Doorstop four axle Diesels

[R.K. Maroon]

The cast GP7 is indeed a rare bird. It was actually sold under the name "Kansas City Kit", which was the model train product line sold by Kansas City hobby shop F.A. Simons. The advertisement below appeared in the March 1954 edition of Model Railroader. This is more-or-less the same time as the introduction of the Kemtron GP7, which probably explains in part why the cast version is so rare.


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/77a6jdqzi3icr0yi3wazh/Figure-03-FA-Simons-GP-7-MR-1954-03-p69.JPG?rlkey=tx5gx3y9rfobxuff8lre9415j&dl=0

[ScaleCraft]

The cast GP7 is indeed a rare bird. It was actually sold under the name "Kansas City Kit", which was the model train product line sold by Kansas City hobby shop F.A. Simons. The advertisement below appeared in the March 1954 edition of Model Railroader. This is more-or-less the same time as the introduction of the Kemtron GP7, which probably explains in part why the cast version is so rare.


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/77a6jdqzi3icr0yi3wazh/Figure-03-FA-Simons-GP-7-MR-1954-03-p69.JPG?rlkey=tx5gx3y9rfobxuff8lre9415j&dl=0

wonder if it's too late to drop him a line asking for the T&P 2-10-4 to be revived?
wonder if he picks up mail at the Quick Stop gas station at the given address?

[bob turner]

These are the motivators for the thread - castings by Ken - I no longer can figure out whether things are by Ken Krayer or Ken Kraft, so they will be just Ken.
Maroon sent them - they are absolutely works of art - in the class of those Fred Icken O1a castings, or maybe the Ken FAs. These guys knew how to make patterns, and had some friends in the foundry business.
I may have mentioned Maroon's FTs - he has a set cast without rivets on the bats. From what I saw, they are almost as good as the ones with rivets that I got from Henry Pearce.

Anyway, here they are - they will get some black accents, and as of this very moment the B unit is getting another layer of Cub Yellow. The A unit got its second coat after this photo was taken - brightens it right up!

My original plan was single stripe DRGW, but as of right now I am leaning toward a double red stripe instead. Tourist railroad? And anyway, there are more color schemes out there than you can imagine - ever hear of the Georgia Railroad? Or the New Georgia?

[steamaheadstephen59]

They look great Bob, The castings look fantastic.

[R.K. Maroon]

Yes, the Ken Kraft vs Ken Krayer thing has long been a source of confusion. They are not the same, but there is a link. Ken Kraft was a company named for its proprietor, Kenneth Rupp. It was a late 1940s company that produced the cast bronze FA and F3 (and also sold the Adams and Son FT). Ken Krayer was but a young man at the time. There is no evidence that he was involved in Ken Kraft, but his uncle, Edw. Krayer, was:


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xanylnjei8g6zjkc6hibl/Figure-01-Ken-Kraft-1949-Price-List-Cover-Letter.png?rlkey=hkf15afxsgbxzih0bveq3sy9a&dl=0

Many years later, Ken Krayer started his own company, Penn-Erie, which made cast aluminum models. These were mostly of GE prototypes but there was also the Baldwin Shark.


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7i0zs9jeej09yy9qly1r7/Penn-Erie-Baldwin-Sharks-PRR-01.jpg?rlkey=321guno7gebymxetinjhm2k8k&dl=0

Jim

[sleepmac]

Jim, I think those Sharks are beautiful!

Dan Weinhold

[up148]

Totally agree on the Sharks. Imagine running those back in the day. Ken Kraft letter date same year as my birth, so it's gotta be good.

[R.K. Maroon]

I agree with your assessment of those Sharks, gentlemen. I wish I could take credit for them, but they came to me as you see them. One interesting thing about this set is the presence of a B-unit. As I understand it, Baldwin marketed the RF-16 in AB pairs, much the same way as EMD sold the FTs. Unfortunately, Penn-Erie only sold casting sets for the A-unit. I have imagined putting together an ABBA set in EJ&E colors. To do that would require six Penn-Erie A-units, as each B-unit would require the castings from two A-units (and leave four left-over noses). Fortunately, these aren't too hard to find:


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ya2273br9bqhuovhubtpg/266-Penn-Erie-Baldwin-Sharknose-AA-Set-02.jpg?rlkey=opw2xjzly635mhi2ri8z6gzl0&dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7jq0bvzwgfr0tq2l5oan2/Penn-Erie-Baldwin-RF-16-Sharknose-AA-Set.png?rlkey=fsmxdlwq25jqdduc8heeyko0t&dl=0

At any rate, I was encouraged to find that the Pennsy ABA set had a B-unit that indeed was made from two A-units. That doesn't mean that this project will ever float to the top of the queue, but an EJ&E set would be cool. As I recall, their set was the original RF-15 demonstrator set that parent-company B&O bought and later dumped off....er, I mean... transferred to the EJ&E.

