Model Power/MRC steam!

[eric220]

I've been having some fun with my 4-4-0 this afternoon. I also spent some time looking it over and running it though some tests. First off, it does have traction tires on both lead drive wheels. Mine is hauling four Athearn 40 foot coaches around without much trouble. The train does stop with the loco wheels spinning on occasion, but these are not the most free-rolling cars in the world, and they've been sitting around for a long time. It did pull them up a 1% grade with no problem.

I worked out some speeds using a stopwatch and tape measure. By my calculations, on DCC:

18% = 1.25 SMPH (this is where it starts moving reliably)
64% = 25 SMPH
100% = 40 SMPH

[Dave V]

It is my unapologetic opinion that the PRR D16sb represents the pinnacle of not only the development of the 4-4-0, but of railroad architecture generally.

I know Mad Max ( @mmagliaro ) Pennsy-fied the first generation of the MP 4-4-0...  But now in the age of 3D printing, what can be done to make this:



...look like this?

[Joetrain59]

On the box it says Made In Korea.
Joe D

[eric220]

The glaring differences with a D16sb would seem to be that the bell and sand dome positions are reversed, and of course there's no belpaire firebox. Adding the firebox shoulders could probably be done fairly easily. It would just be a matter of building them up. Moving the sand dome would be much more of an undertaking. Not only does the dome have to move, but the sand lines running down the side of the boiler would have to be removed and replaced. Of course, one could replace the entire shell, but that could be extremely problematic, given that the shell is where most of the weight is.

[Lemosteam]

The glaring differences with a D16sb would seem to be that the bell and sand dome positions are reversed, and of course there's no belpaire firebox. Adding the firebox shoulders could probably be done fairly easily. It would just be a matter of building them up. Moving the sand dome would be much more of an undertaking. Not only does the dome have to move, but the sand lines running down the side of the boiler would have to be removed and replaced. Of course, one could replace the entire shell, but that could be extremely problematic, given that the shell is where most of the weight is.

And referencing Spookshow's difficulties removing the boiler (integral with the motor unless that changed too), might be quite an undertaking.

Keystone Details already has Dolphin trucks for the Bachmann electrical pickups, I could design some for the MP, headlight and bracket, safety valves, steam generators, air pumps, marker lights, etc.

I am considering doing a belpaire for this (and other boliers) but SW cannot print a feather edge where the shoulders meet the boiler diameter, but this could be manually feathered by sanding.  The whistle dome would be cake to do but it looks like one is already on the model.  The walkway is a huge deal too becaue it would have to be ground away...

A Minitrix slatted pilot would fix the front but those are becoming rare supply.  Not sure about the smokebox details and boiler diameter on the MP unit...

The Cab looks wooden, not sure how the MP version compares ( @Dave Vollmer 's pic is tiny)

In reality to convert this is a yuuuuge bash...

Here is the modernized cylinder version like I would will do someday:



Here is an enlarged shot of the MP loco:

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[johnb]

On the bright side, Spookshow says that the tender pickup has been approved

[eric220]

On the bright side, Spookshow says that the tender pickup has been approved

 That's good, because units are shipping.

[mmagliaro]

The hardest part of working on these to kitbash them is that the shell is made of Kryptonite (something ungodly hard that is even tough to cut with a diamond Dremel cutoff disk).  So it's very hard to remove a dome, grind off the sand lines so you can put new ones on in the correct place, and smooth in the edges of a newly-applied Belpaire firebox.

$200?  Sorry, but right, given that I paid 60 or 70 bucks for the original, $125 is a huge jump to get all-wheel tender pickups that it should have had in the first place, and installed DCC/sound. 

[Dave V]

Yeah...unless a major blowout sale happens I can't justify the $$$ for one right now.  Too far from a D16sb and besides..  By the 50s there were only 3 left and they were confined to the Delmarva.

[mmagliaro]

So now I have to ask...

I rereads Spookshow's review page on this engine, and there is mention of the 2017 version, but nothing about it having all-wheel axle-point tender pickups.  Does anyone have an actual photo of the underside of the new version?

[Lemosteam]

@mmagliaro Mark has not updated the site yet.  Others here have confirmed that it does.

[spookshow]

[wazzou]

Pickup and really wide wheels.

[mmagliaro]

Well, that's good news!  Thank you everyone, for pointing this out to me.

Yeah, the wheels look a little wide.  That might be correctable by dropping in Kato wheelsets, or
cutting some Fox Valley or others in half and stuffing the "hot" halves into the plastic tubes.

But really, unless they cause frog shorting problems, I probably wouldn't care.

The DC version (DCC ready)  street price seems to be around $160 - $170.   With good tender pickups
and the great motor and low gearing this thing has, plus the new traction tire on the driver,
that is sounding like more of a fair price. 

Fair enough that... wait, did the NP have an engine like this?      (time to go flipping through books)

[Lemosteam]

Saw that coming Max!