Joining the "Band of Brooks Brothers" in Sn3

[Jim Courtney]

At Dickey in the summer of 1927, C&S 75 waits for its rear helper to finish coaling and be cut into the train. Then it is on to Breckenridge and Boreas Pass . . .


The recent Sn3 Symposium reaffirmed to me that if I'm going to build models of C&S locomotives and cars, Sn3 is the perfect scale.

While "Jim's Premortem Estate Sale" wasn't very successful (few were buying what I was selling), I did have the chance to have a long conversation with Jimmy Booth of PBL in the Vendor's Room. When I whined to him that PBL neglected C&S modelers in Sn3, he reminded me that PBL had produced a run of C&S B-4-F's (74-75-76) in 2007, with factory installed Tsunami sound by Boo-Rim . . . and BTW, he had both a "foreground" 75 and 76 available for sale on consignment, if I wanted one or both.

On the ferry ride home, I kept thinking to myself: Ready to run with sound C&S 75 and 76! I'm probably weird, but I never much cared for C&S 74--I never found those out-canted, simple cylinders and that busy Walschaerts valve gear very attractive. I've always preferred the cleans lines of 75 and 76, with their in-board piston valve cylinders and uncluttered drivers with long main rods.

On the Monday after the Symposium, I called and chatted with Keren and Jimmy Booth in Ukiah. With the proceeds of the "Estate Sale" (such as they were), I purchased number 75 outright and made a layaway deposit on the number 76. I then shipped a big box of unsold PBL brass models to PBL for them to sell for me on consignment.

When the number 75 arrived, I was both delighted and a bit disappointed: While a beautiful locomotive, like any brass import there were a few detail inaccuracies. Although labeled as a "Foreground" model, number 75 didn't have Jimmy Booth's signature coal load or weathering, the prior owned wanting his locomotives pristine. The biggest disappointment were the tender to locomotive electrical connections: Large diameter, multicolored wires with old PFM style plugs (those will have to go!).

When I placed the locomotive on my DCC test-track, I had trouble with selecting the address, no permutation of "75" as a long or short address worked. I then realized that the Tsunami-1 decoder was still set to its factory default address of "3"; the prior owner had evidently never operated this locomotive. I used "program on the main" to assign a long address of "75" to my new engine. The engine ran beautifully, the sound superb. But I couldn't get the headlight or marker lights to come on. It took a while to realized that there must be a light decoder in the smoke box of 75 which was locked. I could turn the lights on with loco address "3" but only run the locomotive with loco address "75". Not knowing how to fix this, I called my friend Dale Kreutzer, the grand wizard of Tsunami installs. "Bring it over to the RGS Southern Division and we'll fix it" he said.

Last Friday I took 75 to Dale's. On his programming track, in short order, Dale has assigned short addresses of 75 to both the light decoder and Tsunami decoder in the tender. After identifying a recurring short (the sander pipe on the fireman side first driver was between the brake shoe and driver) the locomotive ran flawlessly around Dales RGS layout, twice forward and twice in reverse. No further shorts, stalls on frogs or clearance issues on the 28 inch radius curves.




The big Brooks locomotives were rated by the C&S for 5 loaded cars on a 4% grade. Dales layout has a ruling grade of 3.5% eastbound to Cima Summit. The C&S 75 handled 5 boxcars and a brass short caboose around the layout without breaking a sweat. Adding 3 stock cars at Mancos, 75 still had no problem pulling an 8 car train. When I added two brass CONOCO tank cars to make a 10 car train, the 75 struggled a bit on the approach to Cima, but nevertheless made it to the top. I took photos of the train in Dale's superb scenery and imagined them to be C&S locations . . .


Southbound along the Blue, heading for Breckenridge.



About to cross Gold Pan trestle . . .



. . . 75 and train crossing Gold Pan.



Approaching the snowsheds at the summit of Boreas Pass.


I'm extremely pleased with my new 75, and after 3 more "easy payments" hopefully sister number 76 will be here by August.

Dale pointed out that if I'm going to rewire the locomotive-tender connections, I might as well replace the tender decoder with a new 2 amp, Tsunami-2 / Steam 2 decoder.  Will it fit, I asked him? Yes, Dale has already done the install in a number 76 for another C&S modeler:


Dale Kreutzer install and photo.


Dale also pointed out, that if I'm going to backdate my number 75 to 1924, by replacing the headlight (?????), I should just ditch the TCS FL-4 light decoder and run all of the lighting functions off the new Tsunami-2. That sounds complicated, I said. I can walk you through it, he replied.

