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Post by af3020 on Mar 17, 2024 2:25:57 GMT
For me, the advent of the SMR offerings had a major impact on the focus of my model building efforts. I've always been interested in all aspects of 19th Century railroading in the U.S. and I really wanted to have some accurate O scale models of one or two engines from this period. After a lot of reading/research I settled on The General Haupt and the PRR D6. I had good pictures of the Haupt courtesy of Abdill's book Civil War Railroads and, after a LOT of letter writing (no internet back then) I had the basic dimensions for the engine and I was able to combine that information with the pictures and draw up my own blueprints/erection drawings. I had the reprint of Neale's book Recent Locomotives 1886 Enlarged Edition which has very detailed fold out blueprints for the PRR D6 which I could use for guiding my efforts. I didn't have any information on color schemes but I figured the first order of business was to make sure I could do an adequate job of scratchbuilding since I was going to have to make every single part of those engines. About the time I was starting to make some parts for the PRR engine SMR came on the scene and, during my first encounter with the firm at York, I learned he was planning to make more Civil War engines as well as other engines from the 1880 period. I kept working on my engine but when SMR offered the Haupt I decided I should focus my efforts on other things.  The quality of the SMR offerings was such that I decided his engines would have first dibs on my train money so over time I purchased several of them. |
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Post by seayakbill on Mar 17, 2024 9:45:59 GMT
A pair of Monon diesels running the rails of the S&Y RR. The Hoosier line is still active. Bill  |
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Post by harborbelt70 on Mar 17, 2024 11:22:17 GMT
For me, the advent of the SMR offerings had a major impact on the focus of my model building efforts. I've always been interested in all aspects of 19th Century railroading in the U.S. and I really wanted to have some accurate O scale models of one or two engines from this period. After a lot of reading/research I settled on The General Haupt and the PRR D6. I had good pictures of the Haupt courtesy of Abdill's book Civil War Railroads and, after a LOT of letter writing (no internet back then) I had the basic dimensions for the engine and I was able to combine that information with the pictures and draw up my own blueprints/erection drawings. I had the reprint of Neale's book Recent Locomotives 1886 Enlarged Edition which has very detailed fold out blueprints for the PRR D6 which I could use for guiding my efforts. I didn't have any information on color schemes but I figured the first order of business was to make sure I could do an adequate job of scratchbuilding since I was going to have to make every single part of those engines. About the time I was starting to make some parts for the PRR engine SMR came on the scene and, during my first encounter with the firm at York, I learned he was planning to make more Civil War engines as well as other engines from the 1880 period. I kept working on my engine but when SMR offered the Haupt I decided I should focus my efforts on other things. The quality of the SMR offerings was such that I decided his engines would have first dibs on my train money so over time I purchased several of them.
Real shame about SMR but another thing I have done is look at where and how specialist model railroad manufacturing started - basically because I am very dissatisfied with what we are offered now, in particular by Lionel. Watch this space.
P.S. I notice that your General Haupt has a plastic wood load - with what appears to be some snow on it?
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Post by af3020 on Mar 17, 2024 13:41:14 GMT
It's not snow it is just an attempt to give the impression of freshly cut wood - basically it is the same plastic casting that was used on The General with some added paint. The real wood pile looks much better but I decided to leave the plastic wood piles alone.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Mar 17, 2024 13:52:49 GMT
It's not snow it is just an attempt to give the impression of freshly cut wood - basically it is the same plastic casting that was used on The General with some added paint. The real wood pile looks much better but I decided to leave the plastic wood piles alone.
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Post by Traindiesel! on Mar 17, 2024 22:13:21 GMT
I still believe it’s a great purchasing system strategy.   I struck out looking at the beautiful SMR sets. I wanted a PRR set but had other trains in the pipeline to buy and waited too long. It was amazing to me they could squeeze TMCC into those little beauties. I think they installed the TMCC in a trailing box car?
Yes, the sound and TMCC was placed in a trailing boxcar. The motors in mine are actually in the tender.
I had two devils on my shoulders. One telling me to go ahead and get the PRR set and the other devil telling me how many other modern engines I could buy at those prices. Unfortunately, at the time, the ‘quantity devil’ won out over the ‘quality devil’. 😈 Now those devils seem to have merged.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Mar 17, 2024 22:42:02 GMT
I'm amazed/agog at the fact that you have ever shown ANY restraint, Brian.
I had two devils on my shoulders. One telling me to go ahead and get the PRR set and the other devil telling me how many other modern engines I could buy at those prices. Unfortunately, at the time, the ‘quantity devil’ won out over the ‘quality devil’. 😈 Now those devils seem to have merged.
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Post by af3020 on Mar 17, 2024 23:06:55 GMT
Actually, depending on how you apportioned the SMR PRR passenger cars, you could have one set of 4 cars with either the PRR D6 or the PRR D6a, or you could have two sets of two cars each with one headed by the D6 and the other by the D6a D6  D6a  |
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Post by atsda on Mar 18, 2024 2:18:40 GMT
harborbelt70, thanks for the engine/tender comparison. I have the General set (probably from the 60s.) I have not run it in decades; although I recently got replacement horses for the train. Even though I was not particular about model aspects of trains when I was young, I did think it odd to have the simulated wood in the tender made of rubber. Alfred
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Post by atsda on Mar 18, 2024 2:19:38 GMT
healey36, nice collection of tank cars. Although I don't have many, I do like running an all tanker consist. Alfred
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