Relatively new modeler here, working on the 1940s to early 1950s era in and around the Philadelphia area. Been searching high and low for an HO Reading G3 (or even a G1, G2) steam locomotive. Don't seem to be many relatively accurate G3 models out there. I'm not interested in the Crusader version that Penn Line manufactured and Brass is out of my price range. I know IHC built one, but it has some pretty inaccurate details with it. Did Athearn, Bowser, Mantua or any other manufacturer produce one at any point in the last 65 years? Thanks for your help!
Searching for an HO Reading G3
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MHinLA
Guest
Have you checked ebay ? Also, if IHC's have at least good dimensions, you might have fun detailing it..I hear IHCs run really well. But on the same token, unless they've been corrected, I think IHCs might still have deep flanges...
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MHinLA
Guest
PS. This just in.. I did a search myself and you're right. Brass is WAY expensive and there seems to be no IHC Gs...I know how one can take on a lust for a certain loco or other train objects...Maybe you should go cold turkey on it before it eats you up inside...
Thanks MHinLA, I do have a CNJ switcher from AHM (early IHC) and it is deep-flanged. But I run mostly code 100, so it works. I'm just surprised that Brass, IHC and the Penn Line Crusader are the only version of a Reading G class that were manufactured. I've looked pretty extensively online and that appears to be it.....sigh.
The only real RDG G's were brass. The IHC/AHM "G3" is just a USRA Pacific lettered for the RDG. ConCor also came out with a limited edition RDG Crusader set.
Search for "Anthracite Modeler" on YouTube, a fellow named Casey Peters does lots of kitbashes of steam engines to Reading (and other anthracite road).
Search for "Anthracite Modeler" on YouTube, a fellow named Casey Peters does lots of kitbashes of steam engines to Reading (and other anthracite road).
Thanks for the response Dave. I feared that brass might be the only route for the G3. And unfortunately that's out of my $ reach. I didn't realize the IHC was based off the USRA Pacific, I just knew that it didn't look anything like a G.
I checked out Casey Peters, he does great work. Shame it's not for sale....lol. It's really amazing that you can find so many Reading T-1s and camelbacks but no Gs.
I checked out Casey Peters, he does great work. Shame it's not for sale....lol. It's really amazing that you can find so many Reading T-1s and camelbacks but no Gs.
One might be able to graft the firebox and cab from a Bachmann I-10 2-8-0 onto another Pacific boiler. and come up with something closer to an RDG Pacific. One thing the G3 had was the Boxpok center driver. You might be able to cobble together Mantua drivers and come up with the proper arrangement. The Mantua Pacific is based on a B&O engine, but was a rather burley engine that might make a good starting point for a G3.
Now if I could just graft some model-building/Kitbashing skills into my very not creative fingers I'd give that a shot. Unfortunately, I'm in more of the RTR crowd (But I very much appreciate and respect your suggestion Dave). And it looks likes sadly that's pretty much going to wipe out my pursuit of a Reading G. I realize the Reading wasn't the Pennsy. NYC or the UP, but I find it a little amazing that other than a bad IHC version, not one manufacturer saw fit to do manufacture a G. Sigh…...
Sorry, No help here!
trailrider
Well-Known Member
I Googled for photos of the Reading G3 and I don't know of any HO model that looks exactly like it. The best suggestion would be to find an undecorated Mantua Pacific and either modify the boiler or just live with it that way. Sorry not to be of any better help.
Trailrider, yeah I've bounced around a lot of photos too looking for something that most closely matches it. No such luck. I've never really kitbashed or even detailed engines/rolling stock before (straight up RTR guy - I do weathering a bit, but that's it), but it looks like that might be my only route. Thanks for the response.
trailrider
Well-Known Member
While it appears to me that the boiler of the G3 slopes down to the smokebox much less that the boiler of the Mantua Pacific, there are a couple of ways to modify the Mantua model's boiler. One would be to slather on J-B Weld or Devcon's Plastic Steel and then file or grind it to shape. The other way might be to glue strips of styrene around the boiler. A fair amount of work, of course. I looked to see if a boiler and cab from Cary Locomotive Works might work, but it is for a MIkado chasis and doesn't look much better than the Mantua boiler. I do see a Cary boiler for the Mantua Pacific for sale on ebay, however, it is a Pensy K-2, with a Bel-Paire firebox. Not sure if the contour is any closer to a G3 or not. You'd have to file off the rectangular firebox details on the top of the boiler.
