First off, I’m thinking of putting off the MTH stuff for a while, after talking to Sheldon and reading Dave Hinkel’s review, I think I want to focus more on getting plastic models for a while.
Now, I love the PCM Reading T1, but I have heard several whistle variants, and I am not sure which one is prototypically correct. What I really want is a freight engine for reading, not a predominately passegner train. Does this depend on number?
I really like the whistel on this PCM T1, is it PCM’s own sound system?
I’m interested in the coal and industrial areas around Reading in the late 40s, nothing later. Not interested in any excursion versions or the American Freedom Train, or the one with the Chessie paint scheme on youtube.
What other brands make reading steamers? Are there any other types by Broadway, or perhaps Bachmann Spectrum?
And the PCM version, do they make it without sound in stealth series? I could live with that, it would save me a lot of money, but if I went sound, I would want the freight sounding whistle.
I also like Reading because I grew up near the philly area and drive by wayne junction sometimes which was owned by Reading correct? Were there any steamers at Wayne Juction during the 40s? I don’t know how that works with PRR Electrified territory.
I’m also interested in abandoned railroads in northeast phillies, and what Railroad did they belong to.
Mantua’s camelback switch engine is a model of a Reading loco. In the long-ago days of yesteryear, before the dawn of Spectrum, Bachmann made a model of the I-10sa. IHC’s corrugated-side streamlined observation car is a model of the Crusader cars.
The T1 was only used as a freight engine. After steam was retired the RDG ran excursions using those steamers because that’s what they had. But in actual service only freight.
Bachmann made a RDG I-10 2-8-0 (NOT the Spectrum engine) and Manuta makes a “B7” 0-6-0. That’s about all in plastic. To do the Reading area in the late 1940’s you will want 2-8-8-0’s on coal drags, T1 4-8-4’s and K-1 2-10-2’s on coal and fast freight, M-1 2-8-2’s on general freight with 2-8-0’s on locals (mostly I-9’s). Switchers will be mostly 0-6-0’s, 0-8-0’s but lots of diesel switchers, especially Baldwins. Passenger service will be Pacifics, G1 and G2 class engines, with maybe a 4-6-0 or 4-4-2 on a smaller train.
Unfortunately all of the above engines are only available in brass.
Only brass, other than a non-RDG engine lettered for the Reading (like the IHC Pacific).
Mantua/Tyco put out a number of variants on the larger camelback in the plastic era some of which come somewhat close to various Reading prototypes. The wide firebox of their rear cab engines is so distinctive that it can be difficult to “come close” by modifying various plastic engines, unless you do substantial surgery and perhaps use the firebox from those Bachmann 2-8-0s for other purposes. That is not as extreme as it might sound at first because the Bachmann 2-8-0 is a fairly common “basket case” seen at swap meets and what you primarily need is the boiler and cab in good condition even if the running gear or frame is shot. A tender in good order is a plus I suppose.
Back in the pre plastic era Reading prototypes were popular, because that wide firebox could also contain the larger motors of the time. For example, Mantua, in the late 1930s before they went to the die cast metal engines circa 1950, had three Reading steam locomotives in their catalog, a 4-4-2, a 4-6-2, and the famous yard goat 0-4-0 (camelback). At swap meets you might encounter an old Mantua 0-4-0. These were sheet metal kits and are collector’s items, but so many of the 0-4-0s were sold that they are still seen for sale. The Atlantic and Pacific however are considered far more rare and very collectible. I think they were discontinued about 1950.
Even more rare is the Penn Line steamlined Crusader locomotive, 4-6-2, pre 1950. The only ones I have ever seen at swap meets were in very poor condition. This website provides a really gorgeous example of a restored and improved example.
As the others have written, brass is the way to go for Reading. The Mantua and IHC items are ok but are not real prototypical and I am not a rivet counter. They all show up on Ebay from time to time.
Wayne Junction, now a SEPTA yard, was a yard that was off the Richmond Branch that went from Abrams Yard to Port Richmond on the river front. It handled those frieght cars being consigned up and down the passenger lines like the Chestnut Hill, Frankford, New York, down to Reading Terminal and others. It was not the major yard in the city like Port Richmond. My Great Grandfather’s last assigments as an engineman was to move frieght drags from Wayne Junction yard down the passenger line towards 16th St Junction and the 20 th Street Yard. Sometimes he would work extras over the Richmond Branch over the Schuykill River to Belmont.
The frieght trains of Reading and Conrail would come off the Richmond Branch and pass beside Wayne Junction Yard where they would go up the New York Shortline at Tabor (?) Neshaminy Falls, onto the New York Branch to West Trenton and than North Jersey, a mainline that competed with the Pennsy NE Corridor line.
If you can find the Bachmann I10, the shell can easily be grafted onto a Spectrum Consol chassi. Other then that and the BLI/PCM T1, you are pretty much out of luck.
