Old Timers' Reminiscing

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Yes, it was cute.  A company, I think it was Ernst, made an aftermarket gear drive for it that would maybe have made it usable.

My favorite HO "critter" was the 0-4-0ST Dockside.  These were based on a B&O prototype.  I think this model was first produced by Varney in the 1950's.  AHM imported and sold lots of these that were made by Rivarossi.
I've read the B&O locomotive was a lightweight design made for switching on tracks laid on docks.  But lots of similar locos were used in industrial applications all over the country: mines; lumber railroads; factories.

Les

AHM marketed two versions of this model, one that didn't even have crossheads    and one that had a full valve gear, which, if I remember correctly, they called the "deluxe" version. It might come as a surprise to some folks, but I have seen the "deluxe" model sell on eBay in the $70 range. I managed to pick one up myself; the headlight works, and it runs smoothly and quietly.

[jward]

the hustler was based on prototypes built by h k porter of pittsburgh. when they turned to old homestead mill near pittsburgh into a mall, they put a real hustler on display in a traffic circle.

somebody mentioned the ernst gearing for the hustler. it did work well, and slowed the locomotive down to scale speeds. unfortunately, due to the long rigid wheelbase, the hustler was derailment prone.

which brings up ernst themselves. ernst produced regear kits which fit most athearn and some early proto2000 units (whose drives were athearn clones) and they really slowed these old workhorses down. an ernst geared athearn ran at about helf the speed of an out of the box locomotive. for many years, ernst geared athearns were the standard on my layout, and my dad's as well. for me, dcc and the ability to program any locomotive to run the way i wanted killed the ernst for me. as an experiment, when i first started dcc i programmed an unmodified athearn to run with an ernst geared one. both units had hardwired decoders of course.

[ebtnut]

Re:  The Hustler, here's a little project for the kit-bashers, based on a sample I saw years ago.  Take the body of one Hustler and cut the hood behind the headlight.  Take another body and cut the hood at the cab and splice to the first.  Take the new longer body and join it to the switcher mech of your choice.  Makes for an interesting conversation piece - kind of Lima - like in appearance. 

[Desertdweller]

Great idea!

Here is another:  Cut the hood off one Hustler, attach it to the cab of another.  Put it on a switcher mechanism, and you have a twin engine, center-cab unit.

Les

[richg]

Yes, it was cute.  A company, I think it was Ernst, made an aftermarket gear drive for it that would maybe have made it usable.

My favorite HO "critter" was the 0-4-0ST Dockside.  These were based on a B&O prototype.  I think this model was first produced by Varney in the 1950's.  AHM imported and sold lots of these that were made by Rivarossi.
I've read the B&O locomotive was a lightweight design made for switching on tracks laid on docks.  But lots of similar locos were used in industrial applications all over the country: mines; lumber railroads; factories.

Les

Many years ago someone used a Little Joe to make a oil fired 4-4-0 Cab Forward. I did this with a Mantua, 0-6-0T and used the example of a oil fired 4-4-0 built many years ago.
I put a DZ125 decoder in the loco. When I found an old Vanderbilt oil tender, I put a SoundTraxx DSD-090 decoder and speaker in the tender. I left the DZ125 in the loco. No problem with programming. All six drivers pickup and all the tender wheels pickup.






Rich

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Many years ago someone used a Little Joe to make a oil fired 4-4-0 Cab Forward. I did this with a Mantua, 0-6-0T and used the example of a oil fired 4-4-0 built many years ago.
I put a DZ125 decoder in the loco. When I found an old Vanderbilt oil tender, I put a SoundTraxx DSD-090 decoder and speaker in the tender. I left the DZ125 in the loco. No problem with programming. All six drivers pickup and all the tender wheels pickup.






Rich

That's a real interesting-looking locomotive, Rich!

That conversion of an 0-4-0T to a cab forward 4-4-0 with Vanderbilt tender is illustrated in my favorite old model railroading handbook, The Complete Book of Model Railroading, by David Sutton, published in 1964. I must have acquired my copy of the book at the old Walden Books at the local mall about ten years after it was published, and over the years I've perused it so often that it's now falling apart. 

JBJ

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

It's a shame that not many remember the histories and identities of these (many) Southern locomotives before they went north to tourist railroads en masse in the 60's and early 70's.  Without these little survivors that the owners couldn't afford to replace at the time with diesels, the WK&S and roads like that wouldn't have had steam power at all.

PF

The lovely little 4-4-0 at the Wilmington & Western, in Delaware, is also a transplanted Southerner. Unfortunately I seem to have lost the literature I once had that described her background and where she hailed from. 

