Show Me Your Brass

NYC T-3 electric:

Before:

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cPg08zDhII

After.

Rayonier 2-6-6-2T.

Before:

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPaKH979PSE

After.

N&W Jawn Henry:

video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg9NJWxbxWE

Before:

After.

C&O M-1.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkYscSAiHIQ

@samparfitt posted:

LV John Wilkes Booth:

Why did the Lehigh Valley name a passenger train after President Lincoln's assassin?

@MillersburgRR posted:

Why did the Lehigh Valley name a passenger train after President Lincoln's assassin?

The train was actually the "John Wilkes" and refers to a British PM who supported the patriots during the revolution.  He is also part of the namesake behind the PA town of Wilkes-Barre. 

@GG1 4877 posted:

The train was actually the "John Wilkes" and refers to a British PM who supported the patriots during the revolution.  He is also part of the namesake behind the PA town of Wilkes-Barre.

Interesting, thanks for the history!

@MillersburgRR posted:

Interesting, thanks for the history!

Actually, I got my British titles backwards.  John Wilkes was a MP (Member of Parliament), not the PM (Prime Minister).  The British and all those titles!  I'm sure they get just as confused with ours.

UP GE #2 diesel steam turbine 2+C-C+2 just assembled and tested.

Yard test video:

The turbine is very loud, just like the 'full size' one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz9rrG8_IxQ

BEFORE:

When I acquired it, it had been sitting in the original box since the 70's, never opened.

AFTER:

@samparfitt posted:

UP GE #2 diesel steam turbine 2+C-C+2 just assembled and tested.

Yard test video:

The turbine is very loud, just like the 'full size' one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz9rrG8_IxQ

BEFORE:

When I acquired it, it had been sitting in the original box since the 70's, never opened.

AFTER:

Wow. It not only looks great, but runs smoothly and quietly, unlike some brass.

I have admired the 2 prototypes of these steamers for years.

I'm jealous.

Just finished these Virginian EL-3A 3 unit electrics.

Video:

Yard test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1SqgCf7mQA

BEFORE:

AFTER

My Key Imports  Big Boy  W/custom made smoke lifters (Wind Wings according to UP)  I like locomotives w/smoke lifters.

PRR DD-1 A-A unit electric box cabs.

Assembly and decoder install just finished.

Video: 'yard test'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HrlQfrBj8k

BEFORE:

AFTER:

GN R-2 2-8-8-2 freight drag at Hillyard.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ZIyZlt-i4

GN O-8 2-8-2 in Glacier colors.

video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m09Q97Q-v2s

GN W-1 electric freight drag at Marias pass video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSk7Ml7_xEo

Before:

After.

GN Z-1 box cab electrics.

Painted 2 of them back in 2015.

Decided to run all 4 Z-1 as one unit.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ltq-d1tqXc

Before:

AFTER:

Here is my Sunset brass 54' steel ice-bunker reefer.  ACL bought 50 of these from American Car & Foundry (ACF) in late 1947 and early 1948. They were initially painted in the ACL's purple and silver scheme, but in the 1960s repainted in their green scheme.

Oddity. 2-6-4, scratch built by somebody, excellent workmanship, unfortunately mounted on an AHM chassis or partial chassis, emulates the esthetics of a PRR Q-1 4-6-4-4, may be 17/64 scale.

Plenty of room for a 4-wheel pilot truck - so why not a 4-6-4?

Very strange cab floor - supported by 2 brake cylinders....? Partly it's the angle of the photo, but this rear view shows how tall the loco is, which made me wonder if the builder was going for 17/64" scale, rather than 16/64 (1/4)" scale. A 4-wheel front truck and a decent 6-driver chassis would make this a striking piece.

GN four Y-1 electrics.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR32ffgRMSs

@D500 posted:

Oddity. 2-6-4, scratch built by somebody, excellent workmanship, unfortunately mounted on an AHM chassis or partial chassis, emulates the esthetics of a PRR Q-1 4-6-4-4, may be 17/64 scale.

