Penn Line Midget Diesel???

[Darth Santa Fe]

boberv

Is there a site that sells replacement parts for the PL Midget? I like to replace the worm screw.

Thanks in advance.........Bob

 

Check with NWSL.  They might have gears that will fit.

[OT Dean]

Hey, talk about "monikers!"  I was off the 'net for six years (moved to a more expensive apartment and couldn't afford internet) and when I got back on it, a few years ago, I couldn't remember my original screen name had been Dean-58.

I almost posted a reply similar to the one I posted back then, until I ran across it.  Reading this--and Christmas coming soon--sure makes me remember my "big brother Dwaine," as he really came alive this time of year, and he sure was crazy about his little Whitcombs.  He'd run them back-to-back on that short oval on the floor sometimes, but it wouldn't hold enough cars to them justice.  If he was running one, and it derailed, he'd laugh until tears ran, watching it run crooked--and still pulling.  "That little bruiser could pull the side out of a barn!" he'd say, never taking his eyes off it.

He's gone 50 years now, at 37, never knowing how many grandchildren he'd have.  RIP, Bro.

Deano

[boberv]

Is there a site that sells replacement parts for the PL Midget? I like to replace the worm screw.

Thanks in advance.........Bob

[Trainman440]

Now are you talking about the Penn Line D1 or D2? The PennLine D1 had a rubber band drive and the D2 has very sooth Helical gears which apperently ran really smooth! The D1 also has the Motor protruding from the cab. 

Charles

 

[hon30critter]

cssr:

Steemtrayn's post might be interpreted to imply that there is something wrong with resurrecting old threads. There isn't!

As for your dad's 1949 switcher, you have a real treasure there. Why not start a thread of your own to discuss methods for getting it restored?

Dave

[steemtrayn]

At the rate we're going, this thread will have more lives than a cat.

[cssr]

I stlll have the Penn Line Midget diesel switcher that was my father"s first model locomotive which he purchased in 1949 and needs a new motor.

["JaBear"]

cssr

still have my dad"s penn line midget diesel switcher feom 1949 painted in chicago and nortwestern colors it does not run but i kept it as it was his start on model railroading from 1949 until his death in 1996

Sounds like a good thing to have to commemorate your Dad.

to the forum

Cheers, the Bear.

[kbkchooch]

 

 

Love em,,,remotored one of mine,,added a decoder,,,added details,,,,,if I can only get time to finish it!

thats a pic of a prototype loco under it.......NYSW 150

 

[dknelson]

But relevant now that Factory Direct Trains is advertising a tiny Plymouth diesel that is very similar in looks to the old Penn Line Whitcomb, something I mentioned when I --gulp--revived a different old thread about the Penn Line model

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/213012.aspx

Dave Nelson

[rrinker]

Well, 2011...

     --Randy

[Railphotog]

Yet another thread dredged up from 2008!

[cssr]

still have my dad"s penn line midget diesel switcher feom 1949 painted in chicago and nortwestern colors it does not run but i kept it as it was his start on model railroading from 1949 until his death in 1996

[Dusty Solo]

This little critter is sitting on my shop bench being gussied up – or having detail parts added to it. When I’ve finished with it I post pictures of it for you all to take a peek at.

 

She’s a little plain Jane outta the box, but I like it a lot. I bought mine from eBay about 7 years ago, but only this year I thought that I could have some fun by adding some separate detail parts. The loco must be old because the wiring is insulated with cotton weave.

 

I sometimes think about getting another one from eBay when they show up there and that is quite a lot. I’ve seen them listed from 9.95 to over 30.00 with a two loco set selling for over 60.00 just a while back.

 

So be in there if you like them while you still can.

 

Dusty

[Darth Santa Fe]

tschwarz

I have been going through some of my Dad's old trains and I have one of these Penn Line Midget Diesels and I have the perfect place to use it on my new layout I'm building.  The thing is that I am thinking about repowering it to get rid of the old brass wheels.  Any suggestions on what I should use to replace the power in this thing?

