Bachmann Online Forum

Here's a photo I took recently of GER Slug No. 4 that I kitbashed some 15 or more years ago when I used to model 1977.

Kitbashed from a Baldwin switcher body IIRC.  I still have it is anyone's interested in more detailed photos?

(http://s94.photobucket.com/user/rogertra/media/1972%20GER%20Diesels/IMG_0360_zps83c5de37.jpg.html)

Cheers

Roger T.

Roger,

Well, of course !

(Why else are we here?)

Louder Cheers.

Joe

As requested, other views of GER No. 4.

As I have backdated the GER from 1977 to 1958, this unit is no longer in active service and currently sits on a shelf with other dummy GER units which are still in the 1977 colour scheme.

(http://s94.photobucket.com/user/rogertra/media/1972%20GER%20Diesels/IMG_0361_zps8ddad32e.jpg.html)

(http://s94.photobucket.com/user/rogertra/media/1972%20GER%20Diesels/IMG_06081_zpsuinvmada.jpg.html)

(http://s94.photobucket.com/user/rogertra/media/1972%20GER%20Diesels/IMG_06071_zpsu927oczf.jpg.html)

(http://s94.photobucket.com/user/rogertra/media/1972%20GER%20Diesels/IMG_06091_zpsuxfbpmzv.jpg.html)

(http://s94.photobucket.com/user/rogertra/media/1972%20GER%20Diesels/IMG_06061_zpsnznzfdlt.jpg.html)


Cheers

Roger T.

Nice work Rog!

What are Slugs used for ???? They don't that type of engine in my Area of Eastern PA... The only thing I can think of is Added Power to the coupled up engine... ????.....

slugs are used to add powered wheels to a locomotive consist without added fuel consumption. they are most useful at low speeds such as yard service, where the mother locomotive generates more power than can be used by its traction motors. slugs cannot move by themselves, and must be powered by another locomotive set up to power them. most are designed to run with specially modified mothers.

in eastern pa you probably see slugs all the time but don't realize it. norfols southern and csx have large fleets of cabbed slugs (ns 600 and 700 series, csx 2200-2387 series) which at first glance look like regular locomotives, but lack the fans and radiators of a regular locomotive. the ns units have gp40-2 (3000-3102) and gp59e (4650-4661) mothers, csx mothers are in the 6400 and 6900 series.

If the cab is still on, does that make it a 'snail' instead of a 'slug'?? ;D

Len

Quote from: Len on February 27, 2015, 10:42:58 AM
If the cab is still on, does that make it a 'snail' instead of a 'slug'?? ;D

Len

Now I don't care who you are......that right there is funny. ;D

Sid

Here's a good shot of a CN unit in Thunder Bay.



Sid

Quote from: WoundedBear on February 27, 2015, 11:29:25 AM
Here's a good shot of a CN unit in Thunder Bay.



Sid

Sid.

CN 235 looks like a road slug and probably used in transfer service.  Road slugs operate at higher speeds than yard slugs and are used to assist in starting heavy trains.  Once the train reaches a certain speed, probably transition speed, the slug automatically "disconnects" its power feed from the "mother" unit and goes along for the ride.  Some road slugs are equipped with dynamic brakes and some with fuel tanks to act as fuel tenders for the "mother" unit.  If the "slug" can make transition, then it's called a "MATE".

The CNR used have road slugs around Vancouver and they were used on transfer service between the big CN yard in Coquitlam and the various yards in Vancouver.  However, I rarely get to Vancouver but on line photos suggest they are still in service.

Cheers

Roger T.

Didn't realize there was a difference between yard and road slugs. Thanks for the info. I see some variety of slug here at Calder yards....they have a few....I'll have to note road numbers next time I pass by there.

Sid

Interesting Information, Was unaware that Slugs were ever used "on the road"

As always, looks great Roger. I'm curious, were those photos taken on the new or old GER?

Quote from: Irbricksceo on February 27, 2015, 12:56:34 PM
Interesting Information, Was unaware that Slugs were ever used "on the road"

As always, looks great Roger. I'm curious, were those photos taken on the new or old GER?

Glad to have been of help.

The photos of No. 4 and No. 51 were taken on the new GER's Industrial Lead while the photos of slug No. 4 on its own were taken on the Yard Lead.

Cheers

Roger T.

