I just bought 2 of the new First Gear Side Booms on Ebay and now I’m looking for information on the prototype machines. I’m mainly interested in things like lifting capacity and years produced. Looking at photos of Hulchers machines it seems their machines are a larger type. if anyone knows where I can find some prototype information and possibly some pictures I would really appreciate it!
I can’t help you with pictures but I did dig up some general information which may be of help to you.
Go to www.railpictures.net and look under derailments to see some in action. The First Gear model is a pipe layer. I think the RR version has a heavier boom.The First Gear model is close and is a first class model.
Thanks for the help! I can’t wait for them to arrive so I can set them next to one of my engines, that way I’ll get a better idea of their size and whether they would be appropriate for wrecking service. It’s prety hard to do a comparison just from pictures as most of the wrecker units are Caterpillar and have a slightly differant shape.
I do know one reason they were built. They were actually called PIPE LAYING or WRECK DOZERS. They were used for laying heavy pipe and also the later. When a train derailed they were brought in and were used to drag wrecked cars, engines, ect off of the tracks. That way the smaller crains could get them without having to call in the huge crains. There was an artical in TRAINS a few months ago about them and why they were used.
For a second there I thought that title said “HO Scale Sideburns”, I was gonna step in with an amazing super detailing answer with a seventies Elvis twist… [:D]
I saw one down at the LHS last week. The boom size, like what was mentioned before, is OK for pipe. I told my friend behind the counter, If I bought one I’d add some styrene strips to the side and top of the boom to increase its mass by about 0.040" - 0.060" to turn it into a wrecker.
Sorry to drudge up an old post but I just got the hang of the photo posting thing![:D] I thought someone might wonder what these things look like now that I’ve had them awhile and have had the time to modify them a bit. Enjoy!
Acetelyne tanks were made from bits of plastic and mounted on the hood side.
Here one of the models is lifting a freight car truck.
Here are both cranes ready for the next wreck!
I like the way you finished the tracks - I have been searching the web for various tips in painting tracked vehicles…tracks, and would like to know what paints/washes/weathering techniques you used.
Thanks. The silver was done with a Testors Paint Marker as it was the only silver paint I had around. The weathering is just various shades of acrylic craft paint blended together and then Drybrushed on. Mostly it was dark brown, reddish brown,and black. I based the weathering on what I typically saw in photos and also what I thought looked good. Hope this helps!
A way to weather treads that I picked up from modelling military vehicles is to paint the tracks combinations of dirt colors, add small touches of rust in spots that wouldn’t be bending or chafing, and finally highlight the edges and any areas that constantly rub or are abraded with a pencil. Finish off with a spray of Dullcote.
The graphite does a good job of simulating bare steel, but it’s tedious.
I really like the paint job Boomer Red did on his models. Mine are still fresh as new. Does somebody know how these machines were brought to the wreck site ? The boom seems too high to clear bridges and wires.
Martin
Québec City
On some the boom is removed and carried on a flat bed truck. On others the boom hinges and folds in half. Hulchers in central Pa move the cats on over the road low boy trailers.
These aren’t HO Scale in the photo, but I thought you might dig the action. One Santa Fe train tried to occupy the space of another on 3/30/88 in East Flagstaff, Arizona. The resultant mess took a couple of days to clean up. An earthen ramp was built from this field up to the level of the track. When the locomotives were to be rerailed two “Sidewinders” per side of the locomotive were used to pick it up and carry it up the ramp and back to the rail.
Around these parts R J Corman uses sidewinder Cats delivered to a wreck site on lowboy trailers for derailment work.
Here is another idea for you. Get a big bucket loader like this Cat 988 in the photo and use it to unload panel track from a flat car. You can see the cables used to hold the track on the backside of the loader’s bucket.
I’ve made a few more changes and taken a few more photos.[:D]
Very well done. I also bought one - has the U.P. logo on it. Love the add on tanks, mind if I steel that?!?! Now we need to get a driver in the seat!
I know this is a little off subject but I have a "wrecking crane and boom car’ HO gauge from the early to mid 1960s still in box as well as 7 other cars (tankers and boxcars) and left and right atlas 'snapswitch’es that I am trying to find a value on. All are in original boxes and all from early to mid 1960s. With the exception of the Atlas switches they are all made by AHM (American Hobby Manufacturers, Philadelphia34, Pennsylvania).
Can any of you direct me to a site where I can look up their values? or maybe direct me to the proper thread to ask this question?
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
I stole that from pictures I’ve seen of the prototype machines so feel free[:)]! In fact the idea for the red paint came from pictures I’ve seen of R.J. Corman machines. One thing I have done that you might be interested in is modifying the boom so it can be raised to a higher angle. To do this you’ll have to remove the small cross bar (covered by the skid plate in the first photo) and grind down the bump stops at the base of the boom on either side. I did this with a Dremel but hand tools could be used as well. Just be careful when grinding these small bumps so you don’t remove too much material, otherwise the boom will lean over the operator. It’s best to remove a small bit of material then check the angle and remove a bit more if needed.
This site may be some help. As far as the “wrecking crane and boom car” I bought one of these sets off Ebay a while ago and they were going for around $15-$25 I think.
http://ho-scaletrains.net/ahmhoscaletrainscollectorsresource/index.html