New delivery.
Virginian Triplex 2-8-8-8-4 by Westside models .
Produced in 1979.
Got to get the 'unique' engines.
These are kind of hard to find and, usually, expensive
but I got it for about 57% of the 'going' price, which, also, was less than the suggested retail price in 1979..
It was marked non operating, for parts so that may have scared people 'off'.
First thing was to solder on parts that were loose.
Tender back step.
Steam cylinder saddle.
Tender front deck plate.
Not often one sees a motor inside a tender!
There were a lot of wires for the tender backup light. All cut away as new lights will be used when a decoder is installed.
Tender ran OK on the bench and, likewise, on the track.
As on 'regular' steam engine, one side of the drivers is hot and the opposite side of the back 4-wheel truck is the ground.
That wire above the steam cylinders is the ground to the front steam engine; same as a drawbar for a 'regular' steam engine.
I've never had an engine with 3 motors and two in the steam engine.
Again, all the excess wires were removed.
The tender wire goes into a metal tube sticking out the back of the steam engine.
This mechanical connection will be replaced with a wire harness.
All back together and running.
Steam stack sticking out the back of the tender.
The tender is pretty heavy so it will do 'its share' of the pulling.
Cab detail. Has a lot of large pipes.
Used an LED light for the picture, resulting in unusual color.
Will be stripped and re-painted before a decoder is installed.
