“ROUTE OF THE SHORTYS”

[Northroader]

Yes, so I see. It was me with the highest bid and seven watchers who kept watching. It was you, wasn't it? Now I'm desperately trying to collect brownie points, I helped in the garden yesterday, but it ain't going to be enough. Timing is of the essence, does the parcel with the plumbing bits to mend sister in laws shower get here before the other parcel? Will the carpet have a stain proof covering laid to take my blood? Next thrilling instalment coming soon, if the iPad isn't confiscated as well.

[jasond]

I always assume the BOOMs I hear on the dog walks are the army further west on the Plain, I'll check to see if one comes from a tad further northwest....  Anyway, in a time-shift version of life, I buy a Weaver 2-8-0 before I've decided to model the Delaware and Hudson and end up with my it and my All-Nation NW2 diesel following the Maryland and Pennsylvania.  That trip to Bernie Victor's, I bought George Hilton's book on the Ma & Pa and Jim Shaughnessy's on the D&H. 

 

Decisions ..., but life's almost spooky and the bit where one of the Capital MRC club members (used to meet in London) introduces me to an American couple who helped him out at breakfast on an Amtrak train because the ride was so bad the dining car manager wouldn't accept the signature on his bill vs credit card - and I take them round the proposed route for Charles and Diana's wedding that they're over for - and then take them up on their offer of visiting them near Colonie Shops on the D&H, where their some Ralph is an overhead crane operator - who takes me to the operations room where I get a pass for a ride to Binghamton and back - so that's why I still model the D&H 40 years later.

 

I ws up North thinking I'd blissfully retired (Morecambe v nr Lancaster - seaside/views 800 yds away, O-scale club with big 4-track layout within walking distance, except with 2+ locos and 30 freight cars to carry of course, open mic nights at the Golden Lion in Lancaster where left-handed drummers were welcome), then Her Indoors said it was too far from present and any future grandkids.  Anyway the latest lives at Abingdon - just north of Didcot - hooray!

 

Apologies, I only switched this darn thing on to see if I could find out why going to Windows 10 then rolling back to 8.1 had stopped Her Indoors' computer from opening EE webmail.  RMWEB seemed like a cosy place to hide.

Jason

[Northroader]

Well, I've done two mornings gardening, one afternoon repairing the shower screen and being generally helpful, so I've managed to push the pointer on the scale well towards "caring husband building lovenest" and well away from "shiftless layabout preoccupied with toy trains". So far so good, I'm off for a couple of days on Easter school holiday childcare, so not much happening on the layouts this week, and I won't be there to sign for the parcel when it comes. I did tell her last night, mixed in with what I'd been doing on the line, but she was so gobsmacked with one job I'm doing it didn't register. No good saying "but I did tell you, dear" it will be faced tomorrow. Hopefully no Big Bang.

Where you are, Jason, you're just 4 miles from the Tidworth range, so you'll know exactly when the Royal Artillery start playing with their 155mm howitzer, we' re 25 miles the other way, and only hear it if the winds blowing that way. The story of how the D&H claimed you was good, there was a nice feature on the Colonie shops in "Classic Trains" some time back, formerly very impressive. Then I dug out a map and found Binghamtown, so it must have been a very scenic run through the Catskills? Oval track in garage, scenery with Catskills, or the run along Lake Pontchartrain on one wall, small yard on the other side. The curve would be too tight for a Challenger, so RS 2/3s, maybe a big 280, and I bet you're sitting on an Alco PA, in blue and silver war bonnet paint? That's a good enough reason for the D&H, I would think. Me, I've never been across the Atlantic, so I just love em all, some a bit more than the rest. Trouble is, you end up with a mishmash of bits and bobs.

[jasond]

A 'mishmash of bits and bobs', sounds like an American shortline we all can love.  The only D&H steam I have is photos and some of the diesels are still in boxes that when you take the lid off resemble a mishmas..., oh, seen that before somewhere haven't I...?  I'm really hoping to spend time around my 70th birthday next year at an O-scale show (plenty of wives there for Her Indoors to hang out with) - the Chicago Meet (was last weekend), Santa Clara O-scale California (May this year, ), etc, etc.  Just take a big suitcase with disposable contents....  As Flashman would say "Doo ooo ooo ooo it!"