Looks like a Keystone number plate on the front of the smoke box (at least it looks like it from the one photo showing the front), you have the round PRR cab windows... Very nice!

Tom

https://ogrforum.com/topic/157...3#192886122797496053

I thought I knew all the UP Turbines available in O scale. I never heard of this one. Who is the MFG or importer?

@up148 posted:

https://ogrforum.com/topic/157...3#192886122797496053

I thought I knew all the UP Turbines available in O scale. I never heard of this one. Who is the MFG or importer?

That is an HO engine.

Only 2 full size engines were made by GE and the GN and UP tried them out but had no interest so they were scrapped within 2 years.

Sorry, I thought it was O scale being on this forum. Beautiful model and great paint!

@PRR8976 posted:

Looks like a Keystone number plate on the front of the smoke box (at least it looks like it from the one photo showing the front), you have the round PRR cab windows... Very nice!

Tom

It does indeed have a keystone - I should have gotten a pure head-on shot (maybe I will later). I have thought about attacking it and trying to put a better "driver section" under it, plus a 4-wheel pilot truck, yielding a streamlined "Pennsylvania Hudson", but I'm not sure that is legal.

@up148 posted:

Sorry, I thought it was O scale being on this forum. Beautiful model and great paint!

@up148 In the Photo and Video Albums forum, unless about specific items, most topics have all scales in them.  This topic has lots of HO.

@D500 posted:

It does indeed have a keystone - I should have gotten a pure head-on shot (maybe I will later). I have thought about attacking it and trying to put a better "driver section" under it, plus a 4-wheel pilot truck, yielding a streamlined "Pennsylvania Hudson", but I'm not sure that is legal.

Not only legal but would be placed in the P class of locomotives.  PRR always needed proper P1-P4 locomotives to get the P5 electric.  I think it is a cool build.

First 'road test' of some recently assembled engines:

PRR DD-1 electrics:

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-esmL3EwUUo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj9GFGuC9XI

GN Z-1 4 unit box cab electrics 45 car freight:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZQiLHccjTc

Winter scene at Glacier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZAReNPP-Ro

Well, brass in any scale is always a joy IMHO. I just didn't know this thread existed. Glad I found it.

PM'ed a couple engines.

SP&S Z-8 4-6-6-4.

Tender was shorting and repaired.

Video:

Freight drag at Tye:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF4H3Ll6ooA

==========

C&O H-8 2-6-6-6.

Wasn't moving.  Finally, figured out that I just needed to reload the engine address.  Unusual to lose that!

'yard test'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLN1dsVWBtM

@samparfitt posted:

PM'ed a couple engines.

SP&S Z-8 4-6-6-4.

Tender was shorting and repaired.

Video:

Freight drag at Tye:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF4H3Ll6ooA

Annoying photo. Why, you ask?

Several years ago I bought a brass, lightly-used 3rd Rail/Sunset GN Z-6 Challenger. I have 072 curves on my 3RO Hi-rail layout, so big 3RO steamers can be accommodated.

However, there is one group of 3 switches, next to a curve, at the west end of the layout, and along the wall there, that I discovered cancelled the use of this loco on my railroad. Why? That long, long smokebox often used in lignite ("brown") coal-burning locos was incapable of getting past the "sky" at the curve. The building would have had to be lengthened a couple of inches, or a hole dug in the wall, maybe, to allow me to run this loco, and the curve/switches could not be changed without changing the entire world.

So I sold the loco. She no fit the architecture. The Clinchfield Challenger, Southern 2-8-8-2, USRA 2-6-6-2 clear just fine.

@D500 posted:

Annoying photo. Why, you ask?

Several years ago I bought a brass, lightly-used 3rd Rail/Sunset GN Z-6 Challenger. I have 072 curves on my 3RO Hi-rail layout, so big 3RO steamers can be accommodated.