Quote from: Irbricksceo on February 27, 2015, 12:56:34 PM
Interesting Information, Was unaware that Slugs were ever used "on the road"

As always, looks great Roger. I'm curious, were those photos taken on the new or old GER?

yes, they are used on the road all the time. in Pittsburgh, many of the shifter trains (locals) are running with road slug sets. this is true on both ns and csx. and the ns road slugs are also used in yard service at Conway with at least 3 sets working the yard at any given time. these sets seems to be rotated between yard and shifter service.

there is one set that works out of mingo jc which consists of a gp40-2, an rpe4d slug with dynamic brakes, and an rpe4c (cabbed) slug. for those who visit Altoona and horseshoe curve this summer, look for road slug sets in the yard, and on the shifters to Lewistown and Hollidaysburg. ns is currently building their own road slugs in Altoona, and those shifters make a good test or shakedown run.

roger, that is an excellent job on the yard slug. was it powered?

Quote from: jward on February 27, 2015, 10:03:27 PM
rofer, that is an excellent job on the yard slug. was it powered?

No, it just went along for the ride.  No. 53, the Alco S2 is a metal kit and can pull down buildings, well at least 35+ freight cars and as my longest yard track was 18 cars long, the slug was just for looks.  :)

Cheers

Roger T.

Nice I like it .Conrail had a bunch of slugs and there is a CSX gp 30 Slug hanging around metro Detroit, no fans ,smooth sides ,no vents ,has a cab

and looked like it even had some newer paint on it ,Strange they would put that effort into it AND LABOR .Must be a pride and workmanship thing in

the shop to just keep the old 30 going one way or another .Great to see these days.Inspiring kit bash for some newbies to see what modeling is all


about.You cannot get that one right out of the box .Thanks for Sharing !
Jack

Jack.

I was really into kitbashing a few years ago.  I wanted Canadian MLW RS-18s, not available as affordable rtr plastic models so I took American Alco RS-11s and kitbashed a few of them into passable RS-18s.  I am lucky in that the RS-18s grill arrangements were slightly different on the CNR and CPR models so the slight variation from the prototype versions on my freelanced GER version seems acceptable to me.

As for steam?  Well it's hard to find a GER kettle that hasn't had at least the tender kitbashed let alone all weather cabs, pilot deck air tanks etc., etc., add.  Most of my kitbashes are not that difficult.

If you need something, a building, track work, and locomotive, a bridge anything that's not commercially available, either scratch build it or kitbash it, that's what this hobby is about.  It's not about walking into your local hobby shop and buying everything from the shelves.  And if you mess up?  You don't learn anything without making mistakes.  Believe me, making that first saw cut into a $200+ steam loco was a challenge.  :)

Cheers

Roger T.

   

I know a guy who used a saw to cut a $300 loco.  Wanna see??

Quote from: jbrock27 on February 28, 2015, 06:55:05 PM
I know a guy who used a saw to cut a $300 loco.  Wanna see??

Sure, lets see what he did.

Cheers

Roger T.

Sure thing.  FF to 4:00...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnPEK0MY_ak

That's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.....not the loco being cut, but the commentator.

We have names up here for people like that.....lolololol. I think when he screwed his hat on backwards, it pinched his brain a bit. ;D

Sid

You're free (obviously) to draw your own conclusions about the commentator.  As Hunt so succinctly put it, just recently: 
Do not allow your knowledge to be limited because of the way information is presented.  Or for that matter, by whom presents it...

And yes, I bet you do have names up there in Canada for "people like that".  One thing that cannot be questioned is his always giving his honest opinon.  I would offer that I have gotten many good ideas from him, just as I have from you, Sid.

I've seen several neat things from this person. That said, this was... wasteful. If he didn't like it, he could sell it or even give it away. He compared it to the overland and MTH models, which are ~3* ad ~5-6 times the cost of the Bachmann one.

Many would agree w/you Brick, but it was his dough to chose what he did with it and he (obviously) did it to prove a point.  I know you don't agree with his opinion as the same goes for you and those 2 kids that did their video, like 8 years ago...And those models are not 3 to 6 times the cost, that was part of his point, which I guess you missed.  Here it is more about it, recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0kTTb4Joyk

How are those AMAZON needle files workin for ya, dog?