What's this about backdating a beautiful, painted and flawlessly running number 75?? Well, when number 76 arrives this summer, I'm considering backdating both locomotives with minor detail changes to reflect the summer of 1924, when (as Pat Student has demonstrated) D&RGW freight cars were still being interchanged to C&S destinations. I haven't found a photo of C&S 75 in that year (yet), but I think my 76 will end up looking like this:

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/42436/rv/singleitem/rec/3



Anyone have any 1923-1925 photos of number 75?

[Bill Uffelman]

Lovely!

Bill Uffelman

On Friday, May 3, 2019, 11:23:43 AM PDT, Jim Courtney [via C&Sng Discussion Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

At Dickey in the summer of 1927, C&S 75 waits for its rear helper to finish coaling and be cut into the train. Then it is on to Breckenridge and Boreas Pass . . .


The recent Sn3 Symposium reaffirmed to me that if I'm going to build models of C&S locomotives and cars, Sn3 is the perfect scale.

While "Jim's Premortem Estate Sale" wasn't very successful (few were buying what I was selling), I did have the chance to have a long conversation with Jimmy Booth of PBL in the Vendor's Room. When I whined to him that PBL neglected C&S modelers in Sn3, he reminded me that PBL had produced a run of C&S B-4-F's (74-75-76) in 2007, with factory installed Tsunami sound by Boo-Rim . . . and BTW, he had both a "foreground" 75 and 76 available for sale on consignment, if I wanted one or both.

On the ferry ride home, I kept thinking to myself: Ready to run with sound C&S 75 and 76! I'm probably weird, but I never much cared for C&S 74--I never found those out-canted, simple cylinders and that busy Walschaerts valve gear very attractive. I've always preferred the cleans lines of 75 and 76, with their in-board piston valve cylinders and uncluttered drivers with long main rods.

On the Monday after the Symposium, I called and chatted with Keren and Jimmy Booth in Ukiah. With the proceeds of the "Estate Sale" (such as they were), I purchased number 75 outright and made a layaway deposit on the number 76. I then shipped a big box of unsold PBL brass models to PBL for them to sell for me on consignment.

When the number 75 arrived, I was both delighted and a bit disappointed: While a beautiful locomotive, like any brass import there were a few detail inaccuracies. Although labeled as a "Foreground" model, number 75 didn't have Jimmy Booth's signature coal load or weathering, the prior owned wanting his locomotives pristine. The biggest disappointment were the tender to locomotive electrical connections: Large diameter, multicolored wires with old PFM style plugs (those will have to go!).

When I placed the locomotive on my DCC test-track, I had trouble with selecting the address, no permutation of "75" as a long or short address worked. I then realized that the Tsunami-1 decoder was still set to its factory default address of "3"; the prior owner had evidently never operated this locomotive. I used "program on the main" to assign a long address of "75" to my new engine. The engine ran beautifully, the sound superb. But I couldn't get the headlight or marker lights to come on. It took a while to realized that there must be a light decoder in the smoke box of 75 which was locked. I could turn the lights on with loco address "3" but only run the locomotive with loco address "75". Not knowing how to fix this, I called my friend Dale Kreutzer, the grand wizard of Tsunami installs. "Bring it over to the RGS Southern Division and we'll fix it" he said.

Last Friday I took 75 to Dale's. On his programming track, in short order, Dale has assigned short addresses of 75 to both the light decoder and Tsunami decoder in the tender. After identifying a recurring short (the sander pipe on the fireman side first driver was between the brake shoe and driver) the locomotive ran flawlessly around Dales RGS layout, twice forward and twice in reverse. No further shorts, stalls on frogs or clearance issues on the 28 inch radius curves.




The big Brooks locomotives were rated by the C&S for 5 loaded cars on a 4% grade. Dales layout has a ruling grade of 3.5% eastbound to Cima Summit. The C&S 75 handled 5 boxcars and a brass short caboose around the layout without breaking a sweat. Adding 3 stock cars at Mancos, 75 still had no problem pulling an 8 car train. When I added two brass CONOCO tank cars to make a 10 car train, the 75 struggled a bit on the approach to Cima, but nevertheless made it to the top. I took photos of the train in Dale's superb scenery and imagined them to be C&S locations . . .


Southbound along the Blue, heading for Breckenridge.



About to cross Gold Pan trestle . . .



. . . 75 and train crossing Gold Pan.



Approaching the snowsheds at the summit of Boreas Pass.


I'm extremely pleased with my new 75, and after 3 more "easy payments" hopefully sister number 76 will be here by August.

Dale pointed out that if I'm going to rewire the locomotive-tender connections, I might as well replace the tender decoder with a new 2 amp, Tsunami-2 / Steam 2 decoder.  Will it fit, I asked him? Yes, Dale has already done the install in a number 76 for another C&S modeler:


Dale Kreutzer install and photo.