[J3a-614]

Johnson Bar, she's from the Mississippi Central, and you're right, she's a pretty thing:

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?road_number=WWRC%2098

http://www.scenicusa.net/080608.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl3BgYHScJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq6YyWOwZr4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL2fUNOaVew

Hmm, she's an Alco, and doesn't look real huge, like a PRR D-16.  I think she looks a good deal like the "Richmond" 4-4-0 that is Ma&Pa Nos. 4-6, offered by Bachmann.  I wonder how close the two are in terms of dimensions, and if it would be possible to make up the 98 from the Bachmann model.

[richg]

rich:  When I found an old Vanderbilt oil tender, I put a SoundTraxx DSD-090 decoder and speaker in the tender.

PF:  is that a Roundhouse tender  like the ones came with the "Harriman"engines they sold way back?  Where did you put the speaker holes?  What is a SoundTraxx DSD-090 ?  That number doesn't match the ones I see in the list.  "Light Steam", et all, have a 5-digit number.

PF

I bought two Bachmann 0-6-0 off of ebay a few years ago that came with the older pancake motor loco. I gave the locos to someone in the Bachmann forums but kept the tenders. I drilled holes in the bottom of the tender and installed a 14mm x 25mm speaker following a tender Bachmann diagram of a Vanderbilt sound tender.
Bachmann still sells the loco & tender, UP,  but not the tender alone.

Rich

[CNE Runner]

I did some 'searching' at yesterday's Gadsden Train Show and came up with 4 Athearn Little Hustlers for sale (only one was said to be running...the others had 'lost' their rubber bands). None of the offered locomotives were in the greatest condition and were listed at $10 (average).

I did find a couple of the Marx H.K. Porter designed switchers from approximately the same era. These little jewels are gear-driven and closely resemble the Little Hustlers. The dealer had no idea whether or not they ran (from the dry gears I would doubt it strongly) and didn't seem to want to budge from his $30 price point. Needless to say he left the show with all his little switchers.

I did find an image of a Marx switcher and can pass along some information I received from an experienced Marx collector. He said the same model is now sold under the Model Power name as the "Porter Hustler" (which lists in my 2010 Walther's catalog for $35.98 - hence the reluctance of the public to purchase that vendor's models...which looked like he found them in a barn). OK, an image of the Marx:

Here is an image of the Model Power 'version'. The website, from which the image comes, had several 'flavors' of this model - I chose one that resembled the Marx image. Incidentally these locomotives are on sale for a little under $27.

Ray

[jward]

i notice that the marx locomotive has a much shorter wheelbase than the model power or athearn ones.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Johnson Bar, she's from the Mississippi Central, and you're right, she's a pretty thing:

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?road_number=WWRC%2098

http://www.scenicusa.net/080608.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl3BgYHScJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq6YyWOwZr4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL2fUNOaVew

Hmm, she's an Alco, and doesn't look real huge, like a PRR D-16.  I think she looks a good deal like the "Richmond" 4-4-0 that is Ma&Pa Nos. 4-6, offered by Bachmann.  I wonder how close the two are in terms of dimensions, and if it would be possible to make up the 98 from the Bachmann model.

Thanks! I thought I remembered a Mississippi connection, but I didn't want to say anything when I couldn't find my documentation to back it up.

I have a framed picture of her pulling a combine and a coach on the W&W hanging in my cubicle at work. (Actually, the picture was the back cover of a tourist railroad directory years ago.  )

Of course, her bell and domes are placed differently than the Bachmann "Richmond" Alco. Truth to tell, personally I find the placement of the bell and domes on the W&W Alco more aesthetically pleasing than I do the placement of those appliances on the Bachmann model.   

[CNE Runner]

jward - You might be right about the wheelbase of the two locomotives. I held both the Little Hustler and the Marx in my hands - and they looked to be about the same. Unfortunately there wasn't a Model Power loco to compare (frankly, I have never seen a Model Power Porter in the 'flesh'). I am seriously thinking of having a small collection of these little critters: Athearn Little Hustler (silver of course), Marx, Model Power, Bachmann and whatever else I can find...'sort of a critter rescue foundation.

How about those 'little jewels' that Jeff made? Honestly he is getting so talented we may have to award him his MR PhD. Jeff, everytime I see an example of your work I wish you lived next door. Ah, what the heck...I wish all you guys lived on my street (which would be my wife's idea of hell).

Regards,
Ray

[jward]

we'd have a blast wouldn't we? model train night at a different layout every time.

[Jerrys HO]

Ray

Was it Jeff or Jonathan with the jewels?

Heck my wife would not think it's hell, she'd pay you to get me away every night. That way I would quit bugging her for more ideas.

Jerry