It depends on what you're willing to spend on it.

If you're OK with spending up to $100, you can get a customized Bull Ant power truck from Hollywood Foundry in Australia. You can choose from a wide selection of transfer gear or belt ratios, Mashima motors, wheel sizes, and mounting systems. Wolfgang Dudler (wedudler) used one to make a Grandt Line 25-Ton into a very smooth runner.

In a similar price range, you can also get a Flea power unit and auxiliary gearbox from Northwest Short Line. NWSL offers 3 sizes of motors and a wide selection of wheels and axles. The axle gearboxes can be easily connected with a small universal. The Flea power unit is currently under redevelopment though, and it could be a while before they're released again. I've so far been waiting 6 months for mine.

If you want to save money, you can simply replace the wheels themselves with NWSL parts of the same size, and use the old Penn Line worms and axle gears. The Pittman motor can be switched out for an inexpensive can motor (if you want a new motor), and the transfer gears could be replaced with some sort of belt and pulley system or better quality NWSL gears. It all depends on how far you want to go.

[tschwarz]

ARTHILL

Does anyone have oppinions or experience with the old Penn Line Midget Diesel of other small Penn Line engines?

I am resurrecting an old thread rather than start a new one.  I have been going through some of my Dad's old trains and I have one of these Penn Line Midget Diesels and I have the perfect place to use it on my new layout I'm building.  The thing is that I am thinking about repowering it to get rid of the old brass wheels.  Any suggestions on what I should use to replace the power in this thing?

It will be used as a little industrial switcher moving a few hopper cars around at a steam generation plant.  I would really like to get this thing running.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

 

[IRONHORSE77]

I have 3 Penn Line midgets all 3 are slow running stump pullers. Highest price i paid for 1 was 10.00 at a train show.

CHUCK

[PASMITH]

Back in the 50's I had two of these and double headed them one facing forward and one backward. I have no idea what happened to them. When I get back to Memphis I think I will take a look in my attic bone yard.

Peter Smith, Memphis

[Dean-58]

Dave, he didn't know that most industrial Diesel-electrics had exposed drivers, but I did!  He gifted me with a subscription to Model Trains magazine when I was 14, and kept renewing the subscription for my birthday for years afterward.  MT had "A Rairoad You Can Model" in every issue, and there were a couple of them detailing industrial roads using 4-wheelers and even a 6-wheeler, and they all had exposed drivers (inside frame).  Thanks for the prototype photo!  It made me realize that I'd mis-spoken when I called them Cummins locos; as your photo shows, it was a Whitcomb, and that's the way the Mighty Midget was usually referred to.  (Sorry, English majors, about the dangler!)  I had Cummins on my mind because I'd recalled the Soo Line's Waukesha yard switcher, an EMD SW900(?) that had been re-engined with Cummins Diesels.

Dean-58

Duluth, MN

[georgev]

The HO Seeker website catalog reproductions http://hoseeker.net/  have a few pics of the Midget.

Here is one:   http://hoseeker.net/pennline/pennlinecatalog1955pg04.jpg

Note the wheel flanges -- pre RP25.  You could slice cheese with those flanges.  But my first trainset was Penn Line (F7 and cars) and I retain an affection for that line.

Then there was the truly unusual Lindsay "Stubby" diesel switcher pictured on this catalog page:

http://hoseeker.net/lindsay/lindsaycatalogpg3.jpg

Dave Nelson

My how prices have changed.... that Penn Line set for $65.00 in 1955 would cost $517.00 today according to this inflation calculator brought to you courtesy of our gummint... 

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

And the Lindsay switcher for $14.95?  How about $119.00!  Maybe prices today aren't so bad?  

George V.

[dknelson]

The only thing he didn't like about them was the exposed drivers, so he talked me out of a spare pair (for two trucks) of Model Engineering Works snap-on plastic truck sideframes for the GE 44-tonner.

