Bowser Pennsy 0-6-0 kit

[jon grant]

Hello all.

I received a Bowser kit a few weeks ago for a Pennsy B6 0-6-0. With the freight cars and crane, that I had been working on, out of the way, I decided to give it a whirl last week.

As kits go, the white metal parts had very little flash and mould pips to remove, and there were lots of nicely cast brass detailing parts included in the kit, all bagged up and numbered for the different stages of construction.

The first part of construction involves getting the loco complete enough to test - for up to 10 hours. This was pretty straight forward and the only daunting part in this section was rivetting the rods together. This is made all the easier by the inclusion of the rivet tool in the kit - ie the chunk of shaped metal that you knock with the hammer to splay out the rivet.

The only soldering involved was to attach 2 wires to the motor, and the only gluing is to attach a couple of shaped side frames to the chassis. All the rest is done with screws and rivets.

Here is the loco at the testing stage. The metal has been burnished with a fibreglass pen.

I ran the loco round the test track for approximately 6 hours before adding any of the loco details to run in the motor, check for binding in the gears and rods, and generally test the loco. I will be giving it at least another 4 hours before even thinking about adding DCC and sound.

Next for the loco detailling

Jon

[jon grant]

With the loco running quite smoothly and quietly, I felt I could now add the detailling parts. These are all made from either brass castings, turnings and/or wire rod. It was relatively easy to glue the parts into the pre-drilled holes in the loco body.

 

After the metal was burnished again, I sprayed on some grey undercoat (from an auto spray can)

Now to hand paint the chassis, wheels and rods.

Jon 

[topcopdoc]

Hi Jon,

Nice job on the 0-6-0, would like to see it when it is finished.

I built the Bowser T1 and have about 6 more still in the boxes waiting to be built.

Doc

[nbrodar]

Looks great.   I can't wait to see the finished product.

Nick

[tomikawaTT]

Nice!!!

Kind of reminds me of the first 'easy to assemble' kits I ever tackled, half a century or so ago.  (I can see the 'is this available RTR in my road's paint scheme' folks diving for cover now!)

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[lvanhen]

Jon, an excellent job and tutorial on the kit!!  If anyone was hesitant about buying one of those Bowser kits, this should allay their fears!!

[loathar]

SWEET! Are all the brass details available as a kit or did you have to buy them all separately?

[SteamFreak]

Awesome work and tutorial, Jon. Those brass castings look fantastic. I notice they're blackening the wheels and running gear, too. Does it come with a can motor, or are they still using the open frame?

It's good to know that there's minimal flash. An old Mantua kit I built was lousy with it, to the point that the steamchest was webbed. I read somewhere that their kits weren't like that in the beginning, but the molds must have worn after years of production.

[jon grant]

SWEET! Are all the brass details available as a kit or did you have to buy them all separately?

All the brass fittings - bar three handrail knobs, used for some of the piping - were in the kit. This wasn't a problem as I have ample spares, having built many white metal and brass kits for my British layouts.

 

There is also a three man crew in the box - 2 sitting and one standing, which is a nice touch.

Jon

[jon grant]

Those brass castings look fantastic. I notice they're blackening the wheels and running gear, too. Does it come with a can motor, or are they still using the open frame?

The brass castings appear to be lost-wax castings and are excellent.

There is a can motor and solid, 2-piece gearbox, which was a joy to fit. I have had so many problems with other kits in the past, trying to get the gears to mesh properly - usually solved by adding small paper shims under the motor and messing about with the height/angle of the motor shaft.

Jon

 

[jon grant]

I have now slapped on the first coat of paint. The green I mixed is lighter than the PRR recommended shade because I will be going for a weathered appearance similar to this one on Fallen Flags

PRR 0-6-0

Here are the first photos of the painted loco

Now to repaint a couple of areas such as the pilot and the wheels that should be a bit greener.

Jon

[tatans]

Nice job !  NICE LOCOMOTIVE !   One of my favourites, I posted a note to show photos of yard goats, 2 responses, I guess they don't rate up there with "big boys''

[Tjsingle]

I have now slapped on the first coat of paint. The green I mixed is lighter than the PRR recommended shade because I will be going for a weathered appearance similar to this one on Fallen Flags

PRR 0-6-0

Here are the first photos of the painted loco

Now to repaint a couple of areas such as the pilot and the wheels that should be a bit greener.