Jason

[Northroader]

There was that poem that went "they took some honey, and plenty of money, wrapped up in a five pound note", marvellous expedition is planned there! If you can't manage to come back loaded down from that....

[Northroader]

You won't be surprised to hear that when I got home last night a parcel was waiting for me. My wife, taking a friendly interest in my hobby, said brightly, "is it one of those kits you put together? It rattles when you shake it!" (Uh -oh, as they say in the cartoons) It was a much smaller parcel than the last, a single sheet of brown wrapping paper folded and sellotaped over a single thin sheet of bubble wrap, which didn't extend over the ends. Inside this a cardboard carton for a Weaver covhop wagon and the loco inside resting on a thin plastic tray. Some small bits of loose black plastic fell out, which turned out to be brackets and fittings from the cab rear, and part of the pilot (cow catcher) I wasn't bothered about that, it being the old fashioned type with big wood staves, and it was going anyway, but it looked like Postman Pat had been playing football with his mates. The tender top was loose, and the rattling was caused by some some steel strips inside forming the ballast having sheared through the plastic retaining studs. Looking underneath, the tender drawbar was a plain plastic strip, engaging with a downward facing prong on the loco, no electrical link. The wheels were all metal rims, with pickups behind the drivers both sides. On the leading bogie frame a small "Rivarrossi, made in Italy" which I was expecting all along. So carry it upstairs, and on to the layout. Apply some juice, and...zilch.

Looking at it, there was a small switch poking through the cab roof clerestory, this and the roof proper being loose, switch in one direction, there was a faint hum from the motor...???? I needed to investigate this, and I found looking at images of Rivarrossi Casey Jones, they didn't leave Lake Como with this switch. So get the top off. Two screws either side of the firebox held the backend down, chimney screw and bogie pivot screw out and the front end still fixed. There was a big mass of Milliput between the cylinders, 6mm drill up this, and the top came off the bottom.( I used to be at a workshop where the proud boast was "We'll fix it, and if we can't, we'll f*** it up so no one else can!") I could now trace the wires from the switch, which I found gave on-off to the one side pickups. Just a guess, maybe it was adapted for third rail pick at some stage, though there's no more trace of this. The other odd thing is what we call the rear buffer beam had buffer holes in it, so this model had lived through interesting times. Take switch out, put pickup wires direct to the motor, and while I was at it, remove the headlamp wires. ( I don't know about you, I never think headlights on a model look natural) I put it on the home trainer, a wood cradle where the model rests on movable blocks, and springy brass strip underneath touching the wheel rims, where I do my running in.

 

It now went in fits and starts, and I found one motion bracket was coming into contact to a coupling rod and was bent clear. The motor was overheating, so next job was seeing how free the wheels were. The motor bracket had two screws to secure it, and the motor was taken out. The chassis rolled quite smoothly on slightly inclined rails. The motor ran freely when disengaged and watching the worm shaft, this wasn't bent. Put it back in, with a squirt of oil. The two mounting screw holes were slotted, so I put the motor back in with the worm as far away from the gear wheel as the screws would allow. (You can just see these fore and aft of the motor in the above picture) Now the motor would run and turn the wheels, although the coupling rods could catch on the splashers in on direction. These were a 1900 style fitting which I didn't want, and I found I could unclip them. Putting the loco back on the track, it would run up and down smoothly, and through the points, although the polarity was wrong, which is just swapping the leads. Add the tender, great, add three freight cars, and up and down. With a load on, there was a grating from the worm in one direction and the motor mounting screws were given another tweak, which sorted that. As I was running without the superstructure with ballast in the boiler, there was some wheelslip, but I'm now confident I can proceed with updating the loco to a 1950s job, and I'll post this as it progresses. The suns shining, the skies blue, the birds are singing, the lambs are gambolling...

