STEAMday Sunday 9/29/2024 edition

Good morning STEAMday Sunday fans, thanks Arnold for getting the steam up this morning. Your B&O steamer and train look amazing running through your autumn countryside. Today I’m showing my Lionel PreWar 226E with a six wheel tender, having nickel journals and a consist of Lionel PreWar 710 710 712 blue on blue six wheel passenger cars with nickel journals.

Here are some photos of my L's.

8041 - 3rd Rail L1s.  Pennsy had 574 of these heavy 2-8-2 Mikados, built by them between 1914-19.  Lasted to end of Pennsy steam in 1957.

9628 - K-Line L2.  Pennsy initially had 38 of these light Mikados provided by USRA in 1919.  33 sold in 1923, remaining 5 lasted to 1948.

Good morning, StDaySun fans!  Thanks, Arnold, for the highball, nice looking B&O steamer!  What kind of car is the last freight car in your consist?

Vacation last week prevented any new photo/video production for today’s post, so I’m reaching back in the archives just about one year for my MTH 2-8-0 Consolidation.  This engine is one of MTH’s finest efforts, in my opinion, produced during the firm’s “glory days”.  I certainly miss the variety of product, backed by high quality, that used to be available from MTH.  I bet a lot of you guys do, too!

John

My steamer for today is Long Island Rail Road B-6 0-6-0 steam engine #170 - shown on my 10’-by-5’ layout. It’s an MTH Railking Imperial model (30-1710-1) delivered in 2017 with PS3 at MSRP $449.95. Imperial steamers have upgraded features not found in the Railking line such as a real coal load, legible builder’s plate, engineer and fireman figures, and tender truck safety chains. In my opinion, these details greatly enhance the appearance of the model, especially when running on a layout, although a look at the boiler reveals cast-in features that are separately applied on Premier steamers. It seems to me that MTH decided to keep (and upgrade) its lower-priced Railking model of the B-6 0-6-0 and sell the tooling for its more expensive Premier USRA 0-6-0. Could MTH think that the sales potential for a lower-priced 0-6-0 is better than for a more expensive one?

The MTH model represents a superheated B-6sb. 238 were built between 1916 and 1920. The engines weighed 180,300 pounds (not including tender), developed 36,140 pounds tractive effort, and had 56-inch driving wheels. Only two such locomotives, including #2015, are known to have run on Long Island.

MELGAR

Here's more shots of my new NYC 0-6-0. For anyone who missed SWSat yesterday. I just got this from Trainz last week and it's already my favorite to run. This is a PS2-5v model that I've installed a BCR in. I still need to test the smoke unit but otherwise after a quick service and cleaning she's happily running the rails.

The model has reporting marks for the Chicago River and Indiana RR. The CR&IRR owned 14 USRA 0-6-0's, # 221-234, they were Class B-62's. Built by ALCO between 1918-1919, there were 255 original models.

Today the crew is swapping cars on the team track. Dropping two loads and picking up two empties.

After checking in with the tower crew, they head out of town to run to the interchange yard.

Bob

Arnold - thanks so much for maintaining a full head of steam to get us rolling on this fine Sunday morning!   I love your choice of locomotive this morning!  The B&O is my favorite railroad!  Your B&O 49er looks great running with the trackage being framed in fall colors!!

Here are some shots of my Lionel scale H7 Western Maryland Consolidation early morning as it's departing  the ready track for an outbound run ...  and later being serviced on its' return run in the late afternoon.   This locomotive, which i purchased new in the mid 2000s  is equipped with TMCC.  It's been very reliable and is a good puller/runner.   I like to pair it with my MTH Premier WM passenger cars to create a prototypical WM passenger train ... which were usually comprised of only 2-3 cars.   Of course early WM passenger were powered with K1 Pacifics and later by K2 Pacifics until the end of steam on the WM.

I'm hoping MTH, Lionel or Atlas  will come out with a Premier WM Pacific.  I've already contacted Scott Mann at Sunset/3rdRail about taking on a WM K2 Pacific project.  His reply was ( paraphrasing here ) 'although it's' a good idea for a project, the cost of manufacturing brass steam locomotives is prohibitive.  If he chose to do it he'd have to charge $5,000. per unit. '   OUCH!!!   He went on to say  that most folks would not be willing to pay that much for a steam locomotive.    

