I recently purchased a non-boxed Diesel Switcher that looks almost exactly like an S1. It carries the B&M logo, maroon and gold coloring, numbered 1170. In checking some photos online, 1170 had headlamp in front of the hood, as does S2 and S4’s as well as S1’s. Also, on my model, the horn is mounted on the top of the hood on the left side. On the S series switchers, the horn is mounted on the underside front of the Cab. I cannot seem to find a photo anywhere of this model in order to identify it. I checked in Atlas older models tab on their website, and they only have S2 and S4’s.
Do any of you gurus of early diesel switchers have any idea what I have here??
I agree Jeff, as soon as I get back from dentist I’ll post one, in the meantime, some of the gurus of early Diesel switchers will probably know all there is to know about this model and then some, like the engineers name and the designers name includung his MIL’s name.
Yes it does Jeff, that is exactly where the headlamp is. I cannot see on the photo where the horn is located however. The grab irins look the same except for the front, on mine the two front edge rails come down at a 45 degree angle to the steps , +/-.
On some models the horn is located on the left side of the hood just in front of the cab, on others the horn is on the left side of the cab roof. The grab iron placement you described seemed tro vary from one road to another.
It is definately a Baldwin Loco (VO1000) I believe.
They weren’t highly popular, but they were seen around the country. US. Army had a number of them, but I believe the highest number of them were with the Jersey Central.
Here is one of them in my road’s scheme.
If you Google, Baldwin diesel locomotives, you’ll come up with lots of info and pics. There is one there with the hand rails at a 45% angle as you had mentioned. Also there is a picture of a cow and calf lash-up. That would be neat for you to model.
NEW HAVEN I5: You nailed it, it is the Athearn kit of S12!!! Whoever built the kit did a nice job with the kit, however it is NOT 1170, which was indeed an S1 on the old B&M. I have photos of 1170 crossing the bridge into Dover and that is when I got very bad feeling that this was NOT an S1 and NOT an Atlas either.
Thank you Johnboy, Scott, Jeff, DonZ and New Haven I5 for your quick responses and taking the time to look up the photos and websites…you guys are A1 !!![tup].
And here is the kicker …B&M never ran an S12 !!! I have a renegade loco masquerading as a B&M 1170 wannabe. This website list all the B&M pre-Guilford era Diesel locomotives. Gee, ya just can’t trust anybody anymore [:(]
Use your modeler’s license and run it anyways. I always liked seeing the “what-could’ve-been” models. It’s not that far of a stretch either. I’m sure that no one would really point you out on it unless they know the ins and outs of the B&M. Are you trying to be absolutely exact? Could always renumber it so no one (if anyone) questions you about it.
Scott, you are 100% correct on both accounts. No one in my family even has a clue as to the difference between an F9 and an S1 from a 4-6-2, they could be race cars for all they knew. And that goes for everyone else I know also.
Now if Bob Buck, the owner of Tucker’s Hobbies, my LHS, ever came to my house, I would be in trouble, he is the guru of gurus on trains.
So I am going to renumber this little devil, and it is going to be the S12 that I donated to the B&M back in 1956…how do like those apples rivit counters!!![;)]
Why not sell it to some industry along the line as a plant switcher? Baldwins were popular for that service. A lot of steel mills had them, for example. An industry that could conceivably use any old secondhand diesel of any make is a scrap metal yard.
Paintschmemes and numbers on model locomotives are often totally fictional…I would bet that close to half of all model diesels ever made have serious “prototype accuracy” issues!
its nothing new…
been this way as long as model trains have existed.
