The S-Helper Open House event was just too tempting to be ignored. The event was scheduled for March 1st through March 3rd (Friday-Sunday). Several members of the SJSG made the trip to Cliffwood, NJ to enjoy the day at the SHS warehouse.

We all had a wonderful time browsing the bargains made available to us by Don and Robin Thompson. Some of us took notes during the day of conversations we had - and here is our best recollections.

New 2-8-0 Consolidation steam engine.
Once the question was asked, Don was very happy to show us some of the information he had on the new engine, including the replica full-sized blueprints of the real engine. The production model will have a scale sized front coupler and an AF-compatible rear coupler installed at the factory. A replacement scale coupler will be included for conversion to scale - or to enable double-heading two engines. The engine will feature what Don calls an "Open Frame" chassis and the motor and drive gears will completely fit in the cab area of the engine - the frame and wheels will have a "see-through" design, just like the full size engine. The motor will actually be mounted vertically with the drive gears connecting to the rear axle. I didn't get a chance to ask Don if all of the drive wheels will be driven, but by his previous products, I suspect they will. 

Don showed us the engineering drawings of the model, and they were fascinating. According to the plans - the model engine will have 465 unique parts! Don is looking to have the engine ready to sell by 2003 and he hopes he will be able to keep the price under $500.

S-Trax #5 switch (oh, awright, turnout)
Don was working on a way to make the new #5 switch compatible with both hi-Rail and scale wheels, and he had an engineering prototype there for us to examine. He has devised a novel moving frog mechanism that is linked to the solenoid that throws the points. By moving the frog, the rails provide a solid unbroken path for the wheels to follow, which eliminates the problem of varying width gaps needed for hi-Rail and scale wheels to cross the opposite route rail. Don's design won't even need guard rails near the frog! He does have a problem to overcome with the linkage that flips the frog, right now he uses a spring that applies pressure to hold the frog in place when it moves past the center of it's travel, and the spring tends to pop off at that point. Don also mentioned the design problem he is having with creating a #6 switch - the rails don't diverge enough to allow a simple casting of the roadbed and ties.

55ton 2-bay composite hopper
Also on the table for public inspection, was an engineering sample of the new hopper car. The body is made in the usual ABS plastic and the frame and bolsters are made of Zamac to help add weight. Toss in the metal trucks and the car is only slightly underweight according to the standards. Don is also  working on a small problem with the movable unloading doors on the two-bay hopper. The material that forms the hinges is too fragile, and he is working on beefing up the design. 

Phase I F-7
Don revealed that the first test shots of the Santa Fe used two types of silver paint, one type was a buffable silver that was supposed to represent the chrome panels. He wasn't pleased with the results, so he redesigned the paint scheme to include actual chrome plates for the panels. That, of course, necessitated all new paint masks. Since paint doesn't stick well to chrome, the new scheme will need another set of masks for the chrome area so there will not be any chrome under the painted sections. According to Don, the Sante Fe will be the most expensive paint scheme he has created to date, the masks will cost more than all of the other F-7 paint masks combined!

Ore car
There were also engineering drawings of an old-time wooden ore car that Don is working on. He is planning to sell these in sets of five with different numbers on each car. Don is very pleased with the quality of the detail he has been able to get on this car. If the drawings are any indication, they should be very popular cars!