Favorite NG Locos

I'm really happy with the Bachmann On30 2-8-0 I bought. It runs very well and I like the lines of the locomotive.

Prototype locos?

The 8-18c 4-4-0 is one of my two favorites, and the other is SR&RL #24.

Jeff C

I must admit that #268 is one of my favorites and I love the C-19's as well.   It looks like the new AMS C-16's are going to have to replace my reworked BLI version but, boy, are they going to be pricey.   However, I model the Chili Lines and I would really love to have a nice K-28, so I am saving for that one. 

Jim

NPC #12.  The Sonoma.  Still in existence located in the Sacramento Rail Museum.  Matter of fact, because PSC isn't coming out with them we're building our own.

Jay

I guess the MMI 8-18c model is DOA, so I really hope that Bachmann decides to produce that model (in ON30) sometime in the future.

The NEXT ON30 Bachmann release (I assume there will be another...) will be telling--will it be a 2ft or 3ft prototype?

I also still hold out hope for an updated release of the 2-6-0, with sound and DCC, and with a working coupler on the pilot (perhaps with a footboard pilot as an option).

It would also be nice to see the current models released with period paint schemes--Russian Iron boiler jackets, anyone?

Jeff C

I like C-19's

Jim193 -  I have an MMI K-28 (mint) that I am parting with. Please contact me offline at ironwoodmodels@hotmail.com.

Erik Lindgren - I have your painting of #464 "Calling it a Day." Beautiful painting! I'm always looking for more. Great work and keep them coming.

MLW MX620:

http://www.tamr.org/Andy_Inserra/guatemala.htm

Or GE's U10B:

http://www.le-rail.ch/bild/gua03k.jpg

I can't make up my mind.

Bob

"NPC #12.  The Sonoma.  Still in existence located in the Sacramento Rail Museum.  Matter of fact, because PCS isn't coming out with them we're building our own."

What are you using as a starting point? I think PSC isn't getting reservations because of two things: the price, and also (and more important) the minimum radius requirement.

An ON30 loco has to be able to take an 18" minimum radius curve in order to sell well. Another reason for Bachmann to make this engine--this loco could be made to take a tighter curve if the 4-6-0 and 2-8-0 can do 18" minimum radius curves.

Jeff C

Jeff,

The Sonoma project started as a one-off.  Due to some fairly large expenses (the correct pilot alone will probably cost in excess of $1000.00) we'll have to make several just to break even.  This is a link to one of the guys helping me create the pilot, http://www.roughboy.net/?wpb_p...pilot-master-project

We are starting with plastic parts made from dies produced by Doug MacLeod along with some of molds.  The plastic parts are cast into brass and nickle silver.  There are half a dozen, or so, parts produced by PSC.

At this time, I have no intention of building any On30 models but this could change.

Jay

• bumble bee c-16 
• rgs455 after wreck

for me too!

Here's a couple of shots of my model.  The trickiest part is the Radley Hunter stack and the angle iron pilot.  The stack is from Doug MacLeod masters with new molds and the pilot is still in progress.  The pilot was produced by Ernie Gee of G-Factor Models.  It will be used to make a mold and be cast into brass.

Wow! Looks very nice!

Jeff C

Sonoma isn't the only 8-18c still in existence.  Eureka is owned by Dan Markoff of Las Vegas and is fully operational.  Here she is in Boulder City when I was there last December...

As for taking 18" radius curves, it's true that this is a requirement for many On30 modelers, but I doubt if the prototype could handle similar curves if scaled up, and the prototype  4-4-0's were never asked to.

For whatever obscure reason, when it comes to their rod locomotives Bachmann always seems to opt for Central and South American prototypes.  With the exception of the original Mogul and the new Tweetsie Ten-Wheeler, all their On30 rod locos and many of their G-Scale rod locos are based on non-American prototypes.  Internal politics I suppose, though they did produce an 8-18c in Fn3.   We in the O-scale crowd instead got the funky little 4-4-0 based upon a non-American prototype - and while it may be that a prototype did indeed exist, who the heck ever heard of an outside frame 4-4-0?  Bizarre!

Myself, I want to model the South Pacific Coast so I'll buy a couple of Jay's units and go with On3.

Jeff,

Thanks!