Jon

Is it hard to build ?

Great work!!!!!

Tjsingle

[jon grant]

Is it hard to build ?

 

It is pretty straight forward if you have a bit of experience with metal kits in general. Most of the major assembly is screw-fit and straight forward. The only daunting bit is rivetting the rods together, something I havent really tackled before now.

Jon 

[SteamFreak]

She's beauty-ous, Jon! It shows that even in the age of high-tech RTR, there's still a place for classic metal kits like these. I'm sure she'll have no problem shoving any cut of cars, unlike some of her plastic brethren.

A separate gearbox is always a huge plus, especially if you ever want to upgrade the motor. I installed a Helix Humper in an old Mantua 0-6-0 shifter, but the plastic mount flexed enough that the worm was able come out of mesh under load no matter how I shimmed it.

[gmcrail]

I have now slapped on the first coat of paint. The green I mixed is lighter than the PRR recommended shade because I will be going for a weathered appearance similar to this one on Fallen Flags

PRR 0-6-0

Here are the first photos of the painted loco

Now to repaint a couple of areas such as the pilot and the wheels that should be a bit greener.

Jon

 

Jon, you've done a great job of building that switcher, and I really hate to rain on your parade, but Pennsy switchers were not green, they were black.  Pennsy's DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) was used only on their passenger locomotives.  Freight and switch engines were black.

That's a great tutorial on building a Bowser kit.  An added piece of information - Bowser owns Cal-Scale, which is why their brass castings are so nice. Their Delux kits are really nice to build.  Very good castings, and all the detail mounting holes are pre-drilled, so really all you need is some very basic tools (jeweler's files, screwdrivers, a small hammer) and a bit of glue (I generally use CA) and you're in business.

[Darth Santa Fe]

Very nice work! You're going to have one fantastic switcher when this is all done!

I have the A-5 0-4-0, which has a very similar construction to the B-6. The can motor drive is smooth and quiet as can be, and since I used a few Kadee centering springs to give it all-wheel electrical pickup, it can go right through switches like a switcher should.

[Lillen]

Exceptionally beautiful.

 

Very inspiring.

 

Magnus

[jon grant]

Jon, you've done a great job of building that switcher, and I really hate to rain on your parade, but Pennsy switchers were not green, they were black.  Pennsy's DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) was used only on their passenger locomotives.  Freight and switch engines were black.

Thanks for that - this modelling lark is chock full of pitfalls.

I intend to weather the loco in similar fashion to the linked photo in Fallen Flags, where it is difficult IMO to tell just what the base colour actually is.

Jon 

 

[dti406]

 

Jon, you've done a great job of building that switcher, and I really hate to rain on your parade, but Pennsy switchers were not green, they were black.  Pennsy's DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) was used only on their passenger locomotives.  Freight and switch engines were black.

That's a great tutorial on building a Bowser kit.  An added piece of information - Bowser owns Cal-Scale, which is why their brass castings are so nice. Their Delux kits are really nice to build.  Very good castings, and all the detail mounting holes are pre-drilled, so really all you need is some very basic tools (jeweler's files, screwdrivers, a small hammer) and a bit of glue (I generally use CA) and you're in business.

I do believe you are incorrect, all PRR locomotives were painted DGLE and in the the 1930's they were painted DGLE, Black, Red Oxide, and Graphite were needed. I have the paint specification of the mechanical department and DGLE was the color for all locomotives, freight or passenger.  The green tint probably showed up more on the passenger power as they were washed more often.

Regards

Rick

[jon grant]

I have now added the decals and weathered the green down to a grubby finish. There are still a few details to go on - loco number on the roundel, crew, windows and sunshade, and some real coal in the tender.

I have been looking at how to fit the sound decoder and speaker into the model and am currently toying with cutting off the posts that hold the tender trucks, building a false floor to mount the trucks and speaker, and housing the decodr in the vacant shell.

I also intend fitting electrical pickups to all wheels for smoother operation at slow speeds. The lighting will be by LED, if I can get the metal stems isolated and bent to shape inside the brass casting.

