"TENDER TUESDAY"

[BR60103]

British Railways considered their Beyer-Garratts to be tank engines. They allowed them to run at the same speed backwards as forwards.

They had 3 classes of B-G. LNER had a single big one. LMS had a bunch of them. The later ones had a rotating coal bunker to make the fireman's job a bit easier. (It looked a bit like a cement truck.)

[Schraddel]

Oh?
Tender day, it's time to butcher another, otherwise inacessible, Vandy Can:


Cut.





Butcher.





Hide.





Install.




And tender-less photos:

Before ...






... and after converting the European toy train wheels to NMRA Standards und RPs

[e-paw]

Evening gents, I took a little time off from this thread ( lots to do at the homestead ) , But it's Tuesday and time to talk tenders.


I am going to expand my theme of when a tender is not always just a tender, with the topic of booster engines. Sure some engines gained a little more tractive effort from boosters attached to the trailing truck under the cab,,,,,,But that is not the focus of this thread. Here we are all about the under appreciated tender in all it's glory. My favorite example of a tender mounted booster is shown here on this LNE 2-10-0 #401. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4e/ff/4e/4eff4e2834d608a4cedb8e8e54c511b3.jpg">https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/or ... c511b3.jpg</a><!-- m -->

It was not uncommon for the LNE to have two of these engines on the point of a long coal drag up Summit hill, with another one as a pusher. All three engines barely moving as they crawled up the 2.7% grade making the best use of their boosters. I was once sent to a costumers home in Weehawken NJ. who grew up next to the cemetery on Summit hill , The LNE main ran right past her back yard. She remembered the 400's well, as the thunderous noise was enough to wake the dead. A train like this contained almost the entire class of these engines, as the LNE only had four 2-10-0's and four boosters.

I found a spec sheet of this engine and tender.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=2-10-0&railroad=lne">http://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase ... ilroad=lne</a><!-- m -->

Here's a shot of one of the 400's boosters after it was removed from it's tender. In the background is a camelback tender that seams to have lost it's engine.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://img.xooimage.com/files52/3/3/a/lne-bethlehem-ten...er-truck-228955a.jpg">http://img.xooimage.com/files52/3/3/a/l ... 28955a.jpg</a><!-- m -->

The most common one to be installed was built by Bethlehem Steal. Some railroads attached the booster to the rear truck of the tender, while others put it in place of the forward truck. Most had a separate stack attached to the rear of the tender for the exhaust steam while others piped it out underneath the tender. Either way they did the same job, by giving the engine some additional heave-ho at low speeds.

I found this Wikipedia write up about tender boosters for a little more info.<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booster_engine">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booster_engine</a><!-- m -->

[cn nutbar]

CNR S1A Mikado 3239

[Charlie B]

Ed, that is a great looking locomotive and tender as well. I noticed the tender on my B6Sb was down in the front and I figured it needed shimmed, but I found that the truck frame was bent at the bolster and it only took a second to straighten it out. easy fix.
Charlie

[e-paw]

Yep ...It's another Tender Tuesday .

Ed , you Canadians love your over the top , crazy coal boards on those tenders. It sure gives it a unique look.

So, for this weeks TT I am starting a project that I have been wanting to do for a while. Not long ago I picked up a Bowser repower kit for a Bachmann Reading 2-8-0 from Flea-Bay. It's one that someone had already started ,,poorly that is. It's a good thing that over the last few years I have been collecting a bunch of downer engines for this project, as I will need the extra parts.
I will cover the build of this tender in this thread.

A prototype pic ( or two ) of what these engines look like for those not familiar.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0903/rdg1950.jpg">http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0903/rdg1950.jpg</a><!-- m -->

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3853999">http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=3853999</a><!-- m -->

And so it begins. The started tender is disassembled and given a once over to see what can be used and what will be replaced. It looks like the molded on details will be removed along with silly draw bar system that they used. I think that I will also replace the weight, and add directional lighting to this tender. The fake coal load will have to go too.
   

