Half-Z Scale - 1:440 Tiny Trains and even 1:900 Tiniest Trains!
[To conserve space even further, the index for material on separate pages has
been removed; see the main model RR page.
Visit the courtesy and official home pages listed in the index on the main MRR page.
You may also wish to jump to SB,III's RAILROAD Page.
MODEL RAILROADING Page 6
(continuation of Model RR Page, et seq.)
How would you like to replace a missing articulation truck for a rare, ancient Lionel UP
M-10000 streamliner? This one was in my old house, hidden away among
hardware on the top of the main beam in the cellar and turned up when I cleaned
up prior to moving in 1968 and I've had it hanging around ever since:
(21 Sep 03 photo by and © 2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
It's complete, original, and in working order but a little tired; make me an offer I can't
refuse and it's yours.
Life-Like ALCo DL-109
Life-Like came out with a Proto 1000
model (cast-on detail) of the DL-109 in plastic in January 2003, Southern #6400 in this
case. I needed another diesel, even an ALCo, like a hole in the head, but, after
reading Ken Goslett's almost-unbelievable review in "Railroad Model Craftsman",
pp. 107-110 of the march 2003 issue, I ran right out to get one. Forget it,
Charley; they'd come out two weeks before and sold out instantly. I happened
to be on a different part of Long Island, where there is a big discount house and I
stopped by; they didn't have the Santa Fé warbonnet or New Haven olive and gold,
so I got this gorgeous Southern #6400. Ken raved about how heavy, yet
smooth, powerful, yet quiet, and long, yet trac(k)table it is. Fresh out of the
box, mine started at well under the 2.5V Ken observed; more like 1.5V and drew next
to no amps. It was so smooth and ran so effortlessly that I hooked up a
horrible string of seven 40-year old lighted Athearn heavyweights which won't even
roll on a steep downgrade, plus a 30-year old MEW express reefer that is almost as
recalcitrant, which normally draw in excess of 2 amps with a stock Athearn loco, and
the DL-109 accelerated them smoothly up to speed with only a half amp draw!
What a thrill to see them flying around the layout after so many years (and the loco
didn't even heat up)!
Even pulling that awful load, the loco was smooth and quiet; in fact my only complaint
is that the headlight is so dim that it didn't light up the rails ahead on the layout, even
at 12V, when I cranked my dimmers all the way down, which I dearly love to do on
rare occasions with Atlas or Kato units.
Although rated as Proto 1000 because of the cast-on detail, that detail is incredible
and those enormously-long truck sideframes incredibly well detailed, even to
free-standing brake cylinders and rods! The whole loco is enormous!
It's the same length as the ALCohaulic (diesel-hydraulic) or an EMD FP-45 and dwarfs
its successor, the ALCo PA! For a model I didn't really need, it sure pleases me.
(07 Feb 03 photo by and © 2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
For more on the prototype, see ALCo continuation page 1.
Homage to
Bill Schopp
The late, great Bill Schopp was a great hero of my mis-spent youth; a famed kitbasher
or cross-kitter. "Kitbasher" or "cross-kitter" are not really the right terms; Bill
was noted as a fearless cobberer of already-built brass models; there was no brass
that was sacred to him; he (S)chopped them up with great abandon to create models
of locomotives that were otherwise unavailable and I had the honor of sitting with him
once while he explained some of his techniques, which can be summed up in one pat
phrase (mine):
SAW and SOLDER!
Perhaps Bill should be called a BRASSBASHER (extraordinaire)!
Most of Bill's output was featured fairly regularly in early issues of RMC.
Here, courtesy of Hal Carstens, is Bill's 1974 obituary:
"SCHOPP, WILLIAM M. Trenton, New Jersey. Model railroad
author, Railroad Model Craftsman, Toy Trains, others. (prolific). Wrote over
1000 model railroad articles. Pseudonyms John Kemp, Bill Willmore, Layout
Doctor. Consultant to Penna Scale Models, other mfrs. Custom
locomotive builder; layout designer. Pioneer HOn3, HOn2, traction modeler.
HO Moonlight & Violins Ry. Teacher. Graduate State Teachers College
1937, Columbia U. 1941. Born 1913, died Mar. 23, 1974. NMRA
PIONEER 1995."
Hal Carstens, noted primarily as the head honcho of
Carstens Publications
(
Railroad Model Craftsman, Railfan & Railroad),
is also a big-time fan of camelback locos and has quite a collection of them,
as he periodically reminds us in RMC. He just hit the mother lode!
