More News On The Freelance Model Train Front

 Life is funny. It seems like the moment you get a budget figured out, and some spending control, something pops up from an unexpected direction that puts its hands into your pocket. The moment Rapido announced their PC&F B-100-32 boxcars, a decent pre-order was placed to secure some of them. The three types ordered, both as delivered and a bit older, should more than cover the Arizona Southern's copper anode hauling needs. One might think that, then two manufacturers add some Arizona or Mexico freelance cars to the mix.

Click on the drawings to see a larger view.

Copper State Railway appeared first, but then, not to be outdone, a railroad out of Tempe AZ added to the mix; The Lost Dutchman Railroad.

As if those two lines were not enough temptation, another freelance model railroad also threw its sombrero into the ring. Since the AZSO interchanges with two Mexican railroads, this Ferrocaril Golfo y Rio Bravo B-100-32, becomes a must have boxcar as well. Es bueno.

HomeShops LLC and Rapido are the responsible parties, and they are making things that are perfect for what the AZSO models. It's funny how some companies make things that we can't use while others seem to cater to our desires. 

 

Oh, and although they have not announced it yet, Rapido is investigating doing both a S-6 and a T-6 switcher based on their current MLW chassis. This is only a rumor at this point, but folks in the know make some interesting facial expressions when this particular subject is broached. Considering AZSO has need of both of these Alco models, the future seems to be interesting to say the least!

 

That's all for now, write back if the mood strikes you, and most of all, Enjoy Your Trains!

Best Wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

 

A New Lend/Lease Arrangement with Option to Purchase

 The shop forces of the Arizona Southern are ever on the lookout for any new Alco related technology. That being said, we've had our eyes on what Morrison-Knudsen and the D&H have been up to as of late. The Delaware & Hudson RR has had a number of of their aging RS-3's rebuilt with 2,000 horsepower 12 cylinder 251C prime movers; designated RS-3M's. The long hoods were raised six inches to accommodate the larger engine. The dynamic brakes were also relocated to a box behind the cab.

A railroad that AZSO has interchanged with, the Sun Belt System, has taken delivery of several of these M-K Rebuild RS-3M's, and we have arranged to obtain one of them for testing on our railroad. Basically, this rebuild is not unlike our 'in house' rebuilt RS-13R unit, but would not require obtaining a RS-11 long hood for the conversion, saving both time and expense to our budget.

We will have some follow up information as the testing proceeds, so stay tuned for future reports on this project.

That's all for now, write back if the mood strikes you, and most of all, Enjoy Your Trains!

 

Best Wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

RAPIDO TRAINS HAS DISCOVERED THE ACCESS CODE TO MY WALLET

 It's funny when you think about it.  When I was younger, had the energy and the drive to build models, run trains at various clubs, be up at all hours planning the next trackplan or railfan outing, there was not many quality models on the market.  Now here I am, nearing the end of track I suppose, and the choices of models is staggering.  Every SP, DRGW, NdeM, and others, bit of equipment seems to be available or will be soon. The number of SP and SSW boxcars alone is amazing.  I for one am beyond impressed with the choices of cars and motive power being produced. Case in point is RAPIDO TRAINS making a SP C-40-3 cupola caboose model, that is both surprising and very much welcome.

Rapido just posted some images of this caboose on their FaceBook page, and I took the liberty of sharing some here for those of you who are not fans of FB. Enjoy!

 

No hard dates for release yet, so keep your eyes watchful and those fingers ready when it is time to order. 

It's a good time to be a model railroader!

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

 

 

Another Per Diem Boxcar

 A Limited Edition HO-Scale Atlas FMC 5347 Box Car painted for freelance model railroad Copper State Railway joins the roster over here on the Arizona Southern. Pretty much any freight cars in and around the late 1960's to late 1970's seem to be fair game for adding to our pile. This car has both a copper vibe and an Arizona vibe, so there was little thought process dealing with this acquisition.

 

Both photos from https://homeshops.net/ website

 

This car is not too flashy either, and that is always a good thing. It seems easier to recreate a believable level of realism if the equipment is not too bright or shiny, so we try and roll with that basic concept whenever possible. Modeling the more common or average looking equipment as opposed to something too unique or rare, keeps things simple.

 Car available from: https://homeshops.net/

That's all for now, write back if the mood strikes. Enjoy your trains.