Dale also pointed out, that if I'm going to backdate my number 75 to 1924, by replacing the headlight (?????), I should just ditch the TCS FL-4 light decoder and run all of the lighting functions off the new Tsunami-2. That sounds complicated, I said. I can walk you through it, he replied.

What's this about backdating a beautiful, painted and flawlessly running number 75?? Well, when number 76 arrives this summer, I'm considering backdating both locomotives with minor detail changes to reflect the summer of 1924, when (as Pat Student has demonstrated) D&RGW freight cars were still being interchanged to C&S destinations. I haven't found a photo of C&S 75 in that year (yet), but I think my 76 will end up looking like this:

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/42436/rv/singleitem/rec/3



Anyone have any 1923-1925 photos of number 75?

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NAML

[Jeff Young]

Great looking backdrops, Jim!

[Jim Courtney]

Yep, Jeff--I wish I could take credit for them.

Dale's backdrops are 20 foot long pieces of art. They make all of his RGS models, running on flawless track work, all the more realistic.

His newest backdrop, the twin buttes behind the Lightner trestle, is gorgeous. You know exactly where you are standing along the RGS right of way.

[Pat Student]

Jim

Glad to see you didn't fall off the wagon' Sn3, that is.

pat

[Mike Trent]

Welcome to the Brooks club, Jim! Very nice.

Your picture of #76 with that box style headlight and "intermediate" style tender is probably about as far back as you want to go. In the '22-'26 period, these engines had wood cabs.

There is a great picture somewhere, possibly in the #8 pictorial of #71 and #75 doubleheaded at Kokomo. #75 still has it's wood cab.

[Jim Courtney]

I finally paid off the installment purchase of C&S 76 to Jimmy and Keren at PBL.

The sister to number 75 arrived about a month ago, but only today did I have a chance to take number 76 to my friend Dale Kreutzer's house for re-programming and a test run around the layout. Just like sister number 75, 76 ran flawlessly.

A couple of photos, again squinting a bit and imagining C&S locations.




Number 76 is on the spot at Dickey, waiting for the other helpers to finish coaling. Soon three locomotives will head out with a train, to Frisco and then up the Tenmile to Leadville by dark (the crews hope).





Running light, number 76 crosses the Gold Pan trestle above Breckenridge, headed back to Como.


Next visit, perhaps 75 and 76 can double head a real C&S train . . .

[Mike Trent]

Very nice, Jim!

Those are a pair of real jewels.

Send more pics when you can.

And, what a great layout and backdrop.

[Keith Hayes]

Brooks Brothers indeed.

[tonyk375]

Good looking stable Keith!

[Rick Steele]

"Suits" your layout nicely.

Rick

[Keith Hayes]

Anyone care to remind us why 74 ended up with Walscherts valve gear?


I believe this was the only application on the C&S narrow gauge and was done by 9th Street in part to improve performance of the canted slide valves. 75-76 were constructed with piston valves/ Stephenson valves gear, correct? Why did 74 get the canted slide valves? Was 74 fussy to maintain? I suppose 9th Street had to custom fabricate all the parts?

Mike, what do your sources tell us about these three as steamers? Did they steam and ride well? Aside from 75's tender's penchant for rolling over?

Models of 74 make the valve gear seem jewel-like as all the parts are so small!

[Mike Trent]

Beauties, Keith!

Lubrication problems with the canted steam chests, which were a Brooks design and used on several classes of Brooks engines. On the C&S, #74 was very tempermental when the company restricted valve oil for reasons of economy. Both of the two sister engines which were #75 and #76 on the C&S were built with piston valves, which were more practical.

Bon Osier, who was a senior engineer on the West End, loved #76, and claimed that it rode like a Pullman. #74 was also a favorite, as it pulled it's tonnage the best. #75 was regarded as a "Jonah", because it always seemed that whenever there was trouble, it was there. Wrecked in the Platte River in 1922, when it turned over, burned in the Como Roundhouse fire, and derailed and rolled over on Boreas killing engineer Williamson.

The tender side sheets on the tender of #75 were a foot longer than those of #74 and #76. The #75's side sheets were lowered from 24" to 12" because it was thought to be top heavy. After the wreck in the Platte, it also received a taller sand dome. So afterward it had a different appearance from the other two.

They all steamed well, but for some reason, #74 had a dead spot over the 4th axle which caused a clinker if the fireman wasn't careful. But they were all regarded as good steamers. Plus, they ran with 180 psi, much higher than any of the other narrow gauge engines on the C&S.

These are just quick responses. As soon as is practical or possible, my history of #74 and its sister engines will be uploaded into the archives. It is not currently available online. But it will be again.

[Fred 52]

Jim and everyone:

These gems make me want to join you un the band of brooks brothers. I am going to start looking at kits. does any one have any suggestions as where to look?

Fred C.