Large Scale Central

Freedom Central Purchases New Power

Modeling Rolling stock
#1

FCR officials are happy to announce that their team has been successful at the latest rail equipment auction.

“Our power desk has been hunting for the units needed to make our system the best transportation company in the world. Part of that is ensuring that our excursion business has the power it needs for our contract steam excursions. Because the Freedom Central can trace its roots back to the nineteenth century, we wanted to ensure that our excursion fleet contained a few examples of engines from our own past,” company spokes-peon Jeremy Knight explained.

“Though we can trace our history back to 1836, the keystone of our railroad’s history is the 1891-1902 existance of the Appalachia Great Eastern. During that time period our core trackage, the Arcade & Attica Railroad, was linked to the East Broad Top and the Allegheny Valley. Today the Freedom Central Corporation continues that historical tradition through its purchase of the East Broad Top and our endowment to the Allegheny Valley Railway Historical Society,” Freedom Central CEO Jason Gallaway added. Our purchase tonight, from a scrap auction in Southern Mexico, resulted in former Oriental Mexicano No. 143 being prepared for transport to our shops in New York. Once there, the engine will be torn down to the framework with the intention of serving as parts for a replica of Appalachia Great Eastern 2-8-0+0-8-2 AG-2 class narrow gauge engine.

These engines served with distinction for less than ten years in New York and Pennsylvania, until the economic collapse of the Appalachia Great Eastern. One unit was cut in two for use in building two outside frame consolidations. One served on the East Broad Top and the other on the Tuscarora Railroad. An additional consolidation, likely also built from a scrapped AG-2 class, served for several years on the 42inch gauge Allegheny Valley railway."

Since I won the auction, I’m claiming the right to use the pictures until the unit arrives on FCR property and I can get my own.

A link to the unit that I’m claiming as being teh engine’s prototype: Oriental Mexicano No. 143 @SteamLocomotive.info

This means I’m halfway to having the parts on hand to build a model of AGE 2801:

#2

You know those Connies are honking HUGE to start with, right?

#3

Very cool, I look forward to seeing this take shape

#4

This will be a stunning model…Cannot wait to see the build log!

Too early to ask if the Freedom Central plans on selling off the “orphan” tender from the second 2-8-0 purchase to defer project costs?

I know a railroad looking for just such a tender for a 2-6-6-2 bash!

#5

Mark, I’d have to take a look first. It will depend on what I decide to do about the fuel bunkers for the model.

As for the unit’s number, I think I’m gonna do the same that Wick did with the NS Heritage OCS power. The NS4270 & NS4271 were numbered consecutively after the final F unit that the Southern Railway had owned. So in my case, the unit will be numbered 2899 or something there abouts. My story has the order of units divided up kinda complicated since the 36" and 42" versions were identical in all regards aside from wheel gauges. 2801 & 2802 were the first two production units, while the 2870 & 2871 were both delivered as 42" gauge for use on the AVRR subdivision, even though they were the third and fourth engines delivered in the batch.

Mik, nope, never seen one in real life. This will be my first tinkering with one of bachmann’s units aside from a couple ten-wheelers and one shay. However, I am planning on building a unit NG train for this engine. Once I have rails to run on, the AG-2 and a couple EBT coal hoppers, BradPenn Oil tanks, and a couple Allegheny Valley passenger cars will make up a nice mixed train on the Appalachia Great Eastern.

I do need to make a couple changes to the colored drawing: I want to demo colored pilots and steam cylinders like were photoshoped on that unit with the green.

#6

The connies are pretty big, this is gonna be a large loco! Can’t wait to see it. If you have any left over tender trucks or a spare tender I’ll happily wait in line!

Terry

#7

I made an inquiry here last month about those Beyer Garratt locos when I saw one in a book. They sure are cool looking. I will be watching for your progress with great interest.

#8

Todd, in my case, it isn’t actually a Garratt type. Garratt is credited with the invention in 1907.

In my story, the PRR developed a fireless 2-6-0+0-6-2 yard goat named “Juniata”. This unit was designed to utilize the “house” steam from the shops in Altoona and have more than enough power for any chore at the shops. When AGE engineers went searching for new power, the people off the AVRR arranged an informal tour of the Juniata Shops, where they saw the Juniata. That was when they came up with the idea to design standard engines on the same principal. Because AGE collapsed 1902, the principal is abandoned and “rediscovered” by Garratt five years later.

#9

Okay, I did a little tinkering with the drawing and I’m not certain which version I like better… In fact I’m not certain I like either version completely.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/jgallaway81/_forumfiles/AGE-2800%20v2a.png)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/jgallaway81/_forumfiles/AGE-2800%20v3a.png)

The only difference here is that the cylinder jacket has been painted blue and the trim parts of the valve chest have been painted silver to match the rest of the engine.

