Covers on roof of 44 tonners

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have noticed that some G.E. 44 tonners had rectangular covers on the roof and I believe the old Keystone 44 tonner kit had castings for these. Were these optional and how were they propped open?

John C.

North Carolina

2

Hate to see a question posted on here and no replies…

I checked Stephen Timko’s Critters, Vol. 1 and found no overhead shots of a GE 44 tonner. In Critters, Vol. 2 there are pretty clear overhead shots of 44 tonners on page 22 (South Bend Sand & Gravel, originally NY, NY&H #0808) and on page 25 (St. Paul Union Depot #441). Neither photo shows any hatches on the roof of the cab. The South Bend Sand & Gravel unit appears to have hatches on the top of both hoods over the motors. They don’t appear to be exactly rectanglar, but are hinged toward the ends of the locomotive and then narrower toward the stack. These are sizeable hatches, extending from the stack to midway above the third door on the side of the hood.

These hatches aren’t visible on the St. Paul Union Depot unit, and even if closed it would seem that the outline would be visible. It thus appears that this is an optional feature. I suspect an internal metal rod located near the stack held these open for cooling/ventilation when desired.

Bill

3

I second Bill’s motion. That said check out the Model Railroader index for a series on switching a Boston(?) waterfront by John Pryke. He detailed some 44 Tonners based on prototype practice and I believe he added the hoods you are inquiring about. This article or series ran before his current Cape Cod layout from 2006. I tried to locate the article(s) for you but was unsuccessful.

I hope this helps

4

Gidday , hate to put a dampener on proceedings but John Prykes, January 2001 Model Railroader article on “Detail and paint a Union Freight GE 44 tonner” did not include roof hatches.

Sorry I did not help,

Cheers, the Bear.

5

Thanks for the efforts to answer my question. I did obtain a copy of the Extra 2200 South edition of March/April 1975 and it contained a wealth of info on 44 tonners. The long covers were to facilitate ventilation in the hoods but phase 4 and 5 engines had the grills on the hoods controlled by slats to control the ventiilation. Bachman’s model seems to be an accurate rendition of a phase 4 engine and so does not have the covers. I just placed a third 44 tonner in service on my pike, complete with a Loksound decoder. All three perform beautifully with the decoders installed. The speaker fits in one of the hoods.

TRNJ