What the heck is wrong with me? Std gauge Hiawatha

Nice find, but hope it was really inexpensive.  Please update with progress.

Yes, it was lol  I didn't buy it thinking it was a show piece.  I enjoy the modeler creativity that went into stuff like this.  Certainly not a craftsman build but a neat little deal none the less.  We'll see once it shows up.

Looks like a neat project. Keep us posted.

That actually looks pretty neat, Dennis. Someone with some considerable skill made a decent effort. Hopefully you can bring it back to life.

PD

you are a sick sick man Dennis...perhaps some time with Dr Phil?

Creative, to say the least and an A for effort. Clean it up, get it running and keep it original.

Steamer posted:

you are a sick sick man Dennis...perhaps some time with Dr Phil?

Yeah, my poor wife, right

I think it's very interesting! A nice piece to own.

I know what you mean...mine doesn't mind the trains, as long as she gets equal time at the antique shops, but when I bring home large items for the upstairs.....well all she said about the radio was "it better work"

jim pastorius posted:

Creative, to say the least and an A for effort. Clean it up, get it running and keep it original.

Jim, I like that plan, I'm not sure I like how the builder set of the vestibule connections, but we'll see I guess.  I figure the AF std motor and the trucks were worth the $50 I gave for it.  I am a bit curious as to how it will go around corners the way the front and rear engine trucks are attached.  That might be something that will need to be modified.

Steamer posted:

I know what you mean...mine doesn't mind the trains, as long as she gets equal time at the antique shops, but when I bring home large items for the upstairs.....well all she said about the radio was "it better work"

Let's just say that I had to keep my grandma's stereo in the garage even after I fixed the electronics.  It was real clean on the outside as well.  Finally I moved it to my moms house which is not far away.  But sooner or later (hopefully later) I'll have to deal with it again.

Scratch-built Standard Gauge, cool!  It looks oddly like an AF O Gauge Hiawatha scaled up to Standard gauge.  I recall the scratch-built Standard Gauge DD-1 from this forum a couple of months back. 

Is anyone else out there (besides me) scratch-building Standard Gauge?

Aerogipsy posted:

Scratch-built Standard Gauge, cool!  It looks oddly like an AF O Gauge Hiawatha scaled up to Standard gauge.  I recall the scratch-built Standard Gauge DD-1 from this forum a couple of months back. 

Is anyone else out there (besides me) scratch-building Standard Gauge?

 

 

Kitbashing for sure !!  A 513 cattle car turned into a new lighted poultry dispatch car.

Dennis Holler posted:

I tripped over this just now and couldn't resist.  It is way crude, home made, rough and a bunch of other descriptive words... but somehow it is kind of neat too...  Well, it may be a waste of time, but it was fairly cheap and I don't see me finding a JAD Hiawatha that I can afford so maybe I can bring this hunk back to life.

 

That looks like a great standard gauge project and find. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck.

The observation car looks angry! You better hurry up and get it fixed!

Eric

TCA, LCCA

Nice find, Dennis! Please post photos of the progress, and don't give up on the JAD Hiawatha. It's worth the wait, and the $$. 

John

That is really cool! Can't wait to see how you repair/restore/rejuvenate it.

A bit of polish and it will look like new.

Once it runs, I'd be done. 

My paint loss threshold is about 50% on tin. Plenty of life left there imo. The question would be; Would the paint survive long after the oil dunking and rust removal? For that matter would the epoxies loose grip?

   If pushed to define, Gramps called himself a Lionel collector, not a modeler, but a collector and caretaker of models. The title of modeler belongs to the folks that build things themselves.

  This and trains like it are more desirable to me than anything popped out of, or formed by a mold at a factory because of how it was built.  I'd spend hours just looking, and trying to figure out the hows and whys about it's creation alone.

..I can't see how in managed to turn at all, unless it was run outside on huge turns, or as a straight, point to point, without turning the loco. At first I thought the pilot and trailing wheels might slide on the axle enough on the outside rail of a curve, because of the tube spacer. But that's the only one, and I can see the wheel stops on the lead pilot pair's axle, so springs to allow the gauge to narrow on one side, (springs now rusted away) is another theory shot down. Unless those were changed out by someone, I can't see how it moved pilot/trailing wheels for indoor use either.

Point to point without turning. I'm wondering if that wasn't the case. I'm thinking I read (here) that one of the Beaver Tails did that in real life on one stub line in Wisc. or maybe Minn..

More pictures, more theories, more "junk", more, more, more.....please

Too many projects? That's the last straw....  I want to see a "DH Locomotive Shops" as a regular or semi regular thread, not just the end result.   (you other "scroungers" too ).

Yea, I know. Camera shots aren't exactly what I'm thinking about when on a creative roll either, but I try    

The more I look at it, the more I like it !! The one photo with the engine on a table shows the front truck swiveled pretty good. I would clean and oil that old sucker and run it as she is. Really, really folk art. Bet someone had a good time with it.

I saw the twist, but they need to shift to the side and line up with the drivers in a curve don't they?

But the motor turns. And it turns hard enough slots were cut for clearence. That is unnecessary.

So maybe it was an 0-4-0, or 0-4-2, later converted fully to became a shelf queen?

Maybe thats why the tube is on the #2 axle of the pilot; so those wheels could shift.

A 2-4-2 could twist into a curve alignment too, but the pilot on a 4-4-2 needs to shift because as it twists to turn, the rear wheels (of the pilot) move to the outside.

Few more pictures since it showed up yesterday. The motor runs great, has one bad wheel, I'm gonna use a good wheel from another AF motor I had. I've also started cleaning wheels and axles. No painting though.  Check out the wood frame construction, looks like no glue, just a ton of nails were used. Also, thee are several layers of sheet metal for the sides, no solder either.

that looks great Dennis. Someone had some talent to make that from scratch. I know I couldn't have.

Love it !!  Really a nice piece of work. Keep us up to date.

Steamer- Yes you could.  I have a spare Lionel Standard motor and would love to try but I don't have a place to work.  Some day.

You just need a plan and a vision of what you want to end up with.  Also helps to finish what you start, and that is my main problem. You def do have the talent Dave!

What a interesting find.Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to your progress.

A very cool piece. I'm glad you didn't repaint, the original colors are cool. I would slot the mount for that front truck (or make one that pivots on the back. I might have a bracket I can send you, uses AF pilot wheels, can probably spare a couple of AF axles, I think Henning's has the wheels, which are smaller diameter, would allow it to make the curves.

THis beauty needs to run!

Jim

Looks great Dennis. Definitely some serious craftsmanship went into making it originally. Keep it as original as possible, it deserves to be preserved as is.

Bob