challenger to tender question

[enginear]

I purchased a MTH challenger g scale model. The detail is excellent. I would like to improve the look of the unit between the tender connection. Does anyone know how the coal is handled or have a picture of the connection between the loco and tender. More specifically how the coal makes it into the engine? I think it's a screw drive shoot of some sort but I don't know what it's called. I search Railroad pictures archives for a picture of this connection but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated, Joe

[ragnar]

The appliance your thinking of is called a archimedes screw....

[ndbprr]

It is generally called a coal auger.  There is a horizontal one in the tender under the coal pile to move it forward and a vertical one or two (or nearly so) in the engine to move it up to the firebox.  Dependent on the type it could use steam to blow it into the firebox for distribution or sometimes there was a rotating plate that would fling it into the fire box.

[dldance]

I think I may have a drawing of a similar one someplace.  In the next few days I'll look.

dd

[DMUinCT]

  Beautiful locomotive, I have one.

  Just below the "Tender Deck", MTH molded in the round end of the feeder tube. It would be easy to add a flex tube forward. Where it would meet into the cab ???  I drilled a new hole in the drawbar between the locomotive and tender so it would be as close as my tightest curve track would permit.   I also added 1" thick, black, "weather stripping foam" between the Cab and Tender to cut down the distance between them without an operation problem.

  Most books on the NYC Hudsons show Coal Pusher details.

[TomDiehl]

The device you're talking about is commonly called a "stoker." I'm not sure which brand stoker the UP had in the Challengers, but what you can see of it, for modelling purposes, is a tube running from the tender to the rear of the firebox, in the center of the locomotive (side to side) and just below the tender deck. As stated above, these have an auger inside the tube to move the coal to the firebox as a Fireman couldn't keep up with the demand for coal if he was hand shoveling it. Once the coal was in the firebox, he could distribute it with air or steam jets, or by hand with a rake or hoe (all steel, not like the garden variety). The stoker motor could be in the tender or under the cab, but I'm sure MTH has this detail in its proper place.

The tube will need to follow the locomotive as it goes around curves, there's usually a universal joint in the auger at both ends, plus the tube has telescoping joints at the same locations.

[enginear]

I see the tube on the tender and I am thinking of hollowing it out with the large connection cable running through it and plugging under the loco. Originally I was thinking of drilling out the large apparatus on the left rear of the loco and running the cable through that and plugging into the tender bottom. In the real pictures they showed a large steam tube (pipe) there with a loop and it looks like the cable would be about right. The only pictures I saw did not show the coal tube to the tender though.

I'd like to tighten up the distance between the units also.

[enginear]

thank you I found a picture of a stoker on Railroad Pictures of a Big Boy tender details, and a feeder (archemedes) screw.

[DMUinCT]

  When you take the tender apart, all you will find is a large speaker for the sound system and the backup lights.  All the DCS and Protosound PC boards are in the locomotive.

[dldance]

I think I may have a drawing of a similar one someplace.  In the next few days I'll look.

dd

I finally found the drawing but it didn't detail the auger connections.  Sorry.

dd