Varney Dockside Switcher

[Woody Elmore]

Jon - I recall that my Penn Line atlantic and consolidation never pulled many cars.  Now you know why Varney outsold Penn Line.

I think the pictures are great. In one fireman's side picture there is a galvanized pail next to the compressor-that would be an interesting little addition.  Finding HO size chain might be a challenge.

As for MV lenses - I remember that people used to drill a little hole in the back of the lens and then glue in a GOW bulb. You could do the same with fiber optics.

[J3a-614]

Jonathan and Woody,

Glad you like what you see, and hope you are using this as a springboard to look for other photos and things.  And I'm glad Woody spotted that bucket--that's something I missed.

One of the interesting things about these 0-4-0Ts is how compact they were, with the air compressor and the power reverse being in a recess in the cab or in the cab itself.  At the same time, it is fascinating that the B&O put so much "state of the art" technology into these 4 engines in a very secondary service--power reverse, piston valves and Walschart's valve gear, and superheating.

Chain shouldn't be too hard to find, based on this page from Walthers, just using the the word "chain,"  There are some other items in there, like chain link fence, but there is chain, too:

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=&scale=H&manu=&item=&keywords=chain&words=restrict&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search

Now, what to use for hooks?  Would these be small enough, or would something scratched up from a piece of wire be better?

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/152-402

Keep having fun.

[pdlethbridge]

Those look like hooks that are used for real heavy lifting, ie, crane. Make them out .020 brass wire or smaller. They may have been used to pull cars into another position on a siding.

[jonathan]

Actually, I was going to use metal lift rings/eye bolts as hooks.  I've found you can bend them out into a hook form, if your careful.  The advantage is you can drill a hole (#78-#80 bit) and epoxy the 'hook' into the cylinder.  We're talking really small stuff, so a little lack of realism isn't going to matter in these sizes.

I found some copper chain, at a craft store, for about $2.  It's a little big.  In HO scale, the links are somewhere between 4 and 5 inches in size.  Again, it's still really small so a little lack of scale won't bother me.  I 'painted' a little chain with a sharpie.  That works well, too.

So one more detail for the Varney.  I've got a little pile growing of detail parts.  Just need the valve gear...

It encourages me that there are others interested in playing with this old equipment.  I really like reaching back into early HO history and rescuing this great gear.  Most of it just needs a little TLC and a new power plant.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Woody Elmore]

Jon - you have discovered the fun of working on what some people consider to be old clunkers. With the advances in motors and the plethora of detail parts, those old engines can be made into a credible model.

I think it is unfortunate thay the hobby has turned into a "shake the box" hobby. I always enjoyed the challenge of getting couplers just right and painting and decaling rolling stock.

Let's hope you get the PRR decals soon for the G-5. As for its pulling capacity, putting three nice Pennsy coaches behind it would make a nice train. Just a thought.

[J3a-614]

Found this photo of a Dockside at work; the Pratt Street line worked mostly at night to avoid the bulk of auto traffic.

http://www.trains.com/ctr/objects/images/0-4-0_3.jpg

Details of note include the brakemen's lanterns hanging on some of the handrails on the smokebox, the siding going into the building, and what appear to be span wires for a trolley line above the locomotive, which is apparently crossing a street railway--great theme for a small layout, or even a fair-sized one, featuring the Docksides, freight cars, street trackage, and Bachmann's Baltimore Peter Witts. . .

Most of the trackage the Docksides ran on is gone, but this surviving track in Baltimore looks very typical of what any old city would have, and would have been very similar to the world of the C-16s. . .

http://www.btco.net/ghosts/railroads/street/streettrack.html

This is from this site:

http://www.btco.net/ghosts/

Enjoy.

[jonathan]

Got that photo.  Used it as a go-by while working on the engine.

R,

J

[Woody Elmore]

Never mind the steamer - that NYC box car is very interesting with its panel doors.

[J3a-614]

I'm not absolutely certain, but I think the NYC box you see is a standard car on the NYC, similar to the Pennsy's famous X-29 box and a contemporary of it.  Basically, it is a proposed USRA steel-sheathed box that was never built under USRA jurisdiction.  NYC attempted to have it adopted as an AAR or ARA standard, but that never came about, and this car would only be used by the NYC and affiliated lines, while the PRR's X-29s would be copied by several roads, including Wheeling & Lake Erie, Lehigh & New England, and the B&O, and perhaps others.  The B&O cars were notable in being among the last cars of any type to be delivered with arch bar trucks for interchange service in the late 1920s, which of course they did not keep too long, as arch bars were banned from interchange around 1934 or 1935. 

