Any such thing as a steam dummy?

I have a couple of these myself - locos that broke and I deemed not worth fixing. 

 

I've never seen a steam loco that comes from the manufacturers as a dummy, but I bet somewhere, sometime, someone made one, and this forum will probab ly be the place to find a person who knows.

When you're at York, look for a "for parts" one that fits the bill.  I haven't seen one from the manufacturer either.

I know American Flyer did one in the 30's as part of a set (powered engine, dummy engine, and a few cars), but besides that I don't know of any, but I don't understand why they don't do it.

I'm always on the hunt for cheap, non-working steam locos just for static display on a layout.  Or to try my hnd at weathering instead of mucking up one of my operational ones.

 

Wish someone would make them.  I bid alot on ebay for Railking steam locos, but they always go for more than what I'm willing to pay.

I seem to remember such plastic kits by Revell. An 0-8-0 NKP switcher, perhaps. B&O Bill

Considering the sheer number of parts that go into a steam locomotive, between all the operable running gear parts and all the add-on detail parts, I don't think it would be economical for anyone to produce a dummy steam loco.  You would save a few bucks by omitting the electronics, motor and pickup rollers, but you would still have a pretty expensive piece of dead weight.

 

Eric is right, it is better to hunt for a dead locomotive at York or other venues (like the buy/sell section of the forum) where you will likely get a much better deal.  With a dead loco, you would just have to remove the pickup rollers to ensure that there is no draw from your layout, or if you want to get adventurous, you could gut the electronics and wire the locomotive's lights and smoke unit into the layout with external switches in case you want the locomotive to appear to be ready to go when called.

Are  you referring to an unpowered  model steam locomotive or an old time small steam locomotive covered with a small streetcar body used to haul unpowered streetcars?  They were made to resemble streetcars in order not to frighten horses pulling wagons. I have only seen a real steam dummy once and that was on display at Mammoth Cave State Park in Kentucky back in 1970.    Odd-d

Steam Dummy ,
= One that buys every steam engine he can get his hands on


David

If I recall correctly, a number of years ago, Williams was going to make a dummy scale NYC Hudson, but then dropped the idea.

I was waiting for a "Farmer Bill" comment.  

Hey were both from Virginia Great minds think alike

David

Rivarrossi offered unpowered Steam locomotive kits back in the 1970's.  The selection was limited; Reno/Genoa V&T 4-4-0, "Casey Jones" IC 4-6-0, IHB 0-8-0 and a German 0-6-0T with parts for "Americanization."

 

Rusty

One of our club members has one of the Rivarrossi  IHB 0-8-0 switchers as a display piece on his module. This is the best picture I could find of it:

 

 

I seem to remember that they also made a NYC Hudson, and a battery powering kit too.

 

J White

Michael:  The term "steam dummy" was originally applied to small steam powered locomotives designed to pull streetcar type trailers on non-electrified

urban tracks.  Most actual steam dummy engines had car bodies built over them  disguised to look like passenger cars, presumably so they wouldn't scare horses that they shared the streets with.  Of course, the success of electric powered streetcars, coupled with the extra costs and greatly increased need for maintenance of a steam engine, spelled the end of steam dummy operations very early in most city transit systems.

 

This was not the type of "steam dummy" you were looking for?

Williams used to make dummy scale Hudson steam engines in the late 90's and early 00's. I don't think they made a lot of them, but they are around.

Mike's right, American Flyer made one in 1939 as part of a freight set with 2 locomotives, one powered and one unpowered.  Here’s the drawing from the 1939 catalog:

http://myflyertrains.org/AF_Ca...F_catalog_page18.htm

 

It was also shown on the front cover.

 

Bill

I've seen one of those Flyer double header sets... Strange thing is the dummy loco is basically a powered loco but without an armature, so just as heavy, meaning the powered loco is pulling a bunch of dead weight. Sorta defeats the purpose.

You won't "negatively affect the electrical flow" if you

 

(a) park it so that its rollers are stopped on pieces of masking tape on the third rail

 

or

 

(b) park it on a piece of two-rail track

 

or

 

(c) park it on an unpowered piece of 3-rail track

 

You see, modification to the loco is not necessary.

So it takes as little as that?

"Hercules", the Mammoth Cave branch engine, that is on display with a combine in

the park, and that is mentioned by someone else on here, is what I thought of

when I saw the title...(I kitbashed a model of it using a Marx mechanism)...I also

thought of the AHM Indiana Harbor Belt 0-8-0 mentioned on here (there is one of

those offered on eBay today!) It is an unpowered plastic kit.

Here is a real life "steam dummy". When the NYO&W went to diesel power, they did this to save money!

 

http://owrhs.comp-wiz.com/heater_car.pdf

 

 

 

Peter

Thanks, I added it to my watch list. I have a feeling it is going to go quite high....

Contact Justrains.  They had some MTH pre-production mock up samples, either missing a sound system, motor or smoke unit.

before the American Flyer set, Joy Line (Marx) issued a powered/dummy set.

 

Steve

Michael,

 

You could have a turnout with an INSULATED section of track (separate power supply).  The engine can sit there with no power on or you can have the engine sitting there in NEUTRAL with the lights on and smoke coming out of the smoke stack with the apparance that this engine is getting ready to go into service.  I hope this makes sense.  

Just put a little piece of electrical tape on the center rail pick-ups.