A Scale Craft K4 Adventure

Holy cow... that looks great, especially the tender. You scratch built that?!? 😳 👍👍👍

Mark in Oregon

You lucked out - Lobaugh drivers, all flanged, center gearbox, Pittman 8000 series motor - no way to do better than that on an old Scale Craft K4.

Do replace the buttons on the smokebox - an embossed .010 wrapper will look great.  And an .020 skirt for the sand dome helps.  I agree - nice tender.  What is that thing with the nickel silver boiler in the top right?

I have discovered just enough parts for another SC K4 myself - missing only the boiler barrel and sand dome casting.  I can make those parts if they don't arrive in the mail.  It will be #1737, as delivered, with straight running  boards.  Anybody need a running board casting?

If this a Scale craft K4 it is the later verson. The early ones drove of the the rear axil. The Scale Crafts K4 are 17/64. Is the frame a two peace.

Bob The locomotives also appearing in the pic, are, to the rear ( your not going to like this ) a plastic AHM Indian Harbour Belt, battery powered, and controlled by my phone. To the right a Scale Craft NYC Hudson. I will get to the other questions soon, of to work now.        cTr......( Choose the Right )

So the frame is split, and bob is right Lobaugh drivers. The drivers I had lying around, but no gears, so I had to come up with some kind of drive. The gears are from a photocopier, I dont knew how this will go but the worm is acetal, and the worm gear is I think a sintered steal, my-bee, but it is steel. I machined a sleeve out of brass for the worm gear as it was designed for a larger shaft, the worm sits on two ball bearing races. I bought a box of the Pittman motors, about 10 of them I think, a while back on the bay, for about 10 bucks each. They have ball bearings, and rare earth magnets.

The tender needs finishing, but I built two, for some reason. I have , a KTM Pennsy 2-10-4, and the tender dimensionally wasn't quite right. so I built my own, Im not quite so fussy these days. so its more modern than the K4 would have used, but you know its my railroad, so why not.           cTr....( Choose the Right )

You do know that the K4 had several varieties of the long distance tender attached?  Photos exist.

Thanks Bob Im not surprised that the tenter could be prototypical, some where, at some time, I noticed in your last pic that you used the Loco Works drivers. I did mess with the Lobough drivers, squaring then off, the centre driver has quit a bit ground out of it, to make it more correct. Its probably hard to see.  Ive also noticed , that although The K4 is 17/64 scale, the driver wheel base is not, its 1/4 scale, and I suspect the original tender might be too. Its an interesting mash up of scales, this occurs with the Santa Fe mikado as well. It doesn't take away from the joy however.     cTr....( Choose the Right )

@bob2 posted:

You do know that the K4 had several varieties of the long distance tender attached?  Photos exist.

This tender was part of an I1  Pennsy Decapod from Sunset Third Rail. (8) axles. Surprisingly the tender has a hard time with O54 curves, that the locomotive does without trouble.  Middle shelf.  Lower shelf is a Weaver M1a/b with a (6) axle long haul tender.

Tender (length) comparison.  (Russian Decopod, a small locomotive)

As PRR retired steam locomotives it was common practice to swap out tenders.  It's likely harder to state that a K4 with any given tender is not protypical than it is to say it is prototypical. 

I put the long haul tender behind my Bowser HO K4 and the tender from that kit behind a MDC Roundhouse E6.  I have photo's that show both conditions.

Looking forward to see how your Scale Craft hybrid project comes along.  You have all the parts for a great looking finished project!

I will have to look again - I do not recall any 8 axle tenders behind the K4.  But the 6 axle long distance tender appears quite often.  Not sure whether it is the welded version or riveted.  Either way, it seems like Scale Craft K4 tenders are out there -