It's a one road car, but it is still surprising it has not been mass-produced, considering its large numbers, many variations (the doors you see are one of them), and the presence of so many NYC cars in interchange service around the country.  It's been said that every model railroader models the Pennsylvania because its cars ran all over the place in interchange service (and the the PRR had the country's largest freight car fleet), but the NYC didn't have a fleet you could sneeze at either.  I guess it's one of those puzzles, like why a larger assortment of B&O engines isn't available, yet we seem at times to swim in PRR locomotives, and not the thousands of 2-8-0s, but mostly K4s at that!  Not that the B&O has been immune, when you also consider how many firms have offered Docksides over they years--and the prototypes numbered only four engines in a specialized service!

[Woody Elmore]

I remember Trains Miniature had a version of the X-29. I may have had one in the old NYC colors.

The TM line offered different cars. A friend collected all their beer reefers. The company was bought by Walthers.

They are not as detailed as today's cars but they still add variery to consists (assuming you don't put them behind the latest diesels.)

[jonathan]

OK,  I've reached a stumbling block.

For those that have been following along, my Li'l Joe went from this:


to this:


I have since collected more detail parts:

brass whistle
hooks and chain for the steam chest
engineer and fireman
lower headlight, bulb and lens (mounts below the smoke box)
lens for the rear light
new couplers
constant headlight circuit

HOWEVER, I've have been scouring the internet and train shows for a valve gear.  Some of you may remember the unanimous vote for the valve gear.  You talked me into it.  Now the hard part is finding one.  

Bowser sold out of 'em long ago.  CV used to make one.  They don't do that sort of thing anymore.  Dan at Yardbird has been trying to scratch one up that he can mass produce (apparently he gets a lot of calls about the gear).  He has been unsuccessful to date.  The Rivarossi Dockside, with valve gear shows up on ebay from time to time.  Unfortunately, the Rivarossi valve hangar mounts to the frame right where the Varney motor is mounted.  Still, I've been trying to work out how I might modify the valve gear hangar to fit the Varney.  I'm no engineer.  Frankly my scratchbuilding stuff is pretty mediocre at best.

Anyway, I'm out of ideas.  If anybody else can think of a possible source, I'd be glad to hear it.  Frustrated, but not willing to give up.  The engine runs well enough that I can keep it in the active roster.  

Thanks for letting me air out  my angst.

Regards,

Jonathan

p.s.  There's a guy named Earl Smallshaw.  If I can get the link to work, I'll add a photo of his Varney here.  It's truly inspirational.

[J3a-614]

I'll keep my eyse open.

[Woody Elmore]

Jon - I'll keep my eyes open for Varney dockside valve gear. It might be easier to find a modest politician!

I think that the Earl Smallshaw picture is probably 40 years old. He used to contribute to MR. Will the original Varney valve gear work with the new motor?

[J3a-614]

Haven't found any valve gear yet, but I found someone else who likes "heavy metal;"

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.viewVideos&contributorid=34062523

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=55473330

Wonder where this fellow lives?

[jonathan]

Thanks for that.  I'm hitting the Timonium Show in September.  Maybe I'll get lucky.

Sean's been working the old engines.  There's something relaxing about working the kinks out of that old stuff.  I wonder where he's from, too.

The new motor should not interfere with a valve gear.  It fits exactly like the original motor.  It actually takes up less space.  I've been trying to noodle out a way to file a notch in the frame, so a valve gear hangar could mount between the frame and the motor.  It could either screw in or rely on pressure from the frame and motor mount to hold it in place.  In that way, the Rivarrosi gear would hold.  Then one would have to drill into the steam chest.  A scary prospect.  Once one removes the metal, it's gone and there is no turning back.

On a side note,  I've been looking at pics of the C&O 4-8-4 #614, especially the West Virginia shots.  Trying to figure out which fan is the real "J3a" reaching out to touch the engine... 

Regards,

Jonathan