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C&O 614

Started by nandw611, January 16, 2012, 05:29:57 PM

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nandw611

January 16, 2012, 05:29:57 PM
I am new to model trains...and am looking for an HO C&O 614.  Does this exist?  I have not been able to find any model of the 614.  Thanks!

jonathan

#1
January 16, 2012, 06:05:22 PM
As most of us are not C&O experts, perhaps you could enlighten us what #614 is? 

Sounds like a 4-8-4 J3a... hmmm that title sounds familiar.

If you check out brasstrains.com and go to the C&O section, you may find a PFM model of that locomotive.  I know they have had tons of C&O locos in the past.  Don't know what their inventory is right now.

Be aware, you are going to pay quite a premium for such a model.  Then it will need lots of work to get it running and looking right.

Sounds like lots of fun to me.  :)

J3a-614

#2
January 16, 2012, 06:09:14 PM
Well, well, well, a person after my heart and soul!!  And how I wish I could find one myself.

They've been available, but only in brass so far.  I personally think this would be a good engine for Bachmann (could use a number of parts from the C&O 2-8-4, such as tender, trailing truck, the prototype has a history as an excursion engine), but that decision isn't mine to make.

The prototype was from a series of five engines built by Lima in 1948.  These would be the last steam passenger engines built by a commercial locomotive builder for an American railroad.  (The last steam passenger locomotives for any American road would be N&W's 611-613, home-built by the N&W at Roanoke in 1950).

The series was in class J3-a, and numbers ran from 610 to 614.

C&O had two other series of 4-8-4s, in class J3, all built by Lima; 600-604 were built in 1935, and as delivered, has Walschaerts valve gear and a centered headlight, like something from the USRA or the Lackawanna.  This was changed to the Baker gear and lowered headlight that became a C&O standard in about 1940-1942.  They also had a "reversed" sand and steam dome arrangement (steam dome far forward, like an NKP 2-8-4, sand dome back).  This was intended to draw steam from the boiler where there wasn't so much splashing from the boiling water, but did not work out in practice, due to the surge of water forward as the engines tipped over the peaks of several ridges on the up-and-down terrain of the road's mountain crossing between Charlottesville, Va. and Hinton, W.Va.Nos. 605 and 606 were built in 1942. and came with the lowered headlight and Baker gear from the start, along with a conventional sand dome-steam dome arrangement.

Of interest is that there were no engines in series 607-609.

Some examples I was able to locate; try not to have a heart attack when you look at some of the prices:

http://www.brasstrains.com/classic/Product/Detail/015688/HO-PFM-1981-C-O-J3a-4-8-4-Chesapeake-Ohio

http://www.brasstrains.com/classic/Product/Detail/036474/HO-Gem-Models-C-O-Chesapeake-Ohio-4-8-4-J3A-Greenbrier-613

http://brasstrains.org/pfm-united-j3a-co-4-8-4-81run

http://www.angelfire.com/film/prrpics/613.jpg

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Key-C-O-Chesapeake-Ohio-4-8-4-J3A-600-unpt-Brass-REDUCED-/110561089797

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/northern/?page=co

Make sure you have your nitroglycerin tablets nearby, just in case. . .:-)
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