Interesting comments.  I would have to agree, this firm has some beautiful models (and I should know, having assembled one), but they are rather rich.  I can't help but wonder if this could be something for Bachmann to make due to its wide use in England, Europe, China, and the USA, including what was  then the territory of Alaska, and at least two or three short lines.  A fellow modeling the WWII era (Eastern US) or the immediate postwar era (Western US, engines for delivery for China just before the revolution there) could even take the motors out of two or three and couple them into a freight as engines in tow to a port; change the lettering and load them on flat cars to simulate broad gauge engines going to Russia.

Three postwar variants (one rebuilt with poppet valves) ran on the military railroad at Fort Eustis, Va., into the 1960s.  I believe the poppet valve engine (which is still around, by the way) may have spent some time on the Maryland and Pennsylvania in some sort of demonstration service.  In short, these engines were extremely rare in the US, yet the places and times they ran are surprisingly diverse.

Fort Eustis, which connected with the Chesapeake & Ohio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Eustis_Military_Railroad

Check out the track plan--er, route map of the Fort Eustis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FEMRR_Route_Map.jpg

Other comments on the GI 2-8-0, or more properly, the USATC S-160; about midway in this list of comments is some information on where these engines ran.  They got around!

http://www.worldrailfans.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5213

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USATC_S160_Class

An Alaska Railroad modeler working with the DJH kit.

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-551/

http://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former-loco/JK-551.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-562/index.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former-loco/JH-562-2.html

This same fellow put together one of Alaska's neat 4-8-2s, courtesy of a Bachmann base:

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-801/index.html

I have to admire this guy:

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-902/index.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-301/index.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-601/index.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/pix/former-loco/JK-601.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/creations/PD-751/index.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/ARR-creations.html

Engines with blue numbers in the first column have photos.

http://www.alaskarails.org/glance/complete-roster.html

Postwar Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum No. 610:

http://www.ticketbiscuit.com/TVRail/ImagePopUp.aspx?IT=STEAM&ACK=TVRail&FN=STEAM.jpg&IID=19367

http://www.ticketbiscuit.com/TVRail/ImagePopUp.aspx?IT=NORTH+POLE+LIMITED&ACK=TVRail&FN=NORTH_POLE_LIMITED.jpg&IID=7565

Great Smokey Mountain 1702:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=260613

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=130800&nseq=40

Shades of Buffalo Creek & Gauley No. 4:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=87270&nseq=52

The engines in Great Britain; this is the way the DJH kit comes out of the box:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cvr-extra.wanadoo.co.uk/s160.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cvr-extra.wanadoo.co.uk/5197.htm&h=341&w=527&sz=81&tbnid=JMS7cj_hHvC_pM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ds-160%2Bphoto&hl=en&usg=__yGMInmT8ZQzooW_apS-f1eVL68k=&ei=-U-MS9W5EcSXtge-9NGhBA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&ved=0CAYQ9QEwAA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin65/4103152615/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewverdonsmith/4075906620/

A "stored, unserviceable" poppet valve No. 611:

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showphoto.php/photo/6245/cat/529

Enjoy.

A correction; the Pershing engine is still catalogued, under the French listing (the US Army Transportation Corps engine (USATC) is listed under "The Rest of The World"--interesting to see us from a different perspective!)

http://www.djhengineering.co.uk/loco/prodloco.asp?ProdID=3129

And it has those Baldwin domes. . .

http://www.texasstaterr.com/engine_info.php

This one is a white metal and etched brass kit from Great Britain; they were built here, and some ran here (Alaska Railroad, US Army at Fort Eustis, Va.), and one still runs on occasion (Great Smokey Mountain Scenic 1702, ex-Reader Railroad, Ex-Warren & Sabine River(?), ex-USATC, at all times carrying number 1702).

http://www.djhengineering.co.uk/loco/prodloco.asp?ProdID=3073

Similar engines were built in the postwar era for reconstruction in China, and other postwar USATC engines included the engine now running (in somewhat modified form) as Tennessee Valley No. 610.

http://www.djhengineering.co.uk/loco/faq.asp

I once put a DJH engine (German 4-4-0) together for a commission; they are roughly comparable to something Tichy might make if Tichy built locomotives.  A lot of parts, some quite small; I used ACC to hold the thing together, along with all the screws and the like.  The frame was a brass fabrication, held together with screws that ran into threaded tubes used for frame spacers.  Drivers were mounted on axles with screws; the axles had square ends to fit into square holes in the wheels, resulting in self-quartering wheels (like old Varney parts, I'm told).  Fit was overall excellent, particularly in the frame and running gear, although you do have some flash clean-up.

