July 2001

(Volume 25, No. 7))

Timetable

An Expansion Story

The expansion modules had just had their legs attached and installed into the layout, the wiring completed moments before.  With the additional modules installed, the trackage of Alan's S-Tinplate (otherwise known as S Hi-rail) empire had increased by 63%.  There were no problems with the new modules.  The first train was a freight powered by a pair of Baldwin B&O sharknose locomotives.   However, one locomotive, a Southern green Pacific was found to stall on the old track due to dirty track/wheels.  That spot hadn't been noted before as a problem.

Also important to this expansion is the increased size of the operator pit: from 4 square feet to 14 square feet.  Each module has its own control panel.  There are provisions for adding another transformer so that a third train can be operating.  A separate power supply was added to power operating accessories.

Alan is happy with the expansion, his wife Gloria commenting on how nice it looked.  It even encouraged him to pick up some of the accumulated building materials, tools and other equipment off the floor (and vacuuming) so the modules could be erected.  Photos were taken, to be developed at a latter time.

Ain't it great?  Yes!

Contributed by Alan Udy

Union Pacific History (Continued)

Alphabetic list and narrative of some of UP's predecessor roads:

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co.  Owned by OSL.  Incorporated in November 1910 as the reorganization of the former Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co.  Portland to Seattle opened January 1910.

Acquired the following railroads, December 1910:

Oregon Washington Railway & Navigation Co. (OWR&N) was incorporated in November 1910 as a consolidation of Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. and 14 other companies in the states of Oregon and Washington.  The Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. was incorporated in 1897 as a reorganization of Oregon Railway & Navigation Co., which had been in receivership since 1893.  The original Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. was organized in 1879 and completed a connection with OSL at Huntington, Ore., in November 1884.  OR&N was operated by OSL from January 1887 to July 1889, then operated jointly by GN, NP, and OSL until July 1899, when OSL purchased full control of OR&N.

Pacific Fruit Express Company.  Incorporated on December 7, 1906.  Owned jointly by Union Pacific and Southern Pacific.

Saratoga & Encampment Valley Railroad. Incorporated in May 1928, owned by UP.  Absorbed by UP in 1951.

St. Joseph & Grand Island Railway.  St. Joseph Terminal Railroad owned jointly with AT&SF.  Owned 10 percent of St. Joseph Union Depot.

 (To be continued)

Contributed by Leo Harker

The American Flyer Atlantic Adventure

When in the course of locomotive events, age takes its toll.  The normally spry and responsive reversing unit has failed on this American Flyer #303 Atlantic (Manufacture date November 1955).  As it is stuck in forward, it is actually some time before corrective measures are taken.  Having been inside this locomotive and tender before, I know there is only one screw post in the tender that hasn't been epoxied.  And the front boiler screw posts aren't entirely there.  Further there are a few scratches in the boiler, which is attached to the rear of the frame in a non-factory configuration.  Hobby Surplus Sales regularly carries Atlantic boilers in their catalog, along with tender bodies.  New (yet old) plastic components instead of the original plastic components.  Umm

I am bitten. Remembering a former HO Atlantic project, turning a MDC Atlantic into a B&O Atlantic that reached the end of its line in 1953.  This was a former Buffalo and Susquehanna locomotive.  Had it been shopped instead of scraped at that time, it could have been preserved somewhere.

As I had a #350 B&O Royal Blue, and an American Models President Washington Pacific in blue and gray, the idea started formulating to make this Atlantic into a stable mate.  The boiler and the tender shell were ordered, along with a can of Royal Blue spray paint.

Boiler differences - Plastic cast in bell.  This is cut off and sanded down.  Don't endanger the cast in rivets by sanding too far or deep.  Leave a platform, so to speak, for the bell to sit on.  No whistle even though the place is there, there is no

hole.  Two holes will be drilled, one for the original bell and one for the original whistle.  Remove the pieces carefully - no scratches are desired.  I was successful in using a small screwdriver to pry them out.  The headlight plastic was also removed for reuse.  Note how this fits in with a bevel to pick up the light from the bulb.

Tender - Though ordered undecorated, it had previously been heat stamped ERIE.  That remnant does not come off though I try.  After repainting  in reproduction Royal Blue paint, it shows through slightly as a raised ERIE emblem on the fireman's side.

The boiler and tender are sent through the dishwasher and set on newly constructed paint stands.  An 8" length of 1X2 mounted on end to a 6"X12" _ inch plywood piece.  The top of the 1X2 was wrapped over the top with _" foam, held in place with a plastic wire tie.  Several coats of paint were needed to change the black to blue.  No masking was used.  After a weeks drying time, the smokebox was to be masked and sprayed graphite.  I had found a pretty representative shade in the Model Master line of spray paint.  The masking proved horrid!  There were pipes and walks at the line where I wanted the graphite to end.  No use to paint like this.  I retreated to mask off the smokebox front only.  That was sprayed with 2 coats, and after set up, the masking (actually Scotch Magic) tape was removed.

