Southern Pacific Steam 2023

[bob turner]

Tacking this on to SP Steam, although only the frame and drivers are SP. The boiler is Sunset "Russian Decapod." Tender, at least, is SP (Lobaugh). I "chopped" the steam dome, so it is tough to see the Russian pedigree. Cab is scratchbuilt to fit.

I did some light machine work for Dick Garberson, and in return he sent me most of the pieces for the locomotive. I cobbled it together over maybe six days of effort. The imported cylinders were apparently glued together - no evidence of there ever having been solder anywhere close.

I will compare it with my Westside TW-8, which is no doubt posted somewhere in this thread.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Might you post a photo from a more level angle or even just lightly above the track focusing more on the engine, please?

[bob turner]

Sure. I need to make a lead truck and find a matching tender.
Lighting is a problem this time of year - I use sunlight, and when it is perfect I am usually flying.

This thing is small - as in "teakettle."

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Sure. I need to make a lead truck and find a matching tender.

Ok; was really looking to be able to see more of the loco....

Lighting is a problem this time of year - I use sunlight, and when it is perfect I am usually flying.

I can appreciate that; good sunlight, low wind, and I'm outside working as much as I can be now.

This thing is small - as in "teakettle."

Small is good for me.

[bob turner]

Here you go - gets your name off the top three threads, too.

This thing is really small - the drivers are close to 51" dia. The boiler is Sunset Russian Decapod, but I decapitated the huge steam dome. I was going to eBay the boiler and turn it into an SP TW-8, but I am moving on - I will get a lead truck fabricated and re-attach the air pump, but other than that and maybe filling in the cab bulkhead and finding a turret, I am pretty much putting it aside. It would be a large steamer in S scale (as would the TW-8 as well). A light Mikado dwarfs these things, and an SP Mountain dwarfs a light Mike.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Thanks! Small is good!

[up148]

That's a nice model. Glad Martin asked for additional photos as the top down view makes it look like a difference loco almost. I like both tenders.

[bob turner]

I didn't want to interrupt Maroon's spectacular video thread, but his Scale Craft SP locomotives got me going. I thought I had posted these two somewhere - maybe in a Doorstop Steam thread - but here they are. The Mountain will get new tires next week. Who knows? Maybe even decals!



And the soon to be re-tired Mountain:



There are a lot of ways to improve these models - the Mountain needs a "barrel" headlight and a Lobaugh trailing truck, and the Pacific needs lots of help in a lot of places, but as Maroon's video shows, they can really look good when moving by at track speed. Great big gears means smooth running!

[Pacific Limited]

Awesome work Bob!

[bob turner]

Brought it home - still runs great, and insulated for 2-rail (semi-unusual for Scale Craft). Measured - 72" drivers - looking for my 1 5/8" iron pipe. Must have used it all up. Found four Athearn driver tires 1 1/2" over, so home free, practically. One evening's work and I would have flanges everywhere!

Nope - Scale Craft has interesting driver spacing. The two center drivers are so close together one could not put flanges on even one of the drivers and have clearance. The SP MT locomotives had increased spacing between #s 1 & 2; Scale Craft chose not to model that feature. So that project is either finished or it gets a new Lobaugh frame. Maybe someday . . .

[bob turner]

Bump.
I have invested in a $33 can of semi gloss black, and I fixed the bead blaster so I could get the lower air pressures needed to clean .020 brass.
So a number of my favorite models are getting new paint. I will try for a photo session this week.

One in particular caught my eye - a freelance "SP" Decapod. And I did paint the GS-1 which may have shown up earlier in silver:



No - it does show up on page 2 in brass. I decided I did not like the nickel plated look, so now it is black with decals.
It is a machined frame, Lobaugh style, and an All Nation boiler with extended smokebox and firebox. Smokebox was semi-challenging; I had to mount the boiler in a lathe and cut the old smokebox smooth.

Black photo later . . .

[E7]

Bob,

Looking forward to seeing your stuff!!!

Rich

[bob turner]

Just to keep this place semi-alive, here is my freelance SP Hudson. A little dullcote and some weathering would probably help.

Freelance, because SP never had Hudsons. 5100 series was actually those little 70 ton GE Diesels, so I just took the number after the last of the Diesels for this thing. What the heck, it is my model; I can do what I want.

Believe it or not, Lobaugh made some one-off stuff, and the boiler on this thing is from that sort of production. It is clearly Lobaugh, and just as clearly would not fit any of the routine Lobaugh locomotive model frames - it might have been designed as a CB&Q Hudson, since its dimensions are spot-on for that locomotive.

Main frame is from a rather ambitious project by John Dill (RIP). He had them CNC machined from billets, and they came out slightly wrong. Probably cost him a grand. He gave me one, and I re-machined it. Lobaugh drivers and tender.

I take that back - tender is Adams & Son with my sides. PSC tender trucks - bargains!

The others that await portraits get decals and red accents this evening - photo shoot is imminent.

[sleepmac]

Bob, that is a really nice looking locomotive!

Dan Weinhold

[bob turner]

Good morning for photo shoot - low clouds, but lots of light. This is a freelance Decapod, based on a Sunset Russian Decapod mechanism. I tried to follow SP practice for cabs and domes. Tender is also freelance, but SP had a lot of different sausage tenders, so I am "in the family." The model has not moved for two decades, but a little solvent loosened up the #4 axle and it works - for now. I am no longer sure, but I think it was #44 scratchbuilt.



Decals work pretty well on the semi-gloss, but as you can see, not perfectly in some cases. These are Champ, so by definition old, but the cab (and the giant 4-12-2 tender) decals snuggled right down to almost disappear. Again, you want perfect decals, start with high gloss.

I also captured another 0-6-0, which I will save for later. I think I may have too many SP 0-6-0s. I will count them later, but as a guess, four Lobaugh, and four scratchbuilt. That really should be enough, but sometimes I get the urge to just do one more . . .

Maybe I will paint the SP 0-8-0 next. Gad, give a guy a paintbrush . . .