DM&IR Yellowstone

[ACY]

Wow, what an interesting conversation this has turned into , well ...um how about those who are into railroads from areas they've never been to?...
I don't see why some  would be up in arms over a DM&IR Yellowstone it wouldn't be a bad marketing idea considering the locomotives' popularity

Granted there are people who are fans of railroads that did not run in their locale or that they did not get to see, but the sheer number of people from several large cities make that negligible. And it would not be a very good idea for Bachmann to make the DM&IR Yellowstone in the same price range as the EM-1, there would not be a sufficient market to offset the costs of production. However it is definitely something one of the brass manufacturers could produce but you would have probably a price tag of at least $1,000 possibly even as much as $2,000 due to the limited production that would be required.
For the reasons outlined previously, if a model has B&O on it, it will sell much better than the same model with DM&IR on the side. You may not like it or want to believe it but marketing research has proved this to be the case. Certain road names sell exceptionally well because they have exceptionally large fan bases, DM&IR is not anywhere near as popular as several road names. Most people in the US have heard of the B&O railroad, however people outside of the Northwest do not even know the DM&IR exists let alone be fans of the railroad.

[ryeguyisme]

Well that makes sense like how B&O is on a game of monopoly and everyone would think of it more than they would ever think of the beyond rare mention of DM&IR (if it ever occurs in their lifetime) as the casual consumer in America

Like how I'm a enthusiastic 25 year old steam locomotive model railroader brass collector, I'd have to still recognize that I fall into an extreme minority.

[ebtnut]

The manufacturer's choices of prototypes have been dicated largely by the popularity of certain prototypes for decades.  They include the PRR, the B&O, the NYC, the ATSF, the UP and SP.  These lines covered large segments of the country which included major population centers, so a great many more people were familiar with these lines.  Unlike the DM&IR, which operated in a small corner of upper Minnesota.  As a for-instance, Penn Line made a very popular line of PRR steam model kits (later taken over by Bowser).  Bower made a kit for a NYC K-11 4-6-2.  Most of MDC/Roundhouse steam kits followed Santa Fe prototypes.  Even the old Mantua Pacific, though somewhat generic, is fundamentally a B&O P-7.  Even for diesel models, you'll find that in the past most of the models were produced with at least one (or more) of those road names. 

[Irbricksceo]

Another funny thing, the location of the manufacturer seems to influence it. take Atlas for example. They have Locomotives from NJ Transit and Susquehanna,  not exactly among the "Big" Railroads. (Though the NYSW is more important than its reputation implies, as it was among the first to fully diesel in 1945) This, I've no doubt, is in part due to them being based in NJ.

I just looked up the DM&IR Yellowstone by the way. While I'd never heard of the DM&IR before, I like that locomotive. I dounbt we'll be seeing a plasatic production any time soon, but you are right, it is handome (I like it more than then B&O one tbh, even though I model Railroads in the Northeast generically). Anyway, converting it to a reasonable facsimile should be possible. I do feel your pain. If any C&O J3-A Greenbrier 4-8-4's entered the market, I'd buy one in a heartbeat but it's brass only.... Not very generic looking so other roads really don't work there.

[ACY]

Typically when models are made, some combination of the following 38 road names are what allows the model to be produced on a large scale. If a road is not listed here then its impact on getting a model produced is negligible and producing a model in large quantities (and at a low price) solely for any road not listed below is probably not feasible by any large scale manufacturer. Some are extremely popular as ebtnot noted above where as others are not quite as popular. The ones ebtnut mentioned really are the top selling road names for models and merchandise.

1. Amtrak
2. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
3. Atlantic Coast Line
4. Baltimore and Ohio
5. Boston and Maine
6. Burlington Northern
7. Canadian National
8. Canadian Pacific
9. Chesapeake and Ohio
10. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
11. Milwaukee Road
12. Conrail
13. CSX
14. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
15. Denver and Rio Grande Western
16. Erie
17. Erie Lackawanna
18. Florida East Coast
19. Grand Trunk Western
20. Kansas City Southern
21. Louisville and Nashville
22. Missouri-Kansas-Texas
23. New York Central System
24. New York, New Haven and Hartford
25. Norfolk Southern/& Western
26. Northern Pacific
27. Penn Central
28. Pennsylvania
29. Reading
30. Rutland
31. Seaboard
32. SOO
33. Southern Pacific
34. Union Pacific
35. Virginian
36. Wabash
37. Western Maryland
38. Western Pacific

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

Another funny thing, the location of the manufacturer seems to influence it. take Atlas for example. They have Locomotives from NJ Transit and Susquehanna,  not exactly among the "Big" Railroads. (Though the NYSW is more important than its reputation implies, as it was among the first to fully diesel in 1945) This, I've no doubt, is in part due to them being based in NJ.

