The Leased D&RGW C-19s on the C&S Narrow Gauge

[Jeff Ramsey]

<quote author="Keith Hayes"> Thank you, Jim! I suspect that the Burlington shop super got in his Ford and drove down to Burnham to get the stencils from the paint shop. They probably only had the Moffat stencil. A beer at the Buckhorn was probably in the mix". The Buckhorn Exchange, late 1930s.

[Robert McFarland]

Why is it that a lot of beer joints and saloons "back in the day" had the word "exchange" in their title? A lot of them in South Park country.

[nickgully]

http://www.buckhorn.com/history.php

The Buckhorn on their history page says that they would exchange paychecks for gold.. along with a token for beer.

[South Park]

  On my shop wall hangs a rusty piece of cast iron door hardware that I
found in a pile of building remains in the South Park country.  In raised
letters it tells one and all that this item was made by the CINNCINNATI
DOOR, LOCK, LATCH, & HINGE CO., followed by the clarifying declaration
that they were located in CINNCINNATI, O.  No question what thes people
did or where to find them !!!

  I love this piece of old Victorian gee-gaw because it tells it just like it is.
See, I have this incredible contempt for modern corporate BS and marketing.
The endless slew of meaningless names and slogans

  "We're Colentra, ...  and we're here for you !"

  "Xypexco, ...  working today, for a seamless tomorrow"

  The Buckhorn exchange was just that, an exchange.  They traded goods,
and to Victorian mindthink, this made perfect sense.  As it should for us
today.  Problem is, we've been dumbjucated down to where :

  "Tryverol, the modern solution"

  .. is heard and mindlessly accepted, while the CINNCINNATI DