly 50 years old.

healey36 wrote:Now it's presentable.

Yup! That looks pretty decent

Uh-oh...looks like we've got competing versions of Weekend Photos - August 2026!

Somehow I rarely ever saw a Conrail locomotive that looked in really rough cosmetic shape:



Must have been that bright blue color.

Looking over the roster, there doesn't seem to have ever been a Conrail GP9 #8757...doesn't even seem to have been any with an 8000-series number.

(Photo courtesy of Charlie Murphy)

Digging through a box of my old photos, found this shot of Allegheny Central #1286 at Frostburg, Maryland, back in October 1990:



In the early days of the line that would become Western Maryland Scenic, the ex-Canadian Pacific #1286 spent some time hauling excursions up Mt. Savage to the old C&P depot at Frostburg (#1309's task today). Just 15 years earlier I'd spent hours with my college roommate watching the last of the WM's AlphaJets round Helmstetter's Curve a few miles south, descending from the summit. Wish I'd shot some pics of that.

So the OCD kicked in and I found myself obsessed with finding a caboose to match the Conrail GP9. Found an N5c as made by Lionel the year before they offered the GP9 in Conrail scheme:



From 1976, this caboose was offered in a Conrail scheme. Nearly entirely made of plastic (even the end-rails are plastic), but at least the graphics are sharp.

The question that immediately arises is does a GP9 in fact tower over an N5c, or any car for that matter, as seen here. The caboose seems terribly undersized. Then again, it's just a toy...

Saw this photo over on the Conrail archive, so maybe an EMD does tower over an N5c:



Photo courtesy of Norfolk Southern, 10/02/2009

So the OCD kicked in

You have it too?

GP9: 15' 1⁄2", N5C: 13' 5 9/16"
GP9 w N5C by Barry Trogu

Photo credit: Barry Trogu
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photo ... a-pa-81779

Thanks, Wayne, both for the pic and the dimensions. I notice in both of these pics that the cupola included a short stack, one that is missing from the Lionel version. Adding that might help with the undersized appearance. I'll have to look around.

Your Conrail caboose is no doubt undersize while the loco is probably riding a bit high which exacerbates the height differential between the two.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:Your Conrail caboose is no doubt undersize while the loco is probably riding a bit high which exacerbates the height differential between the two.

I’ve got a few 1/48-scale sized freight cars...when I get a moment, I’ll put one of those behind the GP9 and see what that looks like. That said, totally get what you’re saying about the loco riding high. Tough to make a toy look like something it’s not.

For me, the fun of model trains is diverse. One of the diversions is playing detective. So...COLLECTING INFORMATION FOR THIS CASE...

Lionel vs Conrail by Wayne Benda, on Flickr

The Lionel specifications indicate the Conrail N5C (9186) that goes with the SD9 (8557) is 1:48 scale. Evidence says that you have a perfect scale-like pair there.

As far as your photo goes, the nose of your SD9 looks too big, and the caboose looks too small. Maybe it is a perspective thing?

"Maybe it is a perspective thing?"

Could very well be...I'm not the best photographer with an iPhone. I'm guessing it's a combination of both.

I see folks using AI to add snow effects to the layout photos...I want to learn how to do that.

Can a Williams Big 1/4" Scale Twin-motor SD90MAC negotiate O-27 curves and turnouts?
SD90MAC by Wayne Benda, on Flickr
When the SD90MAC hit the buffer stop at the end of the siding, the track pulled out of the turnout!

Criminy, that is a massive thing, isn't it...

Is your layout built on a hollow or solid-core door, Wayne? If it's a hollow-core door, what's the noise like. I'm guessing L-O-U-D