Dwight,

Yep, fully aware.  As a matter of fact, we plan on including this little beauty on our decal sheet(s).  The really cool things with Eureka is, first Dan has her fully restored so you're modeling a truly operational loco and she has the same pilot and stack.  Having said that we also have Doug's straight deck & pilot (made to correct the Kodama) that would be better for the SPC model.

On the On30 model I've been wondering if we could do some kit of retrofit of the little Bachmann.  Something along the lines of different drivers and a new superstructure.  Someday maybe I'll buy one to look at this option.

Jay

I doubt a retrofit for Bachmann's 4-4-0 would be do-able.  The frame is too short, the drivers are too close together, the boiler is too small, and on and on.  You may have better luck retrofitting Bachmann's HO-scale standard gauge Modern 4-4-0.  While I haven't measured it or anything, it may be that the driver spacing, etc. is closer to what we're looking for.  Some of the On30 4-4-0's parts may be usable - stuff like the headlight and such.  But then again, such parts are already available from PSC in more scale form.  Just mho.

Here's a couple more of Eureka - the first with a buddy of mine next to her...

and the second of me and the backhead...

"As for taking 18" radius curves, it's true that this is a requirement for many On30 modelers, but I doubt if the prototype could handle similar curves if scaled up, and the prototype  4-4-0's were never asked to."

I agree totally, just as Bachmann's HO scale EM-1 2-8-8-4 was never asked to negotiate the prototype equivalent of a 24" radius curve.

Bachmann is smart enough to understand that the market is extremely small for an EM-1 that has a 36" minimum radius curve restriction.

There are compromises when making an EM-1 2-8-8-4 take a sharp curve, and there is no doubt that those compromises detract from the proto fidelity of the model.

But the thing is this: that's where the sales are--the vast majority of On30 modelers are using 18" (or maybe 22") radius curves, so that has to be taken into effect when producing a model for the market. Scale purity/prototype fidelity is a worthy goal for a modeler, but importers and manufacturers usually have to compromise standards to produce a product that can actually cover costs and make a profit. The Fn3 4-4-0 will go around a 2' radius curve (I know-I own one). It looks a bit silly doing it, but it will reliably track around those small curves.

If I had the room (and the money), I would be very happy modeling in On3. I would love to a huge layout, with large radius curves and a roundhouse full of beautiful brass models. It would also be fun to have an operating session on that dream layout with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Jeff C

LOL!  Point taken, though I'd prefer Salma Hayek - or maybe Anne Hathaway. 

For myself, I can live with less trackage with broader curves if necessary.  There are particular scenes that I want to do - the Los Gatos Hotel and station, it's cannery, Wrights... and whatever else I can fit into a small bedroom.  I've thought of doing an SPC caricature using Bachmann's 4-4-0 and rolling stock, and with the Boulder Creek sawmill on a second deck, but in the end I'm far more the builder than the operator anyway, so it's more important to me that it "look right" (though by no means am I a rivet counter).  One of the great things about this hobby is it can accommodate different points of view, different wants, and different needs, including practical limitations such as space. 

Absolutely--there is no single right way to do things.

Jeff C

This is a very active forum....

The above is sarcasm.

Jeff C

I don't know... but this thread has 21 replies since it opened. That seems pretty active for a NG topic. I guess we all need to post more.

I agree!  I'll be posting more photos of my model and the latest updates on our angle iron pilot.  As a teaser, the mold has been poured and cut.  A few waxes have been shot so we hope to have our first castings back in a week or so.

Jay

That's great, Jay! I'm looking forward to tracking your progress.

Jeff C

It appears I'm doing something incorrectly because all but one of the photos don't appear.  Stay tuned, I'm working on it.

Maybe this little project should be under a different thread.  I'll leave it to you guys to give me directions.

I won't have a brass version of the pilot for a week or two so I thought I'd add something else.

One of the items we need are 24" wheels for the tender & lead truck.  I thought about  using NWSL wheel sets but I wanted a little more detail so I'm experimenting with the beauties being produced by Foothill Models. 

To make a short story long, I'm casting up Jerry's wheels into white brass (German Silver, nickle silver, bronwhite, etc. and making our own.

I'll try to attach a few photos to show how we're doing.

Bulk wheels prior to adding stud and casting.

 Stud added prior to casting.

 Finished wheel front & rear.

http://i601.photobucket.com/al...761.jpg?t=1332021007

Wheels mounted on NWSL axles.

