Ok, who all got brass trains for Christmas? Be they self gifted or from a loved one. I gifted myself with 2 engines from the last Brasstrains flash sale of 2021 and one off another group. From BT I picked up a Hallmark FP7 with zinc pest issues in the front gearbox(I have several spare KMT style trucks in my parts bin), and a Red Ball FM C liner with the 3 axle rear truck. Both are unpainted with their original boxes. From another group, I picked up a NJ Custom Brass New Haven FL9 diesel. Both the FL9 and C liner will end up in New Haven McGinnis colors once I find a painter that can handle that scheme. The FP will go in late Milw Rd colors and be heavily weathered. Pics soon. Mikie
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
I picked up a mint Sunset N&W J-1 unstreamlined 4-8-4 from IEHobbies. I also located an excellent PFM DM&IR S-7 0-10-2. Santa Was good to me this year.
oldline1
I bought myself an Alco Models New York Central 0-6-0 that is a perfect match for an 0-6-0 shown in a photo of a bit of St. Joseph, Michigan that I plan to model.
I need to figure out next what was used for road power down the rest of the Big Four branch from there to to South Bend.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
That's a sweet li'l engine, Fritz! I picked mine up in 2016 and installed a DCC decoder and front & rear headlights in 2020:
It's a nice smooth runner but the can motor that came with the unit draws a bit more current than I care for and the shell gets warm-ish after operating for a spell. I may eventually replace the motor for one that's more efficient. I'm very happy with it otherwise.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
emdmikeOk, who all got brass trains for Christmas?
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-Kevin
Living the dream.
Alco Models did a nice NYC G46h 2-8-0 with factory can motor that might make a good engine and probably seen on that branch line. Maybe one of the H10 2-8-2's, OMI and LMB made nice models, obviously the LMB is older and thus cheaper but would need a can motor swapped in. Some of those early can motors had oil that got hard once it dried, worse than the typical varnish when oil dries up. Did you fully clean and relubricate the gear box on that 0-6-0? On any older brass model, a full tear down, cleaning all the original and usually hard/thick grease out, followed by all new grease and reoil is done. If its an early Sagami, some of those did draw more than the typical amps as they were a bit undersize power wise, so they run hot and draw high amps.
I self-gifted this oil burning ten-wheeler:
I wish I could find some brass for B&M steam. For some reason they seem to be very scare lately.
Modeling the B&M Railroad during the transition era in Lowell, MA
Tom-
That's definitely the one- I'm glad to hear that yours is a good runner- my plan is that it will be one of two NYC locomotives on the layout (the rest will be Pere Marquette). It's still in transit and I hope to have it this coming week.
The photo that places a B-11 at St.Joseph-Benton Harbor is a 3/4 shot of #6923 from the rear in the 1940s. From what I can see across the top of the boiler, it looks like the headlight had been moved to the front of the smokebox. Fortunately there are a number of B-11 photos online that show the headlight I need to find or fabricate.
In the towns I will be modeling, the NYC trackage on the south side of the St. Joseph River was Michigan Central and ended on the south side of town, where the line from west of South Bend had been cut before WWII. On the north side of the river the NYC trackage was former Big Four, coming more or less directly northwest out of South Bend. They connected via trackage rights across the Pere Marquette's swing bridge near the mouth of the river.
This will affect my choice of cabooses for each segment, since I expect that the cabooses in use were subject to the predecessor lines' labor agreements. I'll start into that part of the project in a few months.
I'm thinking that the Alco Models G-46h will be a decent choice for the job that comes up the Big Four from South Bend/Staging and takes all of the NYC traffic out of town. I waited too long on one that was available early last week, and someone got it before I would've.
Mike-
I had a G-46h in my sights (from the same seller as the 0-6-0), but waited too long and it slipped between my fingers. I haven't found photos of what was being used on the former Big Four Michigan Division, it seems like a good fit for the rail weight and the amount of traffic on that line. Thankfully, there were a lot of the G-46hs imported (400) and they seem to show up on eBay with reasonable frequency.
I'm expecting the B-11 to show up next week, so I'll have a better idea of the work awaiting me, then. I'll definitely need to replace the headlight to update it to the 1940s. It'll get a full teardown and reworking/updating of mechanical components prior to my painting it.
Given that one of the NYC's biggest customers in Benton Harbor in the 1940s was the Huron Cement dock, it looks like finding and assembling a bunch of the old Eastern Car Works Enterprise covered hoppers is in my future.
Thanks for the tips on the G-46h!
There is one brand new on ebay right now for just over $400, doesnt even have the pilot deck installed yet. https://www.ebay.com/itm/294676623048?hash=item449c186ec8:g:OnMAAOSwhCphzkSN
Fritz,
Thanks for the description of what you are trying to accomplish.
NYC heavy Mikes (e.g. H10a or b) were both used in MC & Big Four service. That would be a monster (and more $$$) compared to the Alco Models G-46h but it sure would look great.
Here's the OMI H-10a. I love the rugged piping and the Elesco FWH over the brow of the front boiler plate. It just screams power...
That H10a has always been tempting.
I recalled that another publication (online) ran a Jim Six article on NYC steam in the post-1915 era about this time last year, and looked it up. There was a photo of an H5 with a caption indicating that members of the class were commonly used on the ex-Big Four to Benton Harbor. It looks like the Overland's H5T, so I'll be keeping an eye out for one of those as well.
The H5T's short tender looks like the locomotive would be a perfect fit for the fairly short turntable in the Big Four yard in Benton Harbor.
I've always had a soft spot for Overland Models steam, since one of my buddies (now departed ten years) used to design models for them.