BLI's Canadian Pacific 2-8-0

[BATMAN]

I lost all my R/C planes along with all related materials in our recent crawlspace flood. So to help calm my nerves I thought I might treat myself to BLI's Canadian Pacific 2-8-0. I believe these were used a lot as pushers in the Rockies and as my layout is based on a Rocky Mountain pusher station it will fit right in. 

They do not have the all-weather cab and I suspect the Rapido version will have it when it comes out, but I will be long dead by then. Can some of our experts point out any discrepancies the BLI has when compared to the actual C.P. prototypes? After going through a lot of old pics looking at the C.P. ones there are differences just between the different C.P. 2-8-0s Even all of theirs did not have all-weather cabs. It is the more technical accuracies I wonder about, are they close enough?

Thanks in advance. 

 

[riogrande5761]

Dang, and R/C is an expensive hobby.  A crawl space seems like a risky place to store expsive toys.

RE: Rapdio, oh ye of little faith.  So money burning a hole in your pocket eh?   Beware of expensive foobies - maybe some experts from the great white north can save you some CND dollars ... or ... help you spend them! 

[selector]

Brent, firstly, I am very sorry to learn of your flood. In view of other priorities you might be dealing with in the coming months, this would have been very disappointing.

A quick gander through the various photos on fallenflags for the type shows a number of inconsistencies.  The tender is the obvious one, but the stacks are wrong on the BLI version, the headlight is correctly positioned, but needs a flat cowling or hood, and the stirrup drop, the long curved one from the front cab floor, is not present on the BLI version.  Also, the BLI version has the usual/common side-barrel check valves for the feedwater inlets, but the real versions mostly had a top-mounted one just behind the stack.  Additionally, the safeties are mounted immediately in front of the cab on the prototype, but the BLI version has them more forward and not either on a suprisingly large dome or cowled with flat angluar sheets of steel.

Other than those more obvious details, BLI did a pretty good job...considering they had to meet some kind of critical appraisal from a wide variety of road fans for this issue.

Here's a sample image showing some of the problems:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/cp/cp-s3716d21.jpg

 

[BATMAN]

riogrande5761

Dang, and R/C is an expensive hobby.  A crawl space seems like a risky place to store expsive toys.

I always say that I spent much more $ just driving back and forth to the R/C Airfield than I ever do on trains. I flew for years and never crashed one. 

Our crawlspace is 40" high and has lighting and a cement floor. It has always been warm and dry since the house was built in 1988. It was a pipe out on the street that got plugged and caused the backup. We should come out of this $1000s ahead as the restoration company took three truckloads of contents out. My wife lost 1000s in horse tack alone. Just three of her bridles are worth $2500.00

The restoration company listed and took photo's of everything and we will put a price to it all.

[rrinker]

 Ouch, I had that happen in the basement of my old house, for much the same reason. The street flooded which backed up the pipe leading from my downspouts. However, the street never would have flooded had the idiots in the public works not tried to alter the course of a stream a block away from my house so they could fill in the field it ran through to make a park sans stream. The water poured out the house end of the pipe and turned one of my basement well windows into an aquarium, complete with frog (yes, there was a frog swimming in it). Casement basement windows, while strong, are not water tight, adn the water started running in around the edges of the window frame - pouring straight down onto the CRT monitor for the servers I had in the basement. Which was powered on at the time. Thinkign ahead, I had the servers elevated about 4" off the basement floor on a platform I built from treated lumber, so the servers were OK. I wasn't about to touch a soaking wet CRT, so I just yanked the plug out of the wall. Luckily all that got damaged was that monitor, the keyboard, mouse, and the desk it was all sitting on. A few boxes sitting on the floor got their feet wet but none of the contents was damaged. No layout in that house but the area I was planning to use was on the opposite side of the basement and never even got damp. No windows in that section, either.

                                 --Randy

[BATMAN]

Water can be a nasty problem for sure. At least the water was really clean that backed up, probably because we are rural, no dirty oily sludge running off the streets as what you get in urban settings.

Thanks, Crandell, I googled Canadian Pacific 2-8-0 and found a lot of pic's. I found at least four headlight positions as well as different bell positions. The piping, feedwater inlets/heaters seem somewhat varied, however, my knowledge falls way short in those areas.

Dr. Wayne showed how he did some Canadian style coal bunkers and I always thought it was something I would be willing to take a crack at one day, as well he showed how to convert to an all-weather cab, doable for me I think.

I often wonder if one was to take in all the models of an engine and add in the repairs and alterations done to an engine over its lifespan, how many different looking engines you would end up with, within one RR company. 

