Train locomotive

[Dresden Guy 24]

The picture I am posting is a 1/8th scale locomotive which a friend of mine fabricated from scratch ......... yes, everything! He did not purchase anything from a supplier, even the boiler. My friend is an incredible machinist. I spent hours watching him build this locomotive. I got to drive this engine and became totally addicted to the great steam locomotives. I never did get the greasy soot out of my close, but that's OK. The whistle is awesome!!

My friend, Jim, took 20 years to build this engine - he worked full-time as the Production Manager of a precision machine shop, and did this 3,000+ lbs project in his basement. Jim has now moved to the country where he has a 2 mile track and many other engines and cars he has built. This engine is located just east of Columbus, Ohio.

I took the picture several years ago and can't locate the other pictures I took of his other engines..... Shays, Mikado, etc.

I think there is a "LOCOMOTIVE - WHEEL HORSE" gene, and I'm guessing that many of the RS guys will like this home project locomotive. Incidentally, this engine was featured on the front cover of "Live Steam" magazine several years ago, and resulted in Jim being offered $125,000 for his engine - which he quickly refused.

[Dresden Guy 24]

Sorry for the typo .... I typed "close" and I meant "clothes". This correction is primarily for S-O-I.

[Redbirdman 7]

no problem on the speeling.......I knew watch a meant right away.

That is one incredible piece of work.. the difference in the tie spacing and the track size reminds me of Lionel....

And I also believe you are RIGHT ON THE MARK about like interests. Mama has a fit when I turn up the surround sound to max, and sit on the couch watching the steam train programs on Rural TV.........which are usually after the old tractor shows and THE BIG JOE POLKA SHOW.........................

This is my favorite 'barking' steam video from ewwtube:

I plug the lap top into the TV and pour a big drink.........of course the boss has to be out shopping :banghead:

[stevasaurus 23,274]

That is incredible...and I would love to see that Shay. We have a large train museum near me in Union, Ill. You can go out there on weekends and ride the trains all day. Old Pullmans, street cars, etc. They have quite a few running steamers, including a Shay. I have some old home movies of that running...fantastic piece of machinery. :thumbs:

[btrrg1969 11]

That is cool , I wish you had a picture with someone standing beside it to give it some scale

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Amazingly realistic looking shot. Without a clue, you'ld swear it was full scale. Ditto, we need more picts. :banghead:

[stevasaurus 23,274]

If my math is correct...based on a few assumptions and a little knowledge... that engine (from the tracks to the top) is about 21"

1/8th scale works out to 1.5" equals 1 ft. Those drive wheels on a real loco are around 6 to 7 feet...making the total height of that engine around 13 to 14 feet. If it is 14 ft high...it would be 21" high in 1/8th scale.

This photo show trains that I think are 1ft gage. Close to 1/8th scale.

[btrrg1969 11]

If my math is correct...based on a few assumptions and a little knowledge... that engine (from the tracks to the top) is about 21"

1/8th scale works out to 1.5" equals 1 ft. Those drive wheels on a real loco are around 6 to 7 feet...making the total height of that engine around 13 to 14 feet. If it is 14 ft high...it would be 21" high in 1/8th scale.

This photo show trains that I think are 1ft gage. Close to 1/8th scale.

That picture helps with the scale , Thanks thats a cool picture also :banghead:

[Dresden Guy 24]

Hey WH & Train aficionados,

I will make a trip to my friends house to get a whole lot of pics of his choo-choos to post. He is only about 30 miles from me, but I haven't stayed in touch over the last 3-4 years. That engine in the picture burns coal, corn cobs and I believe wood pellets. The day I drove it, it was coal which is what ruined my clothes with soot. The engine plus the coal tender I believe are about 19' in length.

Also, if my memory serves me right, that engine is a "Northern Big Boy". I found the following:

CLASS S * NORTHERN * 4-8-4

The powerful and speedy Northern looked every bit the aristocrat that it was during the years of its pre-eminent association with the crack Empire Builder and Oriental Limited trains of the steam era. Baldwin built these 4-8-4's, specifically for this service in 1929-30. In later life they powered GN fast freights on eastern districts, and were roller bearing-equipped in 1945. (No. 2578, shown here, was an S-2.) Mounting of the air pump, bell and headlight on the smokebox front was one of the features that gave this engine its massive appearance.

Great Northern Railway - Steam Locomotives

Jim worked from actual Baldwin engine drawings - somewhere around 150-200 pages of blueprints.

Maybe some guys would like a field trip to "Jim's Depot". Let me know.

Later.....Dresden Guy

[AMC RULES 37,196]

By comparing the two picts, you can see how complex the steam engine Steve posted really is. No doubt about it, built by an extremely skilled artisan.

[stevasaurus 23,274]

So, Steve, am I even close in my thinking??? And I would love to see those pictures.

:banghead:

[linen beige 15]

that engine is a "Northern Big Boy".

Not exactly. It is a "Northern". The Northern name denotes the 4-8-4 wheel arrangement.

