Weekend Update 12/24/17

[up1950s]

[brokemoto]

What that is in the Original Poster's photograph is an auxillary water tender.  That photograph likely was taken some time between 1952 and 1957.  Note the pilot on the water bottle.

NYCS, like many roads, had been dismantling its steam facilities.  This meant that the steam locomotives that were left, had to go longer distances between fuel and water stops.  Note the beefed up coal boards on that NYC F-Class.  In addition to dismantling coaling facilities and water towers, the NYCS, like many roads, also dismantled turntables on their branch lines.  Many of the turntables were old, anyhow, and if they needed repair, the railroad simply was not willing to spend the money to fix them.  As a result, there were no turning facilities at the end of the branch lines.  As the railroad could not get the diesels that it wanted quickly enough, it had to use steam.  This required that the steam locomotive run "backwards" either on the way in or out.

One way, the locomotive simply pulled its water bottle and train, did the jobs required on the way to the branch terminus.  It then pushed its tender and water bottle, pulled its train and did the jobs required on the way back from the branch terminus.

NYCS modified a number of conventionally configured steam locomotives in this fashion.  It was mostly F (4-6-0)and G (2-8-0) classes.  This, of course, created premature wear on tyres on the Number Three driver pair.  I do wonder why it did not modify some H-6 instead (USRA light 2-8-2).  Even though NYCS sold a number of the H-6s to other roads, or, they went when NYCS sold off some subsidiaries in the 1920s, there were still a number left in the 1950s.

[tehachapifan]

I got the main handrails along with hand-bent uncoupling levers installed on my second SP SW1200. This one will be #2282...

[dougnelson]

[chessie system fan]

I did some railfanning this week.



The storm then got worse.







That's a Tru Scale coupler on the front.  Makes all the difference, doesn't it?  You don't even think about it until you realize the usual boxing glove is missing.



Not bad for a muggy, sticky eighty degree day.     I came home from work to find that due to a warm front Mobile Bay was blanketed in a magnificent fog.  So I quickly went down the street to the water and propped up the locos (destined eventually for some paint stripper) on a piece of drift wood I found and snapped a few pics with some bleached flour.  Now I wish I had helicon software as I had to do some creative cropping.  That'll be the next learning curve I undertake.

[Jbub]

I did some railfanning this week.



The storm then got worse.







That's a Tru Scale coupler on the front.  Makes all the difference, doesn't it?  You don't even think about it until you realize the usual boxing glove is missing.



Not bad for a muggy, sticky eighty degree day.     I came home from work to find that due to a warm front Mobile Bay was blanketed in a magnificent fog.  So I quickly went down the street to the water and propped up the locos (destined eventually for some paint stripper) on a piece of drift wood I found and snapped a few pics with some bleached flour.  Now I wish I had helicon software as I had to do some creative cropping.  That'll be the next learning curve I undertake.

The flour did a good job of simulating cold and dry snow on the engine body.

[Mike the Modeler]

I got the main handrails along with hand-bent uncoupling levers installed on my second SP SW1200. This one will be #2282...

Lookin like another ace Russ. Who is the maker of the horn casting?

[tehachapifan]

Lookin like another ace Russ. Who is the maker of the horn casting?

Thanks! The horn is from Miniatures By Eric...which is, as far as I've found, the only accurate representation of an SP-style P3.

[CR4100]

That is some outstanding work on the handrails.  What size and type of wire are you using?

[GhengisKong]

Thanks! The horn is from Miniatures By Eric...which is, as far as I've found, the only accurate representation of an SP-style P3.

Now if only we can get a P5.....

[tehachapifan]

That is some outstanding work on the handrails.  What size and type of wire are you using?

Thanks! I'm using .0125" phosphor bronze wire on these with the shortest of the GMM stanchions along the side sills. I went with a wire thickness that is similar to many/most stock plastic handrails so that they would fit-in with the fleet. I don't plan on converting all my locos to wire handrails, so I didn't want these to stand out from the rest with extra-thin handrails. Plus, I often think that handrails done in, say, .008" wire look way too thin, even if it is close to the correct scale size (I did one loco with .008" and it somehow looks "off" to me). I also like the durability of the .0125" wire.

[peteski]

Thanks! I'm using .0125" phosphor bronze wire on these with the shortest of the GMM stanchions along the side sills. I went with a wire thickness that is similar to many/most stock plastic handrails so that they would fit-in with the fleet. I don't plan on converting all my locos to wire handrails, so I didn't want these to stand out from the rest with extra-thin handrails. Plus, I often think that handrails done in, say, .008" wire look way too thin, even if it is close to the correct scale size (I did one loco with .008" and it somehow looks "off" to me). I also like the durability of the .0125" wire.

0.0125" works out to scale 2".  I don't know what the actual handrail size is, but 2" doesn't seem unreasonably thick.

[ednadolski]

0.0125" works out to scale 2".  I don't know what the actual handrail size is, but 2" doesn't seem unreasonably thick.

Proto for EMD is 1.25" according to:  http://downunder.railfan.net/ho_dim.html  which scales to 0.008" in N.

Ed

[tehachapifan]

Another reason I went with wire thicker than .008" for the main handrails is that I used .008" for the handrail that goes across the front intake grill and for the uncoupling levers. Those, along with hand-grabs (also I believe are typically modeled in .007" or .008" wire), are noticeably thinner than the main handrails on the prototype, as can be seen here...

http://espee.railfan.net/nonindex/sw_photos/2282_sp-sw1200-bob_dengler.jpg

To me, the .008" looks just right for the railing across the grill and uncoupling levers. Not sure anything any thinner would work or look right. For the main handrails, I could've used .010" instead but the .0125" to me looks really good in this application and, like I mentioned, it's close to stock handrails on most of my other models and is super durable.

[SP-Wolf]

E-7's with the Golden State:




Thanks,
Wolf