 

[doctorwayne]

Brent, I'm sure that doing the modifications you mention would be well-within your abilities.  Styrene is a beautiful material with which to work, and if you want a vestibule cab, it's sometimes preferable to simply remove any protrusions from an existing cab, then build right over it.   This leaves the original mounting system intact, and provides a strong base on which to build.  Rivet decals are an easy and effective way to restore those details, and pretty-well any locomotive or tender details you might need are available from Cal-Scale (Bowser) and Precision Scale.  Both companies have extensive lines of brass parts originally made for the Asia brass builders, and nowadays, have some of the same parts also available in plastic.

If you wish to try such a kitbash, I'd suggest checking on-line for railway photo dealers.  I got some CNR locomotive photos from the late Al Paterson, specific to some locomotives I want to build, matching CNR prototypes, and was able to get views of both sides of some locos.  They're not necessarily from the same time period, but provide enough information to help construct a credible-looking model. You're correct in noting that locos from the same class can vary widely in appearance from their as-built form, and from one another within the same class.  Railroads were always tinkering with new appliances and technologies for locos, and every shop and perhaps every pipefitter in those shops had their own ideas about where piping should be run or the best location for mounting a particular device.
There's an excellent series of books on CNR locomotives, by Don McQueen, which deals, literally, with every steam locomotive owned by that railway, including major modifications made over the years.  While I'm not aware of such information on CPR locomotives, I don't doubt that there's a great deal of information available.

Also, don't overlook brass models of CPR prototypes, even older ones with open-frame motors.  Motor replacement is easy and you may find exactly the model you're seeking, and at affordable prices.

I recently got two such CNR locos in an estate sale, each for under $200.00, and a friend picked up six larger ones, also at reasonable cost.  I've already re-painted four of his, and am working on the other two.  One of mine is in the paint stripper now, while the other was bought unpainted.  Both of mine will be modified to represent particular prototypes.  

While some modifications to brass can become rather involved, sometimes only simple changes are needed to match a photo.  This CNR class O-18-a 0-6-0 was given to me by a friend - he claimed that it didn't pull enough cars for his needs.

I re-numbered it to match a prototype used in my hometown of Hamilton,  and changed-out the original single cylinder air compressor (protoypical when built) to a cross compound type (as seen in the prototype photo), and then re-painted it.  It had an open frame motor, which ran well, so I replaced the magnets with rare earth ones from MicroMark, and added some weight to it.  (I run DC, so no need for a can motor.)  I had already added all-wheel pick-up to it for use on my friend's layout. When he came for a visit, I started it up to show him how easily  it handled 20 freight cars, most heavier than NMRA recommendations and most with not especially free-rolling trucks.

While he was duly impressed, he declined my offer of its return (mostly, I think, because in the interim, he had picked up a pair of unpainted brass B&O 0-8-0 models.  I had added weight and all-wheel pick-up to those, too, along with custom paint for his freelanced road, and they could easily out-pull my little 0-6-0.

I'm fortunate to have one of the few hobbyshops in the Niagara region, Just Train Crazy, only a couple of miles down the road from me.  The owner, Peter Howie, does get estate lots at times, and I'd be happy to ask him to keep an eye out for a CPR Consolidation.  If you're interested, drop me a PM.

Wayne

[BATMAN]

 Thanks, Wayne, I will be calling on your expertise when the time comes.

I have surprised myself at how proficient I have become with an airbrush with just some practice. It is like learning to play a musical instrument with practice being the keyword. Also, the purchase of various cutting tools makes precision cutting a whole lot easier and this alone can boost one's confidence level. 

There seems to be an abundance of brass for sale out here on the coast. I recently was in a shop and a businessman came in and spent a small fortune buying several brass loco's to take back to Toronto with him. At some point, I will take that plunge, however, the projects are lining up and I need to show some willpower and resist buying more projects.

What is the most (real life) kitbash done to a prototypical locomotive you have seen? Any photo's

Thanks again.

[doctorwayne]

About the only one that I can think of, and have a photo, is CN's "Sweep", a melding of an SW1200RS (one of my favourites) and a geep...

The 7104 takes on a bit of an FM-ish air with that high-looking hood.

This one would be very do-able in model form, too, as Rapido has the SW1200RS locos in various versions.

Wayne

 

[DrW]

BATMAN

What is the most (real life) kitbash done to a prototypical locomotive you have seen?

Santa Fe's "Beep"

http://atsf.railfan.net/beep/

JW