That SY Mike again...

[electrical whiz kid]

HI all; got down to Old Saybrook on a service call, so stopped in at CT. Valley Railroad.   There is a really neat (but ratty looking) consolidation guarding the front entrance, and the ever-present "New Haven" SY MIke.  Sure do wish they'd listen to old "Pappy Richie" and get some 1:1 Cal Scale parts...
Rich C.

[Irbricksceo]

You don't like it!  I Love the SY's, My spectrum SY is my favorite Loco and the NYSW 142 is among my favorite steamers! Ah well, to each his own. Jealous though, since I moved down to GA, haven't been near any steam.

[electrical whiz kid]

Never said I didn't like the engine.  I have two-one is still in the box, and one is "Americanized", which is what I was driving at.  The "Green Card" mike:  I took off the cab, replaced it with a USRA type cab; removed the pilot, compressor, some of the plumbing, etc, and "Americanized" it; hence the green card'.  It runs really well.  I have a no-sound decoder in it, but am going to put in a tsunami when I have the time.  Right now, the kitchen is taking precedence...
Rich C.

[Irbricksceo]

Thats just it, For some reason, I love the Chinese Look, Regardless, I think I was down there and saw that Connie now that I think about it, before they got the SY they have now.

[electrical whiz kid]

Yeah-I had to chuckle at that SY when I first saw it.  They had given it a new paint job, refabricated the cab windows to that characteristic "New Haven arch".  I hadn't done that on mine; only replaced a lot of stuff with brass, "Americanized" it to the point where a blind person wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't Chinese...
Recently, I made an assessment to the layout I am starting to build-this one will actually run trains-and decided to downsize most of the roster to 2-8-2 being the largest engine normally run.  2-10-2s, and other big power, sill occasionally make a cameo on the track; but the main concept is going to be the small peddler routes, a daily passenger run to and from, and switching, which will consist of car-float transfer, train make up, etc.  I think that these kinds of trains will look better on the 30" radii that are going to be on the layout.  I am going to look for one or two more consolidations, and that will be all.  OH, and I have a Bachmann 4-6-0 which I am going to switch the boiler and the cab.  I have several MDC HOn3 2-8-0 units and am going to try to do a swap with one of them.   That is, if I live long enough...
Rich C. 

[ryeguyisme]

Rich,

If you're ever considering downsizing your collection, let me know what you have! Also Still haven't been able to meet you yet, however I just started a full time job, so I have a serious lack of time on my hands, but I am that much closer to buying a BLW brass D&RGW 4-8-2 for my collection

[Bill Baker]

OK guys, please tell an old person like me what "Americanization" is.  I have a 2-8-2 SY and it looks like its from the 1920s. If anyone has any photos to upload, I would certainly appreciate viewing them.

Bill

[electrical whiz kid]

Hi, Bill;
I had borrowed the two slangs, "Americanized" and "Green card"  more as a joke than anything else.  I did, though, give one of them a rather "US of A" kind of appearance.  I wish I could figure out how to do this photo thing here.
RIch .

[Irbricksceo]

Just so you know, the SY's were from the 60's to 90's, part of the last three Steam Locomotive classes produced in china. The SY saw frequent use i Light freight and Industrial switching, and many steel plants still have a few.

Americanization on the SY would involve several steps, but the most prominent would be the tender, that style is distinctly non american. in reality, It cant be made to look truly american without a full rebuild (though if you are capable, the drive's in the SY are some of the smoothest Spectrum) As many core parts, such as the Boiler, really don't look too american, the fact is, American Locomotives were bigger usually. Other changes include the Cab, replacing the tangshen Builders Plate, The Pilot would be replaced, a few components would be relocated, and the Stack would be replaced.

All that said, it is a matter of personal preference, While rich here doesn't care for it, The SY is my favorite Locomotive, Often my Go-To choice for Freight, and I love it's Look, Chinese or not. I am also one of the few who prefers it with it's Chinese 5 Chime Whistle (on the prototype one) Though the closest Tsunami offers to a whistle it has used (of which there have been several) is the Reading 6 chime and NYSW 6 chime)

One more interesting thing, the Spectrum SY, being a repainted Bachmann China SY, has an Air horn. All SY's have both a horn and whistle (something few American Locomotives, thought not all, had) Except the NYSW 142, which has only a steam whistle. Also of note, the Whistle is activated by a pedal, not something I have seen elsewhere

[electrical whiz kid]

I never said I didn't care for the locomotive; just the "Chinese" appearance.  It is a really well-operating engine right out of the box.  What I did was change the appearance-and oh yes, that tender.  Not sure I remember what I did with it; I know I gave some parts like the cab, etc., to "Rye Guy".  A good portion of the "Chinese" looking parts were removed, and parts from Cary Locomotive, and Cal scale were installed.  All in all, it was a rather fun excursion.  The only problem I have with it is of my own doing:  I installed a Cal-Scale pony on it; the one that has the journal bearings, and I have to figure out a way to avoid it shorting on the frame.  I hate to go to a plastic wheel, but if I have to, I will.
Enjoy.
Rich C.

[Bill Baker]

Thanks you guys.  As long as there are not any major changes, I'll leave mine alone.  I agree with Ibrick.  It is one of Bachmann's best running units.  I ran mine with some period passenger cars and it really looked out of place.....so therefore nothing but freight for me! 

I have one other quick question. I run my layout in two eras. One is all steam around the 1920's (Consoli,s, 10 wheelers, and 0-6-0s) the other is in the 1950's with F-7s, F-9s and SW-2,s.  My question is two fold...were 60 foot box cars appropriate for the 20's and celestory passenger cars for the 50's?

[Irbricksceo]

you'd be more likely to find 40 footers, though i's sure a few 50's were used a bit.

On the passenger cars, by the 60's they were shifting to the smooth sided cars such as Super liner's. Don't get me wrong, A few Probably still Existed But after the 50's They were phased out.

One more note regarding the SY, Make sure your cars are free Rolling. The Locomotive is Incredibly Light and With poor Rolling cars, Won't Pull Many. And yeah, the SY's are late 60's to 90's

[ebtnut]

In the 1920's most freight rolling stock was in the 36 - 40 foot range.  There was still a lot of wood construction.  I can't think of any series of freight rolling stock that was 60 feet long.  There were maybe a few in the 50-foot range.  As for clerestory roof passenger cars, there were still a lot of those heavyweights around in the 1950's.  Your would find them mostly in secondary service and in commuter train service.  And even in the first class trains you would see a lot of heavyweight baggage and storage mail cars.