I recently purchased the book Model Railroader Cyclopedia, Volume 1 Steam Locomotives. Sadly it did not have any Pennsy A5 plans does anybody know where I can find plans to that PRR Switcher?
Try the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and historic Society (prrt&hs) they may have drawings in their collection of PRR documents. I can talk myself into Harold Giesel drawings in MR many years ago
ndbprr Try the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and historic Society (prrt&hs) they may have drawings in their collection of PRR documents. I can talk myself into Harold Giesel drawings in MR many years ago
Well I found a link from that site but these plans aren't much to go on.
I believe the plans have appeared twice in MR
October 1973 issue of MR is the one that shows up in the on-line index. The other that I am thinking of was a reprint of the same plans in a detailing article, but I may be in error as I cannot seem to find an index entry for it.
Dave Nelson
Those pictures are from a basic list of classes and some stats. They may have full drawings at the Lewistown, Pa station they own and have extensive full drawings in their posession. You will need to contact them to find out.
I would be surprised if there is not a reasonably full set at the Pennsylvania State Archives, where the T1 Trust found all the drawings needed to undertake something more demanding than an electric model...
Unfortunately they are closed sine die due to COVID-19 concerns, but they may still respond to e-mail sent to
ra-statearchives@pa.gov
or a phone call to (717) 783-3281.
I believe at one time there was a fairly good finding aid to some of the drawings, but I do not have it now.
Oregon_Steamer....Sadly it did not have any Pennsy A5 plans does anybody know where I can find plans to that PRR Switcher?
I'm curious as to why you're looking for plans. There are likely hundreds of Bowser A-5 models out there in the "used" market, and probably at pretty reasonable prices, too.
Comparing them to photos of the real ones, they seem to be fairly accurate, so if you're planning to scratchbuild one, perhaps modifying an existing one with better details might be an alternate route.
An American friend who models the Pennsy was looking for one, and another friend, here in Canada, had a Bowser kit for an A-5, so I asked him if he'd consider selling it, he said, "No, but you can have it if you want it."When I explained who wanted it, he (knowing of my American friend, but never having met him) said, "Oh! Okay, no problem, here it is!"
What I got was Bowser's most recent version of that model, with a can motor and lots of brass detail parts. I already had a decoder from my friend in the States, so all I had to do was build it, then deliver it.
Here are a few photos...
I added all-wheel pick-up to the locomotive...
...and to the tender...
...along with fully-modelled sanding pipes...
...and also modified the walkway and associated details on the engineer's side of the model, working from a large photo of the real one...
Here are a couple of "just-painted" photos...
...and a couple of "in-service" views...
Since one of the large photos from which I was working was of the 713, I had made the modifications to match, as best I could, including the dirt wiped-off the roadname and cab numbers.
My apologies for the photos if I've misunderstood your need for well-detailed plans.
Wayne
Sunset made one in brass probably 25 years ago
I have one but it is pretty light
doctorwayne Oregon_Steamer ....Sadly it did not have any Pennsy A5 plans does anybody know where I can find plans to that PRR Switcher? I'm curious as to why you're looking for plans. There are likely hundreds of Bowser A-5 models out there in the "used" market, and probably at pretty reasonable prices, too. Wayne
Oregon_Steamer ....Sadly it did not have any Pennsy A5 plans does anybody know where I can find plans to that PRR Switcher?
Well if you must know I'd like to make an edited 3D model and have it printed.
My plan is to remove the hallmark Belpaire boiler and have it round top kinda like the O-Gauge MTH one.
There is also the old John English "Yardbird" kit which was a Pennsy A5 in die cast metal. Similar to the Bowser and perhaps shared some tooling, but it came very spartan in detailing. There was a marvelous article by Bill Smith in the June 1950 Model Railroader "Superdetail Your HO Yard Bird Switcher," but as fine as that work was, Dr. Wayne has it beat as usual. Still the article is worth looking it if you have the past issue Archives
Hobbyline, the plastic line of John English stuff has a simplified and unpowered A5 that some have used as a shell for 0-4-0 mechanisms of various sources. I think it cost $1.49 or so when new!
dknelsonThere is also the old John English "Yardbird" kit which was a Pennsy A5 in die cast metal. Similar to the Bowser and perhaps shared some tooling, but it came very spartan in detailing....
I often forget that the retired locomotive sitting in Lowbanks is the John English "Yard Goat". It was given to me by one of my father's co-workers, but was never a good runner...
On the other hand, I have a John English Pacific, one of my first steamers, that my father bought in the mid-'50s, and it was an excellent runner. I added some details and a vestibule cab, then replaced the stock tender with a scratchbuilt one...
It's currently torn down for a complete rebuild...can motor and NWSL gearbox, and new drivers from Greenway and all-wheel pick-up, too.
Dang! You've got talent Wayne.
Thanks for your kind comment Oregon_Steamer.
Given your intention to re-work the Belpaire firebox into a more common style, you shouldn't really require drawings for an A-5, as it won't really be one.
It might be cheaper and easier to simply buy an ordinary 0-4-0 (in whatever scale you choose), then detail it as you wish, and letter it for the Pennsy, along with a number suitable for an A-5. No need for the expense of printing one.
As yet undiscussed is why you specifically want to use the A5 prototype but with a completely different firebox structure, when as noted there are other 0-4-0 prototypes of competent mechanical details that already have radial-stay detailing 'done' for you. An end-cab version of the Reading 'camelback' switcher that was being discussed in a different thread is one potential option, and while the Mantua version was a little freelanced, someone like doctorwayne could certainly tell you the differences necessary to superdetail the end-cab conversion correctly.
You could also look at the B&O dockside 0-4-0 that had the water tank like a saddle on the boiler. I have an olld Rivarossi version that is a pretty good runner. Then you could just add a tender if you wanted. By the way, the railroad museum of pennsylvania in Strasburg has a restored A5s inside. Looks as big as an M1 4-8-2 from the front
ndbprrBy the way, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg has a restored A5s inside.
i was going to mention that if you wanted to use a scan to generate a pointcloud as a basis for 3D model generation instead of tedious scanning and conversion of drawings, the RRMPA would likely facilitate the effort, perhaps even during the COVID-19 restrictions.
Yes the old Mantua 0-4-0 / 0-6-0 boiler + cab casting is not far different from a Pennsy locomotive sans the Belpaire firebox, and they are common at swap meets. Of course the Pennsy cab is distinctive