Hello Guys,
This is the 4-4-0 that (except for its headlight) is finished as if it is just out of Richmond, the locomotive builder, in 1896: gold striping on cylinders, domes, wheels, cab, tender; Russia iron boiler finish. I've long wanted one and could never find one for sale. I recently found a clean, almost new one in private hands, and bought it.
My questions are:
Why were these so hard for me to find?
How many were made available in the USA?
I had one of those years ago and traded it off. Unless you're modeling shortly after 1900 it's probably a little ornate. But, you can't deny, it's a really good looking engine.
I don't think very many of those models were made, and I suspect that some of them were repainted by their owners.
Thanks, trainman203,
I'm a bit loose on the era I model. Beebe & Clegg's book, "Mixed Train Daily" shows many short lines, especially in the American Southeast, had old slide-valve 4-6-0s and 4-4-0s in use, even after WW-II, though admittedly their new finish and striping had already been long-gone. But I'm comfortable with pre-WW1 models on the property.
Luca_DC
I was only talking about your striped up paint scheme on Richmond 4-4-0. 4-4-0's like that ran on short lines until the end of steam. A lot of them in the Deep South like you said.
I'm a complete nut about Deep South short lines. Depending on the rolling stock, my layout can run between the 1930s and 1950. I have about 11 of those Bachmann Richmond and Baldwin 4-4-0's plus a good number of both ten wheelers they offered 20 years ago. My passenger Service is either an open platform wood combine at the end of a local freight or a side door caboose, you'll see plenty of them in the Beebe and and Clegg book.
I don't know why more people don't model those lines, probably because they never saw them in real life. I'm old enough to remember the two branch lines we had back home still in steam. I'll never model anything else.
Hello, trainman203
So, you're an old guy too. I'm old enough to have experienced big steam - mostly PRR & Reading, but GTW and some Canadian too. But I don't have room to model any PRR or the Reading. Bachmann put out some beautiful 4-4-0 models under the Spectrum name, and I bought when the Brooklyn and Baltimore sellers cleaned out stock.
So as you do, I model on a 4x8, and follow John Allen's idea for small, old locos and short trains, with 40' freight cars and open vestibule passenger cars. I have a small engine yard with turntable and roundhouse, with 0-4-0t, 4-4-0, and 4-6-0 locos.
In addition to "Mixed Train Daily, you'd appreciate Mallory Hope Ferrell's 2-volume book, "Slow Trains Down South."
Luca_DC
I don't have room to model main line steam, not that I ever even wanted to. I started modeling a Missouri Pacific branch line back home in 1963 and that's all I've ever done. Although I was out of the hobby for 41 years and got back in in 2007, when I started the current layout.
It's not big but it's long. 15 inches wide with one L shaped layout in one room connected through a wall to another L shaped layout in the other room. The entire run is 48 feet, although all I run is local freights and they stop at every community, so nothing actually runs through. I love it because the sense of distance is tremendous when you can't see the whole thing.
I started modeling this branch layout long before I ever heard of John Allen doing the short train thing, but I'm glad he got it published.
If I had a 4000 square-foot basement for a layout, I'd still do the same branch line layout, I just have distance between communities, longer passing tracks, double ended yards, and a wye at each end.