Tom,looking at yours and some others on YouTube I see where this number 3704 seems quite popular lol
very interested in hearing about the low reduction gearing these brutes are suppose to have,any comments?
G.N.
It’s a tower reduction gear–most Westside models I own have it, double-reduction gearing between the motor shaft and the worm gear on the driver, very similar to the present NWSL gear systems. It makes for a very good low speed and good control throughout the speed range. I’ve never weighed my L-105, but it seems like about 4-5 pounds with the loco alone, and that weight combined with the reduction gear makes for minimum gear noise, good response and plenty of power.
Tom
Speaking of the weight I just received the shipping info from Ups. And it’s says weight is 8.9 lbs lol so 5lbs or so sounds about right,will put it on the scale here when it arrives on the 10th…excited? You betcha!!
Great! Make sure you let me (and the rest of us) know what you think when you get it an test-run it. Hope you’re as happy with it as I am with mine.
Tom
One other question Tom, I was asked what the structure the sunburst was painted on was for? To my thinking it’s too large for a sand box…maybe some type of shield for something? Any thoughts.
G.N:
It is a large pilot sandbox designed to keep weight on the leading set of drivers. The Rio Grande painted sunbursts, stripes and several other configurations on the pilot sand-box to make the locomotive more visible at grade crossings. They used either yellow or white-silver paint, depending. IIRC, the Salt Lake shops used the yellow, and the Denver shops used the white-silver. Even though the locos looked like big, lumbering brutes with all of that exposed hardware (which I love), they were actually speed demons, and Rio Grande wasn’t averse to running them at 50mph on more level stretches (Baldwin built them for a maximum of 70mph). They were originally built for the Salt Lake–Grand Junction portion of the line, but during WWII were also assigned to the Denver-Pueblo main. The Rio Grande wanted more of them during WWII, but the War Board had frozen locomotive designs, and assigned six UP-styled Challengers instead. They were all wrong for the Rio Grande’s profile, and Rio Grande got rid of them as fast as they could. The Rio Grande L-105’s were a prime example of a specific builder successfully constructing a specific locomotive for a railroad’s specific profile.
Tom
Thanks tom,good information is appreciated!