The "Big Boy" was an articulated locomotive with a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement.

These were built by American Locomotive Company (Alco) for and used by the Union Pacific Rail Road ONLY.

The confusion is easily understandable, since the Northern is a 4-8-4 and the Big Boy is a 4-8-8-4.

BTW, Your buddy's live steam model is fantastic! Back in around '68 Model Railroader magazine had a pic and short story about an operational live steam loco in Z scale! Z scale is 1:220 with a track gauge of 0.256 inches. That loco was shorter than a man's finger and was fired by a single match head.

[linen beige 15]

the total height of that engine around 13 to 14 feet.

Not sure about the generic Northerns, but the Norfolk and Western "J" class Northerns (built by N&W with 5 foot drivers) were 16 feet tall.

[Save Old Iron 1,571]

Sorry for the typo .... I typed "close" and I meant "clothes". This correction is primarily for S-O-I.

Noted.

Let's eat, Grandma

is a whole bunch different than

Let's eat Grandma.

Spelling, punctuation and heterographs can be our friends.

[Dresden Guy 24]

that engine is a "Northern Big Boy".

Not exactly. It is a "Northern". The Northern name denotes the 4-8-4 wheel arrangement.

The "Big Boy" was an articulated locomotive with a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement.

These were built by American Locomotive Company (Alco) for and used by the Union Pacific Rail Road ONLY.

The confusion is easily understandable, since the Northern is a 4-8-4 and the Big Boy is a 4-8-8-4.

BTW, Your buddy's live steam model is fantastic! Back in around '68 Model Railroader magazine had a pic and short story about an operational live steam loco in Z scale! Z scale is 1:220 with a track gauge of 0.256 inches. That loco was shorter than a man's finger and was fired by a single match head.

Jim,

After reading your post, I now recall the difference you point out and see that are exactly correct about the famous "Big Boy" being a 4-8-8-4. At one time I had a CAD file on my old computer of the "Big Boy" and printed it out on our office plotter and framed it. Can't find the picture anymore, but the "Big Boy" engine was awesome.

Do any still exist?

Jim, I appreciate the correction ......(at my age I suffer from Brain Flatulence at times) ... I knew my friend's locomotive was a 4-8-4 (I counted the wheels), but in the back of my mind was the 4-8-8-4 configuration, but that was the the "Big Boy" engine that my friend always talked about.

Thanks Jim ........... I love to talk choochoo, and I nearly blew my speakers listening to the YouTube file that RedBirdMan linked of the Soo Line locomotive. WOW!!!

[sscotsman 186]

Also, if my memory serves me right, that engine is a "Northern Big Boy".

The term "Big Boy" was never used in conjunction with "Northern"..they are two very different locomotives..there is no such thing as a "Northern Big Boy"..

"Big Boy" is the nickname of only one type of locomotive, the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 articulated locomotive..25 were built, 8 survive today:

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/bigboy/

The "Northern" type locomotive is a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement.

the class is called "Northern" because the 4-8-4 was first developed by the Northern PAcific railroad..the 4-8-4 was among the most modern and powerful of locomotives, being used for both freight and passenger service in the 1920's through 1940's..

Although "Northern" was the official name for the 4-8-4, several railroads decided to give their own 4-8-4's a different name! many southern US railroads in particular were against calling their own 4-8-4's "Northerns"..

some of the names include:

Greenbrier - Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad

Pocono - DL&W railroad

Wyoming - Lehigh Valley Railroad

Niagara - New York Central

and others..

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/northern/

Scot

[mavfreak 11]

As a kid, I can remember standing at my family farm on the hill with my dad grandfather, uncles, and we watched a steamer go up the track. I have no idea what kind other than it was big. It was one of the few places it was able to get to speed. We could see it for about 30 sec from our vantage point. Wow truly amazing. We really can't remember what year other than it was some kind of anniversary or something. I've seen many steamers in my life but none at that speed. I'll never forget that. I love steam, there is something to the sound and movement that makes them seem alive.

[sscotsman 186]

As a kid, I can remember standing at my family farm on the hill with my dad grandfather, uncles, and we watched a steamer go up the track. I have no idea what kind other than it was big. It was one of the few places it was able to get to speed. We could see it for about 30 sec from our vantage point. Wow truly amazing. We really can't remember what year other than it was some kind of anniversary or something. I've seen many steamers in my life but none at that speed. I'll never forget that. I love steam, there is something to the sound and movement that makes them seem alive.

Where and when?

If it was something like the 1976 freedom train, the exact engine you saw can be easily determined!

even if you are talking about 1930's, 40's or 50's..we can probably still figure it out!

give us a year (or approximate, if you dont remember the exact year) and a location, and I bet we can figure out what you saw!

Scot

[mavfreak 11]

In '76 I would have been two. I really don't think that was it. I would have just been getting here from Germany. We almost think its was '79 but not sure. Just guess I was 5 or so. It was in a town called Myoma PA. But it ran through Zelienople, Evans City, Callery, and Mars PA. if that helps. I was so young I just remember seeing it nothing more. My uncle seems to have the best memory a bout this but its still real fuzzy. We just talked about it many times over the years.

