The Home Machinist!

Here's two more pictures for the files. The first one is of my old Niagara. It was built by Frank Birch and was later sold to Bob Roy. I purchased it off of Bob and ran her all over the place. I later built a proper centipede tender using NYC drawings. It was fired on propane but I was going to change it to alchohol. It once pulled Mr Dimond's train around the old Waushakum track. I ended up trading it for Henry Hospers 1" Niagara. I have always regretted letting her go. I was told a gent named Henry Tadaro has it in Texas.

The other engine is my wifes GWR Hall. It was built by Jack Green of Hamilton Ont about 1967. He later sold it and it ended up getting passed around to about 10 guys before I purchased it from a member of out club.(after he flew it off the hi-line at terrific speed!) I put a burner in it and have had it running now for about 24 years. Still runs good put the paint is getting shabby. The GWR guys in the club say that if I continue to run her like that, I should change the GWR to British Rail.

Anyone recognize this locomotive?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0149520334

Tim

I have been really enjoying the photos and stories about 3/4" scale. Every engine has a history. I like looking at beautiful pristine models, but I also like looking at engines that have seen a lot of hard use over the years. They both have a story to tell, one of the pampered scale model, and the other of an engine that has had some adventures. It's a shame that some of these older engines can't speak. But in a way they do, by examining at an engine and running it, and listening to it run, you can tell a lot about the builder, and about the guardians that it has had over the years.
Jack

Ok guys here is my Kozo A3 from my photos on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/edhume3/se ... 966362373/



And now I am working on a riding car using the Raritan plans.

Here is a 3/4" Chicago & Northwestern Atlantic. The story is that a plumber in Chicago built several, and assembled them on his kitchen table. I like the story, there is just no stopping some people! The poor old girl is pretty worn out. The axle boxes flop around in the pedestals like a kids foot in grandpa's boot. I hooked up the air and she runs. Oh well, something for a rainy day. After the 0-6-0... re build the old Atlantic, or maybe a B&A tanker. Or maybe a J3....now there you go! So many engines so little time!
Jack

Folks:

Many or most of you have been to the Friends Models website and seen the pictures of a 16-year-old "me" running my beloved B & A tanker in 1987.

I bought it at age 15, and it was my LIFE for the remainder of my teen years. I ran the wheels off of it at the various 3-1/2" gauge tracks of the North East Live Steamers in New England; also I ran it a couple times at the OLD Waushakum track in Holliston MA (a very special place, it was); and on a 32' section of up-and-down portable track in my driveway. I also ran at Carl Purinton's and Charlie Purinton's personal tracks.

I sold the B & A engine during a weak moment (and due to poor judgment and some bad advice) in 1995; and have regretted it ever since. I had a tear in my eye the night it left me with the new owner, and the moment it left me I knew I should have kept it. And I have had a hole in my soul ever since. I tried to justify it at the time (and later on as well), but I knew that I was just BS-ing myself.

As the years passed, I wished I still owned the engine and could grow old with it, and have my children and someday THEIR children enjoy it with me; but I knew that I had blown that chance. As I approach age 40 faster than I care to think about, I long for the carefree & simple days of my youth in which the engine played a significant part. Selling the engine has caused me a lot of anguish over the years; knowing that its loss was my own doing makes it that much worse. Moral of the story: if you have an engine that provides you with fun and pleasure, DON'T sell it. Ten, fifteen, twenty years later, you may regret it and wish you could "go back".

Many of you have written me at "Friends" asking me where my engine is, when do I run it, etc. and I must regretfully inform all such inquirers that I have not owned the engine for some 14 years.

Below are some photos. Two were taken in 1987. The 3rd photo is me, AND my beloved tanker, 3 days ago.