John Huey 

CEO Arizona Southern RR 

 

First Day of 2026 Report

 Hey fellow train fans, it's been a crazy time here in Simi Valley, California. We've been taking care of an aging relative, and she just keeps getting worse as time moves towards its inevitable conclusion. Hopefully none of you will ever face this sort of thing, it just saps the energy and makes other pursuits take a backseat in importance.

On a more personal level, my health journey has had its ups and downs, had surgery late on Christmas Eve, with the follow up on New Years Eve. That was fun as things go. My only real question is why does everything have to hurt all of the time? 

On the Model Train front; I've had a big influx of power show up all at once. Who knew that both the SP SD7R's from Scale Trains, and the C415's from Bowser would all show up within 30 days of each other after years of waiting for them? What were the odds on that?

The trains are gorgeous though, one could not ask for finer models. Photos will follow at a later date, the house is in turmoil right now with all that's going on plus my eBay business being open as time allows. Then there has been some remodeling work with all that goes with it.

Sorry for the lack of recent content, but to quote a fellow seeker on this crazy journey; "such is life."

That's about all I have right now, so let me close by wishing you all a Happy New Year! May 2026 bring you good health, a bit of joy, and a happy life with friends and family. Oh, and Enjoy Your Trains!

 

That's all for now, write back if the mood strikes you,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

 

BEST NEWS EVER!

Howdy, this is just a short message to bookmark the RAPIDO B-100-32/34's they have just announced in HO Scale. Since AZSO moves a lot of copper, these cars will be a Godsend to our operations, not to mention a personal favorite model of yours truly.

So keep your penny jar filled, my guess in late 2026 for delivery, but I hope a bit sooner.

Mark Ala photo

 

Your comments are most welcome.

 

Happy Model Railroading,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR
 

September 2025 and Counting...

Hello all, noticed that there has been little for us to post as of late, but being a huge fan of Alco products, a bit of good news has landed. It seems our friends over at Bowser have given us some eye candy consisting of some painted C415 samples. So here goes a bit of piracy:

 

Just CLICK on any image to see it larger.

There are few others in the pipeline, but this is what I was able to glom onto right now. I'm sure some of you will find something to drool over, and if not, maybe the model will grow on you.

 

These look very convincing to my old eyes, and I used to have to see the SP units on the daily. I'm glad they got the colors fixed on the SP units, my first impression was that they copied Atlas for their SP colors.

Oh, thought I'd add an image of SP's light package and other details, seems that Bowser has stepped up their game again. I can't wait for mine to show up, a pair for SP and one other to be patched for Arizona Southern.

 

That's all for now, write if the mood hits you.  

Best Wishes,

John Huey CEO AZSO RR

 

Thoughts On Weathering Basic Gondolas

 Exactrail turned out some shorter 42'-6" gondolas with corrugated sides a few years back, These are faithful models of the Southern Pacific G-100-7 class, 900 were built by Gunderson starting in March of 1965. In or around 1984, SP started a rebuilding program on these cars, they became class G-100-7R, and many saw service into the 1990's.

 Of course, unless one is modeling a car fresh from the paint shop, a little grunge is in order. Gondolas are not immune to a filthy rusty lifestyle as they get all sorts of loads. Just using dusty shades of weathering powders add depth and thus realism to such equipment. Any model will benefit from such treatment, the plainer models most of all. Below is an as built G-100-7 from Exactrail in HO Scale. This model features some judicious applications of flat coat, weathering powders and pastels. This leads to a subtle 'used' look without things looking like they need an overhaul.

The same model type shown below, less the placards, demonstrates painting circa 1984, it's the G-100-7R class. They were assigned a different number class of SP 800000 after rebuilding. There is little to go on, but images taken in the early 1970's have no placards showing, so I doubt many had that feature by that time. Any info on this group of cars is most welcome. Reply below if you have anything worth sharing; that's how the hobby grows.

Gondolas are an incredibly versatile freight hauler; lumber of all types, scrap metal, rocks, canisters, rolls of wire fencing, pipe, large machine parts, coiled steel rolls, copper ingots; basically any commodity can ride in a gondola.

I'd be surprised to find any common carrier railroad that did not use gondolas in regular service. Here is another sample of a model made by Mark Ala, its from his favorite road, the Rio Grande.

The interior has been weathered along with the exterior, which makes for a good look, also the load is low enough to show off the work that has been done. Compare Mark's model to a photo of the same class car on the prototype, pretty decent I think. Subtle weathering is best.

