Doorstops - Cast Brass, Bronze, Aluminum

[sleepmac]

Bob, I like all your efforts. I especially like that Baldwin Sharknose.

Dan Weinhold
Lancaster, PA.

[J. S. Bach]

Parmele.JPG

I have two of those, one is lettered for the D&IM!!
I used to have another that would pull a twenty car train on mostly head-end stuff. As I acquired another rpo, baggage, or whatever, a coach, diner, sleeper, or whatever would get cut off. Twenty cars seemed to be the reasonable limit, it would struggle some with twenty one and stall with twenty two. Note that the cars were a mix of Walthers, AN, one scratch-built WM business car, and who-knows what with a mixed bag of trucks underneath.

[rogruth]

Bob,
I think "Talking to myself" is in reference to other two railers.

[E7]

I shall attempt to keep this going. Here are Ken Krayer's fine doorstops. I note that, while the castings are really quite good, they cannot compare with those of the Erie-Built that I just got from a foundry in Pennsylvania.

OK: Here's a doorstop question for you (and Maroon or anyone else who would care to chime in): The Krayer castings are (from what I read in one of Maroon's OST columns) all marked Adams & Son. How much input did Krayer have in the casting process? Did he just ask Adams to make an Alco FA, or did he provide actual patterns/parts?

Then there is this beast:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0d/e1/4c/0de1 ... s-ohio.jpg

Take note of the headlight treatment (different from the standard FA) and the number board on top of the cab.

Maroon's friend Fred Bradley has a model with these features (#724 OST #81 p.27 ) with a large cylindrical light on the rear of the unit.

Did Mr Bradley (he is quite the craftsman) modify a standard Krayer unit, or did that one come from A&S that way?

You might have to send me some doorstop anti-venom Bob....I'm starting to LIKE some of these!

Maybe we could get some input from Mr. Bradley!

Rich

[E7]

Rich sent me this link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KEY-IMPORTS-UN ... Sw7blbAGrf

He says this is pretty much the perfect nose for an E-7/8/9. I agree it looks good, but am uneasy about the brow above the windshield. EMD Bulldog noses are tough.

I don't perceive any problem there. Could it be that the LACK of grabs is affecting your perception?

[Carey Williams]

Hello all

Bob very nice Ken Krayer pieces ...... they are thin on the ground ...and the Shark is a ? casting ??? when made ??? thank you for posting

Fresh from the Indy show we have a MiLoco (sand-cast) Hudson .... matched up with a Miloco K4 (acquired last year ) ... 17/64ths... rocks .. Hudson is gleaming..appears to have never been painted or run ... Lee B Green displayed his trains at the Chicago World's Fair 1934 ... big catalog at the end of the year ...lots of ads 35 &36 ...announcement of dies-cast new line end of 36 ....... early 1937 ...Lee B Green is gone and name is changed to Mini -Scale manufactured by Congress Tool and Die .. with new die-cast line .
Cheers Carey

P_20180921_153030_LL.jpg (1.23 MiB) Viewed 9481 times

[bob turner]

That's the way this should work. I don't want you gushing over my photos - I want to see comments and photos of others' doorstops. I am happy this afternoon.

Some years ago I pointed out the uneven Neanderthal ridge above the windshield to a true connoiseur, and he agreed. I don't care for Overland's PA windshield either. Lionel and Key got that right.

Now I shall stroll out to the storage area and check: I am almost positive the Ken Krayer units are marked Ken Krayer.

Edit: They say "Ken Craft, Meadville Pa" but in an adjacent spot they say "A&S".

On the Shark: Penn-Erie did the m in aluminum, along with certain U boats and the E44. All were marketed by Locomotive Workshop. My "Squaw Creek" is a Penn-Erie. I need to get a more recent photo, or find the one I took after I added those giant handrail stanchions.

