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I am Joe Deger and although I am a new member of the ACSG I have been interested in trains (and particularly toy trains) all my life. My father collected and ran Lionel and American Flyer Standard Gauge trains from the 1920s and 1930s (and he let me run them - once in awhile).
My first train set was an American Flyer 5605T with a Baldwin diesel and three cars from 1956. My trains grew steadily from that point. I joined the Train Collectors Association in 1962 as a family member and became a full member in 1968.
I do not have a permanent layout but my train room does have a 5 ft. by 8 ft. table that I set up trains on for part of the year. Other times it is used to assemble Erector models, Lego sets, puzzles and as a work table for my locomotive conversion projects. This picture is of my current (September 2009) layout. I can run three trains simultaneously plus I can switch trains from track to track.
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Pennsylvania 2-10-2
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I was curious to see if I could make a really large S-Gauge locomotive, something more than the eight drive-wheel set-ups usually made using the Gilbert Northern frame. I came up with the idea of joining two six-wheel engine frames together. The result is the Pennsylvania 2-10-2 no. 9859 pictured. It is loosely modeled after a Pennsy N2sa. Most of these locomotives had a doghouse on the tender but I managed to find a picture of one that did not, that is the one I numbered my model after.
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The overall effect is pretty good. Some of the cast-on details from the Gilbert K-5 I started with did not apply to the N2sa class but were too hard to remove cleanly. I did remove the feedwater heater behind the smoke stack. The drawbar was shortened as much as possible, this also helps in the general appearance. I had this locomotive at a recent Virginia Beach show and it ran on the ACSG layout for about four hours non-stop (except for short pauses to fill the smoke unit). It ran very well.
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The ten-wheel frame after the two six-wheel frames were joined. The axle holes for the rear driver of one (where the drive gear is) is lined up with the first axle hole of the other frame. The milling of the cuts was very well done by a retired machinist: the only thing holding the two frames together is the brass bushing inserted in the overlapping axle holes.
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A close-up view of the joint. The front of one frame is cut to form a tab that is inserted into the slot formed by the opening for the drive gear (after the motor mount and smoke drive gear mounting are removed).
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After the frame was done and it proved to be able to maneuver around a curve (it tolerates Gilbert track but likes the 54 inch K-Line track much better) I figured out how to extend the boiler. I cut the boiler at an appropriate place and inserted a section of copper pipe (one side was cut lengthwise and the section opened up to form an upside-down "U") to keep the sections of boiler lined up. The boiler was lengthened about two and a quarter inches. This picture shows the lengthened boiler being trial fitted to the frame. The gap in the running boards was filled with some strip brass.
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This picture shows the locomotive with the boiler gap just about finished off, the long side rods installed, drive rods and crosshead guides from a Hudson installed (the N2sa class had crosshead guides similar to the type Gilbert used on his Hudson locomotives), and the modified pilot deck with ladders and pilot beam steps. This was a fun project that resulted in a rather unique locomotive. I tried to make it look like a Gilbert product, rather than a strictly scale creation (if Gilbert had made one of these it might have looked like this).
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Here is a picture of the 2-10-2 running on the ACSG, Tidewater Division, modular layout at the NMRA show in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on September 20, 2009. It was pulling a long mixed freight past the Starlite Diner, animated billboard and IRS building.
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NYC Mohawk 4-8-2
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Here are two views of the New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawk L-2d I converted from a Gilbert Hudson. After finishing the Pennsylvania 2-10-2 I made from a Gilbert K-5 I wanted to see if I could duplicate the frame splicing technique using hand tools. I only used a hacksaw and files to modify two six-wheel frames so that they could be joined by the same tab and groove method I used on the 2-10-2. As it turned out it was another successful effort.
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I looked through my collection of Alvin Staufer train books and found some pictures of NYC Mohawks that closely resembled the Hudson in outward appearance. The L-2d nos. 2995 and 2998 were converted to joint passenger and freight service. The 2998 spent some time on display at the 1940 New York World's Fair. These engines were very close to the Hudson, so much so that you had to count the drivers to tell them apart.
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A picture of the front of the locomotive. I numbered the boiler front number board and headlights of all my conversions. I always liked the oval NYC logo Gilbert included on the Hudson boiler front but lamented the fact that it was not painted or lettered. So I created a very small NYC oval logo (you can actually read it) and put it on the boiler front casting.
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The component parts of the Mohawk: the finished frame with motor, smoke unit and drivers; the tender; and the pieces for the boiler. On this engine I didn't want to just cut it once and stretch the boiler because that would put too much space between the domes. To avoid this I cut the boiler in one place and then cut along the running boards and then cut vertically to remove steam dome. This way I could move the steam dome back a little so the extension was not all in one place. The copper pipe used to bridge the gap and strengthen the extended boiler is included in the picture. The pipe was cut lengthwise on one side and opened up to form an inverted "U" similar to the one I used in the 2-10-2 project.
