I have a web article about modeling the 1870’s in OO/HO at:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/why/
Thank you if you visit
Harold
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Enjoy
Paul
Are you planning to model the 1870’s. I have both the IHC and the Bachman 4-4-0. Both have probelms with power pick-up and stalling in the turnouts. have you solved these issues.
Have you converted either to DCC?
The Bachmann loco is crap don’t even bother. I have an web article about putting tender wipers on the IHC 4-4-0:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/1879/locomotives/wipers/
The wipers improve the perfomance 100%. They won’t stall over Atlas #4’s but will stall on EZ-Track. DCC is the only way to control a railroad.
Yes, I plan on modeling the 1870’s in OO/HO. I was modeling On30 but since Bachmann doesn’t plan an American 4-4-0 in that size I am moving on. The 1870’s in OO/HO is much more fun anyway.
Harold
Thanks, Harold. A nice site. I am also interested in the late 1880s or so, to fit in with the sandstone quarries in the Olympia/Tenino area of Washington state. Lots of good lumber RRs in that time frame as well. Good hints on the power pickups. Thanks.
Once upon a time, I wanted to build a late 1800s N scale layout, but at the time, couldn’t find a dependable 4-4-0 engine. Eventually, I ended up doing Tucson-Arizona in
G gauge with the gun fight at the OK corral going on. That was my first and last G gauge layout…
At present, the oldest locomotive I own in N scale is a WW 1 era Southern Pacific 4-6-2 along with passenger cars and rolling stock of the same period.
trainluver1
I Like It! I Like It! [^]
I too favor the old woodburning American Standard. I respectfully disagree re the GENERAL. If you are modeling 1870’s, they were still trying strange combos. I suggest ;you check out George B. Abdill’s books - especially his “A Locomotive Engineer’s Album”, and “Civil War Railroads”. This last can be obtained from the University of Illinois (I think). Check the MR index for the 1860’s freight car drawings published in the late '60’s. I have fond memories of that flatcar!! I know Riverossi has old time coaches, So does Model Power (I think). They can convert easiliy to KD.
I haven’t had any trouble w/ my IHCs, as long as I don’t OVERLUBRICATE!! [:I]
I have yet to try the Roundhouse Consolidation, or Mogul - though they are in the back of my mind. Check (Mantua) coach kits for the proper nld-time wood frame passenger car trucks.
Are you going to signal? MR has had several recent articles on semaphore. Or try Train Orders.
I think I shall watch your site with interest.
R.B.C. [:D]
I have two of the MDC Moguls and they are my favorites of all my steam engines. The layout I’m working on (originally designed for Hogwarts Castle) is an 1880’s theme. The only era specific engines I have are the two 4-4-0’s (An IHC and a Bachman) and the two Moguls. I’m sure my son will want to run his Spectrum 2-8-0, especially after it gets the sound decoder installed.
Here’s a picture of where it’s heading with the 2-8-0 already on the layout and the Prototypically correct EZ track. This is very early and every thing you see needs work except maybe the water tower.
Harold,
I’m also curious about getting the decoder in the IHC4-4-0 tender and any tricks you might have come up with.
The General style locomotive is fine but it lacks the elegance of the later 4-4-0’s.
The small N-scale DCC decoders fit in the tender of the IHC 4-4-0’s easily. It is an easy conversion because there are only four wires.
Just a thought
Harold
I have tried to model the 1870’s since 1961. I have always wanted to model the 1870’s. I have a Porter Mogul and a cutup General from my misspent youth. Modeling in HO for me never worked because the size ratio between the equipment and the figures was never right. All the equipment is too large to use with HO figures and wagons.
The internet makes it possible to get the OO figures to make the 1870’s work. I got my OO figures from Langley in England in a week for less postage than from most places in the US to Delaware. Now the locomotive looks right.
I also got a wagon from Langley and it is great. Need to get out the paintbrush.
Just a thought
Harold
Want to know about puting decoders in Woodburning American Standards? Have a gander at the first Pic’ I posted:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36463
I cut the wires, and soldered directly to the motor, and connections. Instead of “shrink” tubing, I used a “liquid rubber” from (Radio Shack I think)
[:D][:D][:D]
Randy.
If the Old Dog remembers correctly, MR did an excellent article on modeling the transcontinental railroad many years ago. Anyone planning to model this era might want to visit their library and make a copy of this article.
Have fun
Trackplan was in the June 1960 by Michael Welch
Harold
Thanks for the link!
Since my interest centers around a similar period (pre Civil War)…I can appreciate the challenges to modeling anything but the “transition era” 1940’s-1950’s in any scale. About the only “tea kettles” smaller than the IHC locomotives are the two Bachman 4-4-0’s and a handful of brass models. I tried the Mantua “General”. Had quite a few of them, but they are actually modeled after the re-shopped version built late in the 19th century. Back dating the boilers to the straight wagon top would have destroyed the locomotive drive train so I left them alone.
The Mantua line in general was a good source for models that could be used as a basis for rolling stock from the period. The passenger equipment is too short, but it can be easily adapted. The Bachman and IHC rolling stock is really too “modern” for anything before the 1870’s.
I was able to create some virtual models from the period and run them in Microsoft Train Simulator. I have Winans “camels” and several other pieces of rolling stock lettered for my freelanced Allegheny Eastern which is set in October 1859. It turned out to be a decent alternative for me.
If we think further out of the box. A mockup of an 8 ft wheelbase 60 in dia driver Grant 4-4-0
This is the basic 4-4-0 of the 1870’s. A MDC old timer consolidation with Bowser 69" HO drivers and a temporary Mantua ten wheeler boiler. It all works in OO/HO.
Just a thought
Harold
Here is 1870’s OO on HO track with a 4mm/ft(OO) wagon and figures.
The narrower than normal track gauge is barely discernible.
Just a thought
Harold
I had a bit of an epiphany while doing some trackwalking on the old Arcata & Mad River Railroad in Arcata, CA, about late nineteenth century railroad modeling and this 1/72 idea.
See, the A&MR RR had a very unusual gauge: 45 1/4 inches. Why? Because the first car made for its predecessor, the Union Wharf & Plank Walk Company, built their first car for their horse-drawn wharf-service road in a blacksmith shop that had a rod 90.5 inches long that was perfect for cutting in half to be axles! This oddball gauge was used until about 1930 when the railroad was switched to standard gauge, but by which time the railroad had been in operation for decades, and several smaller logging operations that interchanged with the A&MR also ran 45.25" track.
Why the epiphany? Because 45.25 inches is such a weird gauge, too wide for HOn3 but too small for standard HO. But in 1/76 scale, suddenly that standard HO gauge is shrunk down to about 50 inches–not quite exact, but close enough to look a bit slim for standard gauge–just how the A&MR’s mainline should look! And if I want to model after 1930, it’s close enough to pass for standard gauge too–and I can run “modern” diesels (the 44 tonners used by the A&MR when phasing out steam) on the same setup!
It also means I can use those gorgeous standard-gauge Rivarossi Heislers–one of the A&MR gauged railroads used lighweight Heislers that are a close match for the RIvarossi.
So, while this may mean that my Sacramento layout takes a back seat for a while, I have been wanting to do a portable micro layout for a while now–and this might provide just the imagination fodder…
I’d love to see that one. G.E.D. (Git er done.)