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Pretty and Different Prototypes

Started by J3a-614, May 03, 2010, 07:54:50 AM

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J3a-614

Came across these links whle looking for other things, and thought they were of interest.

Narrow gauge road in Pennsylvania which later became a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania; its one surviving locomotive is a 3-foot gauge 2-6-0 built by Alco, and incredibly, it's still fitted with vacuum brakes.  No air compressor sounds on this one:

http://www.narrowtracks.com/wwrr/index.htm

http://www.narrowtracks.com/wwrr/Restoring4.htm

http://www.narrowtracks.com/wwrr/WW4.htm

http://www.narrowtracks.com/wwrr/WW4Photos.htm

Who was building steam locomotives in America in the 1970s?  Crown Metal Products and Sandley Light Railway Equipment Company.  These were engines and cars for amusement park service.  Most were quite small, 15 inch or 24 inch gauge, but Sandley offered 2-foot gauge equipment about the size of the smaller New England locomotives and cars that would have been right at home behind a Forney, while Crown also offered a 3-foot gauge 4-4-0 that was designed by a former employee of the H. K. Porter company (industrial locomotive company, built the prototypes of Bachmann's 0-4-0T and 0-4-2T); this engine weighed 25 tons and was rated for 5,000 pounds tractive effort.  There are photographs of at least one of these three-footers being given running tests on the East Broad Top, and at least one other was built or rebuilt as a standard gauge engine!


http://www.trainweb.org/parktrains/history/crown/index.html

http://www.trainweb.org/parktrains/history/crown/bigcrown.html

http://www.trainweb.org/parktrains/gallery/dgcrown.jpg

http://www.trainweb.org/parktrains/gallery/wb4-4-0.jpg

http://www.infinitevillage.com/html/crown/index.html

Enjoy.

ebtnut

I saw No. 4 run back in the 1970's on thier short piece of track.  I agree that it was fascinating to see actual Eames vacuum brakes in action - may be the only working example left in the U.S.  Unfortunately, over the years the loco has "lost" some important parts, and they are necessary if the engine is ever to run again.  At least she's kept indoors now.

J3a-614

Found some more material on amusement park steam:

Oh, what it's like when non-railfans in the news cover trains (Crown 36-inch gauge)!

http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/buchers_beat/all-aboard-the-king%27s-island-railway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Y6BH1w1_Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcc4YS_cj0M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBR0OfnpjZY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fteF6IduveA&feature=related

Omaha Zoo (custom 30-inch gauge equipment from Crown):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhO6fs5om_g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQIlevNIhiw&feature=related

Footage on the Riverside & Great Northern (Sandley demonstration railroad):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkifQY55JxE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvoMF6VBh3A&feature=related

Back when Milwaukee had a zoo railroad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiI0uU_Pf44&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KLoILuM0x0&feature=related

Don't expect Bachmann or anybody else to make anything like this, in any scale, but could it still be an inspiration for a model road based on an amusement park?  Alternately, has anyone built such a model railroad?


Hamish K

In the UK modelling miniature railways is sometimes done. Britain has some well known 15 inch gauge railways e.g. the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch and the Ravenglass and Eskdale.  In British O scale (1:43) N gauge track equals 15 inches. There are some kits for O9 (as this combination is known). N scale locomotives are sometimes used to represent miniature locos with modified tenders to take an O scale driver. For an example of O9 modelling seehttp://shiftingsands.fotopic.net/ On that site you will see a Bachmann N scale 2-6-2 modified as a miniature loco!

Hamish

J3a-614

Beautiful work!  And I appreciate the typical British understated humor of the "Somerthorpe Hilton" (Construction gallery, part III).

Hamish K

I agree, Colin Peake has done some  wonderful modelling. I haven't seen the layout myself, but it looks great on the website.

Hamish

NarrowMinded

After seeing the tender on loco 4 the tender from my daughters t&f Gordon is in danger of a kit bashing for a on30 loco of mine

NM