# What are the correct cars to pull with my LGB Unitah Mallet



## Merlin83 (Sep 23, 2011)

Hello !

I have been involved in G-Scale modeling with LGB for about 2 years - and I have quickly built up a large selection of engines and rolling stock. I tend to be very picky and strive for being accurate - So, I just purchsed an LGB Unitah Mallet, and now want to know what cars can or should I pull with it for authenticity ? I want only a few, but want them to be accurate









So any ideas or recommendations ? 



Thank You,
Brett


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Bret:

The Uintah was built to haul "Gilsonite" from the Uintah Basin to the D&RGW at Mack, Colorado. Gilsonite is a solid hydrocarbon. It looks a lot like coal. It occurs in veins cutting the sandstones and shales of the Uintah Basin. I'm not an expert on oil shale and gilsonite, but I believe that in the deeper parts of the basin, the oil shale was heated to a high enough temperature to form a thick oil. As this moved up towards the surface and cooled it formed the gilsonite veins.


Gilsonite is a natural asphalt. I suggest that you Google it. There were many uses for it at the time.

The raw gilsonite was bagged in burlap bags and stacked on flat cars. There were occasional box cars and stock cars that were also hauled. They also had a combine for passengers. This was a curved roof car, that I have never seen anywhere else. It is in the collection of the Colorado Railroad Museum. Go their web site and you can probably find a picture of it.


The pictures below show two flat cars (LGB) lettered for Uintah with gilsonite loads. These were made by a small company called Depot G in Pine, Co, long out of business. The box car and reefer are by USAT. There is a water car, behind the engine in the first picture. Several of these water cars could be seen on many of the trains. This one was also built by Depot G.


There is a Uintah caboose is by LGB that doesn't show in the picture. 


There are books and a DVD out on the Uintah. I won't be home for a week, so I can't give you the titles. 



















Chuck N 


What is gilsonite?


----------



## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

I have drawings for all of the Unitah cars if you like an email copy just message me through here.


----------



## dawgnabbit (Jan 2, 2008)

Henry Bender's "Uintah Railway - The Gilsonite Route" is a good reference. Lots of pictures.
ISBN: 0831070803 
Cheers, Steve


----------



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I got my gilsonite loads from Rail Plaques, the last known vendor. I don't know it they are still around. They were $15/each at the time.


----------



## krs (Feb 29, 2008)

Brett, 

You can also go to the Large Scale database at 
http://www.gbdb.info/index.php?l=english 

Type Uintah into the search field and you will get a selection of Uintah Large Scale equipment. 

Knut


----------



## Tom Leaton (Apr 26, 2008)

There was a brief, illustrated chapter on the Uintah Ry. in the book Narrow Gauge in The Rockies, by Beebe & Clegg.


----------



## gtrainman (Jan 5, 2008)

Brett, 

Check out this link. 
http://home.bresnan.net/~bpratt15/index.htm


----------



## bruja (Jan 7, 2008)

Uintah also had bottom dump gondolas and both a four wheel and eight wheel caboose. By far the best reference books are by Rodger Polley: Uintah Railway Pictorial, Volumes I and II. Volume I covers the railway from Mack to Atchee; the second volume covers it from Atchee to the various northern termini in Utah. Besides the round roof combine, there were clerestory roof cars; another combine and a passenger car. @import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


----------



## Merlin83 (Sep 23, 2011)

Wow ! Thank you all so much for responding. 

I little background on my LGB involvement:

About 10 years ago around Christmas time I purchased a starter LGB train set from Restoration Hardware - I was so intrigued with the train and the quality of it, I had it orbiting around our Christmas tree that year everyday. Well at the time it was just me and the wife, and every year I would take it out for Christmas. Well then things got really exciting and we had our twins, and again I would take out the train and would watch in delight as they watched it go around and around the tree. Then about I think 3 years ago, at the Christmas take down I just could not bring myself to put the train away. And I had been a eBay user for over 8 years and I decided to take a gander - and WOW !! I saw so much cool stuff.


So from that point I started bidding (and losing a lot of bids) - slowly I won a few key engines a F7A Santa Fe, and an Alco 2156S in the Blue Bonnet colors - and so I kept adding track and trains. My wife pretty much thinks it's 'cute' that I am so interested in the train thing. I'm not sure what it is - but I am just so enthralled in combing through over and over eBay looking for just the right balance of a nice train, that does not cost too much but is also of worthy condition. And I insist on only getting LGB from Germany or West Germany.

I work as the Director of Engineered services for a hardware company in Oregon and the train thing has become my true hobby - I like that the hobby is somewhat 'anti-technology' - somewhat opposite of what I am surrounded with at work. I even have trains in my office at work and people comment on how detailed they are ( I keep a Heavy Duty Reel car in my office).


Basically I think I will start looking for flat bed cars, I have a couple and I will now start adding Gilsonite loads to them. I have seen a couple of the Gilsonite items on eBay and now I will know to purchase those. I always try to be authentic with the look and feel of how the trains are displayed and run around the track. Anyway, thanks again for the responses, I do appreciate it.


Best Regards,
Brett


----------



## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

You might also want to check out the Colorado Railroad Museum website, they own a couple of pieces of Uintah rolling stock, including the Combine and Business Car B8. 

Also the Museum of Western Colorado has quite a bit of Uintah rolling stock including the only remaining caboose. 

Check out the before and after photos of the caboose here: http://www.museumofwesternco.com/visit/cross-orchards-historic-site/uintah-caboose-restoration/ 

And, if you're curious about what happened to Uintah #50: http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/file.php?1,file=11341 

Robert


----------



## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

well 
a few flat cars, muella scale models makes some great flat sided sacks for loads-prbably a bit small for gilsonite- 
a few box cars 
a combine- 

a coach-both in LGB , will be wood sided not metal-sometiems you gotta make believe-or start modeling in earnest-the middle way is to repaint and letter-oddly-(and ive nto tried) but it seems that if one were to put 2 of the toy train passneger cars together and do some 'cobbling ' adding passenger trucks, you might get a closer feel to the rounded metal of the Unitah stock 

a caboose or 2 
and a tank car as it was very dry in the area 

unitah also had, i believe a 2-6-2 tank loco 
im not sure if they had a shay, but i think so 

the Uintah stuff made by LGB is relatively scarce-so 
you may need to simply repaint and re-letter


----------



## NormAcker (2 mo ago)

Does anyone on this thread happen to have a drawing of any of the tender tank-based water cars? I'm going to try to freelance one similar to 021 or 023 out of a Bachmann 4-6-0 tender. Thanks in advance!


----------