I found the remainder of the HO B&O decals I had used on the HO Atlantic.  Two sets would be needed to get the number I wanted, 1484.  Fortunately, Champion Decal still makes these, and the second set was ordered.  They were cut apart and applied.  The larger capital dome emblem filled in the number plate on the front of the boiler just right.  Just wish I had embossed the plate with Gold embossing powder before applying the decal.

During our early (in late December, after Christmas) January thaw, the semi-gloss clear coat went on.  This while in the midst of replacing a car's fuse block - There are always other pressing things interfering with the fun things.  The Royal Blue coal doesn't look like Blue Diamond coal, so a flat black is applied by hand to the coal piles on the tender (the small pile in front of the door and the large pile in the bunker),

and inside the coal bin.  A layer of HO coal is added to the bunker, held in place with thinned-down white glue.

The 4-step reverse unit still refused to reset itself.  Being an ac unit, I discard the magnetized theory and go straight for the worn theory.  The pivot points are too worn to allow the pivoting says the theory.  Well, degreasing and a light oil do not help.  Next attempt is to add a little weight to the lever that is supposed to be gravity operated when power is interrupted.  Four BBs should do the trick.  These were held in place with silicone sealant, with clearance to spare.  While there was a slight improvement, it was no cure. 

It seems the brass pall that pushes the drum around wears, and with the additional sideways freedom of motion, occasionally sticks, not dropping down again for the next trip up.  Grabbing the frame with a pair of pump pliers right in front of the coil and gently squeezing eliminated the sticking.  However, it also induced a horrible ac hum.  This was eliminated by converting the coil input to DC, by a Radio Shack 50-V, 1-ampere bridge rectifier, with a small capacitor in parallel with the coil.  Crude, but it works.  The rectifier and capacitor were mounted behind the reverse unit, held in place by the wiring.  The inputs to the rectifier are the two trucks.  The dc output, labeled + and -, go to the coil.  The coil doesn't care which polarity goes to which lead.  But it is absolutely silent and operates 100% of the time.

With all the reverse unit testing, the original reverse switch in my 8B transformer died.  That's another story, but I was able to track down a very close replacement for the original 3 amp @ 125-Vac, normally closed pushbutton switch.  I actually ordered two (just in case), one from an electronics dealer here in town, the other from the local hardware store.  The first came in yesterday, with a $15 price tag.  However, it is rated for six amperes instead of the original and catalog data 3 ampere.  The extra capacity will be useful, as the 8B can and will put out 6 amperes total, though not all usually through the reverse switch.

Meanwhile the reassembly starts.  First, dill the holes for the whistle and the bell.  The bell is easy, since a pilot dimple is located inside the boiler.  I measured the hole on the original boiler with the shafts of the drills until I found the size that fit.  #42 for the bell, #53 for the whistle.  The angle and clearance for the whistle mounting hole is such that no drill chuck will fit.  This will have to go by hand.  Wrap a few layers of masking tape over the shaft to give you a better grip.  I used a smaller drill first to be sure the proposed hole was centered.  It was, and then I enlarged it with the #53.  The bell and whistle were hand pressed in place.  Put in the plastic pipe for the headlight lens.  Be sure to get the bevel pointed to the lamp.

I have a blue foam holder, which I found indispensable in the project.  Oil the motor shaft and bearings for the smoke unit and grease the worm gear before going further.  The 1 inch screws that held the frame to the boiler were replaced with 3/8" long screws.  The molded in holes are too short for anything longer.  Attach the headlight lamp bracket to the pilot in the screw hole located there.  The piston rods and the connecting rods have to be reassembled to the guides attached to the cylinder/pilot wheel assembly.  As the rods are attached from the inside, don't  wait till after attachment.  After this assembly is complete, I connected the connecting rods to the rear drivers.  That ignition wrench set has just the right size of combination wrench.  Don't forget to replace the red plastic (brass in some earlier units) smoke pipe in the smokestack.  Mine was a replacement part, as the locomotive didn't have it.

Clean the tender wheels with your favorite method.  I use a battery powered Dremel tool with a wire brush on low speed, a spare finger slowing down the spinning of the axle by lightly pressing on the plastic wheel flange.  A drop of oil on the pickup wipers we are almost done.  Clear off the track (you may want to clean the rails now too), but leave those passenger cars on.  The tender tank is mounted with four screws, two of which were ordered replacements because the original tender didn't have them.

Hey, we're chugging again.  This has been a fun project.  I hope this experience will encourage others to try their hand at repairing their equipment.  The repair track is filling up.  My 21085 Pacific quit working just before the Christmas tree came down.  The ongoing Hudson project is taking shape.  I just wish there were more fun hours in a given day/week.

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