I’ve started collecting my locomotive roster for my (hopefully soon) NYC layout build. I know I have it easier than others since a lot of New York Central engines are offered by the various companies, but I still have some work to do on my first purchase below:
I got a good deal on a BLI Blueline Lt. Mike. I realize that Trix makes an NYC Mikado that would have been virtually ready to go for the prototype, but those are harder to come by and cost more than double what I paid for this engine. I don’t plan on using the Blueline sound, and want to detail the engine a bit to get it closer to a NYC H-6a in the early/mid 40’s. Example photos credit to Broadway Limited and the Harold Vollrath Collection on Fallen Flags:
This is my first project like this, and I’m looking for any tips or insight you experienced modelers can give me. Differences between the model and the prototype include: Step pilot vs. a road pilot, the marker lights are near the stack not mounted on the front, and the generator(?) and whistle are oriented a different direction. Besides some extra piping, is there anything fairly simple/obvious I’m missing at this point? I looking to get this as close as possible without getting in over my head and messing the model up. The step pilot seems to be the biggest thing; what would my options be on changing that detail?
I don’t know that you necessarily have to change the pilot, unless you like the looks of the stepped pilot. I will grant you the step pilot seems to be the norm, but:
Here is a pic of one NYC # 2045 with basically the regular pilot:
One of the best places to look for prototype info is the NYCHS. http://nycshs.org/ On the left side of the home page click on- For the modeler. There you will find free PDF downloads. You don’t have too but supporting the society by becoming a member will help insure future issues.
Staying with your example, I see what looks to me to be a blowdown muffler up on top of the boiler behind the steam dome. With its piping, of course. Also, the generator is in a different place and rotated 90 degrees. And looks to me to be a larger one.
The step pilot could easily be built up from Evergreen strip. And also be easily destroyed. If you want durability, it should be metal. You could build one from brass from scratch, or use a pre-made “close-enough”. Precision Scale lists an awful lot of “pointy” pilots, but not a lot of footboard style. Closest would appear to be PSHO-32502. That part is not listed at Walthers. The folks at Precision Scale might know about obtaining one–I’d give them a call. But first I’d order their steam locomotive catalog to get a picture of this part. And many, many more.
I am quite surprised that there aren’t more footboard pilots offered in brass. It makes the front of a model engine so much more useful, what with Kadee coupler pins and all.
Oh, yeah. There’s also the air compressor exhaust going into the smokebox. I hope you can find a photo of the right side. In particular, I wonder if there’s a second compressor over there. If you can’t, I’d find all the photos of similar engines, and see what’s on THEIR right sides.
Sounds like a fun project. I’d start with the pilot, as everything else looks easier. If you decide to build your own (I did, once), you can make sure that part is ready to go before “attacking” the rest of the loco.
As for the step pilot vs. road, I have read that only NYC engines that went into Canada kept the road pilot. All others had a step pilot, so I would like for the engine that have that modeled. I was looking at the various pilots Bowser and their sub companies offer on their website, but I don’t know that any of them are that close. There isn’t a huge difference between the original USRA engine and what I want to model, so I don’t figure this to be a massive project. Move a few things here, a little extra piping there, etc.
Here is a similiar locos other side (Credit to the Harold Vollrath collection again):
Well, I think I’m going to go with a styrene footboard pilot on this. I want to add some more piping and fix most of the other details with various parts. Would it be best to drill a hole into the correct areas to attach the piping, or is there another method? Will the brass castings for the details go on with CA?
If you’re using brass detail parts and brass or phosphor-bronze wire for the piping, then drill holes in the parts and solder the pipes in place. For plastic detail parts, drill them to accept pipes, then use ca to attach them. For add-on detail parts, drill holes in the loco to accept the part’s mounting pin, then use ca or epoxy to secure the joint. If the part has no mounting pin, drill it to accept a suitably-sized piece of wire to act as a mounting pin, then secure as before.
To affix longer runs of pipe, in addition to securing the ends in drilled holes, you can use small diameter wire as pipe brackets: Bend the pipe to fit, then, before permanently fixing it in place, drill holes in the loco at places along the pipe’s run and directly behind where the pipe will sit once it’s in place. If you’re using, for instance, .006" or .008" wire for the brackets, then drill holes no larger than twice the diameter of the bracket wire. Cut short lengths from the bracket wire, then bend them in a “U” around a piece of wire the same diameter as the pipe which you wish to attach - one leg of the “U” should be a little longer than the other, and both should be long enough to protrude right through the material to which the pipe will be attached. If the pipe is long enough to require more than a single bracket, make the "U"s long enough so that all can be started in their respective holes without accidentally disengaging the others. The dissimilar lengths length will make them easier to insert into the small holes, and once all have been started in their holes, the pipe may be carefully pushed into place, making sure to progressively push the bracket wires deeper as you go. Next, working inside the loco’s body casting, use pliers or tweezers to pull each pair of the wire ends tight, folding them over in opposite directions and secu
Thank you for all that great information. What did you use to drill the new holes for the piping?
I’m a little concerned about the plastic pilot. I don’t know how well that will go together, and I don’t have any experience or tools to fashion one from brass or something similar. It would be easiest to just have an Athearn Mike that has the correct pilot, but those are either too expensive for what they are, or if you get one for a decent price they have other issues. At this point I don’t know if I should possibly ruin a BLI by cutting off the pilot, only to not get something acceptable on in it’s place.
Check out some of the links. There may be an acceptable pilot that can be modified to look like the one you need. I hate to say it but it looks close to a PRR bar pilot. There are several bar pilots on this page.
Get yourself some simple tools such as a pin vise, small drill bit set, good needle nose pliers, good tweezers, and a set of files. This will get you started. Power tools can come later. Since you are not working on a brass boiler then soldering tools will not help and can also be a future purchase.
One of the basic requirements for doing work like this is to have sufficient interest in it. That makes the cost to assemble the needed tools and materials a more easily-justified expense. I’ve been repairing and building this kind of stuff for years and it’s taken most of that time to get to the point where I have the tools to accomplish most any type of this work. For drilling holes, a pin vise and drill bits are all that’s required. I have a couple of motor tools, too, but for most small diameter holes, especially in plastic, I prefer the control and slow speed of a pin vise. Small bits break easily, and they’re not cheap, either. You can buy drill bits individually, but it’s often cheaper and more useful to buy a set of the most commonly-used ones, #61 to #80, with 80 being the smallest.
The stainless steel wire for those pipe brackets is .012" in diameter (fairly large for this task, as it’s just over an HO scale inch) so the drilled holes would have been made with a #73 (.024") bit. That’s still quite a bit smaller than the pipe around which it’s wrapped, so the attachment method is still totally hidden.
