Model Train Journal

The DFW O-scale club took our portable traction layout to the local TCA meet last weekend. We do this every year, and though it is not generally a scale show, everybody likes to see live-wire action. Here we see (Nortonville) Phil Randall's very nice Lake Shore Electric #111 in a run-by:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fd0p3mi0mfttvifw38c71/Lake-Shore-Electric.jpg?rlkey=dkzp0h37860yoy4q52maerx0p

John Fisher's Ohio Public Service freight motor is seen here with Phil's recently restored Trinity Valley Traction express reefer just behind:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v2mfn7lg86k8gbfkcn6or/John-Fisher-OPS-86.jpg?rlkey=al26gvfyjtylwkb5kf13vjclf

One never expects to find anything but toy trains and a smattering of HO and N on the sales tables at this meet, but to our surprise, there was a large collection of two-rail O-scale on one of the sales tables. Even more surprising, most of it was pre-war or early post war. Sadly many of the cars were cardstock-sided Westbrooks in throw-away condition. However, there were some nice finds among the junk, such as this Lobaugh 0-6-0:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/u54rokt0nmwr49y5zxtmm/Lobaugh-0-6-0_01.jpg?rlkey=q0lz195uya4jgiy9v6tflrea9

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/og2zpf3eza3fa6qhezav7/Lobaugh-0-6-0_02.jpg?rlkey=vrbfsd8w9sqtzrrcfyvow96vb

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rg22gjgzdusp7agkim9l9/Lobaugh-0-6-0_05.jpg?rlkey=sg933xo3s114nw56hlihumt8z

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1vsjxo0i8ieh0z6ucb9x0/Lobaugh-0-6-0_06.jpg?rlkey=eo4ll2dwvw6xw3bam0e9m8rps

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rrjd994qjsuuab20ds0eu/Lobaugh-0-6-0_07.jpg?rlkey=0fgl2adie6xgm4rj56t72lq6n

I love the big-bulb backup light in the tender, but only as a mark of its era. I see a modern constant-brightness light in its future.

Jim

Nifty! Gotta love traction! Nice Lobaugh!

It really looks well assembled and very complete. Certainly was somebodies baby. If only they could talk.

SWrailroader wrote:Nifty! Gotta love traction!

Yup! Love that steeple cab....wish someone would 3D print some of those off,

EBay notwithstanding, these things seemed to be a dime a dozen. I had a difficult time passing up bodies, some with trucks and trolley poles, at shows for $65 each.

And best of all, they are, unlike a lot of International stuff, well soldered, substantial brass.

bob turner wrote:EBay notwithstanding, these things seemed to be a dime a dozen. I had a difficult time passing up bodies, some with trucks and trolley poles, at shows for $65 each.

What century was that they were $65? Just a drive under a trolley/steeplecab has not been less than $100 for as long as I've been an O scale modeler buying them from Quentin.

And best of all, they are, unlike a lot of International stuff, well soldered, substantial brass.

The IMP stuff is bringing crazy money prices.....I sold off all mine but 1 that I wanted to rebuild. I'm getting close to abandoning that project and selling off the body, and the Overland drive trucks.

The OPS steeplecab is distinct in several ways. First, it was scratch-built many years ago by a modeler, now unknown, who lived in the Portland area. Second, the prototype was shop-built by the Portland Traction Company (PEPCo). Here is the model and prototype for comparison. Note the photo attribution to the Don Ross Collection:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kzlu86rypdr4fter3355f/Custom-SKU-Steeplecab-Portland-Traction-Proto-OPS-86_01.jpg?rlkey=ce5r4rfyj9lmwf36qddlb34wi


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c4unaklmcpdovlw43kxmt/pep1412.jpg?rlkey=gi3wus9jt3bd1k2xq8rvfonfh

The chassis and drive assembly is also a custom build. This photo was from the as-arrived inspection. The pulleys are for O-rings, which, along with one of the lower jackshaft to truck wire couplings, was missing:



Even though there are pulleys have two grooves, experiments revealed that adding the second O-ring more than doubled the no-load current draw. I have had no operational issues with a single O-ring installed:



To be honest, I would prefer to have this model in the PEPCo paint scheme, but John Fisher finished it for Ohio Public Service, which was a real railroad that served his boyhood home of Toledo, and I am not ready to strip that nice paint job.

