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

 

As a die hard Reading Company fan I have to say you are doing some commendable work.  I can only hope to be able to attempt to detail my Readings anywhere close to what you have done so far.  Keep up the fantastic modeling.

 

 

I think the engineer's side is complete.  Just some detail on the pilot and rear beam then we're ready for paint.  That might be a while, I'm working on 2 MTH 0-8-0s for a contract job.  Not as thorough a conversion as my E5sa, but I'll be moving the headlight, adding the Wooten firebox, and giving the cab the arched windows.  Maybe a couple other incidental details.  Given my druthers, I'll paint all three at the same time.

 

The dockside looks Great!

 It will be interesting to see these 0-8-0's when you are done!

Well I suddenly have a bunch of T-1s here to play with, so it's time for UPGRADED VALVE GEAR!

 

You really ought to scrape off the cast-on piping, too

Rex, the only cast-on piping on the ("semi-streamlined") T-1 are the sand lines and the throttle linkage... and at this point, they're not worth the trouble of having to repaint the whole boiler.  Some day I may look into building a moving throttle linkage...  some day.

Well that seems to have worked.

 

 

 

 

It's not super-obvious, even in the picture, but there is a slight amount of bodging to make it work.  The main rod has a slight s-bend right at the crosshead, and the piston rods were bent slightly to move them outward (because the crosshead sat slightly inboard compared to the factory piece.)  I also bored the cylinder holes slightly to allow the rods to enter slightly off-center.  None of this is obvious without very close inspection, and frankly I'm surprised it worked as well as it did.

 

 

Basically I swapped the main rod, shortened the piston rod and valve stem, and redrilled and shortened link end of the radius bar.  Then it was just some drilling and filing to make it all fit.   I'll be doing this mod to other T-1s, so next time I'll try to document it more thoroughly.  (Maybe I'll submit it to the magazine?  We'll see.)

One thing I'd like to improve is I need a source for the small rivets that hold the main rod to the crosshead.  I just kind of pounded them back in and put a drop of CA on the back to hold them in.. I'm sure they'll eventually fail.  I'll figure that out, though.

 

A sharp eye will notice that this is not in fact the T-1 I've modified as #2102 from earlier in the thread.  I acquired a second (ok, and a third) Lionel T-1 that had been rewired with a Digital Dynamics TMCC board (and Railsounds4, but that decided to fry itself at random) so I'll be swapping the chassis, at least until I can get around to detailing all of them.  Right now I'm working on modifying the boiler front off of this engine (you may have noticed it missing in the video) but with a mind towards being able to cast copies of it for my other/future T-1s, and also to use when I eventually build a Reading I-10.  I probably will cast in resin unless I stumble upon someone with the capability to do brass castings.  

 

 

I also need to find a source for diamond-plate and extruded mesh in the right scale so I can rebuild the pump shrouds without the Rambles diamond.

 

That's coming along.

So after visiting the real #1251 at the RRMoP, I saw some opportunities to make my #1251 more accurate, so I stripped the cab details and started over.  The slope of the backhead isn't quite correct, there's just not THAT much room for the circuit board.  But now I can open up the gates in the back so you can see into the cab, like it should be.

 

There is obviously a bit of fudging here.  The cab floor is too high, and the backhead is too close to the cab wall, but it's pretty good, considering.  I think it's going to be a pretty respectable #1251 stand-in.

 

Added the walls to the dual coal bunkers.  (Clearly confined to the Reading yards, the company wasn't overly concerned with range on this one-of-a-kind locomotive!)  I still haven't decided how I'm going to handle the unique hinged doors on the back of the cab between the bunkers, if I'm going to model them open, or try to devise a working hinge.

 

This is one of the areas where I have to fudge a little: the cab floor is too high. 

The hinges are somewhat comically oversized, but the gate will be open most of the time anyway.

 

 

Oversized or not, the craftsmanship is exceptional.

Coal bunker hatches: one open,  one closed.

Well, it looks like I'm about ready for paint, but until I troubleshoot some airbrush problems,  I'm putting this one back on the shelf. 

After painting my RK 4-6-0 mod with the last of my last can of Krylon #1613 semi-flat black, I was so impressed with the performance of the rattlecan that I decided to use it on the shop switcher as well.  Since I was out, and stores don't sell it anymore in favor of the "Fusion" line, I ordered some online (2 cans shipped was just shy of $20, not exactly cheap, but worth it.)

 

Anyway, my paint  arrived today, so I just had to rattle-bomb the #1251:

 

 

 

Only a few small details remain, like painting the smokebox graphite, adding coal to the bunkers, fabricating a lense for the rear light.  I'd love to find someone who can print me custom decals for the "READING LOCOMOTIVE SHOPS" lettering instead of trying to piece together Railroad Roman letters one at a time.  Overall I'm quite pleased.

Best-looking rattle-bombed steamer I have seen! I especially like the gates.

 

Thanks again for the GREAT job you did upgrading my Lionel Reading T-1. Reading Steam Guru had painted and detailed her as 2124

Everything but decals.

 

 

It was a long way to go from "close" to "spot on."  Was it worth it?

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone knows anyone who can make custom decals for the lettering on the tank, I'd be very interested. 

I tried to take it for a test run, and unfortunately in my fervor to reposition the circuit board to make modelling the full cab possible,  I failed to consider the circuit board shorting again the inside of the shell.  So... I let the magic blue smoke escape,  and now $33 later a new circuit board is headed my way from Lionel.

Brian.....outstanding modeling. I feel your pain regarding Krylon Paints....Tom in PGH

Looks great, we just need to have some remedial instruction about electricity and metal shells.

 

I'd like to know your painting technique, because you get great results from the rattle can!

For decals, I recommend Jeff Tyrell, http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeyo4bi/id31.html

 

Electricity is confusing, I know. 

 

As for technique, Krylon #1613 is some kind of magic stuff.  My technique is terrible, I often end up with runs and drips and all sorts of horrors when using rattle cans, but this stuff just fixes itself.  It comes out in a very light spray to start with, so I just layer it up.  No primer, no nothing.

 

I do think I painted a smokebox too bright a shade of graphite, so I'll be mixing up something darker and doing it again.

Thanks, I've sent him an email!

 

Thanks but someone sent it to me in PDF form some time ago.