I just looked up the DM&IR Yellowstone by the way. While I'd never heard of the DM&IR before, I like that locomotive. I dounbt we'll be seeing a plasatic production any time soon, but you are right, it is handome (I like it more than then B&O one tbh, even though I model Railroads in the Northeast generically). Anyway, converting it to a reasonable facsimile should be possible. I do feel your pain. If any C&O J3-A Greenbrier 4-8-4's entered the market, I'd buy one in a heartbeat but it's brass only.... Not very generic looking so other roads really don't work there.

I have an idea for a plastic C&O J3-A 4-8-4 if you can find it. The Bachmann USRA Heavy 4-8-2 is from what I can tell, a pretty close place to start. From what can gather, all you would need to really do is make sure the tender looks correct (about the size of a USRA Long tender but with the tops of the bunker rounded towards the inside of the tender), give it a front like the one on the C&O 2-8-4 and a solid cast pilot, add a 4 wheel trailing truck in place of the stock 2 wheel one, and renumber.

[clan line 35028]

what draws me more to DM&IR is what they did with their motive power. when the yellowstones took over on the main line they other mallets where put to ore dock service. they would glide a string of ore cars down proctor hill to the ore docks. tend and switch the dock out and haul the empties back up the hill. the pull back up proctor usually ate the whole tender of coal. the 2-10-2s became the yard switchers, shortline runners and passenger service until the 50's. so for such a small line they had some of the biggest locomotives on the planet and for some of the oddest jobs too. just imagine a 2-8-8-2 switching empty's around on a oredock.

[Doneldon]

ACY-

By and large, you are correct. I do think you overlooked the Chicago and Northwestern, the Great Northern, the Illinois Central, the Rock Island and the Southern RR. And there is another short list of "common" narrow gauge railroads. It must be acknowledged that many more roads are represented in rolling stock, or at least freight cars. That's probably because it's a lot cheaper to do a different paint job than to redo tooling. Also, freight cars don't show the same degree of difference between and among railroads that locomotives do.
                                                                                                           -- D

[uscgtanker]

Anything can be built with time, knowledge, sketches, dimensions, money and history. Great things can come in small packages. As in this post it's easy to get off topic! B&O is well know yes but that's not what clanline started. He wanted to find out tips on converting  B&O EM1 to make A M-3 M-4 DM&IR Yellowstone. There is one nice thing with model railroading you can do what you want how you want it. Granted you will always have a few complainers, but you can never really get away from that. I do remember some time back I posted the same topic on converting a EM1 to a M-3 M-4 and got a few helpful tips. None of the reply's were off topic and no one threw manure on the subject. Simply said a lot of people should keep there mouth shut and think what would the consciences be if I said something.

[ACY]

By and large, you are correct. I do think you overlooked the Chicago and Northwestern, the Great Northern, the Illinois Central, the Rock Island and the Southern RR. And there is another short list of "common" narrow gauge railroads. It must be acknowledged that many more roads are represented in rolling stock, or at least freight cars.

While true that many more railroads have rolling stock produced, they are not the reason that particular piece of rolling stock is produced 9 times out of 10. They produce the other roads in rolling stock and locomotives as well because the big road names get enough orders to offset the initial costs of producing the model, so without the big roads the smaller roads would not have any rolling stock with their name on it. That is the smaller roads rely on the larger roads to get models with their road name produced and if a locomotive or piece of rolling stock differed from what the big roads ran then it either doesn't get made or they put it on a generic model.

I sort of included the Southern with the NS/N&W since the Southern merged with NS. The other 4 you certainly can make a case for, but I had to draw the line somewhere so to speak, I could not list off every class I railroad.

B&O is well know yes but that's not what clanline started. He wanted to find out tips on converting  B&O EM1 to make A M-3 M-4 DM&IR Yellowstone. There is one nice thing with model railroading you can do what you want how you want it.Simply said a lot of people should keep there mouth shut and think what would the consciences be if I said something.

In my first post I suggested that he just equip a centipede tender to an EM-1 to replicate the DM&IR M-3 or M-4. MilwaukeeRoadfan261 noted the changes needed to the EM-1 model to convert it to the M-3 or M-4.
A few others siggested an Akane model.
So in my opinion there were plenty of helpful suggestions made.
ryeguyisme and others noted they thought an M-3 or M-4 would be made instead of the EM-1, and I was explaining the factors that went into the EM-1 being made over an M-3 or M-4.