Tender length

T Cline · April 06, 2009, 04:23:23 PM

I have a Spectrum "Long Vanderbuilt" tender that is about 6 1/2" long. How long is a "Hicken" tender? Are they available with coal bunker, or just oil?

Thanks.
Todd

SteamGene · April 06, 2009, 04:36:27 PM

The Hickens tender is about the same size. I believe it's an oil tender only. OTOH, the one is an eastern tender and the other a western. I don't think they would ever be found together.
Gene

glennk28 · April 06, 2009, 08:52:49 PM

The "Hicken" tender is fairl;y much a Southern Pacific design, although I never heard it called that. SP Class is 160C xx. the xx being subclass numbers. Means 16,000 gallon Cylindrical tender.

T Cline · April 07, 2009, 12:35:31 AM

The reason I'm asking about the Hicken tender is it looks pretty close to a CN/GTW 4-8-2 tender. The long Vandy tender I have looks to be about 10 scale feet too long, and it looks like a nightmare to try to shorten it. If the Hicken is about 5" to 5.5" long, I can make it work. Unfortunatly, the info. in this catalog doesn't list dimensions. If someone could just hold a ruler up to a Hicken tender if they have one, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Todd

SteamGene · April 07, 2009, 04:26:53 PM

I did a very unscientific measurement, but added to the comment that the Hickens tender is also a 16,000 gallon tender, I'd say the two are very close to each other in length. You may well be able to cut some out of the center section to shorten it.
Gene

glennk28 · April 07, 2009, 08:57:39 PM

40 ft over the end beams. Same length as a standard boxcar. gj

T Cline · April 08, 2009, 07:22:29 AM

Thanks for the input fellas' my long vandy tender measures about 44 HO scale feet long, so I guess I'll just live with that.. It just looked much shorter in pictures. ( the Hicken tender). Check out GTW/CN 4-8-4 and 4-8-2 photos to see what I'm trying to do here.

Todd

rogertra · April 08, 2009, 06:29:31 PM

Here's one of my Hicken kitbashes

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/rogertra/Great_Eastern/?start=40

Shows more photos

T Cline · April 13, 2009, 10:03:03 PM

That looks great Roger. How difficult was it to shorten the length?

Todd

rogertra · April 14, 2009, 02:01:40 AM

Quote from: T Cline on April 13, 2009, 10:03:03 PM
That looks great Roger. How difficult was it to shorten the length?

Todd

Easy, really. I just removed one tender water course, the one directly behind the oil tank, which shortened the water tank. Carefull filing resulted in a rather smooth joint that was then camouflaged with a piece half round strip that looks like the water pipe found on CN tenders.

I modified the front of the tender to match a vestibule cab. I did this by removing the tender front, turning it around and filing off the details and the added some Plastruct "U" channel to represent the weather proof "tunnel" between engine and tender. I added matching "U" channel to the rear of the cab for the cab half of the "tunnel" and filled that with some Bachmann black packing foam so that there'd be no visible gap.

Adding the coal bunker was a simple styrene addition. Any other unwanted gaps were filled with body filler and or thin styrene. A coat of paint and some weathering tones everything down.

The toolbox was repaired using styrene and body filler.

See the link in the original post of other photos.

T Cline · April 30, 2009, 01:40:03 AM

OK Roger, I have decided to shorten my long Vandy tender for my GTW 4-8-2. I just tore it apart today. Past the point of no return now. I think I can do it thanks to your advice/pictures. A bit different than your Hicken conversion, but close. I cut a piece of tape 8 scale feet wide and wrapped it around the tender body to give me an even cutting guide, and did the same for the underframe. I need to do the cuts in different areas though, it quickly turned into a more complicated project than I had first thought. Given the location of the water hatch, and the placement of the truck bolsters, this has to be done in 2 seperate sectionings. It still won't be a "perfect" GTW U-1-c tender, but it will be a lot closer than the C&O prototype stock Bachmann tender. Thanks for your info. and inspiration. P.S. If I totally screw this up, would you be willing to do one for me? For a fee of course...

Todd

rogertra · April 30, 2009, 07:56:12 PM

Todd.

Best of luck with your conversion. If you stick with it, you'll be successful.

T Cline · May 06, 2009, 01:51:34 AM

Mission accomplished! Thanks for your inspiration Roger. I'd like to share a photo or two, but I know next to nothing about computers. Can I get some tips on posting photos here?

Thanks,
Todd

T Cline · May 16, 2009, 02:37:23 AM

Still waiting to find out how to post photos here... I'd like to share. Keep in mind, I'm no computer genious.. Simple idiot-proof please....

Todd

rogertra · May 16, 2009, 03:21:21 PM

To post photos you really need to open a photo account somewhere, like Photobucket.

http://photobucket.com/

Up load your photos to Photobucket, follow their simple instructions.

Once you've uploaded the photos to Photobucket, you can copy a link by hovering your mouse over a photo and a menu will open. Select IMG Code, right click on it and select "copy"

Then you come back here and paste the link into your post, thus: -

When you post you'll see the link, to ensure that a photo has been posted. "Preview" your post and if your photo(s) appear(s) in the "Preview" window you can then finish entering your text and finally click on "Post" as usual to post your message, complete with photo(s).

Best of luck. And ask again of you need more help.

Look forward to seeing your photos.

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Tender length