Manufacturers Railway Company Alco S2

[R.K. Maroon]

For my query, it is not holes in sideframes, it is that squarish plate on the bottom, centerline, in line with wormshaft, looks like one attached to each end axle gearbox...perfect place to mount center rail pickups...especially if those trucks were designed to work tinplate customers and scale.

Agreed -- I don't have a clear memory of seeing early IMP models setup for tinplate, but I would bet it was an option. Of course, I don't really know for a fact that these drives are IMP. Just my best guess, given the similarity in construction with the rather common JNR electrics:

JNR EB14 Drive.JPG (56.68 KiB) Viewed 5615 times

By the way, Dave -- Did you notice the ScaleCraft work caboose in the video? It actually has very faint ACL markings, but for all practical purposes it's unmarked, which makes it my "universal" crummy when I need one. Kinda bogus in more ways than one, but it works in a pinch.

Jim

[ScaleCraft]

Now I am thoroughly corn fuzed.

I always thought (based upon all examples I have seen known to be IMP) that they were those vertical motored units with spur gears and brass drivers.

The S2 has none of those.

I am missing something.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Now I am thoroughly corn fuzed.

I always thought (based upon all examples I have seen known to be IMP) that they were those vertical motored units with spur gears and brass drivers.

The S2 has none of those.

I am missing something.

Same page.

[R.K. Maroon]

Note that I said "similar", not "identical", and, further, I left open the possibility that the units are not IMP. The main similarity is the use of sheet metal for the gear box. I know of no other manufacturer/importer that did that other than KTM/IMP. Note that there would be no gear train from axle-to-axle as Allan used a single gearbox for each axle. Here is an A1A drive that uses the same gearboxes:



I actually have two sets of these, which floated into the shop separately. I recall from somewhere that a rather crude PA and maybe an E-unit came in from Japan back in the early days. I have no better clue than to attribute these gearboxes to those units or something similar. Is it possible that they are from an American manufacturer, either before the war or just after? Sure, but I can't think of anything from a domestic builder that is similar in any way. Also, all the domestic doorstop gearboxes I have use Boston Gears, and these gears are unmarked. Of course, what I am really hoping is that somebody out there has better information on these than I do and will share. Inquiring minds want to know.

Jim

[ScaleCraft]

What do the worm gears look like on those two you just put photos up of?
Are the gear teeth offset of center like the S-2?

[R.K. Maroon]

Indeed -- very distinctive gears. I have never seen any others hobbed quite this way:

[Tom Dempsey]

Isn't it possible this is a home brewed drive system?

[R.K. Maroon]

Tom, there is no doubt that the installation in the S2 is home-brewed. However, I do not think it likely at all that the riveted gearboxes were ginned up by a lone modeler, as they have the all-the-same look of mass production. For instance, the sheet metal appears to have been stamped using tooling, not bent by hand in a vise. I should also note that one of my sets came with those cheap-o looking universal motors one finds on IMP models attached to the gear tower. I will have to go look to see if it's still attached. I don't have a photo of this set but will take one once I put my hands on it.

Jim

[R.K. Maroon]

I found the second set of those riveted sheet metal drives:


I forgot that this second set of drives came with trucks. This is all a real mystery to me. Not only do I have two sets of the drives but I have three sets of the trucks, all three of which arrived at different times. The trucks are sprung. Here is a side view:


The style of the motor (heavy wire on the field), the small diameter shafts on the motor and worm shaft, the bakelite (or other plastic) gears in the tower, the minimal detail in the sideframe, and the wire retainer under the journals all say "early Japanese import" to me, but I have no proof of anything. Back view:


The truck bolster reminds me a bit of the LWS truck, but the metal is brass or bronze, not that soft Britannia metal that LWS used.

Anybody out there have a clue? I can't be the only person to have these trucks and drives cross their paths.
Jim

[webenda]

Nice video; lousy photos?

I liked your photos Maroon. Sharp with lots of detail visible.
This is a cropped section from one of your first images.

[rogruth]

To this 3 railer, that is the way an O gauge loco should sound. And run. Beautiful.

[R.K. Maroon]

IMP gearboxes were discussed earlier in this thread, as I mentioned that the gearboxes on Allan's S2 looked like IMP, though I didn't have any proof. An IMP Pacific recently sold on eBay, and I noticed the gearbox in one of the photos:

IMP Pacific 13.jpg (65.64 KiB) Viewed 5429 times

IMP Pacific 14.png (372.85 KiB) Viewed 5429 times

I believe that the construction is the same.
Jim

[bob turner]

Didn't you get the IMP E-unit trucks? They would be a closer clue.

[R.K. Maroon]

That was indeed the question, Bob. I have had these two sets of drives and trucks (and motors) for several years:

Mystery Drives #1.png (732.11 KiB) Viewed 5367 times

Mystery Drives #2.png (643.16 KiB) Viewed 5367 times

I suspected these might be IMPs, but I have never seen an IMP E-unit or another model that might be the source for these drives. That's why seeing the IMP Pacific with the same type of gearbox was of interest to me, as it confirms that indeed these are IMP drives (or some close cousin). I recall seeing a crude import PA on eBay when I first got interested in old models, but I wasn't in the habit of saving photos on eBay.

Jim