Reviving older O Scale

[Nortonville Phil]

Phil[/quote]

[R.K. Maroon]

Looking for any thoughts/insight you folks might have on the Scale Craft hopper

Scale-Craft made both straight-sided and offset twin hoppers. Here are catalog photos and examples:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zbyvwoy7pxa987svtaa68/Figure-09-ScaleCraft-55T-SS-Twin-Hopper-C-O.jpg?rlkey=alx2emh1lo8cg7iifpx4uylxf


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ttd23wnf1w5zkghqoy3gq/Figure-11-ScaleCraft-55T-SS-Twin-Hopper-CCC-StL-79567.jpg?rlkey=2wp225b9eftawbhs2n5wakhnn


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0cdvtegjr1irxxop9wta8/Figure-10-ScaleCraft-55T-OS-Twin-Hopper-CCC-StL-79367.jpg?rlkey=j5f0n9wawdxqjk4sty76nxihk


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c1mbtmdged0s6guumf1or/Figure-12-ScaleCraft-50T-OS-Twin-Hopper-C-O-57280.jpg?rlkey=ozf7ctgy7du6ab06lw1crjrid

These cars could be ordered with two different brake setups, three different truck types, and nine different decal sets. They were introduced in the mid-1930s and were produced up to and, for a while, after the war. They are very common as doorstops go, and among older models, found in better shape than many due to the use of white metal castings. The big knock on them is the lack of rivet detail. As an aside, no mention is every made in any of the Scale-Craft catalogs as to the metal used in their castings. The finish is smoother than what one typically sees with sand-cast aluminum cars from this era, leading to speculation that the metal is likely a zinc alloy. Only her hairdresser knows for sure.

Here for comparison is the Scale Model Railways twin hopper:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8kyvf0hhivw8bkbyvacr2/Figure-07-Scale-Model-Railways-50T-OS-C-O-Twin-Hopper.jpg?rlkey=7z7wgzflur4rtig64s3phhm1p


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8c8bjscog6ar4bch9014h/Figure-08-SMR-50T-OS-Twin-Hopper-C-O-124530.jpg?rlkey=44qcdj6pcftcecevu92l9jtcb

The SMR hopper is arguably a better model than the Scale-Craft, but it is definitely a C&O prototype, which explains at least in part why these are not as common as the Scale-Craft. Megow bought Scale Models a year or two before the war. Their distribution network probably helped sell more of these than SMR was through their catalog. All Nation sold these hoppers for a while after the war, which probably explains why they are not as rare as other SMR cars. Without trying very hard, I have accumulated a decent string of them.

I should mention for completeness that Parmele and Sturges, Pratt, and Walthers also sold cast twin hoppers. Only the Walthers versions sold in any quantity.

Jim

[SWrailroader]

Jim,
This is all very interesting. Thank you. Generally I had not thought much of vintage hoppers, but this info has created a new interest.
Rob

[Nortonville Phil]

Maroon,

Thanks for posting the pictures. That helps much. I guess my assumption that the OO and O models would be the same was incorrect. The O hopper does indeed not have rivets. I’m starting to put the car I’m working on back together using “space age” adhesive.

Phil

[bob turner]

My Scale Craft collection is larger than it should be. I have a photo that shows a Scale Craft box next to a PSC box. Kept the SC; sold the PSC.

Some of the better built SC is as attractive as good Lobaugh.

I convert the SC trucks to double insulation - I had, at one point, 3/16 x 3/32 styrene tube, and could quickly pop the wheel discs in the 3/4" collet, drill # 10, jam them onto the tube in gauge, dab some Piiobond on the interface to hold the gauge, and ram a 3/32" welding rod down the tube. Presto - double insulation for 2-rail track. Bonus - the SC wheel profile likes my horrible trackwork.

I do not have many cars in Shutterfly - lemme look . . .

Nope. Just this one, which you saw last week:



SC left, Westbrook right. Both Lobaugh trucks, but a pair of newly converted SC awaits.

