Some SRR Steam Locomotives

[De Bruin]

Last week I was invited to an operating session of my old RMCA club at (the late) Ray Duvarney’s layout, still maintained/curated by Bruce Copeland and Brad Smith who are also working on the RMCA’s new layout design as well as rendering their own massive HO version of the Southern’s Macon-Atlanta-Chattanooga mainline in the transition era.
The Duvarney layout's a 1:48 scale thing of beauty, a perfect venue to view and operate some of Marty Magregian’s excellent custom built steam locomotives, among others this newly completed Southern Ls-1 mallet, built as a donation to the RMCA club.

Using prototype photos and company plans Marty started with an OMI Y3 chassis and determined that a salvaged B&M R-1 Mountain boiler was a good facsimile for the prototype due to its smaller diameter than the Y3s. Extensive modifications were made to the handrails, valve gear sets, piping, domes, adding a custom built cab, a rectangular road# plate to the smokebox door to match the specific prototypes road# 4019 as well relocating the headlight from that spot to the pilot platform per the engine’s final service configuration.

Per Marty there were a number of contributors to the model specific to the drive mechanism too; I recall the drive/gearbox was a Doug Cockerham rebuild done some years ago with frame axles most recently modified by Rod Miller with roller bearings (my apologies for any inaccuracies or omissions.)

The big payoff on top of it’s appearance is it runs like a Swiss watch, easily handling some thirty plus cars. Interestingly Marty went with the suggestion to put a small HO Boiler Barker speaker in the smoke box rather than the usual tender “Boom Box” which was surprisingly more than adequate in volume and tone, quite realistic sounding. Stay tuned, more to come.

[Pacific Limited]

Good looking trains

[bob turner]

Nice locomotive. I have a "thing" for Mallets. A nice builder's photo would be great! Scenery is really nice, as well. I have given up on scenery - always something else more intriguing to do around here.
Today I need to put a regulator on the big bead blast unit, so I can get the pressure down to sheet brass numbers. We'll see . . .

[up148]

I agree the locos and scenery is a knockout. The track has really been laid and detailed nicely.

[De Bruin]

Thanks guys, like I said the layout is something to behold, period matched to the nineteen-fifties and largely devoted to the Central of Georgia and Southern, hand laid track and switches, mostly code 120 with a lot of scratch and kit-built structures and rolling stock.
Bob, here’s a link to a builder’s photo for the #4018, think it’s safe to assume #4019’s had a similar configuration upon delivery.
http://southern.railfan.net/images/arch ... u4018.html
The service photos on that page of #4019 from 1938 show the air pumps moved back though it predates the tender ‘doghouse’ installation, Marty indicated his detailing is based on its final years of service before retirement in ’51.
Interestingly Marty’s primary modeling interest has been the Union Pacific, I’m sure he’s done some interesting models from that as well. Apropos Bob; that 4-12-2 is stunning and I’m looking forward to seeing what it looks like in paint.

[De Bruin]

Part Deux, a USRA 0-8-0 by USH that Marty’s modified and painted as a Southern class AS-11 #6032, modifications include re-locating the headlight to the front of the firebox, applying a paint scheme that reverses the road name to the tender and road number to the cab side, somewhat of a mystery, though terminal engines were often “customized” by the local shops.


Likewise the prototype #6032 sported a full width bunker with low sides, here rendered with a salvaged Williams tender as opposed to the more common “visibility” tender as found on AHM’s ubiquitous IHB U4a 0-8-0. I’ve included this shot with a more conventionally painted Southern example of the USH added for comparison. Stay tuned, have one more to post.

[bob turner]

Thanks!
Any chance of a builders photo (broadside) of the model?

I have fond memories of the Atlanta area - spent some pleasant time in Zebulon/Concord.

[R.K. Maroon]

.
Pete, that first photo of the mallet is great -- the locomotive looks like an old workhorse in action. Love it!

This isn't the builder's photo Bob wanted, but it's the only Southern locomotive I own:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0slqba43woz0n3hj6ty6l/Hines-0-8-0_02.JPG?rlkey=8iv5ra5wcxekppc1z3aizho01&st=0auph37i

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fx5usq15uuic90vyxhm4a/Hines-0-8-0-Tender-01.JPG?rlkey=z7ondpzjfr4p0jns6wr9ofy6y&st=yyjl9r3c

This is an original Hines. Nice that the builder left his mark:




I bought this from a woman in Ft Worth. Her father built it in the years after he came home from the war but before he got married (at which point he put all his trains in boxes, never to fool with them again). Those who have been on the forum a while may remember the Antiques Roadshow thread, which showcased the amazing assortment of vintage models in that collection. Good times.