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The boiler installed on the frame for a test fitting prior to using JB Weld to join the pieces together. The steam dome section is positioned approximately where it will be "welded" into position.
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A view of the smoke unit and the underside of the front part of the boiler showing how the mounting points were shifted forward. The real Mohawks had the front drivers closer to the cylinders than the Hudsons did. This necessitated shifting the frame slightly forward under the boiler. Because of this the smoke unit also had to be modified so the smoke tube would line up with the smoke stack. I solved this problem by drilling a new hole for the smoke tube and tapping the fiber top plate (it takes a 10-32 tap). The original hole was sealed with JB Weld. This modification did not affect the smoking ability of the unit. This locomotive ran for about four hours on the ACSG modular layout during the NMRA train meet in Virginia Beach in September 2009. It performed very well.
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Pennsylvania 4-4-2
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A left and right view of the Pennsylvania Railroad 4-4-2 E-6 Atlantic I made from a Gilbert K-5. After making the long locomotives (Pennsy 2-10-2 and NYC 4-8-2) I wondered how hard it would be to make a shorter one. The Pennsy E-6 was one of my favorite locomotives and since I had some K-5 boilers I thought it would be a good candidate to try. The overall effect of the locomotive is very good. Again, I used all Gilbert parts (or reproductions) so the finished locomotive would look like something Gilbert might have made.
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As it turned out it was much harder shortening the boiler than stretching it. Not only did I have to shorten the boiler but the firebox had to be greatly shortened as well. Another problem area was the cab. The K-5 cab only has one window on each side while the E-6 has two. This problem was solved by cutting two boilers, with the cab of one contributing the extra windows for the E-6.
The area of the boiler where the cut was made (just behind the smoke box) did not have room inside for a copper pipe to align and strengthen. This problem was solved by cutting the boiler just forward of the sand dome and using a Dremel motor tool to grind down the outside diameter of the area behind the smoke box so that it would slip inside the boiler shell just forward of the sand dome (which had the inside diameter ground out to form a lap joint).
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This picture shows the front of the locomotive. The pilot had one of the steps broken off and some of the pilot slats were cracked. I reinforced the pilot and reconstructed the step from brass. I painted and numbered the boiler front logo and the headlight sides.
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This picture shows the two main sections of the boiler shell. The two sections of the boiler have been joined and the cab built up from the parts from two different cabs. Since the boiler was cut up in a different way from the 2-10-2 I was able to effectively remove some of the cast-on detail that was not appropriate for the E-6 (power reverse, feedwater heater and a few other things, including the two sand pipes on each side of the boiler - the E-6 only had one). The manual reverse bar I made can be seen in the right-side view of the locomotive.
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The component pieces of the boiler and cab. These were all ground and filed so that they fit together and were then joined using JB Weld. This locomotive was also run on the ACSG layout when it was set up at the NMRA show in Virginia Beach in September 2009.
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The mighty E-6 Atlantic is shown pulling a drag of refrigerator cars on track no. 4 on the ACSG, Tidewater Division, modular layout during the NMRA show in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on September 20, 2009. The Pennsy 2-10-2 can be seen on a curve on track no. 2 in the background.
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Reading 4-4-2 with full valve gear
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I have long been intrigued by the fact that Gilbert included the bracket for hanging an eccentric rod on the Reading Atlantics with the four-piece die-cast boiler. To the best of my knowledge Gilbert never included full valve gear for this locomotive (even on the pre-war O-gauge version). Wondering what the locomotive would look with an eccentric rod I finished cutting out the casting and drilled and tapped a hole for a Gilbert screw. I modified a reproduction eccentric rod from an 0-8-0 switcher and installed it on the Atlantic. Although it worked it looked a bit strange all by itself so I bought some reproduction drive rods and modified the valve gear rods so the locomotive would have a full set of Gilbert-style rods with valve gear. The overall effect turned out very nice. I painted and numbered the locomotive to match the Reading's locomotive this engine was modeled after.
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H S & T 42 with Vanderbilt tender
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I let my imagination go a little after I finished the 4-4-2 Pennsylvania E-6. That project required me to cut a cab off of a second K-5 boiler so I could create a cab with four windows instead of the two the K-5 had. That meant I had a K-5 boiler with no cab. Rather than just waste a perfectly good boiler I modified it by removing the generator and feedwater heater around the smoke stack and adding a cab cut from a Reading Atlantic with a plastic boiler shell. I next modified an Atlantic pilot I had with a corner of the slats broken out. The keystone logo on the boiler front was removed and a round number board installed. I also always wanted a locomotive with a Vanderbilt type tender so as long as I was using up left-over parts making a freelance locomotive I used an Atlantic plastic tender shell and a Gilbert tank car to make one. The die-cast tank car frame was used for the tender after it was shortened. The locomotive is numbered and lettered for my HO model railroad I was building during the 1960s; the Hemlock, Selkirk and Troy Railroad, "The Hemlock Line." The HO railroad fell into disuse while I was in the Navy and has been torn down.