I had long thought I would never see the engine again but I located its current owner and asked to see the engine (for the first time since I had sold it) for the purpose of photographing it in detail for the Friends Models website. (I am going to produce castings for this engine and I wanted some detailed photos of my former engine on the website). I also wanted photos for personal reasons, because the engine's sale in 1995 so disturbs me that when I do castings at "Friends" I am going to build the closest replica I can to my former engine. I can't have my old engine back, but, I'm going to BUILD my old engine with the help of photos.

The owner of the engine very kindly agreed to my visit. He also offered my engine back to me.

Folks, my B & A tank engine is home. Despite being the year 2009 in real life, it can now be "1987 again" whenever I want it to be.

And my soul is now at peace.

-John K.

JohnK wrote: Folks, my B & A tank engine is home.

Great story with an outstanding ending, John.

Enjoy!

Harold

Here's a few pictures of my 3/4" engines. The first picture shows me running my first engine in 2006. I started building this engine when I was 17. It ran for the first time in 1995 after about 3 years of Sunday/Saturday nights, and a lot of help/guidance from live steamers to whom I'm forever endebted to. It's not a museum piece, but its been a good running engine for the last 13+ years. The second photo I took last night on my shop floor for a close up.

The third photo is of my second engine which I am currently working on. It's a PRR K4s, and is very close to running on air. Only things I need to make are adjustable eccentric rods, and lifting links for the reverser. I'm building this to Coventry's plans that I got from Miniature Power Products with modifications. I'm using the B&O P-7 cylinders and drivers, but the rest is all Pennsy.

To the PRR purist, I know, my G5s is painted black and not dark green locomotive enamel (brunswick green), and counterweights aren't squared off, but I used what I could find and am happy with it. As far as the paint, I didn't know any better when I built the G5s, the K4s is DGLE.

Some 3/4" locomotives that live at the Taylor household.
The Center Cab was built around 1960, by Lewis Bullock of Johnsonville, NY. The Hudson was built by the late Harry Hansen of Lyndhurst, NJ
There are some others lurking in basement corners, I will try and get some pictures up showing some of them too.
Keith

This thread is amazing. Can't wait to get home each night and read the latest. Congratulations, John.

Charles Morrill

I have 2 3/4" scale locomotives that are mostly just loose parts. Hopefully, that will change starting in the summer of 2009 when I finally get a customer's locomotive running.

I have a 3/4" scale PRR E6s and one of JohnK's Coventry 0-6-0 switchers. As I said, just loose parts...I'm not going to take any pics until I make some progress. I may also do a K4 as I have the number plate already...Thanks John Hudak....

Some of those parts will be at Cabin Fever on display for anybody that's interested.

Jack Bodenman has been an inspiration, too....

My brother Kap has a Caribou 0-8-0 that he built from Penn Models castings back in the '70s. It's a good runner...

Andy Pullen

Here is Harry Sait's 3/4" scale B & A tanker. Harry was an early pioneer in the hobby and was, as far as I know, born in the 1890s. He was actively building in the 1920s and 30s, probably the 40s too, and attended meets right up until about 1970. He died about 1971. Carl Purinton talked about Harry Sait's building skills right up until his (Carl's) death, and Charlie Purinton STILL talks about Harry Sait.

Mr. Sait built this engine in the early 1930s, and late in the 1930s Lester Friend developed a copy of it for Yankee Shop.......all the "Yankee" and "Friends" B & A tankers built over the years were based on this design......in fact based on this actual ENGINE. This is the "original" that Lester based the "Yankee Shop" version on. This engine ran at Marblehead and Danvers MA at the early "Brotherhood" meets.

I don't recall the exact year, but in the early 1930s Carl Purinton did a brief write-up about this engine (with a photograph very similar to this one) in one of his columns in an issue of The Modelmaker. Flip through your old Modelmakers if you have them, and you'll find this engine and Mr. Purinton's comments about it.

In some old issue of Live Steam, probably late 1970s or early 1980s, there is a write-up of a meet at Waushakum Live Steamers and a photo of Charlie Purinton running this engine.

-John K.