flyboy2610
Loveably weird
I have 4 Bachmann 0-6-0 switchers, 2 are DCC On-Board models, and 2 are straight DC models. I have two each of black paint scheme and passenger service greyhound scheme. Someday I may convert the two DC loco's to DCC, but not for now. The greyhound DCC decoder went belly-up so I'll have to replace it. The decoder in the DCC switcher is working fine, so I'm not going to replace it until it needs it.
I do want to do some weathering on this loco, though. It's just too shiny for the service life it had. This locomotive has the distinction of being the last steam locomotive Union Pacific operated in the Los Angeles area. I like to research the prototype before working on a model. I don't always model the prototype, but it's fun doing the research.
And wow, did Bachmann ever blow it on this one! I have a Bachmann 4-8-4 #806 in the greyhound scheme, and Bachmann did a pretty good job on that one. The 806 did in fact spend time in the greyhound scheme, and Bachmann even got the stripe color correct (yellow as opposed to white, which some loco's had.) The 806 also has the inglorious distinction of being the first FEF scrapped by the Union Pacific.
#4439 was built in 1918 by Baldwin. It was an oil burner with a Vanderbilt tender from the beginning.
Here is a pic of #4439 as it is today at the Travel Town transportation museum:
I have already disassembled the locomotive. The rubber band is to keep the rear of the frame together. There is a screw the goes from under the frame into the cab. When the cab is removed, the rear of the frame is not tightly together. I have also removed the roof.
There are several glaring inconsistencies between the model and the prototype.
1: Bachmann gave the model a slope-back coal tender instead of the Vanderbilt oil tender it had since it's construction in 1918. What is particularly puzzling is that the 0-6-0's in the greyhound scheme, both DC and DCC, have Vanderbilt oil tenders! Why Bachmann could not have used that tender for this model is beyond me!
2: The headlight on the model is a can style light mounted on top of the smokebox in front of the stack. The headlight on the prototype is a parabolic style mounted in the center of the smokebox.
3: The model has the bell between domes 1 and 2, while the prototype has it right behind the stack.
4: The model has the whistle mounted between domes 2 and 3, while the prototype has it mounted on the left side of dome 2.
5: The firebox on the model is silver/graphite color, while the firebox on the prototype is black. This is also true for the smokebox. Only the door should be silver/graphite. Also, the front of the cylinders on the prototype are silver/graphite, while on the model they are black.
I was wondering how Bachmann could have gotten so far off on the details like this, and then I came across this picture, and knew right away what they had done:
The above photo is of a USRA type 0-6-0. Note the location of the headlight, bell, and whistle. They all match the locations on the model, but not the Baldwin prototype.
Moving the bell and whistle will be pretty easy, but the headlight will be more of a challenge. The model has a Lucite rod going up into the headlight to transmit light form the bulb, which is mounted on a plastic bracket attached to the front of the smoke unit box. I removed the smoke unit and popped the switch off of the back-head in the cab. I plan to highlight the molded piping in there. I'll have to think about this some.
Here's a pic of the current smokebox setup.
I could just drill out the center and mount an LED there with a small 'dish' for a reflector. The headlight could just be cut off, and the Lucite rod painted flat black.
The tender situation is simply unacceptable. As Ernest P. Worrell would say: "Noo, noo, noo, noo, noo!"
It appears I will get to practice painting and lettering a tender! This is the tender for the DCC greyhound 0-6-0. I will actually use the one for the DC greyhound 0-6-0.
I will also need to make a mechanical modification. On the bottom of the frame there is a bulge where the main gear is located. This bulge hangs up on my Kadee uncoupling ramps. The ramps are located at the correct height above the rails, so I know they are not the issue. I have the installation gauge for the ramps, which places them properly. I will use a small file and slowly file lengthwise across the bulge until it appears that plastic is just about to be filed through. That should give clearance, but still provide protection against debris being ingested into the gear train.
The uncoupling ramp.
I think I'll start with the bulge on the frame.
I do want to do some weathering on this loco, though. It's just too shiny for the service life it had. This locomotive has the distinction of being the last steam locomotive Union Pacific operated in the Los Angeles area. I like to research the prototype before working on a model. I don't always model the prototype, but it's fun doing the research.
And wow, did Bachmann ever blow it on this one! I have a Bachmann 4-8-4 #806 in the greyhound scheme, and Bachmann did a pretty good job on that one. The 806 did in fact spend time in the greyhound scheme, and Bachmann even got the stripe color correct (yellow as opposed to white, which some loco's had.) The 806 also has the inglorious distinction of being the first FEF scrapped by the Union Pacific.
#4439 was built in 1918 by Baldwin. It was an oil burner with a Vanderbilt tender from the beginning.
Here is a pic of #4439 as it is today at the Travel Town transportation museum:
I have already disassembled the locomotive. The rubber band is to keep the rear of the frame together. There is a screw the goes from under the frame into the cab. When the cab is removed, the rear of the frame is not tightly together. I have also removed the roof.
There are several glaring inconsistencies between the model and the prototype.
1: Bachmann gave the model a slope-back coal tender instead of the Vanderbilt oil tender it had since it's construction in 1918. What is particularly puzzling is that the 0-6-0's in the greyhound scheme, both DC and DCC, have Vanderbilt oil tenders! Why Bachmann could not have used that tender for this model is beyond me!
2: The headlight on the model is a can style light mounted on top of the smokebox in front of the stack. The headlight on the prototype is a parabolic style mounted in the center of the smokebox.
3: The model has the bell between domes 1 and 2, while the prototype has it right behind the stack.
4: The model has the whistle mounted between domes 2 and 3, while the prototype has it mounted on the left side of dome 2.
5: The firebox on the model is silver/graphite color, while the firebox on the prototype is black. This is also true for the smokebox. Only the door should be silver/graphite. Also, the front of the cylinders on the prototype are silver/graphite, while on the model they are black.
I was wondering how Bachmann could have gotten so far off on the details like this, and then I came across this picture, and knew right away what they had done:
The above photo is of a USRA type 0-6-0. Note the location of the headlight, bell, and whistle. They all match the locations on the model, but not the Baldwin prototype.
Moving the bell and whistle will be pretty easy, but the headlight will be more of a challenge. The model has a Lucite rod going up into the headlight to transmit light form the bulb, which is mounted on a plastic bracket attached to the front of the smoke unit box. I removed the smoke unit and popped the switch off of the back-head in the cab. I plan to highlight the molded piping in there. I'll have to think about this some.
Here's a pic of the current smokebox setup.
I could just drill out the center and mount an LED there with a small 'dish' for a reflector. The headlight could just be cut off, and the Lucite rod painted flat black.
The tender situation is simply unacceptable. As Ernest P. Worrell would say: "Noo, noo, noo, noo, noo!"
It appears I will get to practice painting and lettering a tender! This is the tender for the DCC greyhound 0-6-0. I will actually use the one for the DC greyhound 0-6-0.
I will also need to make a mechanical modification. On the bottom of the frame there is a bulge where the main gear is located. This bulge hangs up on my Kadee uncoupling ramps. The ramps are located at the correct height above the rails, so I know they are not the issue. I have the installation gauge for the ramps, which places them properly. I will use a small file and slowly file lengthwise across the bulge until it appears that plastic is just about to be filed through. That should give clearance, but still provide protection against debris being ingested into the gear train.
The uncoupling ramp.
I think I'll start with the bulge on the frame.