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Here is a shot of the Vanderbilt tender I made for my freelance Hemlock, Selkirk and Troy Railroad. The water hatch is the hatch that was removed from the Atlantic tender after the water tank was cut off of the coal bin.
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B & O Royal Blue train
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My first major project was to convert a Gilbert Silver Bullet into a close representation of the Baltimore & Ohio Royal Blue steam locomotive of 1937. The Gilbert locomotive casting was quite close to the actual design. I had to modify the running boards so they curved smoothly into the streamlined pilot. The original was squared off. The cast-on handrails also had to be removed and metal handrails applied. I also did away with the stylized drive rods and eccentric rods. Using the drive rods and crosshead guides from an early Gilbert Atlantic and eccentric rods from a K-5 I achieved a good working setup of the valve motion. Adding the heavy delta-type trailing truck finished the general appearance. Painting, lettering and lining the model makes it stand out quite nicely.
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A close up of the front of the locomotive where you can see the applied handrails, drive rod crosshead guides and eccentric rods. The rounded off running board above the square cylinder casing allows the striping to flow from the side of the running boards onto the streamlined pilot. I also removed the cast-on whistle and installed a metal Gilbert whistle. The striping shows up well in this photograph. I created the graphics for this locomotive using Microsoft Publisher and inkjet decal paper.
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After completing the locomotive I wanted some B&O passenger cars for it to pull. At first I was going to use standard heavyweight cars but after examining pictures of the real Royal Blue in operation I saw that the B&O used streamlined heavyweights that were modified in their Mt. Clare shops. The streamlined appearance made the cars look more like the Gilbert New Haven cars than the standard heavyweights. I figured out that by cutting and mixing up the pieces I could make two near scale length streamlined passenger cars out of three New Haven cars. The finished cars are about 14 inches long, which works out to be about 75 scale feet. The real cars were about 79 feet long. The lettering, numbers and window arrangements are authentic to the second Royal Blue train of 1937. This train also operated with the 5304 Pacific. (The first set of cars was transferred to the Columbian after the second set of cars was ready.)
This picture shows the 1076 26-Seat Diner-Lunch Car.
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The 1301 Combine and 3514 54-Seat Coach with Women's Lounge are pictured here. I used a computer graphics collection with Microsoft Publisher to create the silhouettes.
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The 2111 is a 26-Seat Parlor car. I used American Models hi-rail six-wheel passenger car trucks on all cars. I set up the trucks so that the cars would be very closely coupled. These cars can negotiate the tight radius of Gilbert standard track.
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The 3066 is a 42-Seat Coach with a Lunch Counter. The decals were a special order from Rail Graphics.
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The 3513 54-Seat Coach with Women's Lounge is basically identical to the 3514.
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The 3521 is a 68-Seat Coach.
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The 3301 observation car was basically a car with a squared off end. It was listed as a Buffet - Observation car.
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I created the drumhead using Microsoft Publisher and printed it out on inkjet decal paper.
The original Royal Blue train had only eight cars. I modeled all of them to make a rather nice rendition of the full Royal Blue train. So far it has run between 30 and 40 hours on my layout. It performs very nicely.
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American Flyer Circus train
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These pictures show an American Flyer Circus set that I painted to use as a Christmas tree set. The locomotive was a Silver Bullet (I had a lot of those in my junk box) so it smokes. I painted it using Train Enamel paint and rub-on lettering. At the time (in the early 1980s) these materials were available from Ron Leventon.
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Besides the locomotive I painted up two flat cars (with Leventon reproduction loads) and a tank car. The tank car was one of the early black plastic cars that warped. I used it for a touch of whimsy.
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I also painted two New Haven style passenger coaches and a New Haven style baggage car. All the cars are lettered using American Flyer type lettering.
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This picture shows the circus set on display on the ACSG modular layout during the NMRA show in Virginia Beach, Virginia on September 19, 2009.
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Erector Merry-Go-Round and Ferris Wheel and Erector Parachute Jump
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As I mentioned I also use the train table to assemble Erector models. These pictures are of some of the larger Erector models. They are all of the Amusement Park series from Erector sets from the early 1950s. The Merry-Go-Round was made from no. 10 ½ sets and the Ferris Wheel was made from a number 8 ½ set (from a 1952 set in a cardboard box - cardboard because of Korean War metal shortages).
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The Parachute Jump was made from no. 10 ½ set.
These sets are an impressive sight when they are all operated at the same time.
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