Just fishing for opinions on either of these books. Does Vol. 2 cover different locos or is it just an updated version of Vol. 1? I'm mainly interested in reference photo's and drawings of steam loco's. Are these books worth the cost?
Yes they are worth the cost if you want research material. The Vol. ! covers the earlier engines, and the later engines and diesels are covered in Vol. 2 if I remember correctly. Mine are packed away at present. I also have a 1925 edition that is even more complete, so check old book stores, and eBay too. Are you going to scratch build, or do detailing work?
Thanks for the responses. I just want to confrim that you are commenting on the correct books. There is a Locomotive Cyclopedia Vol 1 and Vol 2 also sold by Kalambach under the Model Railroader banner. In that set, volume 1 is steam, volume 2 is diesel. The books I am asking about are from Hundman Publishing. In the descriptions I have found, they say nothing about diesels. I have the Model Railroader Cyclopedia Volume 1: Steam and refer to it often. I was looking for more books that are similar. As to the question from Watash, I am both scratch building and detailing existing N scale equipment. Below are two projects I am working on now:
The upper picture is a Big Six in process. Another view: I still need to make the detail for under the cab and boiler to give it that "BIG" feel. Plus I need to add to the cab. It doesn't look heavy enough yet. The chassis and plans:
Nice. It always impresses me when I see work from scratch like that. Okay, stupid question here, why is it called a "Big Six"? Regards Ed
The road numbers for the B&O 2-10-2's were in the 6000 series. The original 6000's were a smaller drivered 2-10-2 "S class" The 6100's and up had bigger drivers and more power "S-1, S-1a" I guess the B&O guys didn't like refering to them as a "Santa Fe" type so "Big Six" was coined. I really haven't learned the whole story behind it. I am learning as a find references for the build.
Watash, Thanks. Back to the original question, does anybody have any further insights into these books? I am trying to decide if which to buy or if I should get both.
Well, if you can afford them, get both . Clearly it depends on what you want to do. If you are modeling mainly steam, then the steam volume is what you want. I find that having both is a great resource for non-model related activities (just what is that thing called on the side of that GP 30 I saw go by, and what does it do?...answer in the diesel volume). They are great fun even if you only dig them out to look at now and again (where did I put those anyway.... ) John
I did a little more searching and found some other reviews of these books. I believe you may be confusing the Hundman books with the Model Railroader Cyclopedia's. The Hundman books, at least from what I can find, have no references to diesels. I may be wrong, I'll find out soon enough, I have decided to go ahead and order both Vol. 1 and Vol 2. They did mention a few early electric loco's though in one synopsis I read on Vol. 2. I did find a little tidbit on the Hundman website that there is a 3rd volume in the works dealing with USRA loco's and variations. Thanks, Tony
Tony: I guess the B&O guys didn't like refering to them as a "Santa Fe" type so "Big Six" was coined. I really haven't learned the whole story behind it. So today I'm leafing through the June issue of Trains Magazine (I get my issues a bit late down here, they come by "burro express") and on page 66 there's a great shot of a Vanderbilt tender. Of course, the caption reads "Two Baltimore & Ohio "Big Six" (for their number series) 2-10-2s, pushing up Sand Patch........" Coincidence. But I learned it here first! Regards Ed
Versions of Cyclopedia? For Steam How many versions are there out there? I see a 1919 and a 1927 referenced a lot - and I also see Train Shed manuals which appear to be partial excerpts.
