A long-awaited arrival

 Thanks to efforts by Rapido Trains in conjunction with the Conrail Historical Society, HO scale Conrail modelers now have access to the dedicated locomotives of one of the most legendary of Conrail trains:  the E8A locomotives that served on the Office Car Special!

These three locomotives were of PRR and Erie lineage.  The 4022 came to Conrail from Erie Lackawanna in 1976, while both the 4020 and 4021 went from PRR to PC but then to Amtrak in 1971, and so were not on Conrail's initial roster.  In 1983, Amtrak was in need of switchers, and so organized a trade with Conrail where Amtrak would receive 4 switchers in exchange for two E units.  Conrail rebuilt all three for service on the famed Office Car Special, the 'OCS' that every Conrail fan hoped to see.  A train of customized business cars trailed them on the prototype, and custom car sides are soon to be available for those looking to create a faithful model of the train.  

For now, the engines will suffice - it's a big start on the way to doing the whole train.  The only small omission for this run is that the class lights come able to lit, but only white - when Conrail more commonly used the red.  I removed the shell and it turned out with a bit of Tamiya Clear Red enamel paint I could create the red lights.  

You can see the small red rectangles where I painted the light tubes.  Also painted was the back of the lenses in the E units.  

Now, F11 creates a scene that many Conrail guys remembered from when the OCS would overnight near their favorite spot:

While the OC will not see the OCS pass at every session, it will soon be able to see it sometimes, adding to the fun of an operating session.  We are on the way with these beautiful new E8's!