N-Scale Steam Engines - Page 3Here are a number of wheel arrangements that are not produced commercially but can be created by using existing models. By cutting them apart and then putting the pieces back together again to get a new wheel arrangement. I also used several boiler shells and tender shells to achieve a more uniform look among a group of engines so they look similar as if they were built in the same shop. |
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I like the look I found on the Indiana Harbor Belt Line 0-8-0 switchers which but the feed water heater up on the brow of the smoke box front. This is a look that is found on many Canadian road engines and on the Central of NJ and other Eastern Railroads. The look is achieved by using three boiler shells and two tender shells. I used the 0-8-0 shell and stretched it or shortened it as required. I also used the Bershire shell with the smoke box front from the 0-8-0 replacing the original smoke box front, and the Hudson standard freight shell with a feed water unit hung off of the smoke box front. The short haul and lighter engines all use the 0-8-0 tender while the road or larger engines use the Bershire/heavy Pacific/Mikado tender on the floor of the Concor Hudson standard tender with tender pickup. |
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For streamlined Passenger Service I use the ConCor shovel nose shell for most express engines and I have also started to use the Bachmann J-class shell also as it is easier to obtain at present and is cheaper when you find it. The tender is the streamlined tender from the Concor Hudson with power pickup on the trucks. It can be lengthened or shortened as required. I have also used the Bachmann J Class tender but with the floor from a ConCor Hudson tender under it. |
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Building a reliable and strong performing 4-8-4s. The parts left over from the Northern project were used to produce a nice 4-4-4 and I built two versions for passenger use on my railroad. One a long wheel base version similar to the CPR Jubilee which I knew as a boy on the prairies of Canada. Today there are several 4-8-4's available but mostly they are still hard to come by. The ConCor Great Northern S2 runs well but can be temperamental if the front truck is not adjusted correctly or the trackwork is poor. The Bachmann J-class 4-8-4 is been around for a number of years. It is not as strong as the ConCor engine with weak valve gear and light mechanism. This is a different chassis from the Santa Fe version of the same engine. There are also some UP versions around of the #484 but I have never had one to evaluate and most say they are the same as the J-class for performance. The most spectacular 4-8-4 today is the recently introduced GS1-4 series of engines produced in China for ConCor. They run well and pull well. Almost as well as a Kato unit. From the time this engine was first announced to being produced was over 10 years from the first picture in a Kato Catalogue to their introduction as a Chinese built model for ConCor. |
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The Rivarossi Mikado and Pacific engines first appeared in North America under the name Atlas but were produced by Rivarossi in Italy in the early 1970's. These engines did not run as well as the Minitrix Pacific or Rapido Pacific or Hudson but were plentiful and because they had a poor motor could be found in the flee markets early on at rather reasonable prices. They could be repowered with a Sagami 1020 motor also very easy to find in those days. So for those of us who were willing to work on these chassis it was a easy source of Steam at the right price. I cut these chassis apart and built 4-8-2's from the Pacific as well as 4-4-2 from the left over parts. From the Mikado I built a 2-10-2 and 2-6-2. From the Berkshire chassis I made several 2-10-4's and one 2-6-4 Adriatic (This is not a very common wheel arrangement in No. Am.). My favourite is a CPR Selkirk which I used to pull a string of CPR heavy weight coaches. |
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With the discovery of Kato's other steamers for the domestic market in Japan, I found some very reliable mechanisms for creating several very nice North Am. Steam Engines. My first project was a ten wheeler, Then before Kato introduced their beautiful 2-8-2 I converted a Japanese 2-8-2 to North American style. Then I discovered that the ConCor Hudson shells would drop fit onto the Japanese Hudson mechanism and this provided a Hudson with much finer valve gear than the ones, for a price considerable lower than the one made by Kato for ConCor. You could purchase purchase a scrapped Hudson with good boiler shell and tender with tender pickup but a burnt out motor and swap the ConCor chassis out replacing it with the Japanese chassis, it was an easy changeover. Today there are lots of choice in Japanese Steam. The giant increase is the result of a new player arriving on the scene in 1999/2000 called Micro Ace (aka Arii in Japan). See the Steam page 3 for a listing of what is available with pictures. |
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Another way to get to new models is to modify an existing one with details parts or complete makeover set of parts from GHQ. The first one I did was the Milwaukee Hiawatha Hudson which I have as yet not finished painting. It used a Japanese Hudson instead of the ConCor Hudson to get a closer match on the valve gear. The second one was a Northern Pacific Mikado built on the chassis of the excellent Kato made North American Mikado. These pewter kits are very nice and easy to work with and produce an engine with lots of weight (pulling power) and good detail. The third engine is a Northern Pacific "4-6-2" made using a Japanese Pacific chassis and the GHQ Northern Pacific Mikado kit for the W3 as detailed in the N-Scale magazine. Greg Scott, the owner of GHQ, has written a series of very beautiful articles for N-Scale Magazine on how to custom build steam engines, while show casing his very impressive skills as a model pattern and mould maker. |
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You can see some more of my engines built to narrow gauge standards in N-Scale at http://www.nn3.ca |
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