Jim

[bob turner]

Jim and I are discussing B units for these things. I don't know how plentiful the Sharks are in cast aluminum, but sacrificing two As for one B strikes me as blasphemy. If you look, the B end would have a smooth roof, no screened windows, and only that end door to detract from simple slabs of aluminum plate. Cutting an A unit would mean filling in all that roof stuff and the screened windows.

I think the B end could be done in wood, or in brass, or even plate aluminum, although gluing aluminum (even with epoxy) doesn't strike me as permanent. Plastic would be almost as easy as wood, but blasphemous in the extreme for doorstop enthusiasts.

[bob turner]

I am going to cheat here - this thing has six axles - but it was supposed to have only four, and a giant oil tank shroud between the trucks.



I really should have worked those window frames over a bit before painting. Alas, the paint is Scale Coat, so there will be no touch-ups.

[bob turner]

While I am drifting away from four axles for a minute (I can do that, can't I?) I have been looking at huge Baldwin transfer Diesels. Most are pretty drab, but the EJ&E versions are stunning, if a bit long.

So not having any of those Diesel Cyclopediae, maybe I should ask: Is there a difference in length between the DT6-6-2000 and the RT 624, or indeed the LT 2500? It is really difficult to tell from the photos (Google "Baldwin Transfer Locomotive Photo).

And next, suppose one had castings for a version of this beast - could one delicately cut here and there, and wind up with a credible AS-16?

I know, these are pretty esoteric questions - probably all of us would have to look up the various model numbers. But who knows? Maybe there is a Baldwin Diesel Locomotive freak among us?

[De Bruin]

Opinion, suppose you could hack down a centercab shell into a reasonable facsimile of an AS-16 as long as you blurred your eyes regarding some of the venting locations etc. as they varied from one road order to the next of the same model, grafting a decent short hood onto the cut-end of the cab might be more problematic. The "straight" Baldwin center cab DT-6-6-2000 has a different frame arrangement, car body details and hood end(s) then the subsequent BLH RT-624.

[webenda]

`

[R.K. Maroon]

Lou Houlemarde, current proprietor of Central Locomotive Works, did a run of Baldwin Transfer Locomotives two or three years ago. Both the DT6-6-2000 and RT624 were offered. It was my impression that the same chassis was used for each. As I understand it, Russ Briggs or some other non-CLW modeler did the artwork needed to make the brass etchings for the RT624 version. The modelers are an improved version of Bob Smith's "wrapper" version, which I believe was his last run of models in the late 1990s. The new version has a redesigned chassis (like most of Lou's more recent offerings) as well as a Jay Criswell drive. The model is very, very nice.

I have been posting my own four-axle diesel doorstops in the order in which they arrived. Here is another set from the summer of 2011:


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wvul8gp8edpv65ij5uz2s/Jack-Collier-EMC-FT-AB-Set.JPG?rlkey=7gfeec1gochnin5iczkifa9hb

Ignore that "F3" mark penciled on the cab - These are FTs. In particular, these are Santa Fe FTs, as indicated by the fifth porthole in the B-unit. Most FTs came with drawbars between the A and B, but the Santa Fe insisted on couplers. The extra porthole is for a hostler's station, so the B could be moved independently.

I made all sorts of guesses over the years as to the origin of these but have found nothing definite. John Fisher, however, sent me a copy of an "Old and Rare" column he wrote for O-Scale News in which he posted a photo of a similar unit and asked if anybody could identify it. Somebody wrote in to say it was a Jack Collier model. Jack was proprietor of an Oakland (and later San Francisco) hobby shop, known by its motto, "Toys for Men". To the extent that Jack is remembered today, it would most likely be for the GG1 he offered. There is one piece of evidence that indicates that Jack Collier might have indeed been in the cast model business, and that is an Adams and Son advertisement that lists Jack Collier as a customer.

Jim

(Edited to correct Lou Houlemarde's name)

[bob turner]

I think it is Lou -

Nice early FT models - why not guess at early Exacta? Seems to me they incrementally improved the FT models, although I have seen some truly awful examples that maybe preceded these.

I mis-typed, and confess a total lack of knowledge of Baldwin Diesels. the one I am thinking of is a DRS-6-6-1500, or maybe an AS-6-16. Near as I can figure these are 58' long, as opposed to the 74' of the center cab, and use the same trucks. That is, this is a six axle Diesel that looks a lot like a shortened center cab.

I am thinking that one could take a center cab, slab one side to the correct length for a short hood, and remove 4" from the remainder in a very strategic way, splicing the resulting piece in the long hood so the cabinets, doors, and filters sort of line up.

On the other hand, while this is an attractive locomotive, its overall height is somewhat less impressive than, say, an SD9, so it might not fit in to a collection of relatively large Diesels. I have never seen a casting set for the center cab, but it is always possible that Smith made them a bit larger than life. His other early castings were more faithful than his later lost wax ones, so there is that.