[bob turner]

So I am taking a break from locomotive construction (while I contemplate the QJ elephant ear embossments) and am stockpiling trucks. I finished two pairs of Scale Craft Bettendorfs, and now I am attacking two pairs of Lobaugh sideframes.

There are lots of truly good fully sprung trucks out there, including the beautiful new Kadee trucks, but my hobby is now about 90% "doorstop" and I prefer sand cast bronze trucks with fake springs. You have to be nuts like me to proceed further, please. That is, if you are relatively sane, stop reading.

Lobaugh trucks are drilled on a jig, and most are pretty accurate. The two exceptions are the Diamond Bettendorf and the Andrews Tender. The only thing I can imagine is that they used one jig for all, and these two really didn't fit.

If you look, you will find the axle holes are drilled too low by about1/32", which makes a highly visible wheel offset. That is, you can tell the wheels are not centered in the journals - rather, they hang down, looking like a slip falling below a skirt.

I bet I have done ten sets - Just soldering brass dowels in there and re-drilling. This time I am thinking of threading some 5-40 brass screws in there prior to drilling.

Photo? No - Shutterfly has done way more than their share of hosting. But you can see the results in my photos of ice cars (Diamond Bettendorf) and small SP tenders.

[bob turner]

Esoteric exercise. Most will find this boring, so I note at the outset I am following the eBay discussion, thinking that maybe folks are paying and not receiving, hence a new delay policy.

Back to the boring stuff - as a kid I turned my nose up at those Lobaugh ice car ads, because they showed Diamond Bettendorfs with wheels hanging down. I have finished plugging and reboring another set, and am pleased with the dramatically better appearance. Ditto the Andrews Tender set. Now all assembled and stored for a future project.

I mentioned tapping 5-40, which I did. 5-40 UNC was a standard thread in the 1940s. All Nation and Little Engines used that size. So I found I was out of 5-40 brass, and started looking.

Nope. Well, yes, for $5 or so per screw! So good thing a 4-40 will fit; 4-40 brass are $5 for a hundred!

That's my story for this evening. Who knows - maybe I have a photo somewhere of something with re-bored trucks.

[bob turner]

Actually, the ice car pair several posts above has Lobaugh trucks. The one on the right has re-bored Diamond Bettendorfs.

My 0-6-0 collection has either re-bored Andrews Tender or occasionally Max Gray, PSC, or arch bar.

[Chris Webster]

I mentioned tapping 5-40, which I did. 5-40 UNC was a standard thread in the 1940s. All Nation and Little Engines used that size. So I found I was out of 5-40 brass, and started looking.

Nope. Well, yes, for $5 or so per screw!

What length and head type are you looking for?

Grainger has 1/2" long, round head, slotted #5-40 brass screws for 15 cents each, but you have to buy their minimum order of 500 screws (five 100 packs) for $73:
Machine Screw: #5-40 Thread Size, 1/2 in Lg, Brass, Round, Slotted, Machine Screw, 100 PK

[bob turner]

No - 4-40s worked fine, and allowed a little solder to flow all the way into the journal bearing. But thanks! I needed 5-40 steel about a quarter century ago, and the only way I got them was a friend and fellow pilot worked at Western Fastener. He comped them.

Here is a tender with relocated wheelsets. It doesn't seem like much until you study the unmodified Lobaugh truck in comparison:

[bob turner]

Been running my little tender drive 0-6-0s for a couple weeks. Last night the lead engine stopped cold. Ammeter said it was trying, but stalled.

I had forgotten - this is one with an original NWSL Mod 0.5 gearbox,and I never converted the wormshaft to ball bearings. When I used the original bronze bearings I would "break them in" with a little jeweler's rouge, because if Ididn't they would overheat and melt the case.

Well,on troubleshooting I found the front bearing frozen - it was rotating in the plastic case. The case is, of course, Celcon, a sort of self-lubricating plastic - but it does not like heat. It was causing high friction.

Caught it in time - loosened, lubricated, and back on the line.

So remember - when really nice models show up for sale, take the time to release the gears and look for friction. Easily cured, if you take the time.