The body is a bronz streamlined economy hudson loco body. I first tried a old brass mountain frame. I tried it as a mountain and it didn't work out. I removed a driver and tried it as a pacific or hudson. The brass frame just didn't work out. I went to the Mantua Pacific frame and drive and had some sucess here. I have a frame in the body and I tried different tenders with it. The two that seam the best was the Riverrossi NYC Henrey Driffus streamlined tender and a old A.C. Gilbert diecast hudson tender. I am going with the gilbert. On the mantuas drive I replaced the mantua lead and trailing trucks with brass ones. The gilbert is just as wide and the height is good. They are both from the same time period. This is where I am now.
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Looks good!
Can we get a pic with the tender?
I like rescue projects like this! I will be watching.
Dave
To view tender just slide the bar on the bottom of the photo to the right.
That body must weigh a ton!
Loren
loren : yes it is ! When i was a kid this is how it was done. Not that everyone made bronze boilers. The ones i know of is, Varney, Cary, Bowser,and Takara of Japan. One thing is for sure, that boiler will last many generations. Finding a bronz drive for it would be great. This is what is not done. The loco need a a skirt made to partially cover and fill in the space below the walkway as Varney shows in it's sales photo of this model. Also the hand rails, head lamp, front marker lights, and a smoke stack. I have somemore drilling to do to complete the detailing on this model. Then a nice paint job. Finding a original tender would be nice, tho i can live with the old American Flyier one i am using.
frank
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If you are going to paint it, you could make the skirts out of styrene and install them with gap filling acc. Once blended into the brass bdy, I think the lines would disappear if the model is painted.
nomad Wrote:That body must weigh a ton!
Looks good so far. Just don't drop it on your foot!
And the work goes on !!! Answers first. Yes it is heavy, and I'll try not to drop it on my foot. I will be making a skirt for each side. I think they will be identical. Varney's add photo shows it painted for the New York Centrals, " 20th Century Limited", Streamline Hudson. This NYC streamliner was the last they made. It had the corrugated lower sides who's corrugated style also continued onto the lower tender sides. NYC also had the Henry Dreyfuss- styled Streamlined Hudson, 'The Century', that had the same boiler lines but a Mohawk fin applied to the curved smoke box front. It was smoth sided and and no corrugation applied to it. There is a third NYC streamlined Hudson," The Commodore Vanderbilt". The skirting Varney uses almost matches the New York Centrals Commodore Vanderbilt. The rest of the streamlining does not.
The body also is a very good match for the Santa Fe Blue Goose, another Hudson. And is much more alike to this Hudson then any of the New York Centrals streamlined Hudson's. The side skirt Varney shows is for the Blue goose. The New York Centrals is different. They both had the same bulging, round, bullet shape boiler front, with the same streamlined front pilot. The fire box is also of the Blue Goose style. NYC used their Hudson which had its own very unique styled firebox. The forward line of the firebox was not as long forward from the cab as Varney's and had a arcing curved line starting at the top curving forward.
Now I am not a molder of either line, either the NYC, or the ATSF. My lines are the CNJ which had no streamliners, on the Pennsylvania Rail road which streamlined its K4 Pacific's. It isn't hard to change a drive from a Hudson to a Pacific. Will this happen? I don't Know. The model will be a streamlined something. I will continue the work started. I'll try to match what Varney had done. and just paint it for the PRR.
This is a very interesting thread. I will be watching closely.
Matt
Here are the latest photos. Changes have been made. The side skirts are on. Headlight with lense done.The drive is changed and is now a Pacific. The locomotive is now a Pennsylvania Railroad K class streamliner. I am still busy with it. Finishing touches, painting, and lettering are still to come.
frank
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Looks good, but I have one question, didn't the k4 Pacific have a belpaire boiler? How difficult would it be to build a belpaire boiler out of styrene and install it.
** Russ : The belpare boiler is a Pennsy trademark. It is visiable on all of it's streamlinerd K class, except one. If I do all the necessary work to make it and try for a very prototypical boiler shape,I would have to cut the front pilot, and boiler front, off because it is very different than anything Pennsy had. This would make a Varney boillerd streamliners resteration impossable. I do want a use this very unique boiler as close to original as I can. My August 6th board goes into it more, but the front end on this boiler is NYC, or Santa-Fe, and i don't model ether. I'll have to exercise may right to artistic license, and for a more finished, and complete look, go with the boiler as it is. Their will be a attempt at a belpair boiler. Got to see how it comes out.
frank
I was thinking more of the distinctive large fire box seen on most Pennsy power. Since I model Santa Fe and not anything from the East, I've never noticed the differences at the front of the boiler, just the large "quare" box in front of the cab.