Engineer Flapjack Larson eases out the throttle.

It's now 3:49 pm and the engine has just returned to the Patsburg Engine Service Facility.  Hostler Glen Burnie climbs up into the cab to relieve the crew and take over the seat box and throttle from Flapjack.

Glen about to make the climb to the cab.

Glen now climbs up on the rear of the tender.  Next he'll check the water level.

This shot was taken by the headend brakeman, Truck Buford,  before Glen came aboard.  He wanted to catch the glow of the firebox.  It seems Truck always has a Kodak camera with him.  He must keep the local drug store's photo department extremely busy developing film of his rail adventures.

A side view of the locomotive and Glen climbing aboard.   Oh yeah that's  Engine Service Attendant, Boyce Adams leaning against the pole.  Since the new diesel electric locomotives have been arriving on the property, he's been a bit upitty and now chooses only to service diesels.  He better not let management get wind of this!  If they do he may be "working from home!"    

@RSJB18,

Bob,

MTH also made a Premier model of a New York Central USRA 0-6-0 (20-3281-1) in the livery of the CR&IRR (Chicago River and Indiana Railroad #231), an NYC subsidiary.

By the time the USRA 0-6-0 was designed (1918) and in service, the NYC required more powerful switchers for its operations and quickly adopted the USRA 0-8-0 design instead.

I think the reason that MTH lettered its Railking and Premier USRA 0-6-0s for the CR&IRR was because they wanted “New York Central” on the tender and the CR&IRR was the only railroad in the system that actually had them.

Lionel’s recent model of New York Central USRA 0-6-0 #222 also was lettered for the CR&IRR.

The Railking and RK Imperial versions of the USRA 0-6-0 locomotives are very nice and a good value. I recently bought a Raritan River RR version. I hope you enjoy your new acquisition.

MELGAR

The "Greenbrier" passes the F3 at the South Main Street crossing at dawn this morning...

Posted this last week, but the photos belong here as well.  My latest find in a Walthers Polydrive brass 0-6-0.  Its either 1940-41 or possibly 46.  Hard to tell as the catalogued version is the USRA design and is not the same as mine.  Overall, a nice build that will be great with some TLC.  It's currently set up for outside 3rd Rail operation but converting it back to 2 rail DC should be straight forward.

*edited to add a photo of this locomotive on my train wall.  Below is my CLW H10 that finally got a tender with the help of a fellow forum member.

Hope everyone had a good  STEAMday Sunday!

Wow, STEAMday Sundays roll around so quickly now, and there a lot of beautiful steamers posted here today. I hope our friends in harms way are doing better today and that hurricane Helene is out to sea. Happy Railroading

Well Im getting a late start today due to work chores that needed to be done first, but here is my latest acquisition.  Only yesterday, purchased at a local train show.  I really like these little 2-4-2 "Columbia's" as they are really a great fit for my little layout.  Not only can they negotiate the turns and clearance but their scale fits the scale of my scenery.  This is the #247, which Lionel still called their "Scout" series.  She is a postwar offering dating from 1959.  She has most of the features of the pw Scout type although she does not have magnitraction.  She does have light and smoke and remote reverse (247T tender did not have a whistle).  One of the best things about the #247 is that she does NOT have the dreaded sealed plastic motor and "slider" contacts.  She has the regular Lionel open motor and roller contacts.  Since I only got her yesterday I will have to postpone any video's of her moving till I make sure she is ready to go although the seller claimed she was already lubricated (we will see).  She has the Baltimore and Ohio blue stripe on her running boards and the B&O name on the tender.  So here she is:

First the side view showing the long blue stripe.

Close up of the boiler casting, modest detail but clean and without any visible signs of wear after 65 years...hey she should be collecting Social Security

Boiler front shot, she is the closed pilot version (OK that makes her collectors value less but then so was her cost)

Here is a view of the Lionel 247T tender.

Well guys that's my new steamer.  I will be trying her out and will let you know the results.

Don