steamers

[Anonymous]

um i got a 0-6-0 bachmann steam loco and the tender is a slope tender and i know southern pacific tenders are not slope tenders, so my question is can i model a 0-6-0 southern pacific steamer with a slope tender???

[sooblue]

Are you sure the SP didn't use them?
Sloped back tenders were used in yard duties where the crew needed better visability. That was their intent anyway. I know that not all RRs used them in more resent times, but they were popular at one time.

SooBlue
ps. It's your RR anyway. Go for it.

[Anonymous]

oh ok thanks mate ,just in all the pictures i have of sp steamers , they have the rounded end tender so if you say they did ,then ill do it , thanks again

[sooblue]

No no!
I didn't mean that they did use them, I'm not sure. I was asking you if you knew for sure that they didn't use them. That type of tender had their purpose and many RRs used them.
You know I also said in my Ps. "it's your RR so go for it" Sorry, I know that many modelers do their best to reproduce "perfectly" the object they are modeling. Weather modeling or restoring it all plays a part in remembering and keeping alive the past.

Sooblue

[Anonymous]

How accurtely are you trying to model SP steamers? The "bible" is a book by Guy Dunscomb, A CENTURY OF SOUTHERN PACIFC STEAM. There is a series of large-format photo books on a number of different wheel arrangements, & there is a softcover book on SP 0-6-0s as well. Check out Internet web sites for SP books, & you might want to look at www.steamlocomotives.com to see what sort of SP steam switcher photos are available. A bit of research should be able to tell whether or not the SP used slope-back tenders behind 0-6-0s.

NOTE that SP, like many big railroads, had numerous classes of switch engines, and some of the older slide-valve locos circa 1900 would perhaps have been more likely to use slope-back tenders than locos built after WW1.

It's quite ok to ask questions on these forums--that's what they are for--to share knowledge. But do not expect to have a specific answer "handed to you" unless someone happens to look in on yr question who is an expert in the field. Many of the true "experts" are too busy building models or doing other things, but there are a lot of folks like myself with enough general knowledge to at least tell you where to look to get an answer.

So have fun looking & enjoy your modeling. One of the big differences between people who just want to have fun with toy trains and "scale modelers" or "model railroaders" is that the latter have a more serious interest in "getting things right." Your question shows you have an interest in having a loco lettered for SP look like a real loco used by the SP at some time. So good luck to you & please give us a reply post on this topic if you find out. Others may want to know also!

[cprted]

As far as I know (I am not an SP expert) SP used Vanderbuilt tenders. Bachmann sells an SP style Vanderbuilt that can be bought seperatly.