Could I get honest opinions please?

Kevin, if you see this, would you try photoshopping a standard Connie to the same thing you did to Boomer’s, only use Conrail blue as your base? Thats the closest color I can think of as the shade of blue I"m thinking of with this unit.

#10

I like the blue weights and lettering. Try making the handles and stripeing white or maybe silver to match the steam chests? It may break up the blue a bit.

Terry

#11

Suggestions? Make sure the Connie actually goes around your pike without knocking stuff over first, before getting too rambunctious? Try not to launch or drop any springs when you pull the axle to replace Bachmann’s cheese gear? Make sure the MECHANICAL part of your bash will actually work before worrying too much about aesthetics or paint? (You DO know that B’mann put the motors where you put your pivot reliefs, right? Swapping axle 2 with axle 3 might not be quite as straightforward as you hope)

Are any of those what you wanted to hear?

#12

Wanted to hear? No, not really… needed to hear? ya, though would have been much more useful a few weeks ago BEFORE I spent 300!

Thanks for the heads up

#13

So you spent $300… you’re only half done. And if it don’t work, you can always run a 2-8-0

Drop the connie chassis and see if swapping axles 2 and 3 are feasible - You might be able to swap the top plate end for end. but you’ll probably have to fabricate new gearbox stabilizers.

(http://www.the-ashpit.com/mik/PC200065.JPG)

Here’s my gear swap page if you need help with disassembly.

http://www.the-ashpit.com/mik/gear.html

I think I have a “low Pressure” piston valve cylinder (LGB?) set here, someplace, if you need them

#14

Got the engine today. MY GOD its HUGE!!! I’m looking at it on the shelf in my living room now… I bet that its outline isn’t much smaller than Aristo’s new Consolidation model.

However, before any teardown begins, I need to address some damage to the engine & tender with the seller. The pilot was sheered off and the front truck on the tender disintegrated. I didn’t state my opinion to the seller, but I’m certain it was the lousy packaging… brown paper packing instead of any soft styrofoam packing (peanuts anyone?).

The pilot being destroyed sucks, but I am looking at some K-27? replacement pilots on eBay anyways since they look nicer, so its not that big of a deal… but the loss of the tender truck is a crippling disaster since I can’t even test the engine right now… though I suppose I could swap in a USA Barber S2 Roller Bearing truck just to test.

I’ll keep ya up to date.

-J.D.

#15

J.D. was this a new unit?

Last year I bought an NOS connie on evil bay. It came with 1 tender truck broke.

I faxed a copy of my reciept and explanation to Bachmann and they shipped me not one but two new trucks for no charge.

#16

The tender trucks are somewhat weak…Though proper packaging should have prevented loss. I always wrap all my stock/engines in saran-wrap to immobilize the trucks in shipment.

Funny you think it’s huge, I think of it as small compared to my K’s

:slight_smile:

#17

Thant really stinks about the shipping damage. I hope the seller treats you well. I’ve had similar issues. Some people just have no clue how to pack items for shipping. The Shay I just finished re-wiring arrived wrapped in towels! Damage was minimal, but could have been prevented.

#18

I think the seller is being more than fair with his offer. It will be a bit before I can get the tender back in service, but I should be operational soon.

Mik… re operating clearances: I only have a tiny oval in service now, 16ftx2ft with 2ft radius curves, which allow my kids to run their Thomas’s. However the layout is going to expand once we get the immediate remodelling done inside the house, so I hope to begin expansions next year. However, when I designed the mainline, clearances were specifically designed to account for any visiting foreign power. With my little No.21 in service, I’ll have something to test my planned design as I go.

I planned on vertical clearances to clear a USA DoubleStack (which should be 2 scale feet taller than the autorack) - overhang clearances for the heavyweights and other super long passenger cars - width was to account for the 2-8-0 Connie, but might have to be upgraded to account for the K27.

#19

I think some folks warned you it was huge.

If it’s just the screw boss that holds the truck frames on that got destroyed. You got 3 fixes… new trucks, rebuild the boss with something like JB Weld and install longer screws, or mill the broken boss off completely and narrow the truck frames up - which will result in a much stronger, but less flexible truck.

Guess which route I went?

(http://www.the-ashpit.com/mik/PC100053.JPG)

If it’s just the cowcatcher that’s broken off or smashed (most of the rest is diecast), build a new pilot beam out of wood and get some brass strap steps from Trackside Details. The original cowcatcher is pretty darn flimsy and IMO not all that attractive anyway.

#20

Well, the seller has already made good on our agreed remedy and I will be placing the order for a repair part from Bachmann in the next couple days.

For the guys looking for tender (parts)… there is a tender (strangely enough, the same as mine) on eBay right now… though the price is certainly higher than most other tenders.