GSL Steam Roster

[R.K. Maroon]

I see what John is talking about with that worm (or at least I think I do). Looks like a flaw but it could be grease or just a scratch (which would not be in the contacting part of tooth).

That looks like a KTM motor, but even if not it's almost assuredly not the motor it came with. The first evidence I have seen of an O-scale model with a permanent-magnet motor was the Hawk switcher in 1940. That early Pittman doesn't look anything like the motor here.

Jim

[John Webster]

The pitch of the worm teeth looks too steep for the tooth to disappear at the bottom of the visible side and reappear as the next tooth at the top of the visible side.

[bob turner]

He might be thinking about a "double start" worm. They were common back then, and allowed coasting, as well as very rapid movement under power.

[R.K. Maroon]

Yes, my mistake. I misread John's question -- Not sure how, it's simple enough.

[DeBruin]

Nice rainy day off before going back to the grindstone; was finally able to complete 826’s repairs as follows. Replaced the metal draw-bar with a plastic one to get rid of a nasty intermittent short(s) on curves. New headlight harness and a nifty lens. Re-pressed pony truck wheel with Lock-tight. Soldiered and epoxied a bunch of loose parts back onto the boiler, then, spot paint touch up on the bare metal scuffs, masked and sprayed cab roof and tender deck red. Cleaned and greased worm (it’s a indeed a double worm, interestingly the chassis coasts though inconsistently)
Figuring out the short was killing me but fortunately I consulted with an M.E. specializing in doorstops and ran it down by experimenting with the prescribed non-conductive draw-bar.

You'll note Jim's Benson train trailing, kind of the ultimate sacrilege having a J converted to a Pacific (with a private road name to boot) dragging a train of Tuscan painted Lionel style extrusions around but hey....we aim to please.


Pete-Bob

[R.K. Maroon]

Nice photos, Pete. The big guy cleaned up nicely. It may be because I know the locomotive is 17/64s, but that last shot in particular seems to really show the difference in scale -- the locomotive seems huge.

One question: I don't recognize the string of cars to the left in the last photo. The roof line on that last car looks flatter than most, which makes me guess it's a Walthers streamlined kit-car. Yes, I know this is off-topic but inquiring minds want to know.

Jim

[bob turner]

I had a Benson extrusion for a while. When Haynes MacDaniel extruded his Budds, I gave the thing away. Never could figure out why Clark chose the extrusion with the lower letterboard, when Lionel clearly had a better extrusion for their baggage cars.

They do look good in Tuscan.

[DeBruin]

I does look big next to 1:48 models; even pulling the heavyweights down at the club. It'll be in service for the two back to back weekend open houses; regular first of the month , this Saturday on the 7th and a 2nd special session for O Scale South the following weekend. If you're in the area either weekend, we'd love to see anyone of you guys.

I forgot to mention one thing regarding the punch list for #826; virtually all of the GSL's "Old School" steam power lack sprung pony trucks and many have developed a tendency to pick switches as the wheel tread and flange have worn down and the hand laid switches get kind of "wavy" in gauge. #826 in particular, hence the derailment predicating its trip to the shop.
So I was overthinking how to mount a spring (approx 1/4" diameter by 1/2") and then decided to insert the double coiled end of it between the narrow brass strip pivoting bolster(tongue) and the truck bolster itself, screwed it down. The contact surface for the top of the spring is against the bottom of the casting, specifically the cylinder yoke area which is machined flush enough that the double wound top of the spring slides without catching. Works well for now, but if one of you has a better way please let me know as again got a lot more of these to do.
Sorry I forgot to take a shot but you can see a trace of the coil in the first shot in front of the lower cylinder cap.

The train off to the right are some of those Walther's 9145's in PRR and PC employed in (Trackworld) commuter service. Currently they're the test hamster for those CLW powered AHM's which have developed some bad drive problems.

