Another Steam Locomotive Hunt

DeckRoid

Member
Hi there

There is fellow in my club that wants to recreate the railway that went by his home when he was a kid. He lived in NY, and of course it was the NYC commuter trains that ran by his house.

They had some 4-6-0 engines that weren't like the 10 wheelers I have seen around. He showed me a picture in a book he has and it's a great looking engine. For the record, its a Pacific 4-6-0 F12e. I have yet to find anyone who even made these in the past. I have been looking for about 2 weeks now. The only one I can find is a brass model that's at a "Build Your Own" kind of site.

I told Dave I would look around and see what I could find. So far, bubkus.

Thanks for any info you fellahs can give.

George
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
Hi George,

Did he mention if he lived along the West Shore Line by any chance? I might have the same book he has. I don't have any info on models that might represent the loco you mentioned but I'm curious about his location Just nosey. :)
Ralph
 
N

nachoman

Didn't model railroader have an article about scratchbuilding one out of brass about 10 years ago? As with most steam engine prototypes, there isn't a RTR model in either plastic or brass. You can usually get a decent representation by finding an available model, and then changing the details. Sometimes is is just a matter of modifying cab windows and relocating headlights and bells.

Kevin
 

DeckRoid

Member
I can't remember, exactly, which town Dave is from. I do know that it was the New York Central and where the tracks were is now like 40 miles of nature walk. He showed me books with pics and maps and other info.

1244.jpg
Here is a pic from one book. Everyone in the club said "Pacific 4-6-0? You mean the Pacific 4-6-2." It was a fun discussion full of "you're crazy" and then the books came out.

And Nachoman thanks for the heads up. Looks like Kalambach press put out a book with 47 pages on how to scratch build a brass engine. I suggested that to him, but he said it's the thrill of the hunt to find one. I can't blame him. From what I have heard and read, building your own must be a daunting task. I don't think I could ever build one; don't have the right tools, am terrible with the tools I already have... that kind of thing.

Thanks for the info.

George

** why don't more companies put out the mid range steam engines? Why all the 4-8-8-4 and the like? Not that I don't like the big boys, I do, but it would be nice to see the mid size instead of just early steam and late steam.
 

Kanawha

Member
There's a definite lack of 4-6-2's, 4-4-2's, and 2-6-0's on the market. Atlantic's especially, and they're such graceful looking engines.
 

nkp174

Active Member
The big problem with plastic engines is that you'll lose your tail if can't sell at least 10,000 copies or so...the tooling cost is very high. Since there wasn't any kind of a standard for modern 4-6-0s...it would guarantee than producing them in plastic would be a huge failure...especially NYC since while many people like their Hudsons...there is very little demand for most of their roster.

The closest thing to that ten wheeler you'll find would be Bowser's NYC K-11 pacific. It was a small dual service 4-6-2...with very similar lines to that ten wheeler...
k11_01.jpg


The basic kit from their catalog is $85. The detailing kit is $37.

Also, scratch building is really not as difficult as you think...and it is a ton of fun. If I was him, I'd start with a K-11 pacific...and then order a second set of running gear & detail parts to build my pacific...following Stephan's articles.
 

DeckRoid

Member
That sounds like a great idea...

I will run all this past him Tuesday night when we meet again.

Thanks for all your info and input, folks!

George
 
hey was just searching on google about scratchbuilding and found this thread...my main problem in wintertime is lack of things to do!!! Mr DeckRoid, you have any good links for scratching out Steam locos? any thought on where to start? (first timer. I previously passed my time by fixing to the best of the parts i had on hand some REALLY old diesels...)
 

DeckRoid

Member
Me? No. I am a newbie. However there are a lot, and I mean A LOT, of folks here who chip in with assistance in finding stuff.
 

CNJ999

Member
All the ten-wheelers ever offered in HO that closely resemble, or are exact replicas of NYC F-12's, have been done strictly in brass.

The NYC F-12e has been produced by:
International (1962)
Gem Models (1975)
Precision Scale (1989)

A large run of NYC F-12a engines was also done by Precision Scale in 1989

Somewhat less accurate, although still considered to be NYC ten-wheelers, have been offered by:
Smart Products (1960)
LMB (1961)
Precision Miniatures (1961)

CNJ999
 

doctorwayne

Active Member
The Bachmann 10-Wheeler can be kitbashed into a credible model of the NYC F-82 class, although they're probably older and smaller than what you're looking for.

Wayne
 

nkp174

Active Member
hey was just searching on google about scratchbuilding and found this thread...my main problem in wintertime is lack of things to do!!! Mr DeckRoid, you have any good links for scratching out Steam locos? any thought on where to start? (first timer. I previously passed my time by fixing to the best of the parts i had on hand some REALLY old diesels...)

I'd recommend either getting started with some scratch building in plastic or brass. Scratch built locomotives in plastic are especially popular in the garden scales.

You can either recycle a mechanism or build your own.

Do you have much experience working with either brass or plastic?
 

DeckRoid

Member
All the ten-wheelers ever offered in HO that closely resemble, or are exact replicas of NYC F-12's, have been done strictly in brass.

The NYC F-12e has been produced by:
International (1962)
Gem Models (1975)
Precision Scale (1989)

A large run of NYC F-12a engines was also done by Precision Scale in 1989

Somewhat less accurate, although still considered to be NYC ten-wheelers, have been offered by:
Smart Products (1960)
LMB (1961)
Precision Miniatures (1961)

CNJ999

Holy Schnikies. Where...? How..?!? Thank you very much for the info. Where did you find all this?!?

I think Dave is ordering the kit from Bowser next week.

George
 
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