PRR H10 - Who's built one, and what did you use?

[VonRyan]

Hi all, in order to give my search another sense of direction, i've now decided that my loco of choice to be the most appropriate for 1940s and early 50s general freight service and the occasional reefer hotshot is the H10(sa?).

Now, i've seen some pictures on here of some great looking H10 kitbashes, and i'm wondering three simple things:

1 - Who built it/them?
2 - What did you use?
And,
3 - Could you do another one?

My budget to have an H10 made by one of you amazing craftsmen is $120 with a complete max of $140
Plus i already have the DZ125 to give the loco its all-important requirement of DCC, which hopefully (if needed) there is someone who is willing to install it (for free?) if the loco's builder cannot.

Any and all questions, comments, concerns, etc. are welcome.
Also, do feel free to PM me with anything that comes to mind.

Thanks everyone for your time, patients, and hopefully you posts.

Cheers!
-Cody F.

[Dave V]

I have...  Used a Minitrix K4 with a Minitrix B6 cab on a Spectrum 2-8-0.

This was my first hard-wire DCC install and I learned quite a bit about micro-soldering doing it.





I think I saw you'd seen my 2007 article in NTrak Steam... 

I intend to do another one for myself using what little supply of Minitrix parts I have left.  This time, however, I will make a few upgrades (if and when I get around to it!) such as sanding the tender sides flat and using Archer rivet detail to make it look more Pennsy as well as perhaps a Tsunami sound decoder with a PRR banshee whistle.

I'm not sure I'm in a position to do custom work, though.  That said, you can get the raw materials for less than $140 if you keep your eyes on the 'bay.  If I do get around to making a new boiler shell, I may consider trying to make castings.  But I don't want to set your expectations high on that from a timeline perspective.  The Juniata Division has any number of projects at a higher priority that also take a backseat to my work & family life.

[VonRyan]

I have...  Used a Minitrix K4 with a Minitrix B6 cab on a Spectrum 2-8-0.

This was my first hard-wire DCC install and I learned quite a bit about micro-soldering doing it.





I think I saw you'd seen my 2007 article in NTrak Steam... 

I intend to do another one for myself using what little supply of Minitrix parts I have left.  This time, however, I will make a few upgrades (if and when I get around to it!) such as sanding the tender sides flat and using Archer rivet detail to make it look more Pennsy as well as perhaps a Tsunami sound decoder with a PRR banshee whistle.

I'm not sure I'm in a position to do custom work, though.  That said, you can get the raw materials for less than $140 if you keep your eyes on the 'bay.  If I do get around to making a new boiler shell, I may consider trying to make castings.  But I don't want to set your expectations high on that from a timeline perspective.  The Juniata Division has any number of projects at a higher priority that also take a backseat to my work & family life.

I haven't seen your N-Trak steam addendum article.
It's an investment for after i have a loco that actually is appropriate for my rolling stock. 

So at least i know i need the 2-8-0 chassis and the K4 shell.

Just leaves finding someone who can do this before i start buying the needed parts.

-Cody F.

[Dave V]

I can't help but wonder why you're so set on having someone build this for you...  Your own labor is fee of charge and you will learn worlds more about every aspect of modeling while you do it.  At some point you will invariably have to tear a steam loco down to find a bug, whether it's binding valve gear, a wobble, a stall, etc., and once you've had one of these in pieces on your bench and put it back together on your own, no steam problem becomes too hard for you.

FWIW, this bash took a few months of evenings to do (interspersed with other projects), but I would be hard-pressed to estimate labor in actual man-hours.  Much time was spent on milling the weights on the 2-8-0 to fit the shell and on milling out the K4 boiler to fit the chassis.  Not hard if you own a Dremel, just a lot of sand/fit/sand/fit/sand/fit, etc.  I also took some parts from the 2-8-0 boiler (pipes, bell, handrails, etc.) and fit them to the Minitrix shell.

The overall satisfaction of building your own is immeasurable and the knowledge you gain invaluable.

[VonRyan]

I can't help but wonder why you're so set on having someone build this for you...  Your own labor is fee of charge and you will learn worlds more about every aspect of modeling while you do it.  At some point you will invariably have to tear a steam loco down to find a bug, whether it's binding valve gear, a wobble, a stall, etc., and once you've had one of these in pieces on your bench and put it back together on your own, no steam problem becomes too hard for you.

FWIW, this bash took a few months of evenings to do (interspersed with other projects), but I would be hard-pressed to estimate labor in actual man-hours.  Much time was spent on milling the weights on the 2-8-0 to fit the shell and on milling out the K4 boiler to fit the chassis.  Not hard if you own a Dremel, just a lot of sand/fit/sand/fit/sand/fit, etc.  I also took some parts from the 2-8-0 boiler (pipes, bell, handrails, etc.) and fit them to the Minitrix shell.