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You could always save up for one of those brass models! As an "SP in the steam era" modeler starting out in the early nineties the only steamers I could get in plastic were the Rivarossi cab forward, the Bachmann GS-4, and an IHC 2-6-0. The Bachmann was a stinker. It wouldn't pull it's way out of a paper bag. The cab forward was OK but too big for the layout I had room for at the time. The 2-6-0 was nice enough with some detail work. That left some big holes on the prospective roster. I pretty much had no choice but to buy brass if I wanted accurate models. It took a number of years, but I built a credible fleet. I'd keep checking e-Bay and Brass Trains.com. Deals pop up. You never know. I've seen this model. It's a handsome locomotive. Your problem is that it's only been done once, so it will never be cheap, but it could be the center piece of your collection.
Espee, I really like your thought process! Now if I could just convince the wife of that logic....lol. I have that Riv cab forward too with it's pizza cutter wheels. It's also big for my layout which is why I'm concentrating on Reading Pacifics - and I don't want a camelback, just a G. I need 3-driver wheels or less on 15" & 18" curves. And I'm modeling suburban Philly with the Reading & Pennsy (I have a K4). Maybe brass prices will bottom out.....Ha!
I'm an expert in rationalizing brass purchases
. I also have the good fortune to: A) Be able to afford them. B) Have a wife that supports the hobby. She doesn't care what I spend as long as I don't blow the house payment or the utility money. She likes the trains because they keep me out of bars and away from strange women. I have a friend who is a big time brass collector. He specializes in the higher end models, or heavily modified models that are altered to represent a specific locomotive. Everything in his collection is unique. He once asked me if I wanted a larger collection full of common stuff, or a smaller collection of "jewels". It was an interesting discussion. Brass prices are coming down on common models, but better quality and rarer models are staying up there. I've picked up some great deals in the past year. A UP 4-8-4 for $150.00, an SP 0-6-0 for $125.00, a Factory painted GN 4-8-4 for $250.00, A factory painted Westside GS-4 4-8-4 for $195.00. All of those needed some work. Some needed painted, all needed can motors installed. If you're not a DCC guy you can skip the re-motor. One or two needed minor repairs. In most cases I ended up with a brass model with DCC for about the same dollars as one of the new Broadway or Athearn Genesis steamers. So keep you eyes peeled!
Boris
Beach Bum
Keep in mind that the G3 itself was rare, I think only five or seven were built, mainly for the Reading's Intercity trains, the Wall Street, the Crusader, the King Coal and the Schuylkill. They were also used on the Queen of the Valley, between Jersey City and Harrisburg, and only for about five years. Then they went to the PRSL where they were used on the Cape May Branch for a few summers.
The G2 Concor imported was part of the original 1937 Crusader train. It was accurate to the best of my knowledge, but I declined, and couldn't get one without buying the Steam loco. (It would have looked great behind a pair of FP7s).
If you're interested in Philly commuter service, before electrification or the Newtown Branch, then Camelbacks are in order. You will have a problem with 15" or 18" radius curves, unless you use shorty coaches with talgo type trucks. Bethlehem Car Works sells decent accurate kits of Reading and CNJ passenger cars, and between the other manufacturers, you can buy Reading suitable diesels to go with them, all for substantially less than a brass G3 would cost you, assuming you can find one. But they run better on 24" radius curves or better.
BLI imports T-1 4-8-4s built from 2-8-0s during the same time frame. They were used on the Famous Iron horse Rambles, after being retired from regular service. They are quite common and go for reasonable prices.
Good luck on your search.
The G2 Concor imported was part of the original 1937 Crusader train. It was accurate to the best of my knowledge, but I declined, and couldn't get one without buying the Steam loco. (It would have looked great behind a pair of FP7s).
If you're interested in Philly commuter service, before electrification or the Newtown Branch, then Camelbacks are in order. You will have a problem with 15" or 18" radius curves, unless you use shorty coaches with talgo type trucks. Bethlehem Car Works sells decent accurate kits of Reading and CNJ passenger cars, and between the other manufacturers, you can buy Reading suitable diesels to go with them, all for substantially less than a brass G3 would cost you, assuming you can find one. But they run better on 24" radius curves or better.
BLI imports T-1 4-8-4s built from 2-8-0s during the same time frame. They were used on the Famous Iron horse Rambles, after being retired from regular service. They are quite common and go for reasonable prices.
Good luck on your search.
