Attached are early photos of the Erie Berks without labeling. Sorry for the dark image. I did not take the photos but was gratified to receive them. Enjoy!
Attachments
Files (1)
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Any possibility of a link to the photos or actual jpegs?
Zip file
Zip file
What's the difference between the S3 and S4 models?
Just based on the pilot model photos, differences include driver centers and tender coal board shape. To my eye they look beefier than the NKP berks.
Ed Rappe
Thanks Sam,
Can't wait for my S-3 to arrive. Ed described the basic differences between the 2 versions. Any particular dates that we should be looking at for completion of these models Sam?
Me; I like all the AMC (Advisory Mechanical Committee) Berks!
Steve
Really nice models with a real nice price tag, too, I will bet. Berks are pretty engines.
To answer your questions about the differences between the Erie S3 and 4 here are a few that I know will be on the models. The tenders with the rounded coal boards on the S4, straight on S3 and they were built that way. The booster engine piping is slightly different on the 2 locomotives, the sandome is larger on the S4, the 35 S3's were Baldwin built the 20 S4's Lima products so builder's plates will reflect that along with the engine numbers of course.
In regards to the Erie Berks size they had a larger diameter smokeboxs than the other 6 Berks proposed by Sunset. Other than that you can lay the locomotive drawing from all of them on top of each other and they are nearly identicle in size.
The driver arrangement will be different with the S3's getting boxpok 4th the S4 spoked. Both will have boxpok 3rd. All locomotives were originally built with all spoked but as the models are to be representing late versions the drivers were altered to reflect that.
If you are an Erie fan these are great looking models for a realistic price.JMO
Looking forward to my S4. I'm glad Scott is doing these. The chace of seeing another Erie specific Berk in O scale is highly doubtful. Now fellow Erie fans, help me convince him to do an Erie K5 Pacific!
A K5 would be great but the suggestion we wanted done is another run of Berks of the S2 design. What do you think?
For the record, Erie S4's weighed 468,800 lbs vs 444,290 for a NKP S-3. The Erie locomotives were not VanSweringen Committee design. Probably a beefed up version of Lima's original Berks. The Erie locomotives had larger boilers and bigger grate areas (100 sq. feet, vs. 90 for the VanSweringen locos). The weight of the Erie engines put them in the range of many 4-8-4's. The Erie was originally built to 6 foot gauge, which allowed much more generous clearances and loading gauge - hence these hefty fellows!
Actually the Erie Berks were designed from information developed from the C&O 2-10-2's.
Correct that I meant the C&O 2-10-4's!
Originally Posted by Sam Shumaker:
A K5 would be great but the suggestion we wanted done is another run of Berks of the S2 design. What do you think?
I would probably buy just about anything Erie that Scott produces. Having said that, I run tighter curves and the berk is going to be pushing it as it is. I may have to send mine to Joe Foerhkolb to have him blind the center drivers for me. So I would prefer smaller models if possible. The Erie Pacifics had a lot of variations and the K5s were very handsom engines in my opinion. Max Gray was the only importer to do one way back in the day to my knowledge.
Sam: Please take no offense, but the Erie Engines shared the same trailing truck as the early Lima 2-8-4's. The Erie S4 was built in 1929; the C&O 2-10-4 in 1930......and it had a much larger boiler, grate area, relative weight, etc. Think the C&O locomotive was a fresh design and a radical departure from what had been developed in the past. I might propose (without a shred of evidence!) that the C&O 2-10-4 was derivative from the Burlington 2-10-4 of 1927. But, who knows at this late date, but always fun to speculate!