Edited July 3, 2023 by Northroader

[Argos]

Hi Northroader,

 

Glad it all worked out, sounds like there a few "Oh #@&$" moments there!

[F-UnitMad]

Hi Northroader,

 

Glad it all worked out, sounds like there a few "Oh #@&$" moments there!

Agreed. But given the model's state (not helped it seems by lack of decent packing) maybe I shouldn't have pointed it out in the first place...

[Northroader]

No, matey, now it's a runner, I'm really chuffed with it. As I intended to do a lot of changes to update in any case, a bit of structural damage wasn't a problem. All part of the fun of eBay, Jordan! It's second hand, it's cheap, where would I have spent around £100 to get an accurate chassis in O gauge with motor, wheels, and a tender? No more for a bit, though, the workshops are full with jobs, and the budget needs to recover.

As you know, the Internet is a wonderful tool for research. I've been looking up American 460s, and there are some real beauties, really good looking. Some lasted into the 50s, but a lot of really nice stuff on my favourite lines was scrapped around 1940. It's going to end with me being hauled off to the RMweb ethics court: "now, Mr. NR, you are charged with running a steamer scrapped in 1940 on your line with a diesel built in 1950, what have you to say?" "Well, yer honour, they're both such lovely engines, I just couldn't resist it!" "Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, I move that we find this slovenly b****** guilty of crappy modelling, how do you find?"

Edited April 10, 2016 by Northroader

[Argos]

Not Guilty!

 

As the charge is clearly a criminal matter a guilty verdict would require it to be proven beyond reasonable doubt that said 4-6-0 was not usable and retained for service on your imaginary branchline.....

[jasond]

North American O-scale is the easiest way to have fun.  Well, the best way then.  OK, it's fun as long as the ..., doh!, just don't tell us via e**y that this was a fabulous supplier.

 

Back when I was a trader, I was sent 3 logging locos for resale.  They were laid on their sides in a shallow box with the cab in the one above's gap between the trucks and some token pieces of bubble wrap.  Luckily the brass was making enough rattling noise for me to alert the postman.  O-scale shipments deserve good packing.

 

I wonder if yours was an estate sale.  If so, ask them where the Weaver hopper is.  The 4-bay hoppers are long for compact layouts, but very nice shortened to 2-bay hoppers.  And you've then got 2 liberated bays to kitbash into another freight car (yes, just a joke that last bit ........... hmmm, or was it ..........?)

Jason

[Northroader]

I don't really want to encourage this guy any further, although there was another 460 on offer which went at the same time, I suspect he picked it up somewhere else in the boxes. The hoppers sound a bay too far with the rest of the stuff going through the works. We're all having FUN aren't we?? There you are, then, Jason. Thanks for the defence advice, Argos, we'll proceed with a clear conscience.

[Northroader]

Hope I didn't sound too much like a Butlins redcoat with that last post, Jason. What I should have said is after I got that chassis going on Friday night, and it was rolling smoothly along the track, with tender, two boxcars, and caboose in tow, looking at it, I did get a real glow of pleasure. Now that's fun.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

That sounds like every Rivarossi loco I've ever owned.

 

They really were the dogs bolleaux, minus the dog.

 

I still have all of them, because after all what numpty would ever buy them off ebay... oh, wait a minute....

 

[Northroader]

