Some MR guys have great talent, building things from scratch, modifying kits, making unbelievable realistic layouts etc etc, My question is: does anyone actually build brass locomotives from scratch, with the amount of talent and amount of MR’s. surely ONE person must have built a locomotive(steam) from a pile of brass. Does anyone out there know if this has happened, it would be an interesting post to see some photos if it has. I know lots of builders of live steam, but what about HO scale???
i believe Model Railroader mag. did a feature awhile ago about some guys who completely made their locomotives from scratch. i think they modeled the C&O. i couldn’t tell what issue though. it was in the last couple yrs.
Sure they have. MR did an article on a guy that made a live steam model from scratch. It was awsome! Don’t remember what scale it was.(old school!)
Back when, there were numerous Model Railroader articles authored by Mel Thornburgh, all detailing how to build locomotives ancient (Civil War-era Ross Winans Camel) and modern from scratch using raw brass and hand tools. Most of his models were O scale, but he did build one HO loco, a ‘modern’ B&O 4-4-0, in HO. IIRC, his ‘workshop’ was an ancient roll-top desk…
Then there was Bill Hoffmann. Also working in O scale, he reproduced most of the Sacramento Northern interurban roster from raw WOOD and self-made metal fittings. After he moved to Southern California he changed over to Pacific Electric…
I also recall a more recent series detailing the construction of a 2-8-0 with full-working equalization. The author’s name eludes me.
Bob Darwin didn’t build his Big Boy from scratch. He just rebuilt all of the mechanicals of an early Tenshodo to almost exactly duplicate those of the prototype (spring centered front engine, ramp-and-roller lead and tender truck centering…) He also re-detailed it to the nth degree and painted it to exactly match the prototype (and was roundly castigated by some ‘brass collector’ for ‘ruining’ it!)
Just a few, off the top of my head. There were many others.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
One I can think of was in 1972 (I think). It was in the MR issue that was devoted to shays. They featured a scratch built N scale shay. Photos included coins to give us a sense of just how tiny some of the intricate parts were. I poured over that feature in absolute awe!
In the Kalmbach book Steam Locomotive Projects, there is a reprint of a step by step article covering the building of a brass loco.
John Allen built at least one. The one I know of was an HOn3 0-4-0 saddle tank loco. The model may still exist because it was stolen by a visitor (and therefore did not burn/melt in the fire that destroyed his layout). The little engine does appear in at least one photo.
I’ve seen a photo of a wonderful Heisler built by Cliff Grandt (O scale). The air compressor consisted of over 60 individual parts!
Yes, there have been, and there still are, some amazingly skilled modelers in our hobby.
-Phil
If you can scare up around $39, purchase Allen Keller’s VHS volume 40 of his Great Model Railroad series. You’ll meet Bill Aldrich and your question shall be answered.
HZ
This is not a gripe about the content of MR but rather an observation of today’s model railroader. The hobby has shifted away from scratch building to kit building and RTR. There has also been a shift towards operations. There are now many op weekends throughout the country and at conventions. Many of us do not have the time to build beautiful well running engines, scratch built cars and structures and have a layout which can accomodate a bunch of railroaders who wish to operate them for 3-4 hours. Yes, there are some stunning layouts which have taken 20 or more years to build, have beautiful structures, rolling stock, and scenery. But for those starting out today, there are so many more options than there were decades ago. Model Railroader is a reflection of the today’s trends. Railroad Model Craftsman does a great job for those who wish to build, and unlike MR, will spend pages of print on detailing a piece of rolling stock.
Steve B.
Yes, some modelers build HO scale steam locomotives from scratch. In the late 1990s, we ran a series by Stephen Anderson on building a New York Central 4-6-0, and we ran one by the late Gordon Odegard in the late 1980s. The Anderson series is available as a download in our Information Station line: http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/mrpdf034.html
Some other MR authors, including John Pryke and Bill Leider, also build locomotives from scratch. We see fewer scratchbuilt pieces these days because of the wide variety of commercial locomotives, but scratchbuilding is far from being a lost art.
Thanks,
Terry
sb:
When I read this kind of thing, I have to wonder if the writer has really taken any time to see what the hobby was like in previous years. You’re in good company, of course; I have read the same in magazine editorials and with the same reaction. Rather than launching into my usual diatribes at this point, I’ll just say that model railroading in the 1960s, 1950s, and 1940s was a lot more like today than most people realize, and that the above remark really doesn’t apply until you go back to the early 1930s - and even then, I find I am more struck by the similarities. At any rate, by the 1950s the simple kits were hugely popular, and RTR was growing. There wasn’t as much available RTR, perhaps, but what could be bought was bought and run by everybody. Gilbert made a lot of HO Hudsons. Don’t forget, too, that tinplate was treated more as a branch of scale model railroading back then, not so much as a collectin
You must start slow.
I want to have a 25 ton. So I have to scratch build it. The Grant Line 25 to looks good, but runs not like a clock. I want a switcher for my Diamond Valley.
I’ve started with this project.
But I can’t make the driving unit. You need a lathe!! And the knowledge and experience! So I have to “outsource” this part. Now I’m waiting!
Wolfgang
There is a gentleman by the name of Harry at the West Springfield area library who actually had two brass hand made locomotives on display last year. They were very professional looking too. I was looking for a book and as I walked in there were about 8 or 9 locomotives on display in a glass case so I asked whose they were and spoke to the gentleman about them. What a great job he did.
The name Jess Bennet comes to mind. He is an Idaho farmer who has made many,many brass locos and also has a large operating layout. He’s been featured in MR a couple of times. I had the good fortune to visit him a couple years ago and it was great.Here’s a couple poor photos but at least its proof.
Are you THE Howard Zane of Piermont Division fame?
There’s a guy name Chris who frequents the Railwire.net forum, who builds etched brass steam locomotives and other oddities in N and Z scale, and they are unbelievable, even under close up photography.
Here it is under construction.
Another guy who works wonders is Randy Gustafson, who endlessly experiments with micro drives to create tiny N scale switch engines. One of his projects is a kit that occasionally shows up on eBay, an N scale Heisler. Absolutely amazing.
Lee
its not brass but except for the chassis, walkway and some misc details parts its scratch built. sure beats waiting for a model to come out
Course starting small taught me to manipulate styrene into what you see above