Northerns

[R.K. Maroon]

Here is a Weaver Milwaukee Road S3:





I bought this back in the days when my main interest in the hobby was modeling the Milwaukee Road. It's a nice model, but it wouldn't go around the curves on the old club portable layout so I sold it. Sometime after this model appeared on the market, there was an article in one of the magazines with instructions on how to upgrade the suspension to improve tracking. I never ran the one I had long enough to notice a problem, so I'm not sure what that was all about.

Jim

[R.K. Maroon]

I imagine we would all thrill to find a desirable model for sale at a bargain price, with the feeling amplified if the model is rare in some way. This has not happened to me often, but I did find this Lobaugh FEF in an obscure corner of eBay some years back, paired with a Scintilla power supply (which got top billing), for not much money and with only 15 minutes to close. I was the only bidder, in part I am sure because the seller had no idea what it was, so, without any identifying information, it wouldn't turn up in searches. It arrived with a think coat of dust:







Note the hand lettering. Lobaugh introduced the FEF in 1941 and it did not return after the war, so only a handful were made.

I made the following short video about a year ago, but didn't post it to YouTube until recently. The FEF appears half way through:

https://youtu.be/67WYRAFlFls

I am not sure why I didn't upload it at the time, but I think I was unhappy with how fast the train is running at the end. I personally prefer not to run anywhere close to Lionel speeds, and was surprised when I looked at the video. I might guess that the video amplifies the sense of speed, because I can't imagine that I would be comfortable running it as fast as it looks like it's running. This is a matter of personal preference, but it's also a four-foot drop to the floor.

Jim

[gregj410]

Nice model! The first run by looked more desirable as a viewer than the following. Maybe they were running the same speed but it translated as looking much faster because of the viewing angle in the subsequent run by’s.

OT….I was looking at this video on your channel.
https://youtu.be/JMwOUbhpU6c .Is that passenger train the SP limited? I see 3 cars were from Chester kits? How long are they? I always liked the look of the SP Sunset Limited passenger cars but not Lionel’s. I thought 3rd rail made them too but probably hard to come by. Model fidelity is not absolute for me as a 3 railer but I do appreciate models that look more realistic to the eye. Props to Pete DeBruin on what appears to be a nice build.

[bob turner]

Both videos are a joy to see. The Northern appears to be in great shape - all drivers flanged, at least most of the original rods and valve gear (which are a sight better than the normal stamped ones) are present, the cab is low like it should be, and the tender sides seem to have minimal warpage.

The GS-1 and cars are great fun - looks like Lobaugh trucks under maybe B-C cars? Full interiors and lighting are impressive. Also impressive are the lack of derailments - I have been plagued lately by derailments on a curved switch that leans into a superelevated curve. When I fix the roof I may just remove that switch.

[bob turner]

Here is my Lobaugh FEF - built by somebody long ago, cab lowered and firebox added by me. Tender trucks are sprung. Once in a while you will get a mis-drilled centipede truck casting, and the cure is sprung journals.

[R.K. Maroon]

I am going to answer Greg's and Bob's inquiries regarding the SP streamliner found in the video link that Greg put in his post. The train in the video is the T&NO Sunbeam, which was the day train between Dallas and Houston. The consist was built by my brother Pete. He may jump in if I get anything wrong here. All cars are scale length. The head-end car is a BC Models kit. They actually offered the T&NO version that had the extra windows (nice of them to do that). Pete flipped the sides inside-out so the fluting would match the other cars. The remaining four cars were all built from Chester kits. There are two coaches, a parlor, and a buffet-lounge-observation (I am least sure of these details). Pete modified the window pattern on the observation to match the prototype -- tricky business with any model but even more so given that the sides are aluminum (yikes). He scratched the interiors. My contribution (so far) was to provide the trucks and build the lighting harnesses for each car and associated rechargeable battery setup, which is mounted in the head-end car. The trucks were built from parts provided by Dennis and Kathy Mashburn:



I believe these trucks were developed for Jack Speer's Daylight car project (which I believe never was completed). I machined the inside of the journals and mounted ball bearings. These roll magnificently -- just don't try to set the consist out on a siding or terminal track with any slope.