They no longer list these, but at one time this firm had a New York Central J-1 Hudson (No. 5200, no less, with its original 8-wheel tank), a USRA light 2-8-2, and a US Army "Pershing" (WWI-vintage) 2-8-0; Texas State Scenic runs one of these as its No. 300.

http://www.texasstaterr.com/

One potential problem could be price; over 300 British pounds, whatever that is in US dollars.

Let's see if this helps:

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/2-6-6-4/?page=pwv

http://www.rlhs.org/rlhsnews/pdfs/nl21-1.pdf

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv-s1100.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv-stm-ay.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv-s1102.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv-s1105ahv.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv13.GIF

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv14.gif

Just for fun, some of what kept the 2-6-6-4s company:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv-s200o.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv-s1001agd.jpg

This is the George Elwood page these items came from.

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pwv/pwv.html

http://www.trains.com/ctr/default.aspx?c=a&id=134

http://www.thepwvhiline.com/index.htm

http://www.thepwvhiline.com/PWVHistory.htm

There is a book source listed at the bottom of this one.

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/pacific/pwv.shtml

Hope this helps out.

"Proper locomotives are painted black and burn West Virginia coal!"

Let's see how far we can amortize a common mechanism (63" drivers, same as the 2-8-0, possibly with some of the gearing, belt drive, etc.), and a 6-coupled driver wheelbase of about 15 feet or a little more.

B&M:

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1199722903052120656iNoSuY

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35033278@N00/2384498829/in/pool-610150@N24

New Haven (data):

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mogul/?page=nh

NYC:

http://www.yesteryeardepot.com/NYC1925.JPG

PRR:

http://prrsteam.pennsyrr.com/images/prr5099.jpg

SP (several classes, some of them quite large for the type):

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=311139&nseq=12

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/losangeles/sp1765.jpg

There might be others; only real drawback from this list is that the NYC and PRR engines were retired early (like by 1930 or so), which may limit the marketability of these particular locomotives.

Could this help make your case for a 2-6-0?  

I would have more than what I do if I weren't married. . .

"I am a man of constant sorrow,
  My wife spends all my pay. . ."

We must always love women, they put up with all our bad jokes (as my own wife of 29 years can attest).

More tickling of brain cells going on. . .

Just the thing to go with a Shay or Climax (or a not-yet-made Baldwin rod logger), and by Kadee, the coupler people:

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/HO-Scale%20Log%20Car.htm

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page101.htm

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page102.htm

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page103.htm

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page107.htm

http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page104.htm

The desire for such an engine has shown up so heavily, I decided to see what might be available, at least as a stand-in, until such an engine becomes available.

IHC is out of business now, but their Southern Pacific-based 2-6-0 strikes me as looking a lot like the B&M engine: overall size and proportions are about right, drivers are the right overall size, biggest differences are the cab, cylinders, and the tender.  (I didn't mention that the steam dome isn't in quite the right place--if I were doing this, that would be something I would have to live with, unless the dome is a separate part and easily movable, as on Bachmann Spectrum engines.)  Changing these items and a general redetailing job could come up with a decent model, based on the photos below.

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1199721796052120656kBILXi

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1199722903052120656iNoSuY

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35033278@N00/2384498829/in/pool-610150@N24

https://udisco.com/hobbies/pics/990511.jpg

I'm not at all familiar with these locomotives, in either model or prototype form, so maybe I'm full of hooey, but I am curious to know if anyone has tried this and how well the results turned out.