I hope this tiny bit of rambling train chat was of some use to the readers. It's good to talk trains. It's also good to share them with our fellow modelers. So why not share on here as well? Just a thought.

Thanks for reading this far, write back if the mood strikes. Most of all, Enjoy Your Trains!

Best Wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

Bored vs. Board

What is one to do when their love of the hobby exceeds their disposable funds by many levels of magnitude? Well it seems like the right time to detail some of the equipment already on hand. I mean if ya got em, then go ahead and detail em. This brings us to the title, Bored vs. Board, as in lets detail a bulkhead flat car's wood to make it look a little more used and abused. Messing with the cars boards will keep yours truly from getting too bored. There are several bulkhead cars waiting similar attention in my back stock.

The ends seem to be the most noticeable as far as obvious damage goes. They can be seen easier loaded or empty least ways while the car is in motion.

The deck is at the mercy of several factors, loading and unloading methods, dunnage, stains, and broken or crushed boards, not to mention the weather.

Over all, the car, once completed, should look well used, but not so much so that it's next logical stop is the scrap yard. Someplace in between seems best. Oh and thanks to Mark Ala for today's subject BN flat car; it looks good.

Thanks for reading this far, write back should the mood strike you.

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

 

The First Post Tariff Items Are Ariving!

 A while back, and that translates into, I have no real idea as to when, I pre-ordered some Rapido 1970's era repainted 40' PFE reefers. Well when all was said and done the price per car only went up about $5.00. Not nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe by some of the online reporting. Is this a rerun of Y2K?

 

Then I got an email from Lombard Hobbies saying a trailer and and a Ford stake bed had also arrived from Athearn. I guess when it rains it can really pour at times; even a little hail too. But again I'm glad this vendor offers 'no up front payment' reservations.

 

Both Ford truck and Cotton Belt trailer were not much more than originally quoted, so again, all is well, and so far, the hobby sky remains solidly intact. 

All this is just a quick update that perhaps may help some of us not fear the direction the hobby is going. Manufacturers are trying, at least so far, to keep pricing in the ball park of where it was, and that is a good thing. This bodes well for the future, or so I hope.

 

Thanks for reading this far, and as always, enjoy your trains!

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

 

A Brave New Hobby?

It's amazing the changes a few months can introduce.  A life long hobby can be thrown into chaos by current events; purchasing, special orders, and such go from a 'just in time' waiting game to a maybe never game with the writing on a piece of paper somewhere. Like most things in life, an average individual has little chance of influencing things that they are subject to. This is nothing new.

I've sent a couple letters to our betters, contacted a friend or two to perhaps do the same, and so far it's a wait and see game. 

I understand that the powers that be want more manufacturing to return to the USA, but honestly, MADE IN USA says two things to me: Overpriced and Lesser Quality. Sorry, but that observation comes from decades of personal retail experience. Not just in model trains either, this ugly situation seems all too common.

Destroying the previous "flow" of the model train hobby will only hurt the poorer members of society, both here and abroad, while perhaps increasing the profits of certain manufacturers and placing products out of reach for many.

I have some special orders out there, and I have no intent to cancel them as long as the pricing stays within reason. Hopefully calmer heads will prevail and things can return to something at least slightly recognizable.

We need to support our vendors, makers, and the hobby in general if we are to come through this mess together.

Thanks for reading this far, write back if the mood strikes you.

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

 

Friends, Family, Trains, and The Ties That Bind Us.

Life is a series of connections for most of us. We all connect with other people from our birth to the end of life; this seems constant. We connect with family first usually, and as we grow that circle of people expands to our extended family, like aunts, our uncles, great-grandparents, grandparents and a sea of cousins.

By the time we enter school, we start making friends and explore other types of connections. We also begin to experience things, like sports and competition, bike riding, flying kites, music, model building, bullies and authority figures outside the home, pets, and all sorts of wonderful (or not) new things.

Understanding life really does not begin until one has their first loved individual pass away. That is when some inkling of what is up in life starts to coalesce in the youthful noggin, at least it was that way for me. As the years fly by, the list of the dear departed has grown in leaps and bounds. Such was my case last week, I lost a dear friend I'd made back in the mid 1970's.  He just dropped dead with, as far as I know, no real warning. This happened just a week before we were going to get together, and I'm still in some form of denial, but his absence at our meeting place was noticed by all that attended. Rest In Peace Charlie, thank you for your service, and thank you for many years of friendship.

