N Scale: Converting coal tender to oil

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Are there any products currently available for converting a coal tender to oil for N scale steam locos? Specifically I’m interested in converting the Kato heavy Mikados. There used to be a company called (IIRC) Detail Associates that advertised but I received no response from them several years ago.

2

I am curious about this too. I would like to know if a Model Power semi vanderbuilt oil tender can be made to work with a Kato heavy mike. I think there is an electrical pick-up issue.

3

  1. Remove the coal load.

  2. Make oil bunker out of styrene (or brass if you wish).

  3. Add Oil hatch(es) and handrails per prototype photo.

  4. Paint to match.

There are too many different tenders for MFGs to produce a one-kit-fits-all kit. It is really easy to fabricate.

David B

4

Well, besides the obvious changes to the loco’s firebox, most prototype roads that converted steam locos to oil burners simply fabricated a fuel bunker that could be dropped right into the existing coal bunker. Of course, they had to also hook up the oil delivery lines and piping for the steam heater lines. Like the CNR loco shown below, the lifting lugs on the oil bunker often remained in place.

There usually wasn’t much other detail on the oil bunker: a filler hatch and a breather pipe, along with the handrails around the perimeter.

Wayne

5

I did one of those for my neighbor. The tender shell slides of the chassis and you can push the coal load out from the bottom.

Get some pictures to use for reference and make the oil tank form styrene. I put tabs on the one I did so it slid into the same opennings as the coal load, no glue required to hold it in place.

6

I came on line with the intention of saying about the same thing; haven’t done it but your procedure sounds like the way I would have done it.

I went to my Locomotive Cyclopedias from Model Railroader and Hundman Publishing looking for photos/narratives of this modification. There were a number of roads did this although I am hard pressed to find it being done to a standard USRA tender although I am sure that it was done. MR published an overhead shot of a Espee GS6 which gives a good picture of the top of an oil bunker complete with oil and water manholes; MR does few drawings of the tops of the tenders but Hundman does complete with rivet detail so this is where I would go to see just what is going to need to be done to slip an oil bunker into the coal bunker space.

I am in slightly an opposite situation; should I elect/decide to revert to the transition era I (would) want to take some Espee GS tenders and convert them to coal.;

7

In addition to the tender modfications, the loco itself should have a few changes as well. Remove any ashpan detail visible below the foundation bar/mud ring. Some roads had the oil heater on the engine, usually below the mud ring. Most oil-burners had a density light behind the funnel/smokestack.

Cheers,

Mark.