I went with the tender marked with the number 705 as it was in the best shape. I will smooth out the flash that was under the grabs that I removed. I also cut away the molded on cut lever, I hope to reuse the supports. I am trying to figure out a way to remove that ladder without doing any damage to the tender body.
   

I don't know what this person used as glue but it has never fully hardened and the weights are broken and held together with it at all sorts of angles.
   

I store all the small loose parts in these containers, they are from rolls of 3M electrical tape that I mark with the projects name. As an electrician, I have dozens of them handing around.
   

[twilight]

Steve is this going to be an I-10 build? I have a few of these set aside for that build.

Mark

[cn nutbar]

Thanks Charlie---I bought the CNR S1 class hand made brass locomotive from JK Loco Works a few years ago.Doctor Wayne then added his upgrades including the painting and weathering.Steve---I just picked up this tender from an estate sale.I believe it came from a Grand Trunk Western pacific locomotive---no coal bunker extensions YET.

[e-paw]

Yep, one of the I 10's Mark. do you have any of the Bowser repower kits for them ? I had a lot of trouble locating one. I was relay trying for an unbuilt one, but was only able to pick up one that was fiddled with.
I haven't picked out one in particular yet, but I am leaning towards 1954. I thought about picking a 2-8-0, modeling that one, then modeling the T-1 that it was converted into. I would have to take pics of them double headed as a form of irony.

I did a little more work to the frame, weight, and tucks.

We now have all wheel pick up on this tender.
   

I separated all the sections of the weight, cleaned off the old chewing gum like glue, and reattached them with CA so that they were as straight and even as possible. I also added two strips of PC board to act as buss bars to solder the pickup, lighting, and engine feed wires to. The PC board should help to stiffen up the frame.
   

[twilight]

No Steve I don't have a Bowser drive for an I-10. I saw one come up on Ebay a month or so ago and I think that's the first one I've ever seen. So, I imagine they are pretty rare. And I didn't want to lay out the beans for it.

I was going to copy a build I found on the Reading Modeler website. Where the guy uses a Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 drive and changes over the valve gear. I started the project a while ago but it got sidelined when I joined the get off your duff challenge.

BTW, one electrician to another, I recognized those plastic containers from the 3m tape as soon as I saw them . Found a couple of the old metal tins at a flea market a couple weeks back. Totally forgot about them.

Mark

[e-paw]

I use those plastic containers for everything mark. I managed to get that conversion kit for about 60 bucks with the shipping. That seems like a good deal as I have seen the ending bids as high as $150, then you got to figure in another 10 to 15 bucks for the shipping. I believe they went for about 70 just before they were discontinued.

[twilight]

Yeah, the one I saw was for $99 bucks Buy It Now. I was tempted, but decided to stay with my original plan and use the Bachmann 2-8-0. Wanted a drive I wouldn't have to mess around with much when I stick a decider in it .


Mark

[e-paw]

Welcome gentlemen. to yet another Tender Tuesday,,,,," Yaaaaaaaay !!!"

Today I have a few more pics from the workbench of the Reading tender. But first I have something from the ARHS Yahoo group that was sent to me. It's a scan of a Reading blue print showing a modification done to the I-10 tenders that were surplus after they were converted to T-1's. These tenders ended up going to the RDG's M class 2-8-2's

   

I have now soldered up the rest of the pickup system and installed the trucks as seen here.
   

The backup light was drilled out for the installation of a LED lamp. All those molded on rear grabs and ladder will have to go, but I'm worried about breaking off a step or two as I work. Hmmm, what to do ?
   

Here is my solution for detail damage control. I drilled out some holes in a scrap 2x4 that the steps and toolbox can fit into. Now the body rests on the block of wood and not on the breakable details.
   

With some masking tape guarding against a misfortunate slip of the knife I can now carve away.
   

[cn nutbar]

Vanderbilt tenders were quite common on the CNR locomotives but the ones on T2A 's were very different with their unique style

[cn nutbar]

Two CNR passenger locomotive tenders---on the left a K5 Hudson and the right from a U1 Mountain