Through some wheeling and dealing, he is now the proud owner of one of Bill
Schopp's finest creations, a who-knows-what, out-Schopped as an Erie J-1 camelback
Decapod:
(Cropped from May 2003 photo by H. H. Carstens - all rights reserved)
Whadda monster! This ancient baby is misnumbered and Hal is sending it out
for repainting and renumbering as the correct #2501.
However, that number, 2506, rang a bell! It finally came to me; I had
hailed a Checker Cab with that number when I went out to Fredon to visit
Hal one time years back. Fortunately, I had a camera with me and took a
photo for posterity:
(25 Jul 03)
(Conceived and executed 25 Jul 03 by the Berlinerwerke Art Dept;
© 2003 - S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it, Col. Carstens (I didn't say what kind of pipe or
what's in it)!
Actually, that's only a preliminary photo; it was brought forcibly to my attention
(thanks, Karen) that means of passenger ingress and egress were somewhat
awkward and some research brought to light the production version of the crew
cab (or is that a king cab?):
(Revised 16 Nov 03 by the Berlinerwerke Art Dept;
© 2003 - S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Well, now (05 Apr 04)! Hal Carstens got the J-1 back from the repair and paint
shop (as the proper #2501) and it is magnificent:
(Cropped from Apr 2004 photo courtesy of H. H. Carstens - all rights reserved)
Hal thinks it well may be the only J-1 model extant; what a pity he couldn't afford to
have them clean it up; it came back all dirty!
On the subject (Hal's favorite) of Erie camelbacks, here's Phil Goldstein's L-1
0-8-8-0 monster:
(26 Oct 05)
(Photo by and courtesy of P. Goldstein - all rights reserved)
Phil, member of the U&DRRHS / BEDT #14
restoration crew, scratched this beast.
True to Bill's fearless lead (if nowhere near his craftsmanship), I also enjoy
Out-Schopping brass (and more mundane materials); for a few examples, see my
famed DDP-45,
PRR Z6s Arctic 4-2-2, and a whole slew
Z-scale mini-locos and a powered Z-scale M-U car.
There's also some of my other strange EMD F/FP-45 variants and a hint of a
very-long-dragging secret Out-Schopping project down at the bottom of my
Berlinerwerke Saga page 2 following "Don't even ask
what the Statue Delivery is doing in there!" and following "and (oops!) one of my
secret Pennsy steamers:".
One brass steamer I am NOT going to Schopp up is my original Tenshodo
NYC J-3a Hudson! It's a magnificent model, old, a bit crude, and battered (as I
obtained it), but it is powerful and smooth and so delicately sprung that it glides
effortlessly over frogs and points and gaps, swaying and lurching slightly just
like the real thing:
(05 Oct 03 photo by and © 2003 - S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
and here it is riding up over a rusty X-Acto blade (0.025"/0.635mm) [a necessary
feature for any good HO loco, eh? :·) ] Just look at that
beautiful articulation:
(06 Oct 03 photo by and © 2003 - S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Timken Roller Bearing Car
In my first HO setup as an adult(?), ca. 1965-70, not my pre-teen layout, I had a
craftsman-type wooden model of a 40' Timken Roller Freight car which got
badly damaged; I thereupon burned it up (adult?) to use as a bad-order car.
Unfortunately, the decals were pieced and scorched selectively, so the appearance
was then rather patchwork and the car languishes (I still have it, somewhere;
it turned up in the oddest place recently and then again vanished). I had
looked in nooks and crannies; it was sitting the whole time out in plain sight on a
bad-order track (i.e.: a scrap of old track) with one disintegrated truck frame:
(09 Dec 05)
(08 Dec 05 photo by and © 2005 - S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Perhaps ca. 1970, Athearn came out with a 40' stubby hi-cube car and, lo and behold,
it had "working" Timken roller bearing trucks under it; actually, the axles protruded
through the journals and had minature Timken 3-bolt caps which could be seen
turning!
Then, perhaps ca. 1980, Athearn (?) came out with that old 40' Timken Roller
Freight car, this time in plastic, but with ordinary dummy roller bearing trucks.
DING! Off came the trucks on the hi-cube and Timken cars, presto-changeo - el
swappo, and I then had (and still have) a Timken car with "working" bearings!
Here's a low-res. picture of the car with the substituted trucks, one of the trucks close
up, and a journal and bearing cap even closer:
(14 Nov 03 photos by and © Copyright 2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[These are substitute photos and must be reshot yet again!]
