08-14-2009, 01:13 PM
nkp_174 Wrote:Were the TH&B's berks sisters to the A-1? I'm personally baffled by MTH offering the fourth plastic/diecast Van Swearigan berk...and it is an S-1 (not the popular S-2s) just like the Rivarossi, P2K, and Bachmann versions...why not an A-1?
The TH&B tested an A-1, fresh from Lima (and a NYC H-10b, too), but their Class A locos were built by Montreal Locomotive Works, using drawings from Alco. They have many similarities with C&NW Berks, as well as those from International-Great Northern and Mopac, and were not all that different from the A-1s, too.
Because of their short mainline run, an eight-wheel tender was used, but they were, in my opinion, very handsome-looking locos, with lots of piping, pilot-mounted air pumps, and a distinct hint of NYC styling, with a raised shrouding over the turret and associated piping. Most of the major dimensions are "close enough" to Bachmann's version that I'm going to attempt to build one using the Bachmann loco as a starting point. Major changes include re-working the front end, including substituting a regular pilot for the footboards of the model, replacing and relocating the sand and steam domes, and shortening the tender. A less-obvious, but necessary, change is to convert the Laird crosshead to an alligator type.
Wayne