The overall satisfaction of building your own is immeasurable and the knowledge you gain invaluable.

Well, for one i don't own a dremel, or airbrush.
Plus i've the complete inablility to recreate anything from an example.

It took me 2 whole months to be remotely happy with a sketch of a simple 4 sq. in. area of a projector screen housing.

I have Aspergers Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, and is where there is an increased intelligence, usually within a specific area of interest, yet minimal social skills with others their own age (hence why i associate with many people more than twice my age) and other varying drawbacks. Mine is that it has instilled in me a perfectionism that has inhibited me from recreating things from photos, a still-life, etc. to where if i cannot make it precisely as i see it, i reject it with not one afterthought, and yet someone else could recreate the same thing I was, and it will, 99% of the time, be more appealing to me than any result i could obtain. Though even if I felt i could do better, it's basically an oxymoron since i couldn't.
In a nutshell what i'm trying to recreate from what i see doesn't translate to my hands very well.
Plus i tend to have a deeper appreciation for things crafted by the hands of others.
There has only been one exception thus far and that is a random building that i started to scratchbuild more than a year ago, never finished, and still remains untouched for a little over a year. Will i ever finish it? Probably not since i have no idea where the bits went...

-Cody F.

[Dave V]

I'm sorry to hear of your disability.

I imagine that it would make it very difficult to build a layout let alone a single loco.

I would suggest in the meantime monitoring eBay.  I see bashes from time to time.  Your budget might make things a bit harder though.

[Dave V]

PM me your address...  I think I have an extra resin casting of the K4 boiler that Lou D sent me back in the day.  Gratis for a fellow Pennsy steam fan.

[VonRyan]

I'm sorry to hear of your disability.

I imagine that it would make it very difficult to build a layout let alone a single loco.

I would suggest in the meantime monitoring eBay.  I see bashes from time to time.  Your budget might make things a bit harder though.

It tends to be more of a curse and a godsend at the same time. One i don't have to worry about falling into the same troubles as others in my age-group (i.e. drinking parties and other wastes of time) but at the same time my lunch period is a bit quiet but a good time to read the latest issue of model railroader.

-Cody F.

[chessie system fan]

Are there any H-10 plans available?  Since I'm a B&O modeler, I'm not up on my PRR steam.

[mmagliaro]

Are there any H-10 plans available?  Since I'm a B&O modeler, I'm not up on my PRR steam.

There sure are. 
John W. Dill produced a set of large-format books of Pennsy steam drawings.  Vol 7: Freight Locos, which I have,
has a drawing of an H8/9/10 and one of an H6. 

On-Line,   this site:  http://prr.railfan.net/diagrams/
has drawings of practically every PRR steam loco.  They are measured, so they are good enough to build a model from.

[Chris333]

H10 drawings in the steam cylopedia.

[VonRyan]

H10 builders on the railwire? 

-Cody F.

[SkipGear]

Cody,
 It just can't be done for the money you are willing to spend. A new spectrum 2-8-0 is in the $100 range alone, if you get lucky you can pick one up used for around $50-60. Then you need a Trix B6 to cut the cab off of. You need a K4 boiler for more details, then you have the work of mating them all together and making things fit the chassis and we haven't even gotten to the tender yet.

Just in parts this is close to a $200 project when you get down to all the nickle and dime bits and pieces, plus you want to make it DCC which adds again to the cost.

Most of these guys have too many of their own projects to do, including myself. The only way it would be worth doing is if there was profit involved to help pay for other projects.

[pennsyfan1361]

Cody, I agree with Tony that your budget needs to be higher if you want/need someone to build a locomotive for you. I have been looking for a few days to find a EASY & IN BUDGET locomotive for you. A PRR L2 might be a good loco for you, the Pennsy only had 5 of them and they were not used on lines east. The L2 is a USRA 2-8-2 and looks a lot like a Kato  Mikado 2-8-2 with some small changes like raised head light, add the traction drivers and you have a great loco. Later on you could make it in to a L1 when you have more money in your budget.          Rich

[mmagliaro]

My intent on suggesting the Kato Mikado + the GHQ kit was this:
Together, they will cost you around $200, maybe a little less or a little more depending on how lucky you are.

I know that is over your budget.
But finding somebody to build an engine for you, unless they are willing to almost "give away" their services,
is going to cost a lot more.

If it takes somebody 100 hours to build you the engine, $140 is $1.40/hour, PLUS the cost of the base engine and parts
required.   I don't think anybody would be willing to work for that.  And believe me, when you get into kitbashing a steam
loco, 100 hours isn't that uncommon.

I'm afraid Tony is right.  $140 just isn't nearly enough budget for a custom job.