[R.K. Maroon]

Rich, I'll take these one at a time:

The Krayer castings are (from what I read in one of Maroon's OST columns) all marked Adams & Son

What we call the Krayer FA was sold by three companies: Ken-Kraft, Century Locomotive, and Pearce Tool. The Adams and Son mark does not appear on all models. The evidence leans to the conclusion that the A&S mark was found on the Ken-Kraft and probably the Century models, but not the Pearce Tool.

How much input did Krayer have in the casting process? Did he just ask Adams to make an Alco FA, or did he provide actual patterns/parts?

I don't think we'll ever know, but it is easy to guess that some companies would provide their own patterns and others would have A&S make the patterns. Bob Stevenson has an extensive collection of A&S castings, most or all of which (probably) came from Henry Pearce. Most or all of those (probably) came from A&S. As such, there is (probably) a strong correlation between the patterns that Bob has and the patterns done by A&S. Patterns provided by customers may have very likely been returned to the customer. All just speculation, of course.

Then there is this beast:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0d/e1/4c/0de1 ... s-ohio.jpg
Take note of the headlight treatment (different from the standard FA) and the number board on top of the cab.
Maroon's friend Fred Bradley has a model with these features (#724 OST #81 p.27 ) with a large cylindrical light on the rear of the unit.
Did Mr Bradley (he is quite the craftsman) modify a standard Krayer unit, or did that one come from A&S that way?

Fred did all the modifications himself. As I understand it, Fred built and painted the GM&O FAs not all that long ago -- I would guess in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Note also that I purchased this set from Fred several years ago. He advertised them on the O-Scale Yard Sale group and I responded. I did not know him, but when I found out he lived only 90 minutes north of Dallas I went to see him and we became fast friends. And, yes, I came home with a thin wallet and a wonderful set of FAs. Over the next few years I acquired most of the other GM&O models that Fred had. Note that he painted and sold some number of other GM&O models in the years before I met him. I have seen one but know there are others.

Maybe we could get some input from Mr. Bradley

I am very sorry to report that Fred passed away just a couple of weeks ago. He was 84 and had been in declining health for a while. He was a great modeler and, I am fortunate enough to say, a very good friend.

Jim

[bob turner]

Neat! I don't remember seeing this pair before. I have always liked the GMO Diesel paint scheme. I should re-post Harmon's PA here - it is a semi-doorstop, and he labored on it for decades.

[E7]

Jim,

Thanks for the update, glad those FA's found a good home. Sorry to hear that Fred has passed on!

Bob,

I too like that GM&O paint scheme. Might have swayed my modeling choice had I seen it earlier. If you ever saw the movie "In The Heat OF The Night" a GM&O E7 has a starring role.

Rich

PS: Harmon's engine is far from a doorstop.....a killer piece!

Whatever happened to it, any idea?

[bob turner]

My lack of focus allows me to be an absolute SP nut, a slobbering Pennsy freak, and the proud owner of a Seaboard Mountain. Soon I shall have an ACL purple and silver Geep. So GMO is always a possibility for my doorstop fleet. I was close once with two tone red on a PA, but I stripped it and made it Brunswick 5 stripe.

[E7]

I expanded my interest to half the East coast figuring why deny yourself if you see something you really like, solely because it's not prototypical! Egads! This stuff is supposed to be fun! I guess I like them ALL.

[De Bruin]

Wow those FA-1's are fabulous.
Jim, sorry to hear about Fred; I did get to meet him many years ago at the DFW meets and he was truly an interesting, good fellow, not to mention a USAF pilot with an impressive service history you both recounted to me.
Very sad, despite his failing health, another great one gone.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I expanded my interest to half the East coast............... I guess I like them ALL.

Let's see some of yours!

[E7]

I expanded my interest to half the East coast............... I guess I like them ALL.

Let's see some of yours!

Alas, no digital cam or cell phone. Also have divested in quite a few because of health and other issues. This PC I'm pecking keys on is my one concession to high tech. I am mostly happy without any of it.