A Pennsylvanian Shortline

[bertiedog]

I am making a form tool to make a batch of the US milk cans in HO scale, in aluminium, on the lathe, I just need a few to stand around the loading bay at the Station, plus packing crates etc. The Stewartstown traffic was local produce in the main, farm and dairy etc., and must have included milk.

 

Lionel used to do an automatic Milk boxcar in O scale, magnetic based cans were pulled into the car by a figure, or pushed out, I never saw one in action!!!

 

Sort of puts Tri-ang's TPO in the shade, Lionel had lots of crazy animated boxcars, giraffes heads ducking in circus trains, TPO, milk, crates delivered, rockets firing, and a helicopter launcher!!, come to mind.

 

Pidgeons....not so easy to do....without a strong magnifying glass in HO!!!

 

Stephen.

[highpeak]

interesting article thnksno

 

I believe in the USA milk was transferred in box cars milk box car not seen any tank cars.

 

OK looking around the web

Milk tank car 1

Milk in cans did indeed travel in box cars, but they differed from ordinary box cars in a number of ways. First, they were heavily insulated to keep the milk at the appropriate temperature. Milk didn't need refrigeration, and in most cases the journey to market was not very long, but it did need to be kept cool. Depending on the journey and the season, the insulation might have been sufficient, or some ice would be packed around the cans. If you look at the Erie car, you'll see it has fairly small doors that resemble those fitted to refrigerated cars. Milk cars usually were fitted with trucks more suitable for high speed work, and were generally equipped with steam and signal lines as they could be conveyed as head-end traffic in passenger trains.

There were also bulk milk cars that outwardly resembled a box car (actually more like an express car) but inside were fitted with glass lined tanks made by the Pfaudler Corporation. http://www.imrcmodels.com/ho/html/48208.htm

Some useful notes extracted from a Kalmbach book can be found at http://books.google.com/books?id=X0Q5i1VWSL0C&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=pfaudler+milk+car&source=bl&ots=KnQZKVek8W&sig=GQoNXmced7ULEBKeqZ3g2WzXJ6g&hl=en&ei=k9q3S9jPKsP98AbB-4WZDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CB0Q6AEwCTgy#v=onepage&q=pfaudler%20milk%20car&f=false

[thnksno]

Lionel used to do an automatic Milk boxcar in O scale, magnetic based cans were pulled into the car by a figure, or pushed out, I never saw one in action!!!

 

Quick moving fellas, to say the least...

 

 

This page shows the internals and operation of the milk car.

 

Lionel Specifics

[bertiedog]

Quick moving fellas, to say the least...

 

 

This page shows the internals and operation of the milk car.

 

Lionel Specifics

Yes, those are the working milk boxcars..... bizarre.....

[CraigZ]

Yes, those are the working milk boxcars..... bizarre.....

 

That wasn't the half of it. Lionel in its heyday of the 1950s and early 1960s was a buzzing ringing ozone emitting cacophony. Log unloaders that would fling logs off the car. Barrel cars that buzzed and vibrated the barrels off the car. Cattle cars that buzzed a vibrating pathway that moved the cattle along out of the car and into the stable, then back out again. Boxcars that "exploded" when hit by a missile from the missile launching car. Smoke units in engines that would set off a smoke alarm today. 31 inch DIAMETER curves, three rail steel track and engines with "magnetraction" to allow them to rocket around those curves at nearly warp speeds.

 

But we have to remember that these were not model railroading. They're toy trains...and they excel at being toys. I had a bunch of it when I was a kid and it was great fun. But it wasn't modeling and it's a completely different hobby IMHO.

[thnksno]

That wasn't the half of it. Lionel in its heyday of the 1950s and early 1960s was a buzzing ringing ozone emitting cacophony. Log unloaders that would fling logs off the car. Barrel cars that buzzed and vibrated the barrels off the car. Cattle cars that buzzed a vibrating pathway that moved the cattle along out of the car and into the stable, then back out again. Boxcars that "exploded" when hit by a missile from the missile launching car. Smoke units in engines that would set off a smoke alarm today. 31 inch DIAMETER curves, three rail steel track and engines with "magnetraction" to allow them to rocket around those curves at nearly warp speeds.