However, there is one group of 3 switches, next to a curve, at the west end of the layout, and along the wall there, that I discovered cancelled the use of this loco on my railroad. Why? That long, long smokebox often used in lignite ("brown") coal-burning locos was incapable of getting past the "sky" at the curve. The building would have had to be lengthened a couple of inches, or a hole dug in the wall, maybe, to allow me to run this loco, and the curve/switches could not be changed without changing the entire world.

So I sold the loco. She no fit the architecture. The Clinchfield Challenger, Southern 2-8-8-2, USRA 2-6-6-2 clear just fine.

You're 'right' about that.

A lot of people think the UP 4-6-6-4 challenger is the largest challenger even though they were the first with it's design:

The UP challenger has that big 'porch' on the front so it's boiler is not as long as the NP/GN Z-6's and Z-8's.

The NP/GN boilers 'fill up' that 'porch'.

Idiots like me have, somehow, accumulated 6 of them: GN and NP.

I guess being in the hobby for over 60 years 'does that'!

William O Scale Stramlined K4.  In the rain

This is an O scale brass #50 UP Turbine that i just received and although I've collected UP brass since the 70's, in all scales, this is the only one in existence in O scale. It was built by two Japanese craftsmen in 2012, for a local Japanese club. The paint, brass sheet relief, brass details and see thru screens is right up there with the best of the OMI Turbines....in fact your would swear it was built by Ajin or Samhongsa. The only give-a-way is the thinkness of the brass sheet used and the under floor drive.

It has "magic carpet" type drives, but built by the model builders and is much more sophisticated and robust. It leaves the interior completely open to add a model of the turbine prime mover,  which I hope to do.

@GG1 4877 posted:

Not only legal but would be placed in the P class of locomotives.  PRR always needed proper P1-P4 locomotives to get the P5 electric.  I think it is a cool build.

Not to turn this into a PRR thread... but....

It is interesting that for the 2-8-2 electric PRR went with L5, and the 4-6-4 they went with the P5

It seems like they were saving _1 through _4 on each class for iterations of steam classes. After the K4, maybe they figured they only needed 4 tries to arrive at their perfect engine for each wheel arrangement.

@Prr7688 posted:

Not to turn this into a PRR thread... but....

It is interesting that for the 2-8-2 electric PRR went with L5, and the 4-6-4 they went with the P5

It seems like they were saving _1 through _4 on each class for iterations of steam classes. After the K4, maybe they figured they only needed 4 tries to arrive at their perfect engine for each wheel arrangement.

All sound good except for the B6 and A5!

Tom

@up148 posted:

This is an O scale brass #50 UP Turbine that i just received and although I've collected UP brass since the 70's, in all scales, this is the only one in existence in O scale. It was built by two Japanese craftsmen in 2012, for a local Japanese club. The paint, brass sheet relief, brass details and see thru screens is right up there with the best of the OMI Turbines....in fact your would swear it was built by Ajin or Samhongsa. The only give-a-way is the thinkness of the brass sheet used and the under floor drive.

It has "magic carpet" type drives, but built by the model builders and is much more sophisticated and robust. It leaves the interior completely open to add a model of the turbine prime mover,  which I hope to do.

The drive is impressive , and follows philosophically the prototypical "electric" (turbine or otherwise) traction motor nestled down on the axles arrangement.

Oddly, the only current traction motor-style "O" model arrangement of which I am aware is on certain moderately-priced Lionel, RMT and former entry-level K-Line diesel equipment, rendering it more "accurate" than the pricier vertical or driveshaft-type can motor architectures.

Beautiful loco.

GN W-1 B-D-D-B electrics.

Imported by Custom Brass models in 1976.

These were equivalent to the Big Boy only the lead and trailing trucks were powered.

These were the largest single engines electrics ever made.

They were 15.5' high and I read where the crew, initially, ducked when they entered their first tunnel.

The GNRY had 2 of these; 5018 and 5019.

The 5018 has a non sound decoder.

I installed a Tsunami electric decoder in the 5019.

Video: yard test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgtGGuCVqu8

I painted this engine back in 2016.

Before:

I acquired the 5018 pre-painted by the previous owner.