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Post by trainguyken on Apr 20, 2022 0:31:11 GMT
The McKeen Car was the very first interurban car made in America, a revolutionary if flawed design from the pre-WW1 era ( here's a great online article you can read about it). Despite being used by dozens of railroads across the country, few models exist of the car in any scale, particularly O Scale. I knew when I started with 3D printing model trains that I would have to make my own!
I started by making a 3D render of the McKeen Car. With several weekends of effort studying old photographs and scale diagrams I was able to reproduce the railcar and its distinctive wind-splitter prow in 1:48th scale.
I chose the MTH Railking Doodlebug as a donor chassis. These are about the right size for the McKeen, come with nice can motors and are abundantly available at reasonable cost.
After carefully modelling the Doodlebug's chassis, I was able to fit it into the body using existing screw holes to mount all of the 3D printed components. The only modification necessary is to cut a little off the corners of the Doodlebug's frame so it fits into the bow section.
The final version of the McKeen body is printed in 3 sections that slide together to form the 18" long fuselage. There's also a smattering of detail parts you'll see in the finished build further down.
I designed new truck sideframes to convert the Doodlebug's trucks into the appropriate McKeen trucks. The McKeen predated most other gas-electric interurbans by about 20 years and contained novel designs for power trucks using very early gasoline engines. I studied the hundred-year-old patent drawings and designed new frames to fit the MTH power trucks.
I painted the shell parts with Rustoleum 2x aerosol paints and applied some homemade decals. For a more finished appearance I taped in some window material with foil duct tape.
While the paint was drying on the body shell, I rigged up the chassis with TMCC via ERR Cruise Commander and Railsounds kits.
Here's the finished McKeen car on the bench. It's about 18" long, representing a 70' full size car.
The Railking chassis can handle tight corners quite well but the new body does overhang a bit on O31.
I chose to decal the locomotive for the Cuyamaca Railroad for the simple reason that I liked some of the terminals they served. I went to school very close to the original Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island and am amused by the thought of another Narragansett on the West Coast.
Here's a video of the McKeen running on my layout!
I have manufactured about 12 McKeen kits so far-- 8 of these 72ft power cars and about 4 of the mail trailers. I'm a bit tired of making the standard McKeens but I am continuing to work on some of the many variations, including the parabolic-nosed Ann Arbor models and the 55ft motor cars. I'll put some pictures up for you all once I get the next batch of parts off the printer.
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Post by firewood on Apr 20, 2022 2:42:56 GMT
Great project! McKeen cars are great eye-catchers, aren't they. There was a young gent called Madison Kirkman doing some McKeen work out there a few years ago. He worked on producing a car model, but I think he got involved with a 1:1 McKeen restoration. Here's his website: mckeencar.com/Dave |
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Post by Adam on Apr 20, 2022 9:56:27 GMT
Really impressive! Using the doodlebug chassis was a great idea.
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Post by ptc on Apr 20, 2022 14:49:56 GMT
Very ambitious project. Turned out really good.
Great job.