Portland Traction, though jointly acquired in by UP and SP in the 1960s, operated under its own name all the way to 1991. A short section of the original 1890s route is still in operation.

Jim

Jim,
Thank you for posting the multiple pics on the steeple cab. I really like the picture of the mechanism, thought provoking.

At the O Scalw West of 2025 there several steeple cabs under $100 with motors, but I have seen most steeple cabs, particularly Car Works pieces $400 or higher, sans motors. Trolley collectors, in my experience, seem to be fine spending a fair amount of money buying pieces without motors. I surmise they do their own motor work. I still rely on Quentin somewhat for my motors. He is super nice and very conscientious.
Rob

SWrailroader wrote:Jim,
Thank you for posting the multiple pics on the steeple cab. I really like the picture of the mechanism, thought provoking.

Yes, and yes again!

At the O Scalw West of 2025 there several steeple cabs under $100 with motors, but I have seen most steeple cabs, particularly Car Works pieces $400 or higher, sans motors. Trolley collectors, in my experience, seem to be fine spending a fair amount of money buying pieces without motors. I surmise they do their own motor work. I still rely on Quentin somewhat for my motors. He is super nice and very conscientious.
Rob

I should get you to buy steeple cabs under $100 with motors for me! I've never quite followed the Car Works w/o motors reasoning and then that market as you state. Maybe a collectors subset? I've assiduously avoided anything w/o a drive already installed. I try to avoid purchasing work.

I don't think the International drives were worth much. Even the trucks left me unimpressed. But the bodies were quite good.

Car Works is on another level. Those guys took pains to make accurate, well constructed models. Except for their spoked wheels, they were always out of my train budget by a factor of four or so. But I thought the quality warranted the price.

If I were to power a trolley, it would be with NWSL gearboxes, each tied to a small Escap motor. I have a boxcab powered that way, and an Icken O1 with two DC-91s. They run quite well.

bob turner wrote:I don't think the International drives were worth much. Even the trucks left me unimpressed. But the bodies were quite good.

I sell off the drives for parts. The journals are a poor grade of Zamac that all too often show tell-tale cracking of impending failure.

Car Works is on another level. Those guys took pains to make accurate, well constructed models. Except for their spoked wheels, they were always out of my train budget by a factor of four or so. But I thought the quality warranted the price.

I have several Car Works models and those all came powered. They are quite nice.

If I were to power a trolley, it would be with NWSL gearboxes, each tied to a small Escap motor. I have a boxcab powered that way, and an Icken O1 with two DC-91s. They run quite well.

I have a box cab that is powered through a NWSL gearbox directly driven by a large Pittman can motor. Runs nicely. I have another that has something that looks like a modified Weaver drive. It also runs nicely.

As usual when Bob T posts something, I learn something. Never knew about Escap motors,intriguing. Pittman DC-91s interesting as well.

I have seen an article in OST or OSN using NWSL gearboxes (GB) and Pittmans for trolleys. Looked quite robust.

Most of the Car Works trolleys have small Mashina motors and equally small gearboxes which seem to hold up, but I always wonder about longevity. I expect the NWSL GB option with Escaps or Pittmans will be in my future.

SWrailroader wrote:I have seen an article in OST or OSN using NWSL gearboxes (GB) and Pittmans for trolleys. Looked quite robust.

It was in OST; article that I followed building the drive for my boxcab.

Most of the Car Works trolleys have small Mashina motors and equally small gearboxes which seem to hold up, but I always wonder about longevity.

As do I but then it's rare to have more than 3-4 cars behind any of the Car Works freight motors

I expect the NWSL GB option with Escaps or Pittmans will be in my future.

I do wish that they'd revive the Magic Carpet drives (or a realistic equivalent...) so that we could assemble under the floor drive units using an array of sideframes.

Rufus,
Do your freight motors pulling 3-4 cars have both trucks powered with Q-car or stock Car Works drives?

Glad to hear another person copied the drive set up in OST and that it appears to work pretty well.
Rob

SWrailroader wrote:Rufus,
Do your freight motors pulling 3-4 cars have both trucks powered with Q-car or stock Car Works drives?

1-2 are stock but one has a solo Q-Car drive. I have 1 on the traction projects shelf that I think I am installing a Q-Car or Wagner drive into soon (maybe this week while waiting for some styrene to arrive...). I have a very small layout relatively and even when it's steam it's rare that I ever have run more than 4 cars.