Friday, September 20, 2019

Doodlebug railcar

Bought because it was both interesting and cheap a couple of years ago, the photos of this US prototype railcar have been sitting in the pending pile for an appearance on the blog for a while. Moving the box it lives in to find something in the maturing cupboard reminded me I really ought to post them.

The model is a Bachmann Spectrum product in HO and that's pretty much all I know. I'm sure I read the name "doodlebug" and a web search tells me I'm right.

Looking at photos, I think this was built by Pullman and Electro-Motive Corporation for use on lightly loaded branch lines (short lines?) and as such, can run singly, even though it has a corridor connection.

In the collection is an HO Shay and, possibly due to the influence of Scale Trains during my formative modelling years, a tiny US based layout has always been in the back of my mind. A long way back, but there is something about some of those early diesels - and there is some very impressive American modelling out there.

2 comments:

Chris Ford said...

Rare beasts these days, if decide to chuck it....

Anonymous said...

Hi, Phil--

Let me throw this out to you--

The Bachmann doodlebug can be used for modelling Toronto Hamilton and Buffalo Railway gas-electric car #301. Built 1927, it ran until 1954 on that railway.

Steve Lucas

http://www.thbrailway.ca/gaselectric/gaselectric.htm#02