Large Scale Central

An LGB Mogul back from the junkbox

Modeling
#1

A very nice gentleman sent be a box full of mogul bits in trade for making him a class A Climax engine. At the time, he said I probably could assemble an entire locomotive from them… Almost… I still needed to do a little scrounging. What you see is bits of at least 3, possibly 5 locomotives. The wheels and motor are from a 2018D The cab and boiler are from a 2019S. I ‘borrowed’ the LGB tender from my Mallet #8.

The headlight and bell are B’mann, The LGB ones just looked wrong to my eye. The whistle is the Trackside Details chime that I use on AV passenger locos (when I have one) They say it’s a 3-chime, but due to the little round tubes cast in, it looks more like a 7 to me

The only real problem (besides broken piping) Is it’s STILL an 1884 Cooke. I want a more modern engine. So I need to make/scrounge a smaller smokebox door and dogs to give it a 1900-ish Alco look

#2

Your getting some big power for that little RR :smiley:

#3

Mik, Have you thought of using a big hauler smokebox front? They are the same size as the mogul.

Alec

#4
Alec Escolme said:
Mik, Have you thought of using a big hauler smokebox front? They are the same size as the mogul.

Alec


Thought about it. MIGHT have a door, but not the whole front… operative word here is “might”. Thanks for the suggestion! Guess I need to dig around a bit.

Vic, Years ago I use to own a LGB mogul, I sold it because it was just too darned big for the indoor layout I had at the time. This thing is almost as big and almost as heavy (I had a spare boiler weight half and gutted the circuit board from the firebox to make room) as my downsized B’mann Connie. It will fit through my tunnels and bridges… just

There is a story behind this one, though. Kim went to visit her deceased husband’s parents and took along the Bug Bauler/c-16 mongrel mogul I had built for her. They really liked it, and wanted to keep it. So she asked me if she could please, please, please give it to them on their anniversary… And could I please make her another. Even worn the LGB drive should be stouter than the Gen 5 bug mauler, and I wasn’t totally happy with the way that thing came out anyway… so this is Kim’s

BTW, I found a nice pic of a Boston and Main SG Alco with a real short tender that looked like a ringer for the one I have, but couldn’t ‘borrow’ the photo. Just mentioning it because I wasn’t real sure about such a shorty tender with the Mogul

#5

Nice work!

I like that prototype photo too. Sure is a sharp little loco, all shiny and new and dripping wet.

#6

Mik, I have a Bachmann spare to trade for the old one.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/alecescolme/P1030745.jpg)

Alec

#7
Alec Escolme said:
Mik,

I have a Bachmann spare to trade for the old one.

Alec


Cool! I’ll see if I can get it off without damaging anything!

#8

More progress to show. I may be offline for a few days, so please, if I don’t respond promptly, don’t take it personally. Smokebox front removed. This wasn’t your usual ‘pop it off and go’ project, as it is moulded as a single piece with the smokebox. It took about half an hour to cut all the way around with a razor saw, so as to not damage either piece

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2012mogul/P1010001_01.jpg)

While I had the thing apart again, I added a few more details. Ozark drifting valves, reworked valve rockers, etc.The whatisthis stuff from the firebox wrapper also got sanded away and replaced with more prototypical looking controls.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2012mogul/P1010003_01.jpg)

The cab walls got painted Shamrock Green just in time for St. Paddy’s Day! - Actually light green or grey was used for a couple reasons, it helped reflect light without being glaring (the same reason the underside of the cab roofs were often white) and darker objects, like controls, showed up well against it in low light conditions.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2012mogul/P1010004.jpg)

Patience is a virtue, but even though I preach it, it still isn’t one of mine. Alec offered to trade me smokebox fronts, but in the meanwhile I ‘borrowed’ this one from another project. The curved handrail was switched to the bottom because it appears that way in the few other NG Alco photos I’ve seen that has one at all.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2012mogul/P1010005.jpg)

The tender got the backup light swapped and a new coal load. The number 8 on the back got a black square painted over it - actually very prototypical looking for when real RRs did tender swaps. The loco is intended to look like it would after the end of dedicated passenger service - when such engines could/would be often used in mixed traffic, and local peddlar freights - but before they were relegated to switching or scrapped :stuck_out_tongue:

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2012mogul/P1010006.jpg)

#9

Mik,
The mogul looks great!

PM me your address so I can send the smokebox front your way.

Alec

#10

Good job Mik.

#11

My mogul has been sitting two years because it’s battery and the plugs are for the birds. The last time I had it repaired it ran about five feet before it quit again!

Yours looks great!

#12

No this isn’t a zombie thread. It’s an update. If you read my roadrip thread, you heard that I took the new #12 along on Saturday the 6th. Sporting a Pennsy inspired paint job, and a Bug Mauler tender she was pulling a 4 car passenger train, and had a lot of wheelslip.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/fall2012/PA060031.jpg)

You also read that the drive failed after about 5 hours running… yay! Well tonight I went looking for the trouble, and found it. The intermediate gears were a little marginal, and cleaning the traction tire created just enough extra load that one failed… I found teeth slivers in the (was fresh) grease.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/PA180001.jpg)

Up side, it will be a simple fix. Down side, I don’t have spares, so I’ll need to go shopping. Hopefully it will be done before any Christmas shows.

#13

Email sent.
I have idlers.

#14

Email replied. Thank you!

#15

Something like 2 months ago John sent me new idler gears. I’m sure he’s probably wondered what’s takin me so long to get off my lazy backside. The simple answer is “stress”… Anyway, this is what he sent, It had stuff like axles I couldn’t use, but the idler gears and pins that I did:

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190002_zps1ec346ea.jpg)

In case any of you ever need to do this, I took several photos. The idlers are on pressed pins. They’re a pain in the butt to drive out, and nearly as much fun to drive back in.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190003_zps08cb7652.jpg)

Motor and idlers installed… it was also time to oil the idler pins and motor bearings… very, very, lightly.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190004_zps2c705560.jpg)

Then I re-installed the cylinders, and the top covers… mostly just to make sure the motor stayed put!

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190005_zps216b9977.jpg)

Next was to lube the gears and axle journals before installing the wheels. Did you ever forget to install the brushes?.. durrrrr

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190006_zps5a895b8b.jpg)

The drive wheels have to be timed perfectly, one tooth off either way will create just enough of a bind to cause excessive wear - even though the rods are pretty sloppy. The easiest way is to set whichever side you are looking at to one of the 4 cardinal directions. I got lucky, it only took me 3 tries. If you’re not sure, just remember they gotta be parallel with the rail head, put the bottom cover on and measure… I also put on a brand new traction tire while I had things apart. If anybody else needs one, I have spares. Anyway, here we are with the wheels and buss bars in place.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190007_zpseb0e6683.jpg)

Aaaaaaand all buttoned up. It runs very smoothly, even at very low speeds, with only a tiny bit of gear noise. This should fade as it runs in, I hope.

(http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp52/steamnut1917/2013winter/PC190008_zps5a9c4ee2.jpg)

Re-assembly to the superstructure will have to wait until I get some wiring stuff.