Jon

[gmcrail]

 

Jon, you've done a great job of building that switcher, and I really hate to rain on your parade, but Pennsy switchers were not green, they were black.  Pennsy's DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) was used only on their passenger locomotives.  Freight and switch engines were black.

That's a great tutorial on building a Bowser kit.  An added piece of information - Bowser owns Cal-Scale, which is why their brass castings are so nice. Their Delux kits are really nice to build.  Very good castings, and all the detail mounting holes are pre-drilled, so really all you need is some very basic tools (jeweler's files, screwdrivers, a small hammer) and a bit of glue (I generally use CA) and you're in business.

I do believe you are incorrect, all PRR locomotives were painted DGLE and in the the 1930's they were painted DGLE, Black, Red Oxide, and Graphite were needed. I have the paint specification of the mechanical department and DGLE was the color for all locomotives, freight or passenger.  The green tint probably showed up more on the passenger power as they were washed more often.

Regards

Rick

You may be right, Rick, and I will have to do some more research.  For the present, I stand corrected.  I'm sure I read somewhere in one of my Pennsy books that the freight locos were black, but that, too, may have been incorrect.  I wonder where the black was used - maybe on the running gear?  And incidentally, the Graphite wasn't a paint, exactly.  It was a mixture of powdered graphite and heavy oil.  Brushed on (and not always too neatly, at that), the oil evaporated, leaving the graphite coating.  It was a rust preventative.   The best emulator I've found for that is Neolube.  It's a suspension of powdered graphite in alcohol, and when the alcohol evaporates, the graphite is left.  Nothing models the real thing like the real thing...

[dti406]

Gary,

In the locomotive painting guide of 1929 all locomotives were painted as follows:

DGLE: Boiler, Drivers, Cab, Pilot, Trailing Truck, Pilot Truck, Tender Tank

Black: Loco & Tender Frame, Pilot and Trailing Truck Wheels, Running boards, Tender Trucks and Wheels.

Red Oxide: Tender Coal Space and Deck. Cab Roof and final coat of 50% Red Oxide & Black

Graphite on Smokebox and Firebox.

Orange Cab Sashes.

I prefer Scalecoat Graphite and Oil for use on my engines.

I had given Jon the above an another forum.

 

Rick 

 

[ndbprr]

The only change I am aware of is that around the 40's the orange sash was eliminated.

[jon grant]

I have racked my brains to try and fit the decoder and speaker into the tender, annoying because I have fitted larger decoders into smaller tenders. I finally decided to cut off the metal truck posts and drill out the coal load. I just wish I had done it before painting, as the casting got really hot in the process, even with a heat sink.

First up, the drilled out tender with one of the posts removed

The wired up loco, less lamp wires

A new floor to hold thetrucks and speaker

I also fitted some additional electrical pickups to the loco wheels so that all 6 drivers pick-up the juice.

Jon

[Autobus Prime]

Jon:

Great work. That's a fantastic kit. When you can build something that great from it, and have fun doing it, and not even spend a whole lot, how can you go wrong? It should pull really well, too.

The grime looks great. When you look at the evidence, really, PRR loco colors often seemed to be nothing more than primer for the final finish coat of grubby dirt. That goes for a lot of late steam, but it sometimes seems like the Pennsy elevated it to a fine art.
I really like this thread. I was hoping to do something like this with my H9, but I had to put both the model and thread aside when RL got hectic (lots of remodeling lately). With any luck, I'll get back to the trains this winter.

[jon grant]

The loco is pretty much finished now. Here is a close up of the additional electrical spring pickups added to the loco wheels for improved slow-speed performance.

The false tender floor has been fitted and sealed to improve the speaker sound.

 

The loco has been fitted with a crew, cab windows and a new set of decals after the last ones were damaged from the heat when I cut and drilled the metal out of the tender.

Now to shoot a video clip showing the loco in action.

Jon

[PRRT1MAN]

 

Quote" Jon, you've done a great job of building that switcher, and I really hate to rain on your parade, but Pennsy switchers were not green, they were black.  Pennsy's DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) was used only on their passenger locomotives.  Freight and switch engines were black. Quote"

I think you are mistaken. All PRR was DGLE. Only the underframes were black. Great job on the B6 Built many of the Bowser kits asn they are so fun to do and then see run. Much more of a sense of accomplishment than just ploping down you cash on a  "plastic" model!