Dean-58

Duluth, MN

Your brother maybe didn't know that the prototypes often had exposed drivers

from this website http://www.jefflubchanskycpa.com/HISTORIC.html

I found this photo

Dave Nelson

[Dean-58]

Are you sure that wasn't an Athearn "Hustler?"  MR did a speed chart for HO locos, back in the late '50s, and they said it ran at a scale 400MPH with its rubber band drive!  My brother owned two of the little Penn Line Diesels, based, I believe, on Cummins prototypes.  They had exposed brass drivers, worm and gear driven, cast Zamak frames and superstructures--and seemed to weigh like a half a brick.  Brother Dwaine loved the little "critters," which seemed to run whether or not they were on the rails, as long as they were getting contact, and he always said, "They'll pull the side out of a barn!"  I believe they did have problems negotiating turnouts, though Dwaine mostly ran them on an oval Snap-Track, on the floor of his Vets' apartment in Waukesha.  The only thing he didn't like about them was the exposed drivers, so he talked me out of a spare pair (for two trucks) of Model Engineering Works snap-on plastic truck sideframes for the GE 44-tonner.

Dean-58

Duluth, MN

[dknelson]

The HO Seeker website catalog reproductions http://hoseeker.net/  have a few pics of the Midget.

Here is one:   http://hoseeker.net/pennline/pennlinecatalog1955pg04.jpg

Note the wheel flanges -- pre RP25.  You could slice cheese with those flanges.  But my first trainset was Penn Line (F7 and cars) and I retain an affection for that line.

Then there was the truly unusual Lindsay "Stubby" diesel switcher pictured on this catalog page:

http://hoseeker.net/lindsay/lindsaycatalogpg3.jpg

Dave Nelson

[Railphotog]

I acquired shells for the Midget, not knowing anything about them, just that it said "Pennline" under the shell.  I shortened the cab on one and powered it with a PFM SPUD power truck, see it in the lead here:

The second shell was obtained some time later and I haven't done anything with it yet.  I've never seen a complete model.

 

[twhite]

Wow, Art, does THAT little puppy bring back memories, LOL!  It was Penn Line's 'kinda-sorta' answer to the Varney "Little Joe" Dockside switcher when it came out.  A friend of mine who was into HO at that time (in fact, I bought a lot of his stuff when I was in high school) had both the Varney and the Penn Line 'Midget' and use to race them.  Now remember, this was back in the days when HO wasn't supposed to stay on the tracks and a lot of it didn't.  The "Midget" had a fearful top speed--probably 500smph--and was quite a little puller for its size.  Unfortunately, when he sold off his HO stuff, I didn't get the Midget (but I did get the Dockside and some really neat Athearn metal cars).  I think his had the Pittman motor with the belt drive, if I remember correctly.  Cute little gadget--haven't seen one in years.  But as I remember, it was almost impossible to gear the little Devil down to any kind of prototypical speed range.  It was a real 'flyer.'  But then, we're also talking about 1952 or so, and reduction gears for a lot of us neophyte HO'ers were still eons into the future. 

Tom

[Georgia Observer]

The Penn Line Midget was my first HO-Scale locomotive.  It was a Christmas present "from Santa" back around 1956 or so.  It would run "like a scalded dog" if you turned the power pack up.  It might still do so, I still have it.  I've disposed of all my other HO-Scale stuff but kept the original Penn Line set"  Diesel, Flat car, Box Car, and Caboose.

Holy Cow, I just realized the thing is over 50 years old!!! 

 Georgia Observer

[Blind Bruce]

My old one had a rubber band drive over two pulleys. Ran very well. Lost it somewhere along the line.

[ARTHILL]

I try to be PC also, but the post just quoted the box it came in. It must be very old. It may be the price is getting too high for my use. Its a KOF I that I really want.

[BRAKIE]

Art,Wow! I haven't see one of those in years..I know it goes back to at least 1950 so,unless somebody change out the wheels they will be brass..I do recall these being finicky runners especially through the older brass switches.

Unless its been repowered it should have a Pittman DC60 motor with a worm driven drive.