Roger;
While walking through the yard at Rockland, Maine some years ago, I ran across a slug that really caught my eye.  THis thing was a rea home-grownl piece of work-I had to laugh.  I also caught sight of a Maine Central RS-11 spotted half on the turntable, half on the yard track.  The thought of twenty+ tons of locomotive having to be scooped out of the pit...  Oh well; only in Maine.  Wouldn't trade it for the world!
Also, For my life time familiarity with the New Haven, I would never have thought they had slugs-until I was driving up I-91, and spotted one behind a Geep doing hump service over in the Cedar Hill yard.  We really do learn something new every day, don't we?  Just as an aside; The biggest steam on the New Haven were the Santa Fe types; and one of their common assignments, I had learned, was also hump service.  Now THAT would have been a sight!  That hogger had to know that locomotive better than he knew his wife!
SGT C.

Quote from: jbrock27 on March 01, 2015, 08:12:49 AM
Sure thing.  FF to 4:00...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnPEK0MY_ak

That's some negative review and an interesting kitbash.  :)

Cheers

Roger T.

I am glad that you asked to see it! :D

Hey Sarge, you make it up 91 to the Big E this year?

Those Class L1 "Santa Fe" locos were originally supposed to get used on the NH Shoreline Route. But they had counterbalancing issues with the drivers that created a "hammer" effect. It was so bad, the swing and drawbridge operators threatened to open the bridges and walk out because they were afraid the bridges would come apart under them. So the L1's got moved inland. I got that from an uncle who worked for the NH before he went to the Great Northern.

Len

I'd heard that len! Funny Stuff. Kinda reminds me of the big locomotive Penn built for the state fair that was completely unusable.

Jbrock, I'll be honest, I completely forgot about that video with the two kids until now. I've said a lot of things when I was younger that I regret, and while my opinion of their video may have been right or wrong, who's to say, My response was aggressive and, really unnecessary for a video by two kids. I've chosen to ignore a lot from before when I really matured.

Regarding the cost of this persons video, those are the numbers I came up with, maybe they were off but either way, my point about waste stands true. I've liked a lot of his work, I think I'm allowed to voice my opinions. He has done giveaways before. as for the files, to be honest, It still hasn't fixed the truck jumping the track so either I filed the wrong part or it is something else causing it. I'll get around to looking into it more at a later date, for now I just have the SY move around my tiny yard setting up trains.

What I found funny Brick, is that you left your comments years later (about 1 yr ago to be exact, not that long ago) when they were no longer kids; like several years later after they first posted.  You make it sound like you left your comment a long time ago.  ???  Anyway, I only brought it up to underscore we have different perspectives.

No question it was wasteful, just his choice to be wasteful.  No one said you have to make the same choice.  Of course you are entitled to your opinions, just like everyone else.  

Sorry filing has not worked, at least, I am glad you found them for a decent price at AMAZON as I suggested.
If you search, you will find many cited instances of problems with these/your turnouts.  Is it just one loco that does it?  Could it be a problem in the wheel gauge or truck of that particular loco?  Have you explored that?

HI, Jim;
No, I was just out of the hospital and on enough "stuff" to make a grouchy elephant smile...  Next year for sure.  Heck, Jim; I am just about ready to start my layout.  Got this idea about using 1" styro. and precutting my roadbed from 1/4" subflooring.  Just a thought...Told you I think outside of the box...  The VA says no work for at least eight weeks.  I'd sure be the star at a metal detector at the airport...
SGT C.

Was that really only a year ago? Feels like it was 6, before I lived in Georgia. I'm mixing up two different events in my Head. In any event, yes, it was his choice.

Regarding the files, since it was just this locomotive and this truck is so light, it would not surprise me if a small defect could be causing it. It does not come off on other turnouts but that does not rule out a truck issue. And hey, even if the files didn't work, having a set of them is certainly a good idea!

also, did I say state fair? Wow... I meat Worlds Fair obviously, the 1939 one. The thing was too large for most of the PRR's routes so it had to serve on just one.

Quote from: Irbricksceo on March 01, 2015, 10:22:59 AM
I've seen several neat things from this person. That said, this was... wasteful. If he didn't like it, he could sell it or even give it away. He compared it to the overland and MTH models, which are ~3* ad ~5-6 times the cost of the Bachmann one.

i know this person from the late great atlas forum. he is a very good modeler, but was kicked off the forum a couple times for erratic behavior. we have all bought something we were disappointed in, for example, but to cut a locomotive in half offends my Scottish sensibilities.

So you also said the last time this subject of this commentator came up Jeff and you might recall that my response at that time, just like this time, is that is hearsay unless you have some proof to present.  You were also a member, were you not?

As far as MY Scottish sensibilities go, normally it would do the same for me as well, but luckily I have enough of a sense of humor that this amuses me.  And the nice thing is, no one got hurt.