 

But we have to remember that these were not model railroading. They're toy trains...and they excel at being toys. I had a bunch of it when I was a kid and it was great fun. But it wasn't modeling and it's a completely different hobby IMHO.

 

LOL! yes, Lionel stuff is very toyish, but it lit my fire!

 

note: credits are longer than the clip.

 

[bertiedog]

Oil barrel loader....

 

[alastairq]

my oh my, where will we whizz off to next?

 

I found those action videos somewhat.....appealing?

[CraigZ]

my oh my, where will we whizz off to next?

 

I found those action videos somewhat.....appealing?

 

It's seductive stuff and no, I can't explain why.

 

Sometimes I get these heretical thoughts that the tinplaters (aka three railers over here) might have the zen of this hobby nailed. They don't fret over color. They don't fret over scale. They don't fret over louvers and grills and so forth. They just run their trains and have a lot of fun doing it. Yeah, they're not modeling, really. But they usually seem to be having a gas doing what they're doing...

[bertiedog]

The UK market has lost the toy train completely, at least, when compared to the US, where it still exists, the Xmas trade is large. Hornby rely on the Thomas items and that's about it, no O gauge toy trains.

 

UK tastes never stretched as wide as Lionel, Tri-ang had a few similar OO versions, licensed from Lionel in some cases. We do get US based Chinese made items these days, but the market is not exploited by the importers.

 

Stephen.

[alcoRS1]

lionel trains, t if I was a kids, I would think they would be the bees knees. If I every get into O could not not settle for the articulated trucks, I do want an O gauge train (alco RS-1 of cause), and some track for the back yard.

[thnksno]

I would think they would be the bees knees.

 

You've been watching too many Geico commercials! lol!

 

Toys are what got me into buying what I buy today, it's good for the hobby, no matter how you slice it!

[alastairq]

I got my daughter into ETS tinplate stuff, way back around the turn of the century...she still has it, stuffed away in the back of her 'precious' cupboard.

 

I still have some of the track, but the track never really matched the quality of construction of the trains themselves, being plastic-based, along the lines of the old Lima stuff.

 

Now, if they had produced O track , say, along the lines of Kato's Unitrack system, which is intrinsically rigid, and doubtless could be stood on??????

 

The colour printing of the tinplate was especially rich....she has a small diesel shunter, with horn and sound....and an 0-4-4-0 mallet steamer, complete with rich dark blue coaches..more realistic than Hornby's clockwork stuff....

 

Maybe Hornby were somewhat frightened off by the lack of runaway success of the likes of Playmobil, etc??

[bertiedog]

Shot of the Lost Wax cast Brass bogies from US Ebay, bought originally for use with the Roundhouse Boxcab fitted with the Underground Ernie Chassis.

 

 

However these brass castings are a bit short on length for this bogie, about 4mm, so will need attention, with sawing in half, and extending with a small block of brass, silver soldering, and filing and milling to shape.

 

But this is a bit on hold as the boxcab runs well with the original bogies in the meantime, and Ebay struck with a purchase that can use a set of these brass tender bogies, a Mantua 282 Camelback locomotive.

 

Yes, I fully know they where not used on such a line, but the line will extend to a mainline to allow larger locos to run, and I like camelbacks anyway, so there! The loco is in New York, Ontario and Western livery, another now long closed line that ran into Pennsylvania. They ran Camelback locos until after the war, closing the whole line in the mid fifties.

 

The loco is usual Mantua, needs detailing, but a robust chassis and motor, well set up very smooth and powerful. However they have problems with plastic wheels on one side of the tender, un-plated brass on the other side, and plastic lead and trailing wheels.

 

Gibson do suitable lead and trailing wheels, 00 finescale profile, and I have sets of bogie wheels in plated brass, but Mantua have arch bar bogies on the tender, and the new brass side frames are a far more correct type.