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Post by scalerail on Apr 20, 2022 18:57:24 GMT
 Nice job. I wish MTH would have produced one. I think they really would have sold a bunch. Even better would be the McKeen cars to go with the loco. Don 20-20040-1 O Scale Premier McKeen Motor Car w/Proto-Sound 3.0 (Hi-Rail Wheels) For availability see 'Find it locally' tab $449.95 Product Information Description(active tab) Overview Features Find It Locally Support McKeen Motor Car w/Proto-Sound 3.0 (Hi-Rail Wheels) - Union Pacific Cab No. M-18 Roadname: Union Pacific Product Item Number: 20-20040-1 Catalog: DF 2011 Volume 2 Product Line: Premier Scale: O Scale Delivery Status: CANCELLED This product is compatible with all O Gauge 3-Rail track systems including those systems offered by Atlas and Lionel and Gargraves and Ross Custom Switches. With its knife-edged prow, steel body, and porthole windows, the McKeen Car looked more like a nautical Jules Verne creation than a railroad car. No wonder, because the McKeen Car had its origins in a torpedo boat. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Edward H. Harriman, President of the Union Pacific (U.P.) and Southern Pacific (S.P.) railroads, was impressed with the U.S. Navy's experiments with high-speed torpedo boats. He wondered if their lightweight, powerful internal combustion engines could address an age-old railroad problem: providing economical passenger service on lightly traveled routes. To realize his idea, Harriman turned to William R. McKeen, Jr., the U.P.'s young, college-educated superintendent of motive power. Like Harriman, McKeen was imaginative and forward-thinking, and the resulting product employed cutting edge and experimental technologies. Built in the U.P.'s Omaha shops from 1904-1917, McKeen Motor Car Company vehicles used roller bearings and had all-steel bodies at the very dawn of the steel car age. Their aerodynamic shape was called a "wind splitter," as the word "streamlined" was not yet in common use. (In fact, the streamlining was of little use at the cars' top speed of 50 mph, and later experiments would show the cars' shape was actually more streamlined in reverse.) Crash protection would prove to be an unintended side benefit of the pointed prow, which collapsed in front-end collisions and protected the occupants, much like today's automobiles. To modern observers, the view of the world through the McKeens' massive portholes recalls the Beatles' Yellow Submarine. The 150 or so McKeen Cars were also America's first mass-produced internal combustion rail vehicles. Like today's O gauge diesels, the cars had a truck-mounted motor that swiveled with the front truck. To back up, the motorman had to stop the engine, shift the camshaft, and restart the engine in reverse. Starting was by compressed air stored in the cars' tanks and replenished while running; many a McKeen had to be push-started when the air ran out. Not surprisingly, the Harriman-ruled U.P. and S.P. were McKeen's biggest customers, while a large number of roads nationwide bought a unit or two to try out. But the McKeen motor and transmission proved somewhat unreliable and, perhaps more important, railroads were not yet ready to embrace internal combustion power; both McKeen and its keenest rival, General Electric, ended production of internal combustion cars in 1917. New for 2011, M.T.H. introduces our Premier model of this odd, endearing, futuristic car, decorated for four of the original purchasers: Union Pacific, Pennsylvania (which later sold its 1910 car to the Illinois Central), Norfolk & Southern Railway (the namesake of today's Norfolk Southern), and the Virginia and Truckee, whose Car No. 22 is just returning to operation after decades as a diner and storage building, capping a 13-year restoration by the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Directionally Controlled Headlights Intricately Detailed ABS Body Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank (2) Remotely Controlled Proto-Couplersr Lighted Cab Interior (2) Engineer Cab Figures Locomotive Speed Control Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring: Passenger Station Proto-Effects Unit Measures:18 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" Operates On O-36 Curves Diesel DCC Features Headlight Bell Whistle/Horn Start Up/Shut Down Rear Coupler Front Coupler Engine Sounds On/Off Sound Volume Ditch Lights Auto/On/Off Forward Signal Reverse Signal Grade Crossing Signal Cab Light On/Off Extended Start Up Extended Shut Down Rev Up Rev Down Coupler Slack Sound Coupler Close One-Shot Doppler Feature Reset Idle Sequence 1 Idle Sequence 2 Idle Sequence 3 Brakes Auto/Off Cab Chatter Auto/Off Clickety-Clack Auto/Off This product may not have shipped yet or is completely sold out. Click on the show button to see who might have it on order.
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Post by scalerail on Apr 20, 2022 18:59:59 GMT
Nice job. I wish MTH would have produced one. I think they really would have sold a bunch. Even better would be the McKeen cars to go with the loco. Don
20-20040-1
O Scale Premier McKeen Motor Car w/Proto-Sound 3.0 (Hi-Rail Wheels)
For availability see
'Find it locally' tab
$449.95
Product Information
Description(active tab)
Overview
Features
Find It Locally
Support
McKeen Motor Car w/Proto-Sound 3.0 (Hi-Rail Wheels) - Union Pacific
Cab No. M-18
Roadname: Union Pacific
Product Item Number:
20-20040-1
Catalog: DF 2011 Volume 2
Product Line: Premier
Scale: O Scale
Delivery Status:
CANCELLED
This product is compatible with all O Gauge 3-Rail track systems including those systems offered by Atlas and Lionel and Gargraves and Ross Custom Switches.