For additional reference, should this work out well:

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1199725927052120656NptKIn

Not quite as close as the 2-6-0, but try to find anything else of this general vintage and overall size anywhere else besides brass.

http://trains.arneke.net/product_revues/mehano_ihc/index.shtml

Several of the photos are from this series of pages, which includes some of B&M's other power.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/248777145ocwUSF?start=0

There is a thread below on "Early Time Models;" it has a number of links that feature old time equipment and structures.  Most of these are kits that have been available for 50 or 60 years; in terms of material and technology, some go back to the 1930s.  Some are a bit crude, some are rather challenging by virtue of older materials such as wood and cardboard, or being of metal that should be soldered, but I can personally attest they are fun to work with and can give good results.

This is where I would start:

http://www.alpinemodels.com/index.html

http://www.alpinemodels.com/page/page/2762955.htm

I would also look up a large distributor, called Walthers; they carry an enormous amount of material, including Bachmann's products.  I would start by using the "Advanced Search" option, looking under "HO" and "Structure," and typing in the keyword section what type of building you are looking for (such as "Freight House").

http://www.walthers.com/

Good luck, and don't be scared of something even if it may look like a box of sticks!

Hello,

I'm normally in HO, a big fan of big steam on the C&O, but I came across this page a while back looking up something else, and thought it should be shared; hope you enjoy it.

http://narrowmind.railfan.net/

Although this is a site for a standard gauge road that ran steam until 1965, there is still a great deal of inspirational material, particularly on the logging operations page.  Question: how do you simulate fording a stream with a Shay in any scale?

http://www.buffalocreekandgauley.com/

Hope you enjoy this.

Hello,

I'm normally in HO, a big fan of big steam on the C&O, but I came across this page a while back looking up something else, and thought it should be shared; hope you enjoy it.

http://narrowmind.railfan.net/

Although this is a site for a standard gauge road that ran steam until 1965, there is still a great deal of inspirational material, particularly on the logging operations page.  Question: how do you simulate fording a stream with a Shay in any scale?

http://www.buffalocreekandgauley.com/

Hope you enjoy this.

A little more history:

The Northeastern kits were more properly known as Ambroid kits of various series; from what I've been able to determine, Ambroid was primarily a glue company, and the kits were made by Northeastern for them under contract, Northeastern primarily being a wood-milling company making stripwood and other scratch-building material.  Later some of the kits would be re-released under Northeastern's own name.  A history site is below:

http://www.trainweb.org/ambroidkits/sitemap.htm

Ambroid's main business was really glue.  It's still around, and still a good product for wood, cardboard, and so on.

http://www.ambroid.com/Ambroid.html

Came across this history page from a site on old models in general; the best thing about it is that it shows how some of those old kits actually came out, including some shots of kits under construction.  As Labelle is still around, and as it is still possible to run into vintage Ambroid models, the shots of the models under construction are of interest in giving you an idea of the experience you'll have.

http://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plastic-model-kit-history/the-ho-scale-model-railroading-revolution-of-the-1940s/

The Kasiner streamliner car illustrated reminded me of OK Streamliners, which I believe may have started out as a firm called Herkimer's.  (Can anyone confirm this?)  In any event, OK Streamliners is still around, and for a relatively modest price, will even custom-punch the sides of a car for you if it is not a standard car they offer.  Keep in mind, however, that these are going to be very basic models, particularly in the interior and underbody departments, if they have anything at all.

http://www.okengines.com/

http://www.okengines.com/pdf/catalog1.pdf

http://www.okengines.com/pdf/catalog2.pdf

Still, those are parts you can add on; and in some cases, the custom car service they offer might be the only way to get some prototypes, including the prospect of the boat-tail observation cars that were to have been built for C&O's George Washington by Pullman-Standard (but were canceled by the road's financial troubles in the late 1940's).

Then there is Model Railroad Warehouse, home to M. Dale Newton's Red Ball line until recently.  Looks like Red Ball will still be around, too, based on some of the material on this site:

http://www.mrrwarehouse.com/

Who knows what else is out there?

At the suggestion of pdlethridge, here is a place for some links to early model railroad kits that are still available.  In some cases the detail may be a bit crude, some are challenging to put together, but they are still fun and, in a way, a connection to early modelers, including the legendary John Allen of Gorre & Daphetid fame.  These kits are part of what would have kept Varney Docksides and Ten-Wheelers company back when.  As to the thread name, I was tempted to call them "old-time kits," but that might have been confused with pure period models--but then, isn't that what these are, in more ways than one?