 

 

The shot shows the loco and a brass version for comparison, which already has the correct bogies.

[bertiedog]

 

Cleaned up, bar the cast feeds, the castings for the tender bogies, does anybody recognise the make?, it is described as "equalised", so they must be intended to rotate around the stub cast on the back.

 

It will need a machined brass bolster to take the stub on each sideframe, but retaining the stub appears a problem, and I wonder if anybody has seen a complete bogie of this type to help with ideas.

 

I wondered about retaining the sides with a circlip in a groove on the stub end, but it's a nuisance to machine.

 

The other idea was a coil spring between each stub, pulling the frames inwards against a hollow bolster and the axle ends, the nuisance is the spring crosses the retaining screw into the tender frames. Have to have a think about it....

 

Stephen.

[bertiedog]

 

This arrangement might work nicely, a simple folded up brass sheet frame and bolster, holes to insert the stubs, and two coil springs attached to a wire through each stub. This allows access to the retaining screw, and keeps it neat, but will need small springs wound from 14 thou guitar wire.

This will allow the independent rotation of the cast frame sides. I can't think of a better way to make them. I have ordered some more of these as the guy on Ebay seems to have a quantity.

[bertiedog]

The Biker courtesy of Shortliner, for the new layout, now need a standing Policeman to be chatting to her in the car park next to the station, and perhaps a Black and White to go with him.

 

Thoughts also running along adding a small diner made from grounded coach, chance for some fancy lighting, neons etc., for dusk running with the lights on.

 

Stephen.

[bertiedog]

Is there a UK importer and official stockists for the Woodland Scenics range of figures, as they have suitable US black and white Policecars and figures for use on the layout??

 

Stephen.

[highpeak]

Thoughts also running along adding a small diner made from grounded coach, chance for some fancy lighting, neons etc., for dusk running with the lights on.

 

Stephen.

While diners outwardly resembled railroad cars, very few were actually pensioned-off rolling stock. Some good pictures here http://www.dinercity.com/

Here's some neon for you: http://thetravelsage.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/mickey-diner.jpg

[bertiedog]

Seem to have found an answer!, the local shop, The Signal Box has the US vehicles I need, both the Divco milk van, with figures, and Police Cars with figures from the Woodland Scenics range. Oddly I missed them before as they are not listed online with Woodland Scenics, but in US bargains. Have to arrange to get down to the town to get some.

 

Stephen.

[bertiedog]

While diners outwardly resembled railroad cars, very few were actually pensioned-off rolling stock. Some good pictures here http://www.dinercity.com/

Here's some neon for you: http://thetravelsage.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/mickey-diner.jpg

The model would be from a grounded coach, I already knew most were especially built, but a coach body is a good starting point. I have loads of light guide, and glow rod, for the neons, powered by LED's under the board, with a circuit board bank of 555 timers to power them.

Stephen

[bertiedog]

Along the lines of these types of diner, the bottom Diner is coach body based, and the top Diner has good neons!

Stephen

[JWB]

For what it's worth, these were Lehigh Valley locos, as they had the only camelback 2-8-2s. I don't believe they were superheated, and they went to scrap by the Depression. Still interesting locos. I did two with can motors and PFM analog sound.

[bertiedog]

For what it's worth, these were Lehigh Valley locos, as they had the only camelback 2-8-2s. I don't believe they were superheated, and they went to scrap by the Depression. Still interesting locos. I did two with can motors and PFM analog sound.

The NYOW website says 280's were used till the war, along with 260 type surviving till closure, but who's that bothered? The Lehigh Valley 282 class was the N-1 282 withdrawn in the 1930's

Stephen.

[shortliner]

Oddly enough I have just been speaking to a very helpful gent at The Signal Box - I placed an order last night for Hayes bumpers and realised this morning that I needed another for the headshunt track - I have used them before on a couple of occasions and always found them courteous, helpful and efficient - highly recommended. If they have a copy, the Woodland Scenics catalogue is a good buy

Jack