W.W.&F. Discussion Forum
General Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: Ed Lecuyer on January 11, 2009, 11:55:05 PM
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Museum members & their live steamers *PICS* has been converted from the pre-July 2008 WW&F Discussion Forum.
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Stephen Hussar wrote:
Some great pictures sent by life member Bob Hornsby. They were taken at Roy Spencer's track in Danvers, MA September 1986. Thanks, Bob!
Dwight Winkley with his Carl Purinton designed mogul. Dwight still owns this engine, which is coal fired and will operate at 100psi.
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/342468/238Dwight.jpg)
Richard Symmes running Roy Spencer's 4-4-0 on the swing-bridge across Roy's driveway!
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/342468/23ARichard.jpg)
Bob Hornsby building steam in his 4-4-2 Pennsy E-6 Atlantic.
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/342468/23CBobH.jpg)
A peek inside the cab...
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/342468/23DBobHFirebox.jpg)
Joe Fox replied:
Thanks for the photos of the live steamers Steve. Wouldn't it be great to have your own operating live steam train set at your house. I wish I had one, however, I am just as happy to go to the museum and work on a railroad with equipment that is 12 inches = a foot scale. Talk to you later.
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“We are extremely proud of our collection of historical railroad equipment, which is the largest of any U. S. railroad, especially our steam locomotives.”
-Steve Lee-
Joe
ETSRRCo replied:
Maybe in about 10 years you can put me on there! I am starting my project now. Im in the design stages. A 4 3/4in gauge 4-6-0. (sorry guys three foot gauge but the next project will be a 7 1/2in gauge model of the 7 (http://images/smiles/icon_wink.gif))
(http://forums.railfan.net/Images//RRStories/ETS_7.jpg)
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Eric Bolton
East Tigard & Southern Railroad Co 1889-1958
Joe Fox replied:
4 and 3/4 inch gauge is a high line railroad gauge right?
_________________
“We are extremely proud of our collection of historical railroad equipment, which is the largest of any U. S. railroad, especially our steam locomotives.”
-Steve Lee-
Joe
ETSRRCo replied:
Yeah. I chose that scale cause it will cost less then 7 1/2 in gauge. I am going to cheat a little and build the model at 1.5in scale. This will put three foot gauge at 4 1/2in. I will just make the model's gauge 4 3/4 in. I am doing this cause the conversions will be so much easier in 1.5in scale. The #7 will be around 65.5in long, 18in tall, 5 3/8 in drivers, 6in diameter boiler, 27in long tender and a wheel base of about 28.5in. Should be a nice model.
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Eric Bolton
East Tigard & Southern Railroad Co 1889-1958
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Here is a photo with me and one of my live steam models.
This photo is also by my friend Bob Hornsby.
Keith
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Great looking engine, Keith. Do you happen to know if the original full-sized 3855 is preserved somewhere?
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Stephen,
There is one Great Northern Atlantic preserved, I believe at the Bressingham Gardens Center. It has a different style cab. This model is more or less a copy of a "One Off" Atlantic from the Great Northern, that was rebuilt by Sir Nigel Gresley after the GN became part of the London and North Eastern Rwy.
As this model has a number of freelance features....I chose to use a number that was never on one of these engines. This way the rivet counters will have fits, but too bad for them.
Keith
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Here's another photo of a live steamer than lives with us here in Jefferson.
Keith
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Hi, This is one of our engines. Except for the bigger cab, so we can get in it, it is a copy of B&SR #7. Since we sit in the coal bunker, we added an aux tender to carry the coal.
Tom C.
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Tom,
Beautiful locomotive in a beautiful setting!
Keith
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Tom, I love virtually visiting you site. You guys have done great work. Keep it up.
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Thanks guys. It is fun running these engines and having to lean out of the cab to hear how she is doing.
Here is a shot of me acting as hostler for #10. I got to be an honorary fireman on Monson #4 in 2007 while visiting out there. That was way cool. Maybe someday on #9 or 10.
Tom C.
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To view photos taken over the years at my 1 1/2" scale, 7 1/4" track at Ossipee, NH look up.......
NERAIL, Click "view by railroad". Click letter "o". Click "Ossipee Central"
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Its not as big as everyone elses but its steam. This is my Accucraft 2-6-0 modeled after Nevada Short Line #1 in the California Railway Museum. Its 1:20.3 scale, butane fired and runs at around 60psi.
(http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/12/l_f454368dd64147aca973f8c30bac29ac.jpg)
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Here is a shot of out coach.
Tom C.
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Three and three quarters inches would be just about perfect to model a 2-foot gauge in 1/8 scale. But the fellow who owns Little Engines told me once that about everyone he has known who built smaller than 7.5 (7.25) inches regretted their decisions later and started over.
