There are now photos of the actual model of the CofG H15-44 on the Atlas web page--look under new products. Take a look and see if you think that the blue is a little light-Larry

-- Larry Puckett (ljpuckett@comcast.net), December 28, 2002

Answers

Ron: Somewhere in print is the phrase "they could pull the tops off the rails", referring to the mighty F-M's. Do you realize that during the course of this topic we have listed the four major diesel manufacturers of the 1940's? What is the name of that little four- wheeler we stopped and snapped in Savannah? We thought it was a Plymouth or a Whitcomb but now the brand escapes me. Happy New Year, y'all!

-- Duke Barron (fossilduke@juno.com), December 31, 2002.

More FM's might have been converted to MU with Alco, GE and GM power if the FM's had been at more reliable. Seems I have heard that when they were running the were good pullers, though.

Ron. Wright

-- Ron. Wright (ron@cofg.org), December 30, 2002.

Duke--these locos used a common 27 point, 4 solenoid electronic mu system that was compatible. The pneumatic system used by FM and Baldwin required a new governor, control stand, and modifications to the electrical cabinet to be compatible with the electronic systems. CofG decided it was easier and cheaper just to use them in pairs or singly on locals than to go for these changes. Some railroads did however, and I have seen photos of B&O Baldwin sharks mued with EMD units--Larry

-- Larry Puckett (ljpuckett@comcast.net), December 30, 2002.

Duke,

All of the Central's EMD and ALCO locomotives that had m.u. capability were equipped with an electrical throttle control. This allowed them to m.u.-ed together as needed. The five Fairbanks-Morse H15-44s were all equipped with a unique pneumatic throttle control. The two different methods were not interchangeable, hence the FM H15- 44s could only m.u. with other locomotives which had the same pneumatic style throttles.

Allen Tuten

-- Allen Tuten (allen@cofg.org), December 30, 2002.

M.U. personified: Look on page 115 of the Images of America book, "Central of Georgia Railway" and behold ALCO RS3 #114 and EMD F3 #901. On page 116 the hoses may be seen connected in m.u. between these two units of different horsepower AND manufacture.

-- Duke Barron (fossilduke@juno.com), December 30, 2002.

Larry,

The ones that will be assigned to my Savannah Division layout will come equipped with a similar pneumatic/electronic interface!

Allen Tuten

-- Allen Tuten (allen@cofg.org), December 30, 2002.

Allen--on my railroad they came up with a pneumatic/electronic interface that allows MU operation with other brands of locos. That's the great thing about model railroading, you can have it your way and if anyone objects you can escort them to the front door--Larry

-- Larry Puckett (ljpuckett@comcast.net), December 30, 2002.

Larry,

I'm also looking forward to having all five of the Central's H15-44s (Nos. 101-105) assigned to my Savannah division layout!

Don't forget that the H15-44s had a pneumatic throttle control which prevented them from running with any other locomotives. That's why photographs always show two (or more) H15-44s working together. They were usually assigned in pairs, leaving the fifth locomotive as "protection".

Allen Tuten

-- Allen Tuten (allen@cofg.org), December 30, 2002.

Ron--thanks for noting the location of the Atlas url. Previously they only had a drawing of the paint scheme but now they have a photo of the acutal HO model. I'm looking forward to being able to run a freight with an H15-44, RS3, GP7 loco consist at the head and one of Gary Wrights cabooses on the tail end (when he gets them finished)-- Larry

-- Larry Puckett (ljpuckett@comcast.net), December 30, 2002.

Regarding the Atlas Web site, an article posted on the Society Web site in August contains a link to the Atlas Web page that shows the photo:

http://cofg.org/articles/020801.php

Ron. Wright

-- Ron. Wright (ron@cofg.org), December 30, 2002.

Larry,

For the GP7 and RS3, I Atlas used CofGa painting diagrams. If I remember correctly, Bob Branin sent them to Atlas a number of years ago. The Dupont paint code for CofGa diesel locomotve blue is Duco 259-31040. (The gray is Duco 259-31030.) This code is on all of the CofGa diesel painting diagrams in our archives, as well as in a notebook of information which was kept by one of the CofGa's Mechanical Engineers.

I've not painted any blue and gray locomotives, so I can't comment on which blue is best. (The blue on the Atlas HO GP7 has always looked accurate to me.) I do know some modelers use B&O Royal Blue that has been lightened ever so slightly with a drop or two of white, while others use D&H Blue. (Of course, it would also depend on the paint brand that you prefer!)

I'm aware that one of the model paint manufacturers has been contacted about doing custom mixes of CofGa blue and gray. Apparently, they have the capability to match Duco numbers.

Allen Tuten

-- Allen Tuten (allen@cofg.org), December 28, 2002.

Allen--you may be correct. I was remembering that when Mark Sharp did his F3 model he used B&O Royal Blue since the CofG paint scheme is based on the B&O's. I've seen a lot of photos where it does look that dark including 3-4 on my web page. However, the color on the Atlas web page does match the RS3 and GP7 colors in their previous releases. Do you know where they got the prototype info to match the colors for those models and how close it is? The exact blue paint color is one of those questions that has always dogged me but has never really been answered anywhere to my satisfaction--Larry

-- Larry Puckett (ljpuckett@comcast.net), December 28, 2002.

Larry,

It's pretty hard to judge colors based on a low resolution JPG on a web site. I'd really like to have an actual model in my hands before saying too much. With that disclaimer, however, the blue on the website model looks about right to me. It doesn't seem too light.

The Atlas web site is at www.atlasrr.com. Select "New Products" from the home page, then scroll down to an entry from about August 2002 titled something like "HO H15-44 Roadnames".

Allen Tuten

-- Allen Tuten (allen@cofg.org), December 28, 2002.

I am not familiar with Atlas' adress ,could you help me with it ?

-- F.L.Youmans (flyoumans@alltel.net), December 28, 2002.