That’s a great resto job on the Crusader. BTW the observation cars were available from IHC - as much as many of the IHC items are of no known prototye. their observation cars were indeed the Crusader cars.
As for the T1 whistle, that sounds like the ‘hooter’ that comes already programmed as the ‘secondary’ whistle sound (F4 I think, out of the box). Since mine was an in-service freight version, I swapped the functions so F2 would play that one. Not 100% correct. The only repalcement sound set I know of is Nick Kulps, he used actual recordings of the American Freedom Train to generate a new whistle (multi-chime passenger type) and new ‘appliance’ (air pump, etc) sounds. You need the Loksound Programmer to replace the sounds already in the loco. I’d love to get one with an actual Reading freight whistle.
Sadly, the bases have been covered. Reading steam in plastic is all but invisible. Most locos have been done in brass, either by GEM or NJ Custom Brass, over the years. Move upa few years and the world has been a lot kinder, with all sorts of first generation diesels. Everything but the one-offs have been made in plastic, either factory painted or undecorated (pretty easy to spray a single color!).
Thanks for all your help guys. I just put down a deposit on a PCM Reading T1, will pick it up next week. Its the freight version, without the yellow piping along the side. I’m lucky they had one in stock, can’t wait to bring it home.
My layout isn’t all that prototypical, but its all east coast, and I just had to have a Reading engine, I think that T1 is beautiful, and I love the yellow lettering on the side. I almost accidentally chose the excursion version, but the owner helped me pick out the right one.
In addition to the models indicated above, I would add that both Mantua and Varney offered Reading 2-8-0 locomotives prior to WWII which occasionally turn up at swap meets, or on the auction site.
In the 1990’s Mantua offered a limited run 2-8-0c based on their camelback that very closely matches the Reading I8 and, since they have a can motor, they run much better than the regular Mantua camelbacks.
Regarding the Mantua 0-6-0c camelback switcher, which supposedly represents a Reading B8 class loco, it uses the superstructure from their 0-4-0c which is decidely too small to honestly represent this engine. However, as an 0-4-0c, the Mantua body does a better job as the A5, although the superstructure sits too high on the mechanism.
In addition, years ago Mellor offered a conversion kit that would make a rear cab Mantua 0-8-0 into a CNJ, or a Reading class E5, heavy switcher. Bethlehem Car Works later offered the Wooten firebox sides from this kit as a separate item, allowing the modeler to alter other Mantua locos (and perhaps other engines) into various Reading stand-ins. Both of these items occasionally appear on the auction site.
I have two of the PCM Reading T-1’s painted in my Atlantic Central colors. They are great runners and very strong pullers, with or without the traction tires. Mine are original stealth versions so I have no input on the sound/DCC issues.
Now, having said all that, let me give you some pointers to make them even better.
Because they left room in the smokebox for a future smoke unit (that will never happen on my layout), the loco is a little tail heavy and tracks poorly on moderately sharp curves/turnouts right out of the box. I added about 1.5 oz of weight in the smoke box. This was easy to do as the smokebox cover just pops off and no other disassembly was necessary. They are now well balanced and track great.
Second, if you try to run the loco with the tender close coupled, you will see that the drawbar rubs on the tender frame. I filed down the edge of the tender frame to allow free movement in the close coupled position. I have large curves and prefer to run locos/tenders as closely coupled as possible.
Third, the traction tires supplied by BLI/PCM, both with the loco and as replacements, are of poor quality and won’t last long. So use the non traction tire driver OR replace the traction tires with ones from Calumet Trains. You will need to use the medium steam size and stretch them out in advance because the Calumet tires are a little wide. Using a smaller size and stretching them makes them narrower and they work fine.
Don’t take this wrong, I think these are great locos and would buy them again in a heart beat, but these little “technical” problems are typical, even with these “more expensive” brands. See why I’m a Bachmann fan. Pay $225 and make modifications or pay $100 and make modifications - paying more has yet to mean no modifcations for me.
Thanks Sheldon for informing of those problems. The chuff sounds a little strange on the PCM version as well.
I withdrew my deposit today, I’ll wait for the Paragon II version, and see if thats improved. I don’t feel like paying that much money for something that needs to be tampered with to any extent really.
Its too bad Bachmann Spectrum doesn’t release some Reading locos, even smaller Reading steamers would be great sellers, I would buy several myself.
I didn’t have any serious problems with my PCM T1. Just one connector on one of the wires was not installed properly and did not make proper contact. Once I fixed that it would crawl at step 1 all over my layout, through unpowered frogs and all. I could set it moving and it would take a half hour to circle around, never stalling or getting stuck. Considering it had no cam, the chuffs were well synchronized. Loksound decoders have a CV to adjust it as well, but I didn’t need to. The motor drive on Loksound decoders is incredible, which is why it ran so well at slow speed. Hopefully the Paragon II decoder works as well. My only real beef was the (once again) unpainted axle ends. But that’s nearly every HO steamer out there.
