A Falcon branch combine

C-3E #312 with the combine just south of Denver

One can't look at many photos of my modeled era on the Falcon branch without seeing a combine on the end of the train. The combine assigned to the service appears to be pretty consistent through all the photos. Occasionally a 2 car consist substitutes for it with a separate baggage car and coach, but this seems to become less common through time. However I've never been able to nail down for certainty what car number this combine was.  

A note in the Jim Jones book "D&NO, in the shadow of the rockies" mentions the Falcon branch combine was retired and became the yard office in South Denver. In the "Colorado Road" book, there is a roster at the back of the book of every known disposition of passenger equipment from the C&S. I see that Mail-Coach #327 is the listed as "dismantled 6/44, body to South Denver yard office", so I believe this to be combine mentioned in the book. However the Colorado Road book also mentions that this car was converted to an Outfit Diner in 1923, a full decade before the Doodlebug started running passenger service on the branch. 

In fact, the only form of combine I see that lasted long enough to make it to the end of the Falcon branch was Baggage-Coach #278, which lasted until 12/1940 in that guise. This car was a Pullman built car of correct dimensions from what I see in the photos, it started life as a UPD&G mail car which also lines up with its use on the branch. 

Photos of the grounded car in South Denver don't particularly help identifying which car this was, as the windows have been traded out for building type windows that don't match anything on any combine the C&S had. 

The particular combine used on the Falcon branch also has a unique quirk that makes it stand out in pictures. It has a blunt front end and an actual platform on the rear. Finding models that matched this proved tricky as you'll see in a moment. 

If you have any additional information about the Falcon branch combine, I'd love to hear more about it.

The Model

I plan to have a total of 2 models of the combine. "Why?" I hear you ask. This was a decision I made to help accelerate getting some more accurate trains operating and for photos. I purchased a LaBelle kit to be my combine but knew it would be some time before I got around to actually building it. Later at one of the TECO shows in Colorado Springs, I found another pre-assembled LaBelle combine, this one was not an exact match for the Falcon combine, but it DID have the blunt front end, and an enclosed vestibule on the other end. 

My thought process for this combine was to cut off the vestibuled end of the car and make it just an end platform, while leaving the blunt end alone. This would get me the look I was looking for, even if the windows don't quite match the individual ones on the prototype. Someday I might modify this car to have individual windows, or maybe I'll just build the other kit I purchased at some point and just switch to using that all together. 

The car sat around for a few years before I bought a pair of Central Valley trucks for it at yet another TECO. With a TCA show fast approaching (Spring 2025), I worked on getting the car up to speed for the show. I replaced some missing glass material from the inside of the car and also installed a pair of Tomar marker lights on the rear of the car. For the time being these are battery powered, but someday I'll equip the car for track pickup with a capacitor. 

I hacked off the entire end wall of the car and proceeded to fabricate a new end beam for the car. It's still a touch oversized but I'll get a better file to it here at some point. Some railing from a MDC parts car completed the end look of the car. 

The combine sitting on the bench after the modifications. 

Now with lights!

The Combine running on the tail end of my train at the TCA show, April 2025. The brakeman on the rear deck is actually a 3d print of myself, I got scanned for the print at TCA a few years ago.

At some point I'll get around to getting some people inside of this car along with some interior lights as well. This combine will serve me well until I get around to building the more accurate combine from the LaBelle kit.