With its knife-edged prow, steel body, and porthole windows, the McKeen Car looked more like a nautical Jules Verne creation than a railroad car. No wonder, because the McKeen Car had its origins in a torpedo boat. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Edward H. Harriman, President of the Union Pacific (U.P.) and Southern Pacific (S.P.) railroads, was impressed with the U.S. Navy's experiments with high-speed torpedo boats. He wondered if their lightweight, powerful internal combustion engines could address an age-old railroad problem: providing economical passenger service on lightly traveled routes. To realize his idea, Harriman turned to William R. McKeen, Jr., the U.P.'s young, college-educated superintendent of motive power.
Like Harriman, McKeen was imaginative and forward-thinking, and the resulting product employed cutting edge and experimental technologies. Built in the U.P.'s Omaha shops from 1904-1917, McKeen Motor Car Company vehicles used roller bearings and had all-steel bodies at the very dawn of the steel car age. Their aerodynamic shape was called a "wind splitter," as the word "streamlined" was not yet in common use. (In fact, the streamlining was of little use at the cars' top speed of 50 mph, and later experiments would show the cars' shape was actually more streamlined in reverse.) Crash protection would prove to be an unintended side benefit of the pointed prow, which collapsed in front-end collisions and protected the occupants, much like today's automobiles. To modern observers, the view of the world through the McKeens' massive portholes recalls the Beatles' Yellow Submarine.
The 150 or so McKeen Cars were also America's first mass-produced internal combustion rail vehicles. Like today's O gauge diesels, the cars had a truck-mounted motor that swiveled with the front truck. To back up, the motorman had to stop the engine, shift the camshaft, and restart the engine in reverse. Starting was by compressed air stored in the cars' tanks and replenished while running; many a McKeen had to be push-started when the air ran out.
Not surprisingly, the Harriman-ruled U.P. and S.P. were McKeen's biggest customers, while a large number of roads nationwide bought a unit or two to try out. But the McKeen motor and transmission proved somewhat unreliable and, perhaps more important, railroads were not yet ready to embrace internal combustion power; both McKeen and its keenest rival, General Electric, ended production of internal combustion cars in 1917.
New for 2011, M.T.H. introduces our Premier model of this odd, endearing, futuristic car, decorated for four of the original purchasers: Union Pacific, Pennsylvania (which later sold its 1910 car to the Illinois Central), Norfolk & Southern Railway (the namesake of today's Norfolk Southern), and the Virginia and Truckee, whose Car No. 22 is just returning to operation after decades as a diner and storage building, capping a 13-year restoration by the Nevada State Railroad Museum.
Directionally Controlled Headlights
Intricately Detailed ABS Body
Metal Wheels, Axles and Gears
Die-Cast Truck Sides, Pilots and Fuel Tank
(2) Remotely Controlled Proto-Couplersr
Lighted Cab Interior
(2) Engineer Cab Figures
Locomotive Speed Control
Precision Flywheel Equipped Motor
Proto-Sound 3.0 With The Digital Command System Featuring: Passenger Station Proto-Effects
Unit Measures:18 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 3 3/4"
Operates On O-36 Curves Diesel DCC Features
Headlight
Bell
Whistle/Horn
Start Up/Shut Down
Rear Coupler
Front Coupler
Engine Sounds On/Off
Sound Volume
Ditch Lights Auto/On/Off
Forward Signal
Reverse Signal
Grade Crossing Signal
Cab Light On/Off
Extended Start Up
Extended Shut Down
Rev Up
Rev Down
Coupler Slack Sound
Coupler Close
One-Shot Doppler
Feature Reset
Idle Sequence 1
Idle Sequence 2
Idle Sequence 3
Brakes Auto/Off
Cab Chatter Auto/Off
Clickety-Clack Auto/Off
This product may not have shipped yet or is completely sold out. Click on the show button to see who might have it on order.
