C&NW H-1 with and without stripes

Great looking engine either way!   Joe

I think blacked out look good! Did you use paint or marker?

Personally I like the white option better. Look forward to seeing you Charlie shortly.

The leading and trailing truck wheels look blacked out too, the tender also?

Hi Charlie

    Why not get a second one and not fret the details?

Ray Marion

An interesting comparison. I like them minus the stripes, especially for freight operations. By the way, what color did you use?

My understanding is that many locomotives were delivered with the "beauty treatment" only to have maintenance remove the stripes since you have to repaint them frequently. Hard call. I like them both ways. I plan passenger for mine, so the stripes can stay....at least for now.

Black on the right side, white on the left....just kidding!!!

Charlie:  Nice looking engine, which I'm gonna have to set a few bucks away for and purchase.  As to the white striping, I much prefer the all-black, which is the way the engines looked back in the days they were in service.  When I bought my Lionel S-3 cab #265, I not only had the running boards blackened but actually had the whole engine weathered and, to me, it looks great.  I actually have two S-3's, the other one a Weaver engine from some 8 to 10 years ago, and this one, #261, has been kept bright and shiny with white running boards, because the train it pulls is a replica of the actual train the "Friends of the #261" actually run.

Charlie:  can you give a brief report on the H-1?  Does it meet you requirements in quality, detail, operating ability?  According to 3rd Rail's ads, this engine is supposed to contain Lionel's newest updates to TMCC; some never before sounds that are available now.  Can you notice a difference?

Paul Fischer

Charlie. I see your #is 3015  I was told they wear only making # 3013-3016-3018 Road numbers was yours a custom order. also I do like the Blackened out one nice job . thanks for posting the pictures . scott  

I must admit I prefer the black treatment the best. Besides, I've had to work on one or two steam locomotives with the "white tire" treatment, and it was a real PIA to constantly clean and repaint those tires.

Charlie the blacked out version looks much better IMHO.  I have always preferred black myself...just looks better to my eyes.

Chris 

hello Charlie...........

the one with white walls and white stripe would look sharp if you using it for passenger service ?  the blacked out one for freight ?

the woman who loves the S.F.5011,623

Tiffany

It's handsome either way and it's your loco.  If it were mine ti would depend on the layout I was running it on.  If you are running it on a very "crowded" layout (one of those filled to bursting with colorful buildings, accessories and vehicles everywhere so there is plenty of eye-candy to attract attention) then I'd put on the white stripes to make it compete a bit more for attention.  Otherwise, I'd leave it black.

CGWforever: No marker or paint at this time, this is just a Photoshop image of how the white stripes would look if painted black, did not mean to mislead, just wanted to show the difference before painted.

Nairb Rekab: I think this is my first 3^rd  Rail item that did not have the goofy unpainted lead and trailing trucks that needed paint, what you see here is what you get, thank you Scott.

Ray: Yes, a second one is a great solution. However…my wife already thinks I have too many black engines so that will be a hard sell.

AGHMatt: Since I run mostly passenger trains I also like the stripes, but in this case, I think the engine looks better with the black trim. I have pictures of the H and H-1 with and without the stripes so either way is correct. Interestingly, when the engine was on display at the railroad show/fair it was prepared without stripes. I may leave the running board stripe and blackout the wheels.

Paul: Detail wise, yes the engine meets my expectations, just having anything in C&NW would have met my expectations. I will say that I had to bend a few things back into place and one is still bent. The engineer’s side tender step is pretty bad and I’m afraid to apply any more pressure. The rest of the engine was fine.

Operationally, I will defer to AGHRMatt's videos of his unit. I do not have a video camera, only a still camera.

ScottMC: I don’t have the box in front of me, but I think the numbers available were 3013,14,15,16,17 and 3018. More numbers than I expected for such a small run.

I have a nice shot of the 3015 in the C&NW train station that I really liked so that is why I requested 3015. The C&NW historical quarterly is the source for most of the better images of the H-1. The on-line images are limited.

The one thing I have not had a chance to play with yet is the smoke unit. I will let you know about that when I get a chance.

Charlie

Two headlights! Is one a MARS?

Don't think that the upper "big can" light was manufactured by Mars Signal Light Co..

Or Gyralight, or whatever. The question is, what is it?

The upper light is a combination oscillating (it actually blinks instead) and red warning light (activates when the locomotive is in reverse.) A post-warranty modification I'm looking at is changing out the oscillating light with one that's more realistic and small (fits in DCC-equipped H.O. locomotives.) I'll have to check the voltage coming to the light to see if they're compatible. MTH seems to have done well getting LEDs to mimic oscillating lights but I think that's built into the Proto-3 boards.

Matt,

    Please share with us after u success replace it. I want change mine too to make it look more realistic.

Photoshop? Impressed and good job!

Very nice either way; you can't beat 3rd rail for detail.

Isn't his the first of the 3rd Rail engines to feature improved crew talk/chatter?

Have you confirmed this?

Might be an early version Mars Light.

I recall reading somewhere (either Mainline Modeller or Locomotive and Railway Preservation) that the C&NW first tried it mounted on the pilot deck, but the vibrations shook the mechanism apart.

Rusty

I have an Erie Berkshire coming from 3rd Rail.I hope they don't put a stripe on the side and white walls on it

Charlie

the white!