Alright, this has gotten a little off the rails

Are you the new Yardmaster now?  And nope, your post is from 1 year ago-easy to see and confirm, Brick.  What about other locos bro?  Do they do the same thing on that turnout?  Yep, definitely smart to get the files, regardless.

I was not sure that was going on at the same time Sarge.  How have you been doing and feeling?  I am the last guy to ask about bench building with all the other experts on here Sarge.  I am guessing your question is one that is open to all?

unfortunately, it is hard to provide proof when the forum deleted the posts that caused him to get booted. otherwise they'd be in the archives which are still accessable with a web search.

Ahhh, so it shall remain just as hearsay then, I guess.

I had sent you a PM re: Railroadiana earlier today, did you see it?

i did. been busy with family, will post later.

Len;
Sounds reasonable.   One of the things I sometimes ponder is what would have happened if (1) the New haven has strung a clothesline from New Haven to Boston; and (2) if they had never let Pat McGuinnes out of his cage.  The Ef-4s were some of the most powerful motors ever constructed, the EP-5s were simply beautiful to see.  It would have been one of the coolest things (I grew up In Boston) to have watched an EP-2 pull "the Colonial" into South Station during the 50's.
SGT C.

Quote from: electrical whiz kid on March 02, 2015, 02:57:03 PM
Len;
Sounds reasonable.   One of the things I sometimes ponder is what would have happened if (1) the New haven has strung a clothesline from New Haven to Boston; and (2) if they had never let Pat McGuinnes out of his cage.  The Ef-4s were some of the most powerful motors ever constructed, the EP-5s were simply beautiful to see.  It would have been one of the coolest things (I grew up In Boston) to have watched an EP-2 pull "the Colonial" into South Station during the 50's.
SGT C.

You and me both. McG was one of the worst things that ever happened to the NH. And for some reason, except on the FL-9's, I never liked his paint scheme. I always prefered the Hunter Green w/gold pin stripe and the buff and green they used on the C-Liners and DL-109's.

Len

Quote from: rogertra on February 28, 2015, 01:49:36 PM
Jack.

I was really into kitbashing a few years ago.  I wanted Canadian MLW RS-18s, not available as affordable rtr plastic models so I took American Alco RS-11s and kitbashed a few of them into passable RS-18s.  I am lucky in that the RS-18s grill arrangements were slightly different on the CNR and CPR models so the slight variation from the prototype versions on my freelanced GER version seems acceptable to me.

As for steam?  Well it's hard to find a GER kettle that hasn't had at least the tender kitbashed let alone all weather cabs, pilot deck air tanks etc., etc., add.  Most of my kitbashes are not that difficult.

If you need something, a building, track work, and locomotive, a bridge anything that's not commercially available, either scratch build it or kitbash it, that's what this hobby is about.  It's not about walking into your local hobby shop and buying everything from the shelves.  And if you mess up?  You don't learn anything without making mistakes.  Believe me, making that first saw cut into a $200+ steam loco was a challenge.  :)

Cheers

Roger T.

   

Thanks for the encouragement .I have indulged in a few Diesel bashes,NW high hoods,UP gp 30B,CN SD40-2W before they became

commercially available.Still have 1 half way .Need to make or buy step wells and snow shields .BUT never ventured into steam except building a

old Bowser Challenger kit .Learned a lot with those rivets and full working valve gear.Finished it in great running order with a monogram

centipede tender with a Bowser power kit that converted it into a working tender that would pick up juice.Got so scared something would go

wrong in a way of breakage at the time I sold it off  unpainted .Regret that now.That was in my semi green days of this great hobby!

Quote from: Len on March 02, 2015, 04:10:17 PM

Quote from: electrical whiz kid on March 02, 2015, 02:57:03 PM
Len;
Sounds reasonable.   One of the things I sometimes ponder is what would have happened if (1) the New haven has strung a clothesline from New Haven to Boston; and (2) if they had never let Pat McGuinnes out of his cage.  The Ef-4s were some of the most powerful motors ever constructed, the EP-5s were simply beautiful to see.  It would have been one of the coolest things (I grew up In Boston) to have watched an EP-2 pull "the Colonial" into South Station during the 50's.
SGT C.

You and me both. McG was one of the worst things that ever happened to the NH. And for some reason, except on the FL-9's, I never liked his paint scheme. I always prefered the Hunter Green w/gold pin stripe and the buff and green they used on the C-Liners and DL-109's.

Len

I am partial to the alpert scheme of orange over black myself, and the maybrook line as well.