 The Annual Pilgrimage To GEHAMS 

We at the Arizona Southern do not travel to many model train swaps these days. We do attend the G.E.H.A.M.S. show in Bakersfield CA whenever the dates and the weather align (meaning I-5 was open over Ft. Tejon pass).  This show, though a smaller show, is well attended and has many vendors and layouts on display. I was taken aback by the Z Scale layout, the level of detail on their equipment was amazing to me. Maybe the pricing of several vendors was a tad high, like retail plus, but if one shopped, there were some real bargains to be had. I picked up one ATSF car from Moloco for a very fair price, saving on shipping and such in the process. Checking my cars when I arrived home, I was joyful to see this was NOT a repeat in the road number department; beautiful car.

As delivered Topeka built Bx-94 50' XMLI offset doors.

I also won a cool 'door prize' and that never happens to me, well almost never. It was a RAPIDO model, a UP 40' boxcar in the "Be Specific" scheme from the early 1960's and into the mid 1970's plus.  Perfect for my era.  Of course 'free' comes with its own set of issues, the metal roofwalk was damaged, crushed a little bit at one end, causing the roofwalk to dislodge from its supports.  I could fix it, but it probably would never lay perfectly flat again without major surgery.  Bummer to say the least. 

Click on this stock Rapido image for a larger view.

Doing some research on the "Fallen Flags" website, I spied a few of this type of car with their roofwalks removed, "A" end ladders shortened, and the "B" end brake still mounted high.  Honestly that is one of my more favorite (early-mid 1970's era) configurations, even if the real 'RAILS' were not all that fond of it. Case in point is this car shown below:

Click on image for a larger view of this 1979 era photo.

I also came across some 1960's thru 1970's reweigh stencil decals for 40' and 50' cars and shaped paint patches in several colors from Smokebox Graphics to go along with them. All in all this should be a fun project. I may need to find some 50T Roller Bearing trucks, maybe Tangent?

Thanks for reading this far, feel free to respond, just say hi, or tell me to go pound sand if the mood strikes you.  

Best Wishes and Enjoy Your Trains,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

More On Freight Car Addiction

 

When does enough ever become too much?  I think I am there, or so close I can smell and taste it.  In fact I have so many freight cars now that I really need to part with some of the ones that no longer fit my needs. No more long trains with helpers, clubs are a thing of the past for me.  I no longer possess the patience to deal with the intricacies of club politics.

Even my former layout is too large for what I'm comfortable with. Its coming down. I've been rearranging all our storage and have the SAWZALL charged up and ready to begin the trimming of things.

Of course, my blindly being the consummate addict, I keep ordering cars when I can. I mean now a days, you either buy or you cry, as nothing lasts for long on store shelves, well, at least nothing I'd want to buy.

This brings us to the "why" I've added another page to this blog, we got another box on the way. Two cars are coming, an ADM covered hopper and a PC boxcar.

Tangent HO Model - Click On For Full Size

Tangent HO Model Patched PC Boxcar

Cars keep getting nicer and the cycle never seems to end; in with the NEW and out with some of the OLD.

TANGENT is addictive. Great models, pricing within reason if you shop around, and enough variety for almost anybody.

Thanks for reading this far, write back if the mood strikes,

Best Wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

SP Assigned A Different Switch Engine To The AZSO Interchange.

Well a new year is underway. It did not get off to a great start, but at least it's underway and hopefully things will change for the better in some way.

It seems that the powers that be over at Southern Pacific pulled the SW1500 that had become so familiar on the interchange job and replaced it with a SW1200.

We're quite enamored with this throwback power, the older lines of this locomotive remind us of our youth, back when SP had a little more variety. 

Overall the model looks better than the previous Rapido version we sampled. The paint of the grab irons and railings on the Rapido were too thick for our taste; it was the first thing noted when looking at that unit, so it had to go.  We like the P2k Walthers power, as it has always performed well for us. Even the problematic first units with the split gears were an easy fix and we have several still in service.

Thanks for reading this far, write back or leave us a note if the mood strikes you.

Best Wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

Another Year Has Come And Gone.

2024 is just about over.  I for one am glad of that fact.  No need for another year like the one we just finished to come around again. Too much bad blood and too much craziness on all sides for my tastes. That, plus a bad year for personal health issues has left a bad taste in ones mouth.

I'd drink maybe one or two cups of coffee each morning when the year began, and now I'm on my second pot of the day, that is how things are going lately. This year Christmas feels robotic, any joy is M.I.A., or at least being searched for.

