For reasons I am unsure of I have been looking more and more at the idea of modeling the late steam era and have thoroughly enjoyed the many threads covering many different engines. So I am looking for ideas... The above photo, courtesy of Kevin Woods (posted with his permission) is of Stone Mountain RR's "General II". It is a 1919 Baldwin with various modern appliances applied: Piston valves, Walschaerts valve gear, power reverse and superheaters! Kevin says that this engine was a good one to operate back in the day... so I am wondering, does anyone have any ideas of where to start in creating this sort of engine? An reasonable chassis? Boiler and cab assembly? Any ideas would be appreciated!!!
And it's pretty close to the 4-4-0 pictured in the first post, IIRC. A little paint and a few details, it could be a dead ringer.
This photograph looks different from the one that another poster supplied to 'that other model railroad message board' (yours left only the dreaded RED X). From this photograph, it appears that re-arranging the wheels on the MDC/Athearn mogul might be the answer. The drivers in this photograph look smaller than those in the other. I 'updated' several MDC moguls by adding power reverse, a generator and replacing the mantleclock headlight. I also changed mine to oil burners. The cylinders on the MDC might be a problem, but you might be able to build around them. The cab on the MDC looks more receptive to the appropriate modifications. You can buy, or make, a longer stack. The MDC already has a mantleclock headlight. You would have to scratchbuild the pilot, but that does not appear difficult. The MDC is a more reliable runner than is the MP. The Athearn version of this has MTs, front and back; you would have to add them to the MDC. It is not difficult. Many complain about the driveshaft, but it does not bother me. The MDC mogul has sixty-three inch drivers. TrainWorld of New York City has these on sale for fifty bananas plus UPS. If I call on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday before One P.M., the package arrives UPS in Washington the next day.
Thanks for the ideas. The headlight would have to be changed on my model since it is not intended to be a historic object, but rather a runner.
I did a bit of research. It appears that the drivers on the locomotive in question are sixty inches. On the possible donors: 1. MP eight-wheeler: seventy three inches 2. MDC/Athearn mogul: sixty-three inches 3. B-mann eight-wheeler: fifty-six inches 4. Atlas/MicroAce mogul: forty-eight inches. If you can rework the mechanism of the B-personn to get rid of the wobble, that little teakettle is not the pathetic peice of junque that many state that it is. With extensive ( and I do mean EXTENSIVE --hours-upon-hours) break-in, it is not a bad runner, considering what it is. The GF has one that will pull twenty N scale cars, of various manufacture, on MT, AccuMate or MDC trucks, up a one per cent grade at twenty SMPH. I doubt that the prototype could have done that. I have one that will hold a steady twenty-five SMPH and pull about ten cars. I have a few others that will hold a steady thirty SMPH and pull about the same. I also have one of the older ones, with the hex ends on the thicker driveshaft, that can barely get out of its own way. If you operate the B-manns on metal frog switches, they almost never stall. The annoying thing about them is the 'tailing'; it tends to bob in that fashion as it goes along the track. I suspect that there is a problem with gears, bearings or shafts being properly anchored in the locomotive that contributes greatly to the problem. I have seen mention that the Stone Mountain railroad also has an ex-T&NO eight-wheeler. Depending on when it was built, it could be a Harriman. I tried to find a photograph of it, but could not. If it is a post-SP acquisition, should you choose that one, the MP is probably the way to go, as the boiler on it is that of a Harriman oil burner. You would need to alter the cab, though, as none of the MP cabs are Harriman. I would use either the B-mann, and live with the slightly too small drivers, or the MDC/Athearn, and live with the slightly-too-large drivers. The MDC/Athearn is the better operating locomotive.
Jerry You might be able to work with the upcoming Atlas 4-4-0. I don't know what the driver size will be but I suspect it will be in the ballpark of what you need Charlie Vlk