I am still on the hook to provide a PA for this (it's been four years at least). I had a few false starts and then made good progress on it, but the move of my shop during Covid set the project back. It's at the front of the "big project" list. I won't start it though until I am reasonably confident I have the block of time needed to finish it.

I will post again here regarding the GS-1 on the front of the train in the video. All for now.
Jim

[bob turner]

Good eye, on the Chester cars. I used to look at the ads -$1.98 for a streamliner. But $1.98 was what I got for throwing a hundred newspapers, so I never got one.

Back to the Northerns - Let me make sure the Greenbrier has not showed up yet. - Nope - here it is:



Frank Thomson sent me the pieces - the boiler had obviously been modified with a used brass sink tail piece. I think it floated around the East Coast for a long time, losing pieces in the process. Hal Sharkey gave me a mechanism and cylinder block, and it was off to the races. Changes from Lobaugh include PSC tender trucks, heavy brass built-up tender underframe, Adams trailing truck, Franklin feedwater setup, and yeah, I know the C&O logo was only used on Berkshires, but hey, it is my model! Someday I need to get green for the window mullions.

[R.K. Maroon]

I have come to really appreciate the C&O Greenbriar. I am not actively looking for one, but there's an empty stall in the roundhouse if an opportunity to acquire one comes around.

As promised, here is more information on the GS-1 that heads up the T&NO Sunbeam in the video discussed here a few posts back. First, a couple of photos:




The original heritage of this model is unknown. It is sprung and equalized. That makes one suspect that the chassis (and maybe more of the model) may be from a CLW Northern (as posted by Bob and Pete earlier in this thread). I don't have a CLW model to compare it with, so I can't say. Here is an underside shot, in case there is a clue there for others:

John Fisher found this model many years ago in sad shape and mostly in parts. O-scale was expensive back in the day and John did not have a lot of money for models, so he got a lot of experience restoring junker models and became quite good at it. I purchased it before I met John. It was offered to me off-eBay by an acquaintance, who, as I learned later, was helping John sell his models. I came to know John when saw a video of this I posted on YouTube (This was only six years ago, but the lesser quality of the video at the time is noticeable):

https://youtu.be/Q7v53C-F3Mg

John managed to track me down (Hey, that's my locomotive!) and we've enjoyed a close friendship ever since. One last thing: The heavyweights in the video are Pomona Valley pre-war cars. They were a gifted to me by Allan Wehrle prior to his passing. Allan told me that Bob had them before he did.

Jim

[bob turner]

I have a really soft spot for the GS-1 SP Northern. I have only one, from a converted A-N Mountain - but the above model seems like it was built by the same guy who built a sprung/equalized SP (either a Mountain or a) GS-1 that was owned alternatively by Al Espinosa and Bud Cantlay. The CLW frame was built for an 80" Northern with extra space between drivers, so a 73" drivered Northern would really require more work than to start from scratch. I could see using the Scale Craft leaf springs, since these sorts of things are simply not available to the hobbyist.

That aside, here is my GS-1. I have another under work - using USH drivers - but it awaits mounting in the lathe to get the smokebox extended properly. It is a big job, requiring a four jaw chuck, a special block of wood, a live center, and a lot of courage.

This one should get painted soon. It is finished, with a brass Lobaugh-like frame, Lobaugh drivers (note the Boxpok main) and a genuine Henry Pearce gearbox. Tender is Adams/Turner - my specialty!



I see now that I need a better shot of this one - must have jostled the tripod at the wrong time.

[bob turner]

I did get better shots - I painted this sucker silver (temporarily, to simulate nickel plate). But I must have exceeded some Shutterfly limit, because now I cannot upload. I guess I don't blame them - I have probably ordered less than ten bucks worth of prints from them - but now I may have to start paying to host photos. I'll try again tomorrow.

[bob turner]

Here we go - bear in mind that this will not stay silver - I just wanted to see what it would look like if I were able to nickel plate it.

[R.K. Maroon]

Wow -- that's quite a look. As I recall, the CB&Q painted a Northern gold at one point -- I think to mark some anniversary of the railroad.