Heres a old ad:
And another:
Note the dates at the bottom:
Jim
Cary did a lot of other boilers as pointed out. They also did several conversion boilers for Mantua engines like the C&NW J-4 2-8-4 and the General 4-4-0 as well as USRA Mikes and Pacifics. They were great boilers adding a lot of weight to some of the mechanisms.
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
I know Bowser retooled their I1 boiler in the late '90s or very early '00s so it was basically dead-on. I saw one of their test shots in person. I'm sorry that I never bought one before they shut down production and scrapped the molds.
A bit of history: When Penn Line introduced their Decapod, they used the original K4s boiler, which was too thin. Cary started out in the late 1950's or early 1960's by producing a Decapod boiler that was intended to be a correction for that too-thin boiler. Actually, they also had an earlier Harriman Mikado boiler that was intended to fit a Penn Line or Mikado chassis to create a Mikado of the U.P., S.P., and other roads. That Mikado boiler is very rare. Over the years the Cary Decapod boiler underwent some production changes including versions with cast-in boiler front and versions with separate boiler front.
In the early 1960's, Linn Westcott published a multi-part Model Trains Magazine series on using the Cary boiler to create a correct PRR I1sa 2-10-0.
Cary produced other re-fit kits including boilers for PRR K2s/K3s, N1s, M1a (or M1?) and a cylinder saddle to model the PRR's K5 4-6-2 or M1a 4-8-2.
Eventually, both Cary and Penn Line were acquired by Bowser, and I think the Bowser 2-10-0 eventually was sold with a more accurate boiler, which probably had its origins in the Cary product. I'm sure you can cobble a very presentable I1sa together using a combination of Cary, Penn Line, and Bowser parts, but the various production changes over the years might require some creativity to correctly marry the various components together. If you use an original Penn Line or Bowser frame, the wheelbase will be too long. I would suggest that anybody attempting the conversion should find Linn Westcott's original articles and adjust his suggestions according to the available parts from Penn Line, Cary, Bowser, and more recent aftermarket suppliers.
Tom
P.S.: Sandusky, see my P.M.
As far as I know, the only boilers offered by Cary (now Bowser, but like Bowser, out-of-production) were the light and heavy USRA boilers for Mikes and Pacifics.
I suggest that you contact Bowser directly, either by 'phone or e-mail. I've found them to be very friendly and helpful and they're probably the ones best equipped to give you accurate information for your situation.
Wayne
Guys-
I'm trying to get a full-size boiler for my Bowser Decapod, but have been presented with the notion that when Bowser retooled (from the smaller one) the new boiler was not a retrofit for the older mechanism, but that the Cary boiler will is. I have no first hand experience with these, can anyone corroborate?
Mike