Modelling the DAR

[briantrainman]

I am currently planning to model the DAR in ho scale. I am curious as to how many members of this forum have modeled or are in the planning stages of modelling the DAR. I haven't seen many photos on the web of DAR themed layouts. Brian in Ottawa.

[stem]

If you check the links under modellers you'll find Jim Taylor's site. He's done some individual pieces and is involved as well with Ric Hamilton in modelling Berwick for the Berwick Apple Museum.

Start here at Jim's site:
http://home.xcountry.tv/~kestrel/id44.htm

[downeastrailfan]

The True Line Trains DAR caboose is not listed on their website.

http://www.hobbycraft.com/tltcontent/in ... &Itemid=28

Modeltrains.com is still listing it: http://www.modeltrains.com/WEB%20-%20CM ... lantic.htm

So, I wonder if it has been cancelled.

I have only seen one photo of a Dominion Atlantic lettered caboose, which looked quite old, perhaps the 30s. So, it was not a common thing.

Matt

[stem]

That caboose on the web site looks identical to a CP wood sided caboose.
Have you checked the photos on the wiki?

http://dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Vans

There are real railway blueprints of CP vans on the http://cpsig.ca website in their document library if you want to double check but can't you just repaint a CP van?

[briantrainman]

It appears that the Dominion Atlantic "caboose" may be a special run done for Canadian Model Trains. I have bought several of the TLT CP wood sided "cabooses" from them and have a DAR model on order. I have a Dominion Atlantic RDC in my collection. It is a proto 1000 unit. Has anyone else come accross one of these?

Brian in Ottawa

[Paul Charland]

Hi Brian,

Yes, I have the DAR RDC along with one with a CP maroon letterboard and one in CP Action Red. Also have the Life Like S-3 in DAR lettering and seven SW1200s looking for conversion kits. What I don't have is space for a layout.

Paul

[stem]

The other night when I was building more pages for the CVR branch it occurred to me that the CVR would make a great small layout. With the Kentille yard, a very "modelable" yard, sidings and stations almost every mile and tons of traffic - passenger and freight, freight and mixed trains for school runs and the apple industry along with ferry traffic to Kingsport, I would suggest that this little branch line offers a heck of a lot of possibilties for a point to point opeartion in a relatively small space. It would be take the shape of "T" with the Kentville yard at the both, Weston at the left and Kingport at the right.

We should whip up some layout ideas about this one.

[Paul Charland]

Hi All,

Seeing as I lived in the Valley back in the '70s I've always thought that would be the era to model, what I saw at the time. After looking through a employees timetable from '73 and having access to a year's worth of consists from the Mixed from Truro (remember most interchange traffic at that time was through Truro and not Halifax), I thought the Kentville to Windsor area would have the best potential for traffic and the best chance at having a layout that wouldn't get boring. During the course of the day that the way freight would have been running between Kentville and Windsor there would be a meet with an RDC coming back from Halifax, a couple of meets with the Gypsum train at Hantsport and Windsor, meeting the Mixed in Windsor, and the through freight for Halifax on the way back to Kentville... would also see Fundy Gypsum's 45 tonner while in Hantsport.

I did draw a basement layout in 3rd PlanIt software a few years ago, could post it somewhere if anyone is interested.

This leads to the next thing when you don't have room for a layout, drawing the route in MS Train-sim, only need space on a hard drive for that.

Paul

[downeastrailfan]

Steve:

Someone in the Halifax area has already modelled the Kingsport branch, although I have not seen it in person, or any photographs. His name is Dan Conlin, and he is a curator at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax. A quick search brought up his email: conlindg@gov.ns.ca

Perhaps he can submit some photos. I understand he built some of the fine buildings on the museum layout in Berwick (I forget the name of the museum).

[stem]

Dan has already been contributing to the wiki and is very knowledgable!! I'm going to write him and ask him about this.

[stem]

Dan wrote me back and even supplied photos of his CVR layout.

Check them out here:
http://dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?title=C ... nlin_Photo

[downeastrailfan]

Bachmann will be releasing a 45 tonner with siderods. Fundy Gypsum has one, so this looks like a great starting point for modeling:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/ ... _photo.php

The working siderods would be awesome!

[DAR9058]

I just received an internet link showing a pre-production sample of True Line Train's wooden DAR caboose.

http://www.modeltrains.com/WEB%20-%20CM ... lantic.htm

Although I haven't actually seen any photos of DAR cabooses (other than the "combooses"), perhaps I would be accurate in assuming a DAR caboose model such as this does not look appropriate in red... Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a DAR caboose (whether the DAR actually had any or not) be painted CP tuscan red or maroon to match the steam/diesel locos and passenger equipment?

Can anyone comment on this? Did the DAR have similar cabooses? If so, what colour were they painted?

If the colour of the pre-production run is not accurate, then I suggest we contact True Line Trains to have it corrected before these models go into production..

-Jeff Keddy
Winnipeg

[downeastrailfan]

Hi Jeff:

The only photo I have seen of a DAR lettered caboose was at the Musquodobit Railway Museum in Musquodobit Harbour, NS. It was a black & white photo, and I doubt a colour photo even exists from this era. It did not have the DAR logo used by TLT. Instead, it had block lettering: "DOMINION ATLANTIC" much like the Canadian Pacific lettered vans of this era.

Gary Ness probably has a photo of such a van.

Matt Keoughan

[downeastrailfan]

As to the colour of the caboose, we can only speculate without a colour photo. But red looks wrong. I think it would be safer to go with the same colour used on CP vans.

Matt K.