Custom Reading Engines: T-1, E5sa, saddle-tank 0-6-0

I have a chessie steam special version of this I would also like to strip and put into this scheme. Any info appreciaTed Mike

    On the Wednesday before York in the TCA Museum years ago, I was in the audience when Richard Kughn was talking about Lionel's new Reading T-1. He said that Reading fans had told him a T-1 headlight had no visor. Mr. Kughn was one of 4 owners of the real 2100. They restored her to better-than-new condition. She had probably acquired a headlight visor by that time, and Lionel draftsmen used it. That was back in 1989, 25 years after the last Reading steam locomotives in service had run on the final Iron Horse Rambles in 1964. Only Reading diehard fans noticed the headlight visor.

    Here is a photo of Lionel's T-1 custom painted and detailed as 2124 in her Iron Horse Rambles paint scheme.

 

And here she is in a meet with MTH Premier Reading GP30 5513. Fortunately, both locomotives are still around.

 

I could be wrong but I think she was Lionel's first scale steam locomotive since the legendary NYC Hudson (700E) introduced in 1937.

 

Anyone know for certain?

If my memory serves correctly, the Reading T-1 and the Pennsy B-6 0-6-0 scale switcher both came back at the same time around 1989.....

If my memory serves correctly, the Reading T-1 and the Pennsy B-6 0-6-0 scale switcher both came back at the same time around 1989.....

This is correct.

The Reading 4-8-4 would be the First scale 4-8-4 Lionel has ever done.

Thank you for the clarification

 

That looks great, where did you get the numbers?  Decals, dry transfers?  I'm also debating painting the boiler face dark graphite.

i've always loved the T1. I think it's a bit too big for the stuff I run, but man, I'd kill for one.  It's 072 curves right?

It runs on O-42 as far as I know.

I guess No one offers what I'm looking for.  Are there any forum-reputable producers of custom decals that would work with me?

I may not have a solution for renumbering your T-1, but let me offer the following:

 

1) Champ Decal Co. (now long out of business) offered O-Scale decal sets for Reading steam locomotives.  I was able to pick up two old stock O-Scale Champ Reading steamer decal sets from a vendor at the York TCA meet several years ago.  I don't remember the vendor's name, however he continues to sell old-stock Champ Reading decal sets for both HO and O scale on e-bay, although he hasn't offered any O-scale Reading steamer decals for a few years.  So, I advise that you should check out e-bay and if you see a seller offering Reading O scale decals, try contacting him to see if he has any O scale Reading steamer decals.

 

2) I tried making my own cab number decals in order to renumber an MTH T-1, however I could not produce a good set of cab numbers with sufficient opacity (this is why I purchased the old stock Champ decal sets).

 

3) I also researched standard "yellow" number sets from most of the dry transfer lettering companies, but I was not able to find a dry transfer number set that was close enough to the right color and font to satisfy me.  Perhaps you will have better luck.

 

4) When renumbering a T-1, you also need to change the engine number on the tender, the number board below the headlight, and the lighted number boards on either side of the headlight.  I was able to find white dry transfer numbers (I believe they are from Clover House) that were close enough in font and size for the tender number and the number board below the headlight.  I was able to remove the lighted number board numbers on the headlight and made my own black with clear numbers decals.

 

So, in summary, the cab numbers will the most difficult to obtain, while there are ways to renumbers the tender and number boards.

 

You should also consider contacting the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society.  http://www.readingrailroad.org/     They may be able to recommend other alternatives for renumbering your T-1.  They also offer books, drawings and other information about the Reading Railroad which might be of interest to you.

 

As for a painting the smoke box front a dark graphite; as far as I know, the Reading never put graphite on the T-1 smoke boxes.  I can attest to this from owning and seeing many photos of T-1's in service, and from seeing them in person in normal service, in storage in Reading, and from riding behind T-1's in excursion service on the Iron Horse Rambles in the early 60's.  However, if graphite looks good to you, that is all that matters.

 

Good luck in your renumbering

 

Frank

Perhaps Graphite was the wrong word, because it implies the silver-colored graphite wash used on locomotives, but what I was referring to is that the boiler face on the T-1s was not painted black (although one or more may have suffered that fate in "preservation" at one point or another.) The T's were somewhat unusual in that the boiler jacket runs all the way to the front of the smoke box, where the metal of the boiler face contrasts somewhat with the black paint.  MTH appears to have gotten this correct on their O-gauge T-1.  So what I was referring to was the very dark metallic color of the smokebox compared to shiny locomotive black.  

