Nick_Burman

With the original link gone the way of the 404, I can no longer be sure what was the model featured.  Was I mistaken?  

 

(Even if I couldn't gain access to platforms at Campinas and had to resort to photographing the "Joe" with a telephoto lens from a nearby slip road.)

Eddie,

More than one Brazilian modeller is on its knees praying for Frateschi to crank out a Joe...in the meantime they obliged with a V-8 and a "Wanderleia" (semistreamlined C-C motor), both in proper HO scale.

That slip access was one of the best locations to take roster shots around the whole of the station, short of obtaining admittance to the shed itself...

Cheers NB

From articles and revues I read when they first became available it appears they have been scaled up to match the size of American H0 standard gauge models. I seem to remember a revue of one of the locos in Continental Modeller gave a scale of around 4.3mm/ft.

There was an article in New Zealand Model Railway Journal a few years ago on chopping them down closer to proper H0 scale and mounting them on 12mm gauge underframes (A couple of the diesels are similar to NZR classes)

Some Frateschi locos - mainly those representing broad gauge prototypes, like the streamlined GE motor, the FA-1 and the 2-8-0 - are to 1:87 scale. Those locos which are of meter-gauge prototypes are made to approximately 1:78 scale.

Cheers NB

Hmm, I never knew there was a model of the "Little Joe" in production.  (About £90 from the Swiss outlet).

The loco is not a "Joe" - rather it's a model of the GE 2-C+C-2 motors delivered to the Paulista Railway in the 1940's.

Cheers NB

Advice please on some suitable makes of H0 Swiss short coaches (4-wheel and/or 6-wheel) and wagons for ERA 2 (?) i.e. after WW1 

Tough, short of trying to find brass models...however Brawa has models of the "American Style" 4-axle open balcony coaches, these were also used on local lines.

Cheers NB

We had a great time at ModelRail Scotland and scooped 2nd best layout trophy too which, for a rather esoteric subject matter layout, is pretty good. Many thanks to all the lads who helped (most of whom are on photo here) Especially Andrew who came from Portugal, Iain from Stoke and Ben from Lincolnshire..... Onwards and upwards. We are going to Wigan Show and hopefully further afield too at some stage in the fuuture? Thanks to Iain Adam for some of the attched images.

I love the CP T-shirts...in fact I'm liking the whole post, to be read while listening to Madredeus...

Cheers NB

I am struggling to find any Nick. The reality is the the (small scale sized) hooks on the locos will lie with links downwards and unprototypically the links from the wagons will be hooked onto the locos. Works in all our OO set ups and should here (though I can hear some choice Portuguese swear words coming!!)

Internet is your friend - the whole world of Weinert parts at your hands: https://www.weinert-bauteile.de/

Cheers NB

WTB GF/Bachmann 08. The loco might be in any condition but the chassis must be in good shape and the loco a good runner. Any version will suit, preferably with yellow side rods.

Please PM me with price.

Cheers NB

WTB GF/Bachmann 08. The loco might be in any condition but the chassis must be in good shape and the loco a good runner. Any version will suit, preferably with yellow side rods.

Please PM me with price.

Cheers NB

The wagons all run with Instanter or 3 links, although in rality they would be screw links, model form doesn't permit that as not enough length in Smiths screw links.

Use Weinert screw couplers instead. They have the right length. Not cheap tho' - 7€ the pair.

Cheers NB

So there I was messing around with some decals, when this happened...

 

IMAG0287_1.jpg

The yellow side-rods make a ton of difference...

Cheers NB

A quick trial assembly and test run:

 

IMAG0265_1.jpg

 

IMAG0264_1.jpg

 

Never assemble a loco after a day spent looking after kids...! I put the battery boxes in from an earlier loco so they sit too low, and overdid the black on the window surrounds. The numbers look ok on the cab sides as they are in the shadow of the engineers elbow shelf, but the larger lettering on the hood sides have the obvious transfer film.

Felicitaciones, muy bueno!

Cheers NB

Hi Phil,

 

In short, I don't know....!!

 

There seems to be alot of tank cars in photos from the 50's and I'm guessing their use continued until recently and were augmented by imported cars from Russia, and can now be seen abandoned in loops along the Hershey & generally all over Cuba.

 

There seem to be two traffic types using tank cars, shipments from the Standard Oil Co. Refinery at Belot nr Havana to all over the system for local distribution (Texaco & Shell cars also featured in my initial research), and Molasses from various sugar refineries to Rum distilleries, the latter seems a bit strange as the Hershey roster in the late 1950's only listed 9 tank cars, so I'm assuming this was a low volume or the Molasses were mainly transported in barrels in Box cars.

 

I've been thinking that a Rum Distillery would make a ficticious but interesting little micro layout, with Boxcars, Tank cars and Gondolas in and out, and even an Interurban car for workers...  

No need to be fictitious - Hershey's Santa Cruz del Norte branch ended inside a rum distillery...

Cheers NB

Relying on my limited experience, I think I'm definitely swaying towards preferring the pre-revolution era- although there have obviously been many improvements made to certain areas of life since 1959, other areas (which I'm not going to name) need someone to step back and say "Look, what the Bl**dy Hell are we doing here, this is no way to run a railway or even a country".

 

I'm still liking the idea of lettering a loco for "Central Pedro", in recognition for the help given by Cuban modeller, travel expert, and all-round good guy Peter Smith for all of the help given so far.

You aren't the first one to reason like that. A new crop of historians have been revisiting the Revolution and looking at facts and documents (including official post-Revolution government sources) as they are, without the tinted glasses of politics. What they have found was that Cuba was already on the way up when Fidel & Co. happened on the scene, and that many things actually went down after the Revolution - like a nascent but thriving rock and pop music scene, driven either underground or into exile and replaced by today's musical poverty (Mother was in Cuba a few years ago and was almost driven crazy...being a former musician herself she knows her notes) on Guevara's orders. No mistakes, I'm a fan of Compay Segundo and songs like "Chan Chan" and "Pico y Pala" but I do like variety... :-D

Concerning names, you could letter the locos "The Smith Sugar Company" - many Cuban steam locos carried their owner's names in plain English on their tanks and tenders. Lots of examples in Chris Walkers' "Narrow Gauge in Cuba" book, a must-have even if you aren't into narrow gauge.

Cheers NB

Hi Andy

 

Central Alonzo Gautry has a ring to it!

 

All the best with this one - let me know if I can help.

 

 

 

Nick

Just plain "Central Alonzo" would ring better - full names tend to give post-Revolution connotations.

Cheers NB