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Post by trainguyken on Apr 20, 2022 21:02:59 GMT
I'm an engineer more than a salesman, but I have definitely seen a market for McKeens that MTH, Lionel and the other big names seem to be passing up. I suspect that they have cold feet about spending big bucks on tooling for a peculiar railcar that isn't super well known in the model train community. The nice thing about 3D printing is that the investment is primarily TIME rather than TOOLING. I don't have to wait or hope that anyone makes any particular model in O Scale; if I want it badly enough I can spend the design time and print it up myself!
I actually designed this last fall, long before the full size McKeen body was finished. It's a 5-part kit with a hand-cut sheet brass frame.
The doors do open and close on this model! I learned a lot about designing mating parts with this project.
I added some amber interior lighting to represent the oil lamps the original would have had.
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Post by josef on Apr 20, 2022 21:50:11 GMT
Excellent work. Thanks for sharing. You did good.
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Post by scalerail on Apr 20, 2022 22:08:30 GMT
The tooling for the body and trucks had to be new. I still think they would have sold as a loco or set. Many Railroads bought them so they would have a wide range of railroads to sell to the public. Don   |
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Post by cnw1995 on Apr 21, 2022 14:16:13 GMT
Absolutely gorgeous work! I am a big fan of the McKeen cars because three of them ran on a local interurban - the remnants of which I have enjoyed exploring over the years - The Woodstock and Sycamore Traction Company was a very rural line. There is a wonderful self-published book about them (that I also have a copy of) that has lots of information on their McKeen cars. |
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Post by trainguyken on May 20, 2022 23:01:06 GMT
Here's my latest McKeen concoction, a 48ft passenger trailer!
I started off by making a render of the body, frame and other parts in Fusion 360.
The car is too big to be printed in one solid piece so I broke it up into sub-assemblies. There's two body sections, two floor sections, one solid frame and some little doors to fit on the body. It all screws together into one solid mass through the bottom.
I designed and 3D printed some trucks with long-shanked couplers to go with the car. This is the 4th or 5th style of 3D printed trucks I've designed, I have something of a template that I attach new sideframes and couplers to for each new build.
The test fit of the body revealed some small areas for improvement, mostly just filing and clipping in areas that were too tight. The good news is that I can work the changes into my digital files and make improvements for the next kit.
Here's a view of the rear of the finished car. I decided to paint this car for the Virginia and Truckee since I had some leftover homemade decals to apply to it. I have another McKeen motor car that I'm building to accompany this trailer, expect an update when it is done.
Here's the other side of the car. I'll admit the paint job is not my finest work... I forgot to stick the body sections together when I taped off the roof!
On the bright side, the doors do work! I even added a stairway so there's a little interior detail to the car.
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Post by Traindiesel! on May 21, 2022 4:49:18 GMT
Outstanding work, Ken! Thank you for sharing the process.
The MTH McKeen car that was cataloged had many vocal fans pushing for it to be made. But unfortunately very few orders were placed and it was cancelled. So I guess MTH didn’t feel they would sell many of them. It hasn’t been seen since.
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Post by trainguyken on May 21, 2022 10:41:53 GMT
Outstanding work, Ken! Thank you for sharing the process.
The MTH McKeen car that was cataloged had many vocal fans pushing for it to be made. But unfortunately very few orders were placed and it was cancelled. So I guess MTH didn’t feel they would sell many of them. It hasn’t been seen since. Thank you, I appreciate the kind words. When the big manufacturers pass up a particular model or scale, it leaves a void for enterprising folks to fill. One of the biggest surprises I had from my last York trip was going to the Standard Gauge Module Association's breakfast and seeing all of the bronze-castt, machined and yes, even 3D printed trains they had made. No major manufacturers support their scale so the enterprising hobbyists have been making their own trains.
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Post by Country Joe on May 21, 2022 11:46:44 GMT
You did a great job on this car, Ken. You are really good at this. 👍
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Post by papa3rail on May 23, 2022 14:27:09 GMT
Cool project, great execution.
Dave
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