Freight cars in wood and cast metal:

http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/

Buildings in wood and cardboard, and in real corrugated metal:

http://www.alpinemodels.com/index.html

Modelers of the 19th century will like this one:

https://www.labellemodels.com/

Of course, Bachmann's own Plasticville line dates to 1947.  (History site)

http://www.tandem-associates.com/plasticville/plasticville.htm

Northeastern Scale Models used to sell a variety of freight cars, and was best known for a Russell snowplow and Boston and Maine coaches that would have gone behind those Moguls and Americans a Bachmann contingent loves so well.  Those cars are not currently catalogued, but the company is around, in California.

http://www.nesm.com/

Not listed here is Bowser, who made an extensive line of steam locomotive kits, mostly of PRR prototypes, including E6s 4-4-2s, H10s 2-8-0s, G5 4-6-0s, L1s 2-8-2s, M1 and M1a 4-8-2s, I1s 2-10-0s, and of course K4s 4-6-2s.  A New York Central K-11 4-6-2 and a very heavy "lead pipe" (waggish comment) UP 4-6-6-4 were also available, and for a while this firm also reproduced Varney's Dockside, 4-6-0, and 2-8-0.  Unfortunately, steam kits are too small a market today.

Then there were (and are) these classic trucks from Ulrich:

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=ulrich+models

http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/servlet/StoreFront

http://www.railstop.com/

This is intended as just a start.  No doubt there are others around, and I'm certain some readers here will remember having worked with others, such as Ideal Models (structure kits).

Let's hear what you have to say.

Should have remembered this.

B&O, early in the 20th century, was controlled by the Pennsylvania system.  Among other things, two engine series were built for B&O to contemporary PRR design standards, the E-24 2-8-0s (based on the H-6), and an Atlantic series based on Pennsy's E-3.  As noted above, the running gear seems similar between the Pennsy engines and the C&O's--and now we have similar engines on the B&O (and at least one such series from the Nickel Plate).

B&O's Pennsy copies had the Belpaire firebox, of course. . .

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo2200s.jpg

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo2257s.jpg

The B&O, always revenue challenged, made 0-8-0 switchers by amputating the lead truck on a number of 2-8-0s, including a good number of E-24s.
 
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo1504s.jpg

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/bo/bo-s1517.jpg

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/bo1026s.jpg

The point behind these comments isn't just to get someone to make me an Alco G7 or G9, but to pick prototypes that can at least use a lot of common parts, spread out over serveral prototypes to help amortize tooling costs.  I seem to recall that the cost of tooling for a new locomotive is on the order of $250,000.00 or more; it makes sense to pick engines with as wide purchase base if possible.  This can be done by picking engines used in some form by several railroads (stock Shays, USRA engines, the 2-8-0s under discussion, most diesels), or by picking a prototype that is extremely popular, perhaps by running in excursion service or by reputation (Big Boys, PRR K4s, Daylight 4-8-4s).

A little sidetracking here, in response to Jet Train (hope no one minds this being a little off-topic)--but here is a model that's available, and has been for about 50 or 60 years. . .

http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/images/HO/ss%20sierra%20cab.jpg

This is the company's home page:

http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/

Old-fashioned style models, made of wood and metal; detailing is a bit crude by modern standards, not everything is accurate relative to the prototype, but they are still fun and kind of put you in touch with the old-timers in the hobby.  These are what those fellows would have pulled with a Varney 10-wheeler or Dockside back in the day.  There are also some prototype road names here you can't get anywhere else, including this one:

http://www.yeoldehuffnpuff.com/images/HO/ho264.jpg

Since we brought up some old-time stuff, thought we could also check on this fellow:

http://gorre-and-daphetid.witt-family.com/

http://www.gdlines.com/

John Allen deliberately designed his model road to restrict him from buying huge engines (I believe his minimum radius was 26", modest for a road of this size), the idea being to have more fun with operations on a single-track mountain road.  His biggest power was a C&O H-6 2-6-6-2 (a modern--1949 prototype--version of the H-4 soon to come).

Explore these sites, and have fun.  I'll look forward to the comments, particularly those from any old-timers around.