I would like to replace the cheesy trailing truck that was supplied with (MDC/Roundhouse’s 440 series locos. There seems to be a wide variety of options from the proto photos of Priairies that are available but most of the ones I’ve seen from the Depression era and later look like they are Deltas. Cal Scale’s lead drawing for their old Harriman loco superdetail kits (190-2021) shows a Delta as part of a 4-4-2, under the same boiler and cab I’m dealing with. Questions: a) what’s the best replacement truck still readily available?, b) what modifications to the end of the underframe will be required, and whle we’re at it with that Cal Scale drawing, c) what are the goodies hanging off the back end of the Vandy tender and where do I get them? I’d also like to ID and secure the large dump (?) pipes (#13-104) that come back from the air pumps and end below the cab on each side. I’ll deal with the equally cheesy firebox in another post as this one is getting too long - unless someone whats to opine on that issue as well.
Update: the Vandy’s goodies are evidently footboards and hoses, just don’t know which to order. Also, this loco is for my own short line, southern Oregon, off the SP, mid- to late-50s.
The last time I checked, Cal-Scale had discontinued their Delta trailing truck, which was a one-piece casting that was easy to install. You might try Bowser to see if they might have any old stock.
If not, check with Precision Scale in Montana. They do offer a brass Delta trailing truck, however it has to be soldered together. It should work, however.
Precision Scale Co., www.precisionscaleco.com, makes an HO scale Delta trailing truck. It’s a brass casting and it comes with a booster engine, although it can be assembled without the booster. The booster was an auxilliary steam engine geared to the trailing axle that gave the engine a bit of extra tractive effort for starting. On models they’re just for the appearance.
I mention that because those large pipes you mention probably had nothing to do with the air compressor (which on most engines would be on one side only, usually the left). They sound more like the supply and exhaust pipes for the booster, which had swiveling connections that could move with the trailing truck. Usually these pipes are modeled without being actually connected to the truck, because model trucks need to swing farther than the real thing. Or you could just omit the booster. Most steam engines didn’t have them, particularly on short lines.
Fitting the PSC truck to the Roundhouse Prarie frame will be up to you, unless you can find someone who’s done the same modification to advise you. It could require removing some metal from the die-cast frame so the truck can ride level – the bottom of the truck frame should be parallel with the rails.
While you’re looking for the truck, order the PSC Catalog 3.1 for HO and HOn3 steam locomotive parts and kits. It has quite a lot of stuff that you’ll find useful in steam detailing projects.
Don’t overlook Bachmann “parts” as well, with their line of steamers they have quite a few very “interesting” parts available including the trailing trucks you might want.
You know, I never thought of Bachmann in terms of ‘parts’–thanks for the reference. Like the OP, I had to replace a trailing truck on an old Akane Pacific a couple of years ago, and after not being able to find the Cal-Scale part, I finally cannabalized an older Genesis 2-8-2 that was of no use to me. So the parts are out there, but you have to do a lot of ‘scrounging’ these days to get them, LOL!
Thanks for your comments. I figured the replacement of the MDC truck might require work on the lower frame. Regarding the large pipes and compressors, I was from the start a bit surprised that the Cal Scale drawings showed them on both sides of the Atlantic that is used for their installation guide. None of the proto photos of anything I’ve seen in the past few weeks show compressors on the right side.
I’ve only been back into model railroading for the past two months after a 25 year hiatus. In the process of my re-entry I’ve noticed your name on all sorts of stuff and want to express my appreciation for all the assistance and support that you and your peers there at MR give to what certainly must be many hundreds of thousands.
I noted from your bio on the “Meet the Staff” portion of the MR home page that you have an extensive ATSF layout in your basement. Did any of the Prairies run by that line ever run on fuel oil from Vanderbilt tenders? Altough the old MDC kit I says its modelled on an SP engine I’ve not yet able to find a Harriman Prairie proto photo, SP or otherwise.