 

I'm also wondering how to best tone down the tinplate shine of the side rods in a realistic fashion.

Wowak

 

Nice photo of 2102 in Port Clinton, PA on the R&N.  This is the only time (and for a very short period of time) that I am aware that any T-1 had a boiler front painted other than black. 

 

As I stated, if graphite looks good to you, then go for it.

 

However, if one refers to the book "Reading Steam in Color" by Jeremy Plant, every T-1 in that book has a black smoke box door, and the photos in that book are of T-1's in regular freight duty on the Reading. 

 

I would state that 2102, being preserved, "suffered the fate" of having a non-original color on the smoke box door, since every photo of a T-1 in regular service on the Reading shows that none of them had graphite on their boiler fronts.

I always assumed that the existing color pictures and videos were all from later service life, and the engines were just filthy. That and the vast majority of the color T-1 pictures I've seen have been from the rambles, where black paint IS evident, but it's not proof they looked like that in freight service.  I swear I once saw 2100's builder photo and it appeared lighter in color, but it could be a mental trick since I've seen 2102 in that condition multiple times at Steamtown and Port Clinton.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/...steamtown/shs2s2.jpg

I was never happy with the Champ decal set for Reading steam.
Their numbers (to me) looked like the older style of huge numbers on the cabs back in P & R days.
RDG used 10-inch numbers on the cabs of the T-1, and the rest at that time.

I have used C&O steam number decals, although they are not quite right either.
There was a very limited run of a decal set by Overland (I think) which was nice, and included stripes with the corner ''doo-dad'' for the tender.

Also, for numbers, First-generation RDG diesels used the SAME style and size number on the cab, so that might be an option, if you can find any.
I also agree that the photo of 2100 ''new'' looks like it has dark graphite on the smokebox front. I think paint would have burned off too soon. But... its one of those little details lost to history.
For dull rods, try brushing dull-coat or matte-finish. If you don't like the looks, it WILL come off easy enough. Then try several shades of light grey paint, until you find the look that suits you.
Please post your results.
Anybody else do any custom-paint-jobs on the RDG T-1 ?

(ps. ''Reading Fan'', above, is Pastor Phil, I did that 2124 for him.)

And you did a GREAT job!  Many thanks!

Thanks for the reply Reading Steam Guru... you'll probably like my next (and much more long-term) project,  which is to convert a Lionel USRA 0-8-0 into a passable stand in for an E5sa.  I've always had a soft spot for that bizarre slope-back tender!  Biggest changes will be fabricating the Wooten firebox, removing the extra dome, mostly scratch-building the aforementioned weird tender (and where am I going to find trucks for it?!), other than that it's mostly relocating the bell and headlight and adding some extra grab irons. But I'm getting ahead of myself... I just won one on eBay... isn't even here yet!

By the way, when you say the early diesels had the same 10" numbers, do you mean the Pullman green or the black and green F units?

Here's my progress on the T-1 so far

Also does anyone have the service documentation for this engine, exploded diagram or wiring diagram?  I'd like to put some diodes in line to slow her down out of the gate but I'd rather not have to disassemble if I can do it all in the tender... is the e-unit in the tender or is that just the Railsounds module?

The E unit is in the engine. I just picked up a Reading T-1 at York and Chessie T-1 on Ebay. Both very well priced. They where both missing the the manuals, and I was helped out on the forum here. I will forward you what I have tonight. Looks nice.

 

Henry J

Wowak,

 Here are the files I received. I hope they help you.

Hmm, they're not opening on my smartphone,  I'll check them on the PC when I get home.  Thanks, though!

Here's another question I don't know where to ask... are there any upgrades available to replace the Railsounds 1 with something that at least has a battery so it doesn't cut out when I cycle the e-unit?  I'm not interested in upgrading to command yet (I'm holding out for whoever invents a cheaper Wi-Fi based command system, which I've heard rumors WBB is working on.)

I used a combination of masking tape, 1000 grit sandpaper and Testors/Floquil ELO easy lift off.  First tape around the areas where you want to remove lettering then sand. After you have scuffed the lettering apply ELO, follow directions on the label. I used a soft toothbrush to loosen things up the first go around. Rinse repeat sand and ELO on stubborn areas as necessary. I used automotive rubbing compound to bring back the gloss to the paint prior to applying decals. Remember to do this work with a light hand. I was amazed how well Lionel's black paint withstood the abuse of letter removal. After decal application I masked and lightly sprayed with a matte clear. My results are in the pictures below.