Note that if you look very closely at the journal face, which measures a whopping
1/8" (3.2mm) across, you can actually read the words
"TIMKEN" equi-spaced thrice circumferentially around the face!
Truthfully, those trucks don't roll worth a good G-- D--- (certainly not compared to
modern needle-point axles in acetal frames), but they DO roll and the axle
caps DO turn and they sure look good doing so!
{Moved from MRR Page 4 on 12 Nov 03}
My original Mantua was red; Menzies made them in both red and yellow.
WAYNER PHOTOS
Robert J. Wayner, author/publisher of Giants of the Rails - An Articulated
Steam Pictorial, also put out Railroad Work Equipment and Special
Service Cars, which slim volume is just chock-a-bloc full of oddball cars
for the jaded modeler.
A sampling of those of most interest to me follows. Some are repeated,
and others appear, elsewhere in my RR pages where they are of specific
interest. Where appropriate, I have linked other of my pages on which
the specific area of interest is covered in more detail. Those posted
here are in no particular order, other than by Wayner's pagination and image
location:
[this and succeeding photos from Railroad Work Equipment and
Special Service Cars, Robert J. Wayner, NY, ca. 1989]
29 - UP MoW machine transport and supply car #903801.
Easy kitbash.
30b - D&RGW #010796 three-way standard/narrow gauge coupler car on
Alamosa-Antonito line.
This is an hermaphrodite car with a special draft gear casting holding a
centered standard gauge coupler and with pockets to either side to hold the
shank for a narrow gauge coupler, depending on which set of NG rails was
being used (left hand in this instance).
30c - End detail of D&RGW #010796 hermaphrodite car.
33a - Reading 25-ton Scale Test Car #91202.
33b - Nevada Northern 17½-ton Scale Test Car #5000
33c - Clinchfield ???-ton Scale Test Car #1751.
-
This monster held a small gas engine in the shed for positioning and four
hydraulic jacks (flanking the car number) to raise the car and put all its weight
on a 7' (2.13m) section of scale track.
Scale test cars normally had no running brakes or consumables so that the
weight did not change as brake shoes wore or other variables interfered with
accuracy.
54 - LIRR tool car #221 had lift-up hinged flaps
along the sides for ease of access to contents.
59a - Unidentified small and very-large (32-wheel #207) Thermos-bottle/
submarine/torpedo cars
for molten iron; similar cars are shown on my
Schnabel RR Cars and other Giant Freight Cars page, et seq.
59b - Northwestern Steel & Wire's ex-Pullman Acadia (from the
Sunset Limited)
used in scrap service at breaker's yard in Rockford, Illinois.
60 - Pennsy parlor car #1734 in charter service for
the Jersey Shore Commuters Club
between Bay Head Junction and NY's Pennsylvania Station.
63 - Shades of John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid Impact Cars;
UP switch crew instruction car #95220 had clear side panels so that
impact results could be viewed and registered on the dial on the car side!
70b - Oddball B&O "waste disposal unit" (better not ask!).
[this and preceding photos from Railroad Work Equipment and
Special Service Cars, Robert J. Wayner, NY, ca. 1989]
70c - IC #X2374 composite flat car (use unspecified - but see image 29
(the UP MoW machine transport and supply car #903801).
These should give you all sorts of ideas for modelling.
Those scale test cars above reminded me that I have an antique Stewart Scale Test
Car model still sitting on my HO layout next to the steel-pit turntable, just where I left
it some 20 years ago when I was out of the house and someone let a cat down in the
basement (or a squirrel got in) and peed all over the turntable, test car, and all
adjacent properties, virtually all of which rusted or corroded badly! For some
funny reason, I lost interest in the kit but here it is:
(04 Feb 04 photo by and © Copyright 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
T'aint a pretty sight! The corrosion on top almost hides the stanchion bosses
for the railing, but you can clearly see where the weight loading hatch goes. A
word to the wise, now that plastic couplers are available - USE THEM for the
cast metal Stewart kit; the coupler pockets are NOT insulated!
If you like model railroading nonsense (and good tips), take a gander at Jim Wells'
incredible
and at the AW NUTS Magazine site, "A
Publication of the A.W. N.U.T.S. Garden Railway Society".
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
=
of this series of Model Railroading pages.
© Copyright S. Berliner, III -
2003, 2004,
2005
- All rights reserved.
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