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The GIRR relies on the Santa Fe to provide most of the motive power. Equipment that was supplied with different road names has been repainted and relettered to Santa Fe.
Much of the rolling stock is lettered for the Santa Fe also, although there is quite a collection of foreign road stock as well. The GIRR purchases much of its equipment second hand but most was originally manufactured by AristoCraft with a fair number of cars from Bachmann, USA Trains and MDC. LGB has provided only the cars from an industrial starter set and one 2 bay hopper.
A recent addition to the GIRR motive power roster is the new
USA Trains GP-9. This is one fine engine. Read more about it at GP-7/9 Tips.
An ABA set of Alco FA-1 units is assigned to heavy freight
service. Two of these are early production units which have been
tuned up and provide excellent service. This locomotive set will
pull 45 cars on the 1.6% ruling grade of the GIRR. They would pull
more, but the trains straighten in the curves. Use these links to
find information on Tuning
and Lubricating Aristo Diesels or FA Tips. One of these locos has
been converted to battery power.
An FA/FB Warbonnet set has been added to the
roster to pull a set of streamliners. As described in FA Tips, these engines
have been modified to reduce the unit spacing so that the diaphragms
nearly touch. These two units are also early production units and
work fine after a tuneup. Both have been converted to DCC and have
been lowered to match the lowered streamliner set.
An Aristo fast Pacific is dedicated to passenger
service pulling a string of four Aristo Heavyweight passenger cars.
The Pacific Tips Page
contains some information you might want to see if you own or are
considering buying an Aristo Pacific. The Pacific has also been
converted to DCC.
A
Lionel Atlantic is by far the most heavily modified engine on
the GIRR. Even though this kind of engine rarely pulled freight in
1:1 scale service, on the GIRR, it pulls whatever consist fits the
chief engineer's fancy. The most common consist is a local
passenger and mail consist consisting of an RPO and a Standard
Heavyweight coach. The Atlantic has been converted to DCC.
An Aristo
RS-3 provides much of the day to day way freight service. A
second RS-3 has also been added to the roster. Both have been
converted to DCC.
An Aristo
0-4-0 works as a yard goat and does some industrial switching
on the shorter sidings. This loco has also been converted to
DCC.
A
Bachmann Shay is completely out of character and time for this
mid-20th century railroad. It is also completely out of scale as
most of the equipment is either 1:29 or 1:32 scale. The Shay is
1:20.3 scale and therefore 50% too big but it runs so damn well
that it is used for a lot of switching service. The loco has been
converted to DCC.
Since the couplers are truck mounted in a completely un-prototypical fashion, the engine works well in switching service in tight places as the couplers tend to line up and couple on curves.
My lone LGB engine is a
holdover from a starter set. Its seen hard service as a yard goat
but most often it pulls the Aristo Track Cleaning Car. This loco
has recently been converted to battery power.
An AristoCraft Center Cab
industrial switcher has appeared on the property. This engine is
usually used for making up trains, but it has been seen on the main
heading up a freight to two.
A Bachmann Climax
was originally intended to run on the GIRR Mountain Division, but
it got a DCC conversion so that it now runs on the GIRR, usually
doubleheaded with a DCC converted Shay.
On light
traffic days, an Aristo Doodlebug handles the passenger
requirements of the GIRR. The Doodlebug has also been converted to
DCC.
