Mason Bogie kit bash

[PVT Kanaka]

Great progress, Bill!   She is going to look great pulling a load of snow birds to the beach!

[chocho willy]

[PVT Kanaka]

Bill,

Thanks for the detailed answer and accompanying pictures.  I have to digest it but, in short, it begins with a prototype, continues with a detailed knowledge of what's available (possibly the trickier part), and ends with craftsmanship.  Along the way comes the cost assessment of time and dollars relative to effort and desired outcome.  

 

I recently was in a hobby shope that had a trove of trashed Big Haulers, G-gauge toys, and a pair of lightly beaten LGB 2-axle freight cars.  The prices were right, and there was probably room to dicker.  I just couldn't "see" a project in the parts before me any more than I can "see" one in the e-Bay advertisements.  

I am wondering in part from your description if my problem may be a lack of study of the prototypes.  Hmmmm...

 

Eric

[chocho willy]

PVT Kanaka

Bill,

Thanks for the detailed update.   It fascinates me how you are able to see the finished product in all of these disparate parts.  Do you think you could detail a bit in how you decide what to use?  There are obvious things, like wheel configurations, that dictate motor block selection, but there are other things like what cab will marry to what  boiler and what cylinder will mesh with what motor block that just blow my mind.  It is that inability to "see" how things will come together that really makes me reticent to - at last - make a swing on e-Bay.

 

Thanks!

 

Eric

 

bashing

Eric, how about we just concentrate on 1 part, the cab? I have always liked old steam engines and particularly different styles and one that caught my eye was the 6 driver mason bogie. They were engines that were unique in as much as the driver part articulated under the boiler and this was done with a special pivot joint that was designed by builder Mason. The Brits had something similar I believed called a Farie(sp) and this allowed a powerful engine to negotiate tight turns with out overhang like happens with a Forney ( non articulated). Interesting fact is that Mason believed that engines needed to be powerful but also good looking so all of his creations have very detailed paint and window designs. Let it be know that LGB's Forney is really a mason bogie because the drive is articulate for the same reason that Mason built his to do the same. There are several wheel configurations for different models but all worked on the same principle, there is even a 2-2-4T that really funny looking almost like a toy.  ( I will attach pictures in order with attachments), I came across a Lionel 0-6-0 gold rush special, look at the cab and especially the windows and doors and you will see they are very close except that the Lionel one is missing a set of windows so I got hold of a second cab and determined that by cutting the front off one and the back off the other I could marry the pieces together and come up with the desired results of course there was a little course correction once the cutting started and as well as the cab the roof had to be sized larger as well. If you look closely at the picture of the gray cab you can see the vertical seam between the door frame and back window. Also in the same picture if you look thru the rear window you will see new plastic on  the rear wall as that wall had a circle hole in it for the boiler which had to be filled and I was really unable to tell how much to fill until, #1 had the tender cut down #2 the cab parts joined together, # 3 what parts I had available. The idea was there but some of the parts had to be assembled in order to proceed and then somethings had to be altered from the original plan because of 1 thru 3 above.

   Hope this helps a little and we can get into specifics later on any part of the build, but as a general rule my builds are dependent on what I have available, or can alter to achieve my goal and stay within a budget. If you look at the Lionel green engine you will notice how similar it is to the real picture of the mason bogie. This because the Lionel was copied by kalamazoo builders for Lionel with the mason bogie used as a guide. My selection of drive was I needed a 6 driver model and I had a LGB 2080s that was already apart + I had two LGB spreewald one of which was real ruff, so that is the one I picked + the fact the 2080 had sound and was worth some money if I ever decided to sell it. Hope this removes some of the mystery of a bash, if not we will continue Bill 

[PVT Kanaka]

Bill,

Thanks for the detailed update.   It fascinates me how you are able to see the finished product in all of these disparate parts.  Do you think you could detail a bit in how you decide what to use?  There are obvious things, like wheel configurations, that dictate motor block selection, but there are other things like what cab will marry to what  boiler and what cylinder will mesh with what motor block that just blow my mind.  It is that inability to "see" how things will come together that really makes me reticent to - at last - make a swing on e-Bay.

 

Thanks!

 

Eric

[chocho willy]

  Started a new project of building a 2-6-6T Mason Bogie out of existing train parts. Started with a Lionel gold rust 0-6-0 engine and a extra cab, a LGB spreewald 2-6-0 engine and a eztec tender. I pieced the cab to make it look like the ordinal mason bogie and extend the roof. Cut all the extra plastic material off the spreewald chassis and chopped and shortened the tender body. I have added rivet detail using Mirce model air plane rivets and being as they are flat rivets I raised them by adding a drop of gel super glue to each, a little time consuming, but still much faster than adding each rivet individually. So far I have gotten the cab, and tender body completed with paint that matches my passenger cars, and road name lettering that I did on a cameo silhouette. Added real coal to the to the tender and the only thing left to do on it is to pick a number for the side of the tender body that will be placed in the large open area.

  Have shortened the chassis of the spreewald and added the gold rush special cowcatcher + added rivet detail to the smoke box. Purchased 1 1/2" tubing for the boiler from Plastruct. Replaced the European engine cylinders with American style walschaerts. It is surprising how much of the Lionel engine I will be using but if you take the time to read (www.npcrr.com/Articles/PhilJensenStory/ThePhilJensenStory.pdf) 

but understandable when Phil Jensen was responsible for much of most US manufactures designs. Plan on articulating the motor chassis the same way as LGB did their Forney which is really a 2-4-4T mason bogie not a true Forney, LGB did it so the engine would negotiate their 4' diameter track. I will up date this thread as I progress, Bill