By the way, the 0-8-0 runs:



Per comments, I have been thinking this needs a high-visibility tender (a.k.a a "coffin" tender, yes? no?), but maybe I'd better do a bit of research on the Southern's prototypes before jumping to any conclusions.

Jim

[bob turner]

Neat story.
Turns out SRR did have at least one such tender behind the 500 class:

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... aw%26r%3D0

I have converted a couple Pierce tenders to that configuration. I will send you some photos.

[De Bruin]

http://southern.railfan.net/images/arch ... n1922.html
FWIW the internet tells me USRA 0-8-0 stable comprised 175 engines and 15 companies. Most of the NYC and Southern examples have that coffin style, but obviously with enough variations to stick to photos of a specific road# and dates. More than a few builder’s photos have similiar tenders but with the sides extended up and over the side gangways, perhaps later cut down to just above the deck for ease of access to the bunker and rear deck? Looking at these photos on the web I have to say that Hines version is very accurate for a door stop.

[De Bruin]

The third and last of Marty’s models run was an extensively re-worked Sunset USRA 2-10-2 modified into Southern’s unique duplex drive Ss Class #5046. Like it’s prototype this is an unusual model to say the least, I’ve only seen one other done though not to this degree of accuracy. Needless to say this one got a lot of attention too.


Obviously there are some serious piping additions to the boiler exterior of the locomotive for the duplex drive, as well as some radical surgery to the tender. A chassis kit from Stevenson Preservations provided the basis for the tender's duplex engine frame. He had to fabricate and find substitute drivers, apply some serious surgery to the tender to fit and attach the frame to get the appropriate height, sweat the critical spacing of the piping between the cab and tender, and getting the drawbar spacing just right, etc.


Southern similarly modified seven M series USRA Mikados with duplex drives into 2-8-2+2-8-0T’s with the specific class designation Ms-2, alas the performance with this 2-10-2+2-6-2T, the only one of its class so modified, was apparently not enough to warrant additional rebuilds nor get its own class designation. Their duplex program was intended to provide power with greater tractive effort, especially as helper power, up the mega-steep grades of Saluda Hill and the Old Fort Loops routes in western Carolina, however both design’s tenders/drivers would steadily lose adhesive weight in operation due fuel depletion, and ultimately Ls-1’s were better suited anyway. More details about the Ss prototype as well as the Ms-2 Mikado versions are at the attached link(s) below.
https://www.loco-info.com/view.aspx?id=16958&t=Country
https://www.loco-info.com/view.aspx?id=14145&t=Country
As operating sessions go this was "off the chart!" Thanks Guys!

[up148]

That is an amazing model Jim.....wow! The large steam pipe going down the side of the loco to the tender is something I've never seen in mainline locos. I've seen one of loco in logging models and narrow gauge, but this is really something.

[bob turner]

That's Pete - but back to Jim: The 0-8-0 is often forgotten, but it seems to me to be an aesthetically balanced locomotive. Here are two of mine - I have way too many, including SP, PRR, these two, and two more Henry Pearce. I am sure SRR did not waste apple green on the real thing, but hey - it is my model!



Here is a Henry Pearce - more on it later - it is airport time!

[up148]

That's Pete - but back to Jim:

I'm beginning to do that too much.

[bob turner]

Airport was fun- 7 Cub landings, inverted flight in the Decathlon, beer and pizza with the boys, and finished tapes on one side of the Stearman wing.

One guy came in my hangar and said "Iwanna be bob turner when I grow up."

Henry was a great guy - he really knew how to do stuff. But he was not great at production or advertising. I found him by begging the MRR editors for his address. He had the match plates for all the doorstops, and knew how to sand-cast. His street address was 46 N. Hayes St, so I numbered the first #46. Henry left us in 1996, hence the above road # formy second. The third is lettered Southern, and remains untouched from the estate of my friend Paul Stroebel.

The tenders are lettered Pearce Tool Co, although you would never know it on the above.

For bullet proof gearboxes, Henry's are simply unrivaled.

One reason there are not many Pearce copies of Hines Lines Steamers is that henryspent his time upgrading the fixtures to stamp outheavy sheet metal boilers and cabs, instead of just packing and shipping kits. All that stuff still exists, but sadly no more sand foundries. Yeah, there are still a few here and there, but those that do commemorative plaques want big bucks for a single pour.