Black Diamond Short Line

Yet again, the items with the least amount of high tech stuff are by far the neatest items to have on a pike! I'm sure these 1 truck items command huge dollars now but when they were introduced in 1987, I know they were a great deal. I saw some 1 truck items that Dick Mayer did for TTOS and they were really nice as well.

The straightforwardness in these truncated cars is part of their brilliance. I guarantee they can roll around any curve and they can be snuck past any train wife because "honey, they're so small and cute, they couldn't have cost much!"

Aesthetics aside, the short lines always had a work rhythm that was different than other freights. I know, a freight is a freight, right? Well, no. Some cars look fine sitting on a siding waiting to be picked up by a loco and some (like the famous Frank Petruzzo coal train) look silly sitting still.

These little cars look like they were cut out for some serious logging and work. What's kind of nice is that they are a serious departure from your standard sized 200 or 500 series freight. Fruther, because they are one truck, the noise they make is a bit different than a rambling consist of Lionel freights. I've seen them running on a pike and all I can say is.... I wish I had a set!

M
PS Thanks again Al for the scans!