Another thing just happened as well; a milestone of sorts has been achieved. Moloco's new waffle side cars hit $67 each plus shipping.  As gorgeous as they are, the inbred frugality in me just won't allow me to spend that much on a freight car.  I'd love a MoPac car and a C.E.I. to keep it company, but that would be close to the price of replacing my busted MRC DCC with a NCE Power Cab system, and that just won't fly. So, that's the name of that tune.

Oh, and since I seldom post here without at least one photo, let me add a picture of a corn oil tank car bought on sale to serve a local commercial bakery on the planned shelf layout. It's a Tangent car, and was only $34 at Lombard's; I like that store.

Well, that's all for now, write back or comment should the mood strike. Happy Holidays!

Best wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

New Power Has Arrived.

Early last year in 2023, Athearn announced another run of Genesis GP9E's. Being perfect for branchline work, plus a favorite prototype of yours truly, there was no choice but to add one to the three others on hand at the AZSO. Desiring another model with the Farr rooftop air filter box setup, SP GP9E 3777 was selected.

Well just moments ago, the the folks in brown, delivered said box containing said locomotive model. It looks great too.

It's been a while since I ordered our last GP9E and I note that this box mentions LED's in the model. I'll have to wait to see what the differences might look like; hopefully it will all work out with what's onhand.

Thanks for reading this far, leave a note or make a comment should the mood strike you.

Enjoy your trains,

John Huey 

CEO Arizona Southern RR

A N&W 60' Boxcar Joins the RR

 Greetings from October 2024, where the time goes I have no idea. Just celebrated the first anniversary of the heart event of 2023, and thought something very different from the usual fare to be in order.

The only equipment longer than 54' are the SP 60' flats and bulkheads, the current layout plan just works better with shorter cars, so 40 and 50 footers rule our roster. Every once in a while though, something comes along that causes the rules to be stretched a bit. Tangent recently released a 60' auto parts car in one of my favorite paint schemes, so it just had to head to Arizona.

I'll be removing the 'FORD' service code marking as the car has been put into a more general service by 1976, and that makes it perfect for AZSO. Attached is an image purloined from the TANGENT website, I'm too lazy to get out the camera and set up a background right now.

Just wanted to drop a short note to the list, and this was about all the time and material that I had.

Thanks for reading this far, write back if the mood strikes, we'd enjoy the conversation.

Best wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

A.I. may be the end of us all.

A.I. has its good side, and it has a neutral side, but what many miss is its more nefarious side; a side that can lead one into an addiction tailored just for one's own tastes.  Last week, I searched for a Brekina CL-9000 COE to round out the collection that at some point will grace the planned truck stop or back roads of the next layout. I found one that was a bit pricey, but then a discount coupon showed up and the rest is history. Ahh, both the good and the neutral sides of A.I. illustrated.

Next, allow a few days to pass, the shipping minions do their thing, and the new tractor arrives in perfect condition; it looks better in person than the photos indicated. One great tractor model!  But, almost without breaking stride, ad's begin to creep into the old online search results, ads for Brekina while searching for totally unrelated items. That aforementioned nefarious side begins to appear. Not only did the Ford CL-9000's show up, but the Mack RS-700's did as well. Nefarious!

If a second CL-9000 was not bad enough, another Mack RS-700, one in a pleasing paint scheme, showed up with the Ford. Who was I to argue with fate?  One can't have too many good looking truck tractors after all, right? So one more Mack is enroute to join the others already in hand.

Of course, all will need a little bit of help before being placed into service. The Mack might be turned into a shorter single screw, less sleeper, and used in gravel hauling service; only time will tell.

Thanks for reading this far, as always, feel free to write back or comment should that mood strike you. We'd love to hear from you.

Best wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

1978 Ford CL-9000's From Brekina

Just when I thought it would be safe to browse the old interwebs again, Brekina releases a tractor that not only fits my time period, but is one I actually sort of liked considering that it's not one of the BIG four; Pete, Mack, WFL, or KW. Most of the released paint jobs in this run are fairly boring, but one sort of pushed my color pallet button, so an order was placed, and it is on its way. This tan scheme just looked like it would work for an owner operator in the desert, or so I'm thinking.

Not much else to report right now. Still working on sorting out the train room's issues with space and layout area. I'll be in touch when there is something more to report. 

Thanks for reading this far, and feel free to write back should the mood strike you. Best wishes,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR