MTH 20-98205 Union Pacific Jordan Spreader

This is such an interesting looking car, I couldn't resist buying it. The roads use these, obviously, as snow plows in the winter. However, I've learned that they also have other uses in the warmer months of the year, such as maintaining drainage ditches and so forth. The photo of this car on MTH's website does NOT show the black & white striping on the front, but only solid yellow. I'm guessing that this is because MTH added the stripes after the catalogs had already gone out. Another odd thing is that the real life UP #903143 is noticeably different looking than this rendition. This is a 1998 model, added to my set in April of 2006.

MTH 20-98215 Union Pacific Die-Cast Test Car

MTH doesn't make all the MoW equipment I'd like them to make, but what they do make they always do a great job on. In real life, these scale test cars are used to calibrate the train scales. I found a picture of a few of these on Railroad Picture Archives and MTH replicated the UP version very well. If only MTH would make other MoW equipment like speeders and ballast tampers! I can see it now..."Union Pacific ballast tamper with Proto-Sound 2.0"...wow that would rule! This is a 1999 model, added to my set in March of 2006.

RailKing 30-7926 Conrail Searchlight Car

This car is very cool. It looks a lot like the old Lionel searchlight car, except that MTH has improved the light mechanism. It's basically outfitted with the same rotating motor found on MTH's remake of Lionel's 394 Rotary Beacon. When the track is energized, the light comes on and spins around continuously. When I first got this car, I was a little peeved that the car did not have a switch on the underside for turning the search light off when it's not in use. However, on closer inspection I found that the car does, in fact, have a switch that is appropriately placed on the little plastic generator on the top of the car! This is a 1999 model, added to my set in March of 2006.

RailKing 30-7986 CSX American Crane Car

Just like the GN crane below, but with CSX livery.

RailKing 30-79004 Union Pacific Fire Car

I haven't seen a lot of these around, so I snatched this up when I found it. It's just a neat little car, with all sorts of detail on it. It's got a little more plastic than I would like, but it's still a great car. This is a 1999 model, added to my set in March of 2006.

RailKing 30-79032 Great Northern American Crane Car

This is a nice series that MTH has come out with. I couldn't resist picking one up when I saw this at a local train store here in Atlanta. Added to my collection in October 2005.

Lionel 6-16610 Track Maintenance Car

An ebay find. You gotta have a track maintenance car on your layout! Mostly plastic, but still a nice car overall.

Lionel 6-18490 Union Pacific Ballast Tamper

Pretty much useless on my DCS layout for right now., but still a neat little gadget. The little tampers move up and down as the unit moves. Added to my collection in March of 2006.

Lionel 6-18497 Norfolk & Western Speeder

I was at a train store north of Atlanta with my girlfriend one day and she was just crazy for this little firecracker. I'll admit, it is a cute little thing. This things looks so neat zipping around my layout. I think in the end I will probably give this speeder a little line of its own, so that it can zip back and forth on the set without getting in the way of its big brothers. I plan to purchase the Lionel "Speeder Shed" for this thing eventually, so that it will have a cozy little home all its own.

Lionel 6-28409 Conrail Rail Bonder

I picked this up on ebay for $32. Apparently, a rail bonder welds the rails on the roads. At any rate, it's nice little piece and will help add realism on the layout. This was made in 2006 and added to my collection in January of 2007.