Model Train Journal

Jim and I are threatening to start a thread like this - he has an F-17 Pacific that should go right after this photo. And I have a good buddy who has actually reduced Thurmond W. Va. to O Scale, and I have permission to post. So, here goes:

This one is Lobaugh, from a kit plus parts donated by friends many decades ago. Boiler went through Vince Waterman and Frank Thomson, among many others on the East Coast before it came here in a trade. Mechanism came from Hal Sharkey of Newport Beach (also a pilot).

I had the smokebox front specially cast - the boiler, as I recall, had a piece of used brass sink tailing soldered in. I don't remember how I fixed that, but it got the proper smokebox somehow. Tender trucks are PSC, trailing truck is Pearce or CLW, tender underframe is built up from bar brass to simulate what Lobaugh would have done (this was an Al Ellis production, with annealed cab and wood tender floor).

It may not be the best Lobaugh Greenbrier out there, but I bet it ranks in the top 10% - I am very pleased with it in my collection. And yes, I know that logo on the tender was never applied to the Greenbrier, but hey - somebody else can paint over it.

Bob,
I love the weathering. I share your interest in bicooastal motive power, but I rarely see any ATSF from you except your modified scalecraft cast ATSF Mikado boilers. I would like to some ATSF Pacific or Northern from you.
Rob

They were on page 6 of the doorstop thread. Sadly, my Shutterfly photos "age out" on this forum (but apparently not on OGR) so they show up as question marks.

bob turner wrote:Jim has F-17 Pacific

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/29pn1z7qjrcysobn659na/Bob-Hall-4-6-2-C-O-482.jpg?rlkey=cqtoh3ajahg7a4dyv6dbhre57
If a photo doesn't appear, or if you want to see a larger version of the photo, try clicking on the link just above this text.

This C&O Pacific is the fine work of the late Bob Hall of Bellevue, Washington, which is across Lake Washington to the east of Seattle. The website steamlocomotive.com indicates that locomotive 482 was an F18-A, but I cannot vouch that the model is actually an accurate recreation of this class.

I have a video of this model in action but for some reason didn't post it to YouTube upon completion. I will get that done and will post a link once it's online.

Jim

Both models are fantastic. I've always like steam locomotives with lots of piping and boiler detail and the C&O has that in aces. Bob, you Greenbrier is lovely and Jim, you Hall built Pacific is a real collector item.

Great stuff guys! Happy Holidays!

Rich

Downtown Thurmond in West Virginia. Yes, I have been there, and no, most of this is gone.



Reproduced with permission. Superb modeling.

Here is a link to a video of the Bob Hall C&O Pacific running on Michael Ross's layout. It is pulling four GGD coaches. The consist works in a pinch, but I would trade two or three of those coaches for a couple of head-end cars and maybe a combine, diner, sleeper, or observation.

https://youtu.be/lFDbc5hUsRA

More C&O steam to come.
Jim

If those are plastic GGD coaches, it ought to be easy to match with similar GGD heavyweights. You might have to repaint, but they are on eBay a lot. I could find only one flaw with the plastic Pullman, and it is truly easy to fix.

The brass GGD offerings were not quite as good, but since my hobby is not plastic trains, I keep them around. The Walthers cars are still my favorite.

Here is a shot of an Allegheny - the white in the foreground is the roof of the engine shed; the photographer is apparently standing near the peak:



I too have an Allegheny, but it is unpainted and unpowered, and may remain that way for the foreseeable future.

The C&O Pacific shown several posts back was one of two C&O locomotives built by Bob Hall. The other was this Class J-2 Mountain:


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xmusjbbfwdp7uxjjf0r5b/Bob-Hall-4-8-2-C-O-Class-J-2-543.jpg?rlkey=ldvd2og6xmb7fwyx6n2r1578f

I never met Bob Hall, so I do not how he choose which locomotives to model. Eastern roads NYC, B&O, and C&O were represented, but so was ATSF, CB&Q, GN, KCS, MILW, MP, NP, and SP&S. He built more CB&Q models than any other. Most of these were built for his friend and dedicated Q-modeler Richard Garberson, but one was built on commission for Jim Seacrest and one built for himself.

Jim

The January 2020 Dallas Area Train show in Plano, Texas was the last local show before the pandemic. I shot the following video of the Bob Hall C&O Mountain (shown in the last post) at this show. The first link is to YouTube. The quality of this video is OK, but if you want to see the full resolution version, use the Dropbox link that follows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCw_9va9w7I

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/iuqhy7g9pp60meosf29c2/C-O-4-8-2-543-2020-01.mp4?rlkey=d18zrkdmxcmdukzy8ogp0uczf&raw=1

More C&O steam to come.
Jim

bob turner wrote:Downtown Thurmond in West Virginia. Yes, I have been there, and no, most of this is gone.



Reproduced with permission. Superb modeling.

For those who want to feel like they've been there:
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.958974,-81.0806307,3a,75y,154.39h,96t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNWfKMjJl1G9zo_s3TXwFKN89alhkQVYDuPnFdg!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNWfKMjJl1G9zo_s3TXwFKN89alhkQVYDuPnFdg%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi10.972516-ya95.4143-ro-10.215131-fo100!7i7200!8i3600?entry=ttu

Surprised Google hasn't had their mapping vehicle there. There's an interesting one-lane bridge (former C&O bridge) right by the Amtrak station there. Other than the 3 historic storefronts there, I can't imagine there is much else to see or do in that area anymore, lol.