 Assembled trucks.

Next installment.........the white brass boiler.

Jay

We now have a mold & waxes for the angle iron pilot.  The next step is investing and casting.

Jay, I would like to buy some of those, thanks ncng

ncng,

Somewhere along the line I'll be making them available.

Jay

ncng,

I should have 10 of them available Monday (pilots, that is).

Jay

Jay,

I would like 4 or 5, can you contact me offline,

Thank you,

ncng

ncng,

I tried to email you.  Don't know if you got the message or not.

Jay

Well, I picked up the first set of pilot castings this afternoon. They are not quite as smooth as I would have liked but it looks like they can be cleaned up to make them presentable. Please keep in mind, this is the thicker of the two versions we're making.

I did try to test fit them to my pilot model and it fits fine.

We hope to have the first example of our finer profile version available for inspection by the middle of this coming week.

Attached are some pix I just took. Once again, the photos are not as clear as I'd like to see. I may actually read the instructions later tonight in an attempt to use a lower F stop. This should give me a greater depth of field. We'll see.

Jay

Hi again folks,

As far as the angle iron pilots go, all I've been able to show is the thicker, more sturdy version but we've also been working on the more prototypical and fragile version. This second version is being done with higher resolution and because of it's very thin profile is not conducive to investment (lost wax) casting.

I'm attaching photos of the first run we did a few days ago. This run was done in wax and was intended to be burned out and cast into brass without using a mold. As you can see from the photos, they looked promising but when the technician tried to remove the supporting material they just fell into pieces. Our conclusion is, this model is just to fragile to be produced in wax.

Having come to that conclusion we decided to use FullCure 720. The last photo shows the results obtained using this material. As a side note, I was concerned about the apparent gaps and missing areas shown in the photo but I've been assured this is just an illusion. We shall see.

Our goal is to take these latest versions and have them cast into brass. If all goes well we should have the new pilots in hand within a few weeks.

I'm kind of curious, should I start a new subject or continue to use "My Favorite NG Engine"?  Any thoughts on this question are appreciated.

Jay

Hey Dwight,

Yeah, we're right there with you.  Originally we tried using a 1/4" (.005") thick web but decided it was just too thin and enlarged it to 3/8" (.0075").  It's still probably too thin and will not take any impact (even with the prototypical bracing underneath).  At this point the actual casting is still in question.  The truth is we're really pushing the envelope with such thin profiles.

If these turn out the owner will have to understand it's fragility and decide weather to go with this version or the beefier one shown previously.

I hope to have the first test shot cast up next Sunday.

Jay

I know it's been awhile but we've really been struggling with producing a scale Baldwin Angle Iron Pilot.  After all this time and a lot of tweaking I think we nailed it.  I should be able to cast these examples this weekend.  If they turn out as nice as I think they will we can get back to building the Baldwin 8-18cs.

More to follow.

Jay

Jay,

I know you where working on these a few months ago,

Looks like you got them fixed?,

I would be interested in some,

ncng

ncng,

I'll keep that in mind.  Please keep in mind, we're actually burning out and casting the parts after they come off the 3D printer.  It's kind of expensive but there's no way to make a mold and shoot waxes of a part with such fine pieces and cross sections.

The actual casting process probably won't be more than $8.00 a piece but if the printed part cost $35.00 the total $43.00 plus some costs for the computer work (somewhere around $300.00.  It's very easy to justify $50.00 a shot.  Are they worth that?  Probably not but nobody else makes one so I guess I've got a captive audience, huh?

Jay

It's been a standard gauge locomotive since around 1969 when it came to Greenfield Village, but the Torch Lake was originally a 4' 1" gauge 1873 Mason Bogie operated by the Hecla and Torch Lake Railroad (AKA, C&H Mining Co.) in Michigan's U.P.  Now adays, she's a one of a kind and still operates most days during the summer.  The whole "power truck" pivots separately from the rest of the locomotive which allows it to run on tighter curves.  

I picked up the latest run of the Baldwin Angle Iron Pilot from the caster yesterday and I'd say we're very close to where I want to be.  With a little clean up they should meet with most folks approval.

I went ahead and attached one to my pilot model to verify fit & appearance and it fit just fine.  Next we'll print out the double articulating draw bar and have it cast up.  Following that I'll probably attach the running boards.

As usual, more to follow,

Jay