The Benson's are nice cars, but yeah why not the Baggage extrusion? He did sell smooth sided versions cars for a awhile, then of course those Metro-shells (which were wrong too, but look pretty good with an Atlas AEM-7 or William E60)

[De Bruin]

Well, so much for those Sharks; back to the service queue for the club’s locomotives. Next up KTM(?) I1 #4579 one of two such models regularly running on the club, both likely the most reliable of the “older” locomotives up there. Unlike the previous loco’s I’ve posted here, this one is in for cleaning and lube only with no real issues to report. It runs like a watch. I wanted to inspect it having recently purchased it from a fellow member who moved south to Florida.

Not that it doesn’t have any issues as you can see a distinct misalignment of the smoke box relative to the boiler and chassis. Overall though pretty clean, lights work etc.

Despite its low drivers, compared to a variety of similar Mikados and 2-10-2’s running around there, it’s capable of truly respectable track speed with a goodly string of old school freight cars and a pleasure to operate. Next up are those green All Nation F-3’s, which appear to have developed some dead spots in their motors and cannot get a scale track speed over 20mph.

[R.K. Maroon]

Great looking model, but it's the prototype that is of interest to me here. First, that big hump in the boiler makes it look like it's already straining to burst. The big question for me though is how could a ten-coupled locomotive not need a trailing truck? I am no expert on locomotive design, but it was my impression that a large locomotive would need a large boiler, especially if it ran at speed (to achieve or approach "free steaming"). But the size of the boiler needed would put too much weight on the drivers, so the trailing truck was used to pick up some of the boiler weight (or maybe I should be saying firebox weight instead). Does anybody understand the tradeoffs here well enough to explain it? Maybe there are other considerations, like crew comfort or track wear? Maybe this locomotive had a specific purpose?

Jim

[rogruth]

Jim,
Pennsy Steam: A to T by Paul Carleton, D.Carleton Railbooks,1989 has an article on the PRR I1s by Bert Pennypacker of 47 pages, long for this
type of book, that may answer your questions if you can find it. I think the PRR considered it fast at 25 MPH.

[De Bruin]

Roger is correct, my understanding these were drag engines where 30 mph was considered flying along. I recall reading in a Trains Magazine article (or maybe in one of Don Ball's books) about these regularly being double and triple headed on coal drags running up the long line north from Williamsport PA to Sodus Point N Y. Kind of the steam equivalent of some GP's, and a large roster class for the PRR I1's with 123 blt by Altoona 1918-19 and 475(!) by Baldwin 1922-23. For my taste it's an optimal size engine for a model railroad, along with with the H class consols' etc. not too long, or too small. Tracks well too. I think the rationale with the decapod having all the weight on drivers was evolutionary , back when trailing trucks were not regularly employed on freight engines, the next step up from the 2-8-0 etc. The development of the larger smoke box did usher in the trailing truck; in this case PRR's N-1 "Santa Fe" type, which look like a "stretch" decapod and were contemporaries of the I1 with 35 blt by Brooks 1918-19 and 25 blt by Baldwin 1919. There's one of those running at the club as well per below getting turned at the Ensley Pit.

[rogruth]

The Pennsy ran down both sides of the Ohio River . On the east side it went to the Wheeling, WV. area but on the west to Powhattan Point, Ohio to
coal mines along the way. Later it was extended to an aluminum plant at Hannibal. We often had the decapods go through town, sometimes double headed. Long freight trains did not tie up traffic even when they stopped to take on water as there were not any crossings for traffic. Sometimes the fishermen going to the river would get impatient. The B&O had a like situation. Special moves might block a few crossings for a short time.
If I remember correctly PRR had a speed limit of 50 on freight trains. There were a few exceptions.

The above is a great looking model except it's too clean.

[De Bruin]

The above is a great looking model except it's too clean.

So true, should have a monochromatic coating of grey-ish black soot from stem to stern, ditto the I1.

[rogruth]

I did see some PRR K4s leave Chicago pretty clean. The passenger locos were always cleaner than the freight locos.
The only other clean PRR locos I remember were at the Chicago Railroad Fair or in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.