 

Steve

 

Henry, the files opened just fine on my PC, and yes, that is exactly what I was looking for.   Thank you.

 

L&N, thanks for the tips.  I definitely need to mask around the cab numbers, because I don't want to lose the stripe around the cab lettering.  Unless the decals are an obvious mismatch.

latest:  

 

Good God the factory paint is tough.  I didn't have paint stripper in the house so I soaked it in brake fluid and it laughed at me.  Actually literally laughed, which I didn't know cast metal could do.   Anyway the paint I have removed so far was using acetone and a toothbrush.  After it's stripped completely I'm going to glue the smokebox "door" shut and fill the seam with green squadron to correct that glaring error.  I'm not sure if I'm going to try to plug the headlight hole or just smear a bunch of green squadron in there and hope that works.   Also need to fabricate a number board.  I need to find the actual measurements for a T-1 number board, because I'm somewhat certain the Lionel approximation was way too small.

 

That looks much better.  (it's in primer, I know that's not the right color!)

If you look for a spray paint called zinc or cold galvanize it'll be close to the color you want.(most hardware stores)

I didn't use stripper to re letter my engine I just used a rag damp with lacquer thinner
The lettering will come right off . use a light touch and clean with alcohol afterwards .
I then applied a coat of Pledge with Future Shine floor polish . It's an acrylic clear that hardens in about 30 minutes and smooth's out the rough surface of the flat paint .
I use 3M fine line tape as a guide or "bottom line" and slide my decal so it butts up against the fine line tape so I know I have my decal exactly where I want it.

I remove the tape and apply another coat of Pledge. I let it harden overnight and shoot it with dull coat . You'll never be able to tell they're decals and not paint.

David

I plan to paint the boiler face floquil grimy black.

The light is only supported by the wires, that's why it's crooked, but it's already a huge improvement over the factory blob.

It's looking good!  What did you use to paint you drivers? (i.e. Brush, air brush?) Who supplied the light casting? Also, if you modify the electronics, can you let me know what and how? I am considering a couple of options for mine.

For the drivers I brushed on testors acrylic that I had laying around.  The headlight is a Selley #10345 PRR headlight. No electronics upgrades yet.

Also, taping off the cab stripes while I used rubbing alchohol to remove the numbers worked great, until I removed the tape and it peeled off significant sections of the stripe.  Had no trouble using isopropyl alchohol to remove the running board stripes, though..

While the paint drys on the headlight, I'm working on the top of the pump shroud which was conspicuously absent. I also need to fabricate the half-cylinder something-cover that all T1s have (except for 2100, I have it on good authority it was discarded in St. Thomas during what I call "the butchering.") The lighting makes the surface of the boiler face look rougher than it is, in natural light it just looks like casting imperfections.

Not only did using tape to protect the cab stripes backfire, I realized this is still the wrong typeface about 2 minutes after I finished putting them on. More decals to be ordered soon, and then I can start looking for cheap RS-3s to use the rest of these decals on. :/

Did you use blue painters tape or frog tape? That is what I used without any lifting.

 

Steve

So I am stripping the chessie T-1. Using rubbing alcohol, I started on the tender and the chessie logo and chessie system leTtering came right off. The orange and yellow however seems impervious to the alcohol. Anyone have any ideas to remove this color?

I can't imagine that coming off the way you want.  You're going to have to repaint.


L&N, I used Scotch tape. Won't make that mistake again.

i really dont want to put aan additional layer of paint on top of this when I want it to be the original T-1 Black.  any ideas?

3rdrailMike,

 You are probably at a point of having to strip the rest of the paint off. I can't remember the brand name, but lowe's sell's a spray on paint remover. If this paint is as tough as the post war black, you will be 'cleaning' it off with several seperate applications. But the end result will be worth it. Good luck!

 

Henry J

What Henry said.  Once you have it disassembled down to the bare casting, you can apply some industrial strength paint remover.  Of course you'll want to clean the parts REALLY thoroughly before you apply new paint.  The boiler and the tender shell are both die-cast metal, should withstand any chemical you throw at it.

3rdrailMike,

 

Try Testors/Floquil ELO Easy Lift Off. That and an old tooth brush with repeated scrubbings may remove the vermillion and yellow without touching the black.

Otherwise you may have to do as others suggest and use a commercial paint stripper and strip the  whole thing to bare metal.

 

Steve