Canadian National 2-6-0 ?

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
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Good morning all. [:D]

I have a 2-6-0 that I rescued. I plan on taking it back apart to replace or repair the motor. (The armature shifts in the housing when going from forward to reverse) When it’s apart I am thinking about repainting it to match the Canadian National passenger cars.

The question is did the C&N ever have this type of loco and is it the same time period for the cars?
I plan to convert it to a coal burner.

I have looked on Wiki. Any C&N fans out there?

Thanks

Lee

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The model looks like the IHC model. I think it is a SP M-21 class engine - A rather large 2-6-0 produced late in the era of mogul production. Note the ‘modern’ piston valve steam chests and large tender. CN did have quite a fleet of small 2-6-0’s that I am aware of. Many were used on branches. Maybe someone like Dr Wayne can add some info…

Jim

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At its creation in 1923, the CNR owned 446 Moguls, but many were outdated and by 1933, only 260 were left. The last 4 were retired in 1960.

The brass model shown below belongs to a good friend whose father ran the real #91. It’s shown here after I rebuilt it with a new can motor, NWSL gearbox and all-new drivers from Greenway, and, obviously, a new paint job.

The IHC Mogul could probably be converted to a pretty good representation of CNR’s E-10-a class and you should be able to find photos on-line to see what you’d need to do and/or how far you’d want to take it. The original CNR numbers were 902-926, although the ones which remained in 1951 were renumbered 80-94 and 96 (#925 was supposed to become #95, but was scrapped in 1954, still as 925).

This loco is an IHC Mogul which I reworked for my own free-lance Grand Valley. The most obvious change to the loco is the cab, which came from a Bachmann 2-8-0 - they’re available (with a boiler) from Bachmann, and are fairly close to those used on the E-10-a. I added new air tanks and some piping, too.

The other noticeable change is to the tender. I had shortened it and converted it to a coal-type when I first acquired the loco, but recently decided to make it look more like that on another Mogul which I own, a modified brass B&M B-15. To that end, I re-built the rebuild, taking care to not mar the existing paint and lettering:

While it’s not intended to represent a CNR tender, th

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Super Great work. I do have a picture of the #89 Strasburg and I looked on Wikipedia, but could not come up with a picture of the C&N 2-6-0. With the information you have provided I’m sure I will be able to come up with a pretty representation of the C&N 2-6-0.

Thanks you very much.

Lee

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Lee,

The cars in your photo appear to be the Model Die Casting (MDC Roundhouse) “shorty” passenger cars that are patterned after cars on the Sierra Ry in California. I believe that Ulrich also made earlier copies of these same cars in cast metal in HO. The prototype for these cars is very specific, as they were made for the Angels Branch of the Sierra, where there were very tight curves. The cars were built in 1902 by W. L. Holman of San Francisco, and the branch was abandoned in 1935 (the cars survived and have appeared in multiple movies and television shows). Canadian National passenger cars, as virtually every other passenger car in North America, were longer than these Sierra Ry cars.

MANY of us have a train of these MDC cars, and they were sold lettered for many major roads that never ran anything similar. They are a good way to quickly create a passenger train, and many viewers will simply see an “old time” passenger train in viewing them. Most knowledgeable modelers or railfans will, however, know that they are Sierra Ry prototype. So while you can certainly keep them around for running behing your Mogul, you might want to keep your eye out for some more representative CN cars.

Bill

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Hey Bill

So, that’s why the 2-6-0 looks so large in front of the cars. It’s going to have to be good enough though. I seem to get this a lot, Wrong year, wrong road ETC.

Thanks for the input.

Lee

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If you look around the 50’ Roundhouse cars are available in sets in the CN livery.

http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=RND86505

I opted for the new 54’ ConCor cars in the CN set, these unlike the Roundhouse have interiors and are lit with track power in both DC and DCC

http://www.con-cor.com/HO-1920-1950-Heavyweight-Passenger-Cars.html

For full size cars think Rapido

http://www.rapidotrains.com/scl1.html

The shorty cars just do not cut it, unless you model the Sierra Railroad your not fooling anyone

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The CNR did have some fairly short cars, but most of them were around 50’ and in work train service by the ‘50s. If you need short cars, though, you could use the ones you have, or the MDC fifty-footers. The ConCor ones would also be suitable, as would the Athearn heavyweight “shorties”, the old Rivarossi coach, or the MDC “Palace” coach or combine. The latter cars are full 80’-ers, but I recall seeing them, on a mixed train, in the mid-to-late-'50s.

Wayne

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MDC or Model Power 60’ “Harriman” steel cars would look good behind the 2-6-0 I believe. In the time when wooden passenger cars were common, you’d be more likely to see a 4-4-0 or 4-6-0 pulling them. In the mid-20th century when CN was using 2-6-0’s on mixed trains, most wood cars had been retired and you’d be more likely to see some type of heavyweight car from the 1910’s-20’s being used.

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I have a couple of these 2-6-0’s unbuilt in S scale, plans are for an oil conversion and some SP specific details (oversized Sacramento headlights for example). Eventually, both will be assigned to my independent Orange Belt Line.

Dave

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HI

The 2-6-0 Is all stripped and ready for paint. My decision is, if the loco is worth putting a new motor in it or just get a new loco altogether.I caught a cold so my attention is else where.

Thanks & have fun.

Lee

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I bought a new NWSL motor for mine, and, with some alterations, just manage to fit it into the boiler shell. However, using the existing gearing, it ran much too fast. The stock motor’s speed is quite acceptable and it runs well with my re-motored brass Mogul, but its starting voltage is much higher, with the result being that the brass one will drag the IHC loco (and the train) until the input is high enough to get the motor turning. I don’t think that a NWSL gear box can be used without modifications to the loco’s frame, and since the frame is plastic, those modifications would likely weaken it severely. I am considering building a new frame from brass, and may change out the drivers at the same time for Greenway replacements, but it’s not that high on my list of things to do. [swg]

Wayne

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Another view of Grand Trunk 1008, as seen August 2011: