Equipment

 

No. 9

Hillendale No. 9 is a customized Bachmann Big Hauler. It is modeled after the Brooks 4-6-0's owned by the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, from details such as the wrap-around smokebox handrail, to the standard 1890s Brooks factory paint scheme. The engine was inspired by a picture in Gerald Best's book, The Ulster & Delaware: Railroad Through the Catskills, and is operated with RailPro RC. You can read the modeling story here.

No. 10

Hillendale No. 10 is a repainted and customized Bachmann "Annie." It is an attempt to mimic standard Baldwin Locomotive Works paint schemes of the 1890s. Aside from the boiler jacket, which is much too blue, the locomotive matches a Baldwin export livery dating to 1894, with a dark green body color and gold and red striping. No. 10 is one of the road's prized passenger locomotives. Fitted with RailPro RC.

Hillendale Flyer Trainset

The 2-car abbreviated Hillendale Flyer trainset envisions the fictional railway's premier train, whisking vacationers to the luxury hotels of the Hillendale Mountains. The train is an unmodified Bachmann Big Hauler consist in the Pennsylvania Railroad's c. 1900 Pennsylvania Limited paint scheme. In my canon, the Hillendale's train served as inspiration for the PRR paint scheme, and Hillendale employees were none too happy when they saw their paint scheme copied by the big-time mainline, thank-you-very-much.

Catskill Mountain Railroad Coach

I am currently making a model of a Catskill Mountain Railroad coach based on a Bachmann coach. The prototype was built in 1882 for the narrow-gauge C.M.R.R., and differs from the Bachmann model with paneled "board-and-batten" siding and other details. Finishing the model will be an accurate Jackson & Sharp paint scheme and interior. Stay tuned for updates on this model.

U&D Coach No. 18

U&D coach 18 is a unique member of the Hillendale fleet. It was scratch-built (wood) by a man named Robert Johnston of Rhinebeck, NY. I know nothing of the man or the prototype, but bought the model at a country store in the Catskills. I wanted to preserve his craftsmanship, so have not altered the car in any way - save for adding U&D lettering. It's my idea for how an Ulster & Delaware car may have looked had it survived to the garish tourist railroad paint schemes of the 1960s and 70s. I also added battery-powered LED lights and scratch-built Adlake-style chandeliers.

Freight Cars

The Hillendale Railway rosters various freight cars, some off-the-shelf, some kitbashed, and some scratch-built. Pictured is a scratch-built flatcar carrying bluestone, a common Catskills commodity.

Caboose

The Hillendale's bobber caboose is inspired by the fact that the Ulster & Delaware Railroad used bobbers on its 107-mile mainline. The model is a virtually unmodified Bachmann caboose. The paint scheme is based on a period paint layout from the 1887 Sherwin Williams Catalogue of Railway Colors.