Jock Ellis
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The reason for that is simple. Bigger is better! ;D
But seriously, it''s more often that 7.5 (7.25) gauges are often much easier to find in a club setting. That and the 'highlines' for the 3.75 gauge can be a beast to maintain. The track on the ground for the 7.5 ect tends to stay where you put it much more often than the highline rails, with considerably less efort. (I also find the larger loco nicer to sit on and drive) The only downside is that the engines weigh much more. A 7.5 gauge model of a maine 2' steamer that i looked at wighed as much as #51 dry! :o
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However....as an owner of several 3-1/2" gauge and 2-1/2" gauge locomotives, I can tell you there are a number of advantages to smaller engines! For one, you don't need to get down on your knees to see the fire, or oil around. You don't get a distorted view of the water glass. Try reading No. 10's water glass from the top of the station canopy and you get an idea of what you see from far above the glass on a ground level track.
On an elevated track, you don't sit with your knees in your ears, and when you want to service the engine, it is at a height just as if it were on your work bench at home. But best of all....when you are not running the locomotive, you can have it on display in your living room! And even more than that...a 3-1/2" gauge locomotive can be easily moved in the truck of even a compact car, and taken to club tracks literally anywhere in the world. A locomotive built to 7-1/4" gauge here in the North East, can not visit club track throught the rest of North America. By the same token, the 7-1/2" gauge fellows can't run here....nor can they run at tracks anywhere else on the world!
See the attached photo of a 2 - 1/2" gauge B&O Pacific, and try to tell me that fellow isn't having a ball. By the way...I saw that very locomotive hauling the engineer and about eight kids, and he was ripping right along too!
Keith
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the inconclusiveness 7+in gaugers has always bothered me. But I thought if you built it to the 7.25 gauge and had a set of ad-on flanges that bolted on to your wheels to beef them up to 7.5 gauge then the loco could go cross country. In reality its only a 1/4 in difference between the gauges. and that shouldn't bother the profile of the wheels that much, especially if the locomotive was built with this in mind.
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Even if you could use add-on flanges to increase the 7.25 gauge to 7.5, I wonder if there would be a problem running 7.25 gauge wheels through guard rails, switch points, and frogs on a 7.5 inch railroad. I would suspect that the smaller back-of-wheel to back-of-wheel distance might be a problem. Do any forum participants have first hand knowledge of this?
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John,
There are a number of tracks that accommodate both 7-1/4" and 7-1/2" gauges. While guard rails can be a problem, spring loaded guard rails and wide flangeways can take care of that. The main problem is on curves, where many widen the gauge on curves, allowing the 7-1/4" gauge wheels to drop inside the rails because the check gauge is too wide. Those tracks that allow both gauges have very wide radius curves, and they can hold the gauge to exactly 7-1/2".
The late Dr. John Brace of Cherryfield, Maine had a track that would accommodate both gauges.
Keith
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Awsome live steamer models Tom. I hope one day to vist your railroad someday. You must an big fan of the 2 foot Maine railroads. :) :o ;D
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Matthew,
I have come to love em! I still like Colorado NG best as the scenery they ran thru was asome!
Tom C.
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I still like Colorado NG best
Aint that the wide gauge stuff?? ;)
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As one who lives in Colorado, I refer to it as:
BROAD GAUGE=4'8 1/2"
STANDARD GAUGE= 36"
NARROW GAUGE= 24"
Yes, we do have some hills here tho I live at the western end of the Great Plains, but stilll 5400' above sea level.
Ira
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I had to search to find this thread. Here is a meet at Maples. Now maybe Bruce can post a pic or two.
Tom C.
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Here is a short video I made of my G gauge live steamer. It isnt as large or as involved as the others posted here but its still a lot of fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHZeWLk1bgU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHZeWLk1bgU)
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Cool! ;D
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Eric,
Neat coaches, what make are they?
Keith
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Eric, that is excellent...GREAT job! The photography is very nice, and I especially enjoyed the post-aging effect.
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The coaches are AMS/Accucraft. Same as the boxcar and all the cattle cars. Thanks for the comments on the video.
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From the archives...a couple more pictures of Dwight operating his live steam mogul -- thanks, Dwight!
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/342468/dwight2.jpg)
(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/342468/Dwightmogul.jpg)
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Here are two photos I took recently in the basement of member Keith Taylor, showing the ¾” = 1 ft. scale New York Central System Hudson No. 5344 built by the late Harry Hansen from plans and casting by Laverne Langworthy of Westerly RI. Keith came from Nutley NJ, near the Lyndhurst NJ track of the Eastern Live Steamers, of which Harry Hansen was a longtime member. Among the features of this model are a working Elesco feedwater heater, a front-end throttle with five cam-actuated poppet valves, and thermal siphons in the firebox. I wish I’d taken a close-up of the castellated nuts and cotter pins on the pins connecting the valve gear members: it is real watchmaker work! Harry Hansen was an excellent craftsman. I don’t know why the model has 5344 on the cab and 5324 under the headlight.