Lobaugh Berkshire

[Jay Criswell]

Probably easier to do direct burnout of the acetyl. Seems to be a lot of issues with shrinkage and mis-alignment of the various parts. Casting them in brass may allow for easier realignment during assembly. Might just do it. Shoot, I've got bunches of them. I bought a bunch of cases.....don't remember why now.

I believe we're due for some plastic burnouts anyway. We have a cab to do and some CLW Blomberg trucks.

Jay

[ScaleCraft]

Maybe tonight, with Dave's permission, I will try to lighten up his photos and enhance them?

Go ahead. I had lightened and enhanced a bit, but I have been wary of overdoing it for a long time, as then I would get folks complaining about them looking washed out.

[bob turner]

All I did was punch the enhance button:

Dave's dark Lionel.jpg (205.52 KiB) Viewed 5156 times

Dave 2.jpg (174 KiB) Viewed 5156 times

What do you think? Should we buy him a piece of white cardboard?

[bob turner]

The newer NWSL acetyl gearboxes are distorted. They are having trouble with the mold. They are fixable with my #J drill trick. Still, where they clamp the worm bearings you get a significant gap. That was not true with the earlier glass filled box.

The gearbox is still the best we have. My thought is that maybe shooting wax in the mold now used for acetyl would result in less distortion. Making a rubber mold introduces unacceptable shrinkage.

[Carey Williams]

Hello Lobaugh experts

When I mentioned the brass covered round gear cover ... I'm only going by some recent ebay engines that were sold ... so if one sees this drive it is a Lobaugh engine ?

Thank you for the education .
Cheers Carey

[Jay Criswell]

Carey,

Yeah, they're Lobaugh but the gearbox doesn't have a cover. If you look real closely you'll see a left & right half. The gearbox is assembled prior to installing the drivers. Bob Is correct, it was recommended the builder solder the two halves together.

Bob,

Terry Van Winkle has a source that gets about 1% with their RTV. Probably doable but highly unethical. I wouldn't do it. Direct burnout is considered to be okay because you're not knocking off the part. I'm fully aware, you know this. Guess I'm saying this for the rest.

Jay

[bob turner]

Yes - it is not fair to clone parts, and usually they wind up undersize anyway. My dentist and fellow pilot has some really expensive stuff that can clone, but we only used it because (1) we could not locate the original source, and (2) we were not doing it commercially. UP passenger sideframes of really strange and lacy appearance.

I was suggesting that NWSL shoot the waxes. That might get the accuracy one would need. After all, these same moulds produced perfect cases in Raoul's factory.

[Jay Criswell]

Bob,

I'm really not sure how to approach them about shooting waxes. The first issue would be, do the even have a wax pot?

I was led to believe their gearbox cases were made with dies. Most times, that I'm aware of, when injecting plastic it's done with a machined die. They don't wear out shooting plastic so I'm not sure what's going wrong. Plastic too hot, not enough pressure, removed from the dies too soon, etc.? I may ask Doug MacLeod. He is my subject matter expert.

Jay

[R.K. Maroon]

I am late to this conversation, but I will assume nobody will complain if we see this model again:

Mopac Berkshire 1912.jpg (759.54 KiB) Viewed 5121 times

Bob, I am with my brother in regard to the conversion of the Lobaugh C&NW Berk to Mopac (I think Pete's words were "WOW WOW WOW"). What was involved in this conversion? I would be very interested in knowing if this is mostly a "some trim off, some trim on" type of project or if it involves something more challenging. And so no reader is misled, even a "some trim off, some trim on" project would be a challenge for me, having not attempted a conversion of this nature before. The question is whether the challenge would be reasonable or beyond my paygrade.

Jim

[bob turner]

All time easiest conversion. You need a different cab, and a second sand dome. In fact, some of the IGN Berks didn't even have the second dome. Lobaugh made two sizes of that dome - maybe the same for the early Challenger.

Those shields over the sand valves are the most difficult. I made mine from heavy brass, screwed and soldered.

The MoPac tender is slightly longer than Lobaugh. I cheated. I did take some of the curvature out of the sides.

Also, mine is dark blue, with an overlay of weathered black. Doubt that MoPac ever painted them blue.

Drawing from Hundman. Not sure which issue. A lot of my models were built with Hundman drawings.

[R.K. Maroon]

Thanks for the response, Bob -- I had not heard the name Hundman and so did a Google search. I learned several things, including the fact that 1) Hundman was the publisher of Mainline Modeler, 2) Trains.com has an index of Mainline Modeler available to subscribers (which I am not), and 3) that a DVD of all issues of Mainline Modeler is available from the C&O Historical Society for a cool $250. There is no hurry so I will keep an eye out and hope to locate the drawings of the Mopac Berk for something less than $250.

Jim

[Chris Webster]

There is no hurry so I will keep an eye out and hope to locate the drawings of the Mopac Berk for something less than $250.

According to the index you mentioned, the July 1986 issue of Mainline Modeler has an article titled Missouri Pacific 2-8-4: 63-inch drivered engine.

[bob turner]

I am quite sure I have 1/4" scale blowups around here. I was just searching for my E-6 and E-7 drawings - successfully! And had I known the interest was strong, I would have pulled the Hundman prints. I think I have a complete MM collection - bring a truck! You have to take the MRRs if you want the MMs.

By the by, the E-6 and E-7 sides are the same, and if this FM works, I shall see about patterns to replace those sheet Adams sides.

[rex desilets]

As I recall, Bob Hundman started as a draftsman for Model Railroader and then went out on his own. He was cook and bottle washer for the magazine for all its years, which eventually overcame him.
The Trains index doesn't cost; you just have to subscribe.
If you know the issue of a mag that you want, go to Railpub.com, find the magazine & issue, and buy it.

[stephen neill]

I have the July 1986 MM, the Mp 2-8-4 article is in it. I will make a copy for anyone that supplies an address, free, just drop a $ in a charity jar at your convenience store. Bob, if you make a pattern for the E6/E7 sides I would like a couple of sets and would pay the cost, surely others would also. Note, the sides for the Adams E's were made by other companies; Adams was a foundry and did the castings; not that he couldn't have done the sides, but he didn't.

Steve Neill