This week the track gang have been out doing some ballasting, but unsurprisingly the new 460 has been the main centre of attraction in the workshop. The prototype was built in the 1890s for the Illinois Central by Rogers, no 382, and usually termed a Casey Jones after the driver who was killed in a train crash when driving it. In the Victorian era the 440 did the bulk of the jobs in America, and this type of engine was the successor, having the extra wheels and size, and also made a break from mixed traffic locos to passenger or goods (280)duties. Concurrently the 442 type was being developed, being a 440 with a big firebox over trailing wheels. Only too soon it was realised that Pacific 462 locos could give the best of both worlds, with 282 for freight, and the large engine era was started. This left the 460 stranded on secondary passenger trains, and most of the big class 1 lines had some. Simon put his finger on the problem some posts ago, 382 was built with 69" diameter driving wheels. There was a parallel stream of 460 engines with 63" drivers, which were more readily identified for branch duties, the branch lines stretching for much longer than British ones. They had a leading bogie for steady running on rough track, enough wheels to spread the load on light track, and the smaller wheel sizes gave sufficient traction when seasonal rushes, such as grain, were encountered. As a result the 63" locos lasted until replaced by diesels. In Britain, you could point out "Halls" and "Black 5s" being widely used and having 72" drivers, but train weights were that much heavier in America. Generally the 69" engines became obsolete much quicker, not helped by the trade depression of the 30s, and consequent deferred maintenance. The bulk were generally withdrawn in the early 1940s, just before the Pearl Harbour attack made any locomotive a vital asset. There were late survivors, the best known being the CNJ camel backs, running suburban trains into Jersey City until dieselisation. I have decided to make my loco look like one of the classes which went in the 1940s, and run it anyway, even if it is anachronistic.

 

This shows the current state of affairs, I have found the loco is assembled from plastic parts very like an Airfix kit, and a cement has been used rather than a solvent. You can just insert the point of a Stanley knife along the joins, and ease the parts away. The cab has been junked, the firebox inside the cab removed, and the top portion of the boiler removed from the bottom, leaving a steel bar for ballast sitting on a "tray" of the boiler underside. I'm leaving the smoke box as is, but have smoothed the barrel, which is parallel, to take a conical overlay, and the old footplate will give me a pattern to mark out a new footplate in brass strip. The tender is well on the way, the steel strips acting as ballast which were rattling loose are bolted down, cracked joins recemented, and the side extensions at the top, which were the wrong profile, have been removed. New Athearn archbar bogies fitted, (I was lying on my tum on the carpet and only lost one Spring!) but they'll need dummy fronts. The packing to get the right coupler height is still to sort. Back on the loco, you'll see two bogies, probably the spoked will go back, once I've made a new centre, which fits in the square downward extension under the smoke box. The other disc bogie is from another loco on the go, a Pacific which was shelved when it become obvious that it was too long for the short trains on the Englefield rebuild. However, after a chat, the Pacific has become quite keen on the idea of becoming a 460, so it looks like there's two on the go, not one!

Then the other night, there was some spare time before tea, when I decided to answer the question of what to do with an Atlas 060 switcher, and had a quick burst with screwdriver, hacksaw, and soldering iron, and came down to tea brimming with ideas, but I think that's enough for now, don't you?

Edited July 3, 2023 by Northroader

[jasond]

Stories of old American locos being updated by jacking up the bell and running a new loco underneath abound - to con the tax man apparently.  You've got a more sophisticated angle on this(!) with the Casey Jones and that's a great resume on steam loco design. 

 

Philip Morgan, who organises the Winchester 0-gauge group, has collected Rivarossi throw-outs and mixed Harbor Belt, Casey Jones and other bits to produce new wheel arrangements and even French locos.  Over the summer some of the Monday night meetings are at his house.

 

Keep those pics coming!

Jason

[Northroader]

I'm keeping the bell, although I managed to bust the frame taking it off. One job I'm slowly picking at is revising the fiddle yard cassettes. At the start of this thread, I mentioned I had two lengths, 20" and 46", for loco and train respectively. With the new standard shorter train lengths of 48", the 20" are being stripped down, and the 46" will probably end up for passenger sets, with some 48" transferred from another line. They locate using brass rod sliding into brass tube soldered on the outside web of the rails, and of necessity these were on diagonally opposite corners. Now just the one cassette is in use I'm putting the rods on the ends of the station rails, and tubes at both ends of the cassette - it keeps the overall length slightly down. The handles for the cassette at each end, which are aluminium strip, are being reprofiled around a block, rather than being bent individually and being a bit haphazard, particularly on loading gauge. Then a detail, but helpful to smooth entry onto the cassette, I'm filing leads on the inside rail head. Now I have a racetrack of 9'6" length, and if the points are set for the platform road, there's a chicane in the middle to try out tracking through curves. Despite all the talk of 460s, the first loco to get the treatment was the Mogul, which you last saw in post 14, helping me sort out if the point curvature was acceptable.