If you’re there in Milwaukee, I hope you’re not getting pasted too badly. Coming from Michigan I learned that big storms were not as much fun once the transition to adulthood was complete. Thankfully it’s just the opposite for trains!
Many if not most of the Santa Fe’s 238 2-6-2s burned oil, but the Santa Fe never had a Vanderbilt tender. The Southern Pacific only had six Prairie types, built in 1902 and 1904. I don’t know much about them but they certainly weren’t built with Delta trailing trucks at that early date. I believe they were built with rectangular tenders, and I don’t know whether any of them ever got Vanderbilt tenders.
It’s been snowing most of the day here, and it’s supposed to get worse in an hour or two. It’ll be good basement weather!
Hi fellas, I hope this will not be a distraction, but is this the same model as an early TYCO that was oem’d from Mantua (I believe -I could be wrong). Any way, on that one both the lead & trailing trucks were stamped sheet metal with an axle & wheels inserted (both were open, no outside bearings). This was my grandfathers steamer & we got it around '74 ish. I am restoring it & giving it the PSC treatment (at least on the outside). I too have had a hard time finding prototype photo’s & am sort of freelancing the details a bit. However, the trailing truck has always been questioned, as I do not know if I should put a truck on there with outside bearings or not. I’m not afraid to do metalwork, the front has already been milled & keyed to fit a nicer PSC pilot. (PS: I do have catalog 3.1) Please offer any thoughts or suggestions, Thanks!!!
Well, this continues to lead me to believe that MDC may have taken a few more liberties with this kit than I expected when I bought it. At my best and closest hobby store they are displaying a book on the steam of the old SP&S. It has a couple of Prairies in it from the early 20s or so. Some have spoked leading trucks but, as I recall, they all had larger (40+") spoked trailers with what must have been inboard bearings. I guess the question would be how one of these locos might have been refitted with other trucks by SP (or anyone else) before it was sold to my ficticious short line in the late 40s. Are Hodge and USRA trucks fairly unlikely? So many photos of fistfuls of vaiuos Prairies out there - but none of them are Harrimans. : ( In the end, I guess I can do what I thing looks good - and hope that noone long on knowledge and short on grace ever sees it! Is this why guys are more and more buying power with the goodies already installed?
The MDC kits have (had) small die cast metal blocks with a channel for the wheelset. The axle is held in by a small diecast plate screwed on to the bottom of the block. Yup, no outside bearings. I’ll give htis string another couple of days to see who else wants to jump in on these matters.
According to the Model Railroader Cyclopedia: Steam Locomotives, there were no Harriman Prairies. I’m guessing the “Harriman” Prairie was bit of imagineering by MDC, combining a Santa Fe 2-6-2 chassis with a Harriman 2-8-0 boiler and the vanderbilt tender.
Thanks, Dan. Well, I gues that leaves me free to put on it what I want - and make up an entirely fanciful story of its history. Apparently there was a metaphysical sift that began sometime, I suppose, about the time of the departure of steam - reality began to become relative. But perhaps that’s a subject for another type of forum!
As far as I know the UP had no praries but the SP did and they were around until about 1935, as I recall they were EP&SW engines and didn’t last on the SP for very long until they were scrapped in 1935.
If you can run down a copy of Guy L. Dunscomb’s book “A Century of Southern Pacific Steam Lococmotives” it has all the info you would ever need on these.
Santa Fe was the only really big user of the 2-6-2 engine that I know of and they looked nothing like a “Harriman” type locomotive, more like the 4-4-2 boiler on a 2-6-2 chassis and drivers with a rectangular oil tender.
Almost forgot, the SP 2-6-2’s also had a rectangular oil tenders, they never had vanderbilts behind them.
Maybe the Great Northern possibly, I’m not sure but I think they had a few 2-6-2’s, but as I say I’m not 100% sure about that, fading memory you know.
As for the Harriman roads, there were 5 major Harriman roads, UP, SP, WP(partial stock interest), Erie, and the IC. Of these Sp was the only one to have any 2-6-2’s…as far as I know.
If anybody has any more or different info please share as I would be interested as well.