Also I remember it was a bright sunny day in summer or late spring because there was green things on the trees. If that helps any?

I really would like to know.

[sscotsman 186]

In '76 I would have been two. I really don't think that was it. I would have just been getting here from Germany. We almost think its was '79 but not sure. Just guess I was 5 or so. It was in a town called Myoma PA. But it ran through Zelienople, Evans City, Callery, and Mars PA. if that helps. I was so young I just remember seeing it nothing more. My uncle seems to have the best memory a bout this but its still real fuzzy. We just talked about it over the holiday.

Also I remember it was a bright sunny day in summer or late spring because there was green things on the trees. If that helps any?

I really would like to know.

Im not familiar with that area, but a little googling of those town names shows the tracks today are part of the Buffalo & Pittsburg Railroad..

so clearly an ancestral B&O route..

in 1979 it would have been the Chessie System Railroad..

Chessie system + about 1979 = only one conclusion..Chessie steam specials!

Chessie steam specials ran in 1977 and 1978..

a little more googling, and here it is..

This is the locomotive (and the train) you saw:

http://urbanindiana.com/in_chessie_steam/i...ssie_steam.html

You probably saw it in September of 1978..

I cant find its exact route, but I know it ran through PA on B&O rails..

which is where you were..so thats almost certaintly it!

The train was the "1978 Chessie Steam Special"

And the locomotive is most commonly known as "Reading 2101"..

a "Reading T1 class" locomotive..

Originally built by the Reading Railroad of Pennsylvania in 1945, one of a class of 4-8-4's built from older 2-8-0's that date from the 1920's..

she hasnt operated since 1978 (you probably saw one of her last runs!)

Today she is preserved at the B&O railroad museum in Baltimore.

Scot

[Redbirdman 7]

Thanks Jim ........... I love to talk choochoo, and I nearly blew my speakers listening to the YouTube file that RedBirdMan linked of the Soo Line locomotive. WOW!!!-------------------

Dresden Guy (Steve M in E. Ohio)

ed

[mavfreak 11]

In '76 I would have been two. I really don't think that was it. I would have just been getting here from Germany. We almost think its was '79 but not sure. Just guess I was 5 or so. It was in a town called Myoma PA. But it ran through Zelienople, Evans City, Callery, and Mars PA. if that helps. I was so young I just remember seeing it nothing more. My uncle seems to have the best memory a bout this but its still real fuzzy. We just talked about it over the holiday.

Also I remember it was a bright sunny day in summer or late spring because there was green things on the trees. If that helps any?

I really would like to know.

Im not familiar with that area, but a little googling of those town names shows the tracks today are part of the Buffalo & Pittsburg Railroad..

so clearly an ancestral B&O route..

in 1979 it would have been the Chessie System Railroad..

Chessie system + about 1979 = only one conclusion..Chessie steam specials!

Chessie steam specials ran in 1977 and 1978..

a little more googling, and here it is..

This is the locomotive (and the train) you saw:

http://urbanindiana.com/in_chessie_steam/i...ssie_steam.html

You probably saw it in September of 1978..

I cant find its exact route, but I know it ran through PA on B&O rails..

which is where you were..so thats almost certaintly it!

The train was the "1978 Chessie Steam Special"

And the locomotive is most commonly known as "Reading 2101"..

a "Reading T1 class" locomotive..

Originally built by the Reading Railroad of Pennsylvania in 1945, one of a class of 4-8-4's built from older 2-8-0's that date from the 1920's..

she hasnt operated since 1978 (you probably saw one of her last runs!)

Today she is preserved at the B&O railroad museum in Baltimore.

Scot

WOW! that's it! I don't remember the cars being that color but that's the engine! It was the B&O cause pap used to work for them in the late 40s and he always talked of hopping the train at callery. But I can't believe you found that. It sends shivers down my wifes and my spine. That's something I hope to never forget.

Thank you so much for this and letting me relive some great memories

[sscotsman 186]

WOW! that's it! I don't remember the cars being that color but that's the engine! It was the B&O cause pap used to work for them in the late 40s and he always talked of hopping the train at callery. But I can't believe you found that. It sends shivers down my wifes and my spine. That's something I hope to never forget.

Thank you so much for this and letting me relive some great memories

No problem! glad to help!

Im somewhat of a train fanatic!

if you take the Ariens snowblower webpage linked in my signature, and remove the "ariens", you get this:

http://gold.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/

thanks,

Scot

[mavfreak 11]

Scot I to have been building up a collection of Lionel and mth trains. I have been collecting for year with the Pennsylvania moniker being the focal point of my collection. But now that I know what I seen that day I'll definitely be adding something else to the line!

[linen beige 15]

Can't find the picture anymore, but the "Big Boy" engine was awesome.

Do any still exist?

According to Wikipedia 8 of the original 25 still exist, but none in running condition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Big_Boy