Running up and down, I found the intermediate drawbar needed more play, and the leading pony truck needed a bit more clearance. You'll see it's now gained a conical boiler in brass sheet, mounted on the chassis at both ends. Inside the boiler and above the motor I've placed some steel strips, wedged in with brass rods and strips. Here it's running a train, no problem. I was interested in the weight of the loco for adhesion, the engine unit comes in at 1lb 9oz, (700g) This compares with the same pieces of the Casey Jones, at 1lb 1oz (470g), with a big steel rod, so the moguls heavier. Oh, and the roadways finished.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Northroader

[Zomboid]

It's strange. I'm looking at at a small image on a mobile phone, but I can tell those are big models, and all the better for it.

[Devonbelle]

Northroader

 

Lovely thread and some lovely modelling in evidence - keep up the postings - one day, just one day I'll do an O gauge US layout - after Nouvion, Lapford Gate and the Japanese layout. Good to see you at Taunton on Sunday last.

 

Paul

[Northroader]

Thanks, Paul, glad you're finding a thread you like. JasonD is always banging the drum on the joys of North American O, and he's right. You'll be aware that just on this thread, there's a very good gang of genuine, friendly, helpful people dropping in, and that's what makes it for me. Next week: FREE BEER AND STRIPPERS!!!!!

[Tove]

 Next week: FREE BEER AND STRIPPERS!!!!!

Wot..!! no trains...

 

Oh well if i must!!.....

 

Brian.

[Northroader]

Back to the line and a look at the level, sorry, grade, crossing, where I'm trying to suggest a concreted surface. I used a 2mm greyboard for the basis. This is a dense recycled cardboard you can get from art material suppliers. It takes a nice cut from a Stanley knife, firstly straight lines to represent expansion joins, then wavy lines to do cracks. Lastly the point of the knife can be laid flat and a flake of the top strata lifted out, by a crack, to do a pothole. There's a skim of polyfilla with unibond rubbed over and built up to a shoulder each side. Layers are cut down at the rail side to accommodate" timbering" of coffee stirrers, just below rail level. Then paint the timbers a mix of thinned down flat Humbrol chocolate and light grey. The concrete gets washes of pva paint, mixed white, black, and ochre. Then pastel chalk is rubbed on emery paper, light brown, umber brown, white, sandy orange, black, and all brushed in with a soft dry brush, with the strokes all going in the way traffic using the crossing would go. Since doing it, I've been using the track cleaning block, and I'm going to have to darken some of the timbers using a thinned down paint again, I think.

[Northroader]

"So", you say, "and how's the Casey Jones doing?" Well, it was looking like this this afternoon:

The tender is now in primer, main jobs being a new profiled top, and new Athearn archbar bogies with dummy leaf Spring fronts, and some detail bits and bobs. The engine has a new attachment point fitted under the smoke box, replacing a lump of Milliput, which is for the bogie pivot, and also locates through the chassis with a new bush. Then the old parallel boiler and belpaire firebox are replaced with a new coned boiler and round top firebox, I think this bulks up the engine and helps the appearance no end. The smoke box and old barrel fit into the new barrel, and once I have done soldering, they'll be araldited together. The old steel bar for ballast weight is inside the boiler fitted in a new cradle. There are two brackets fitted either side of the firebox to attach to the chassis at the rear. Of course, I had to give it a spin, running light and on a train, and very pleased with the smooth running.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Northroader

[Northroader]

Did you know that 1.5" plastic waste pipe is just the right size for a Harriman Vanderbilt tender? Me neither.. hmm??

[Zomboid]

Vanderbilt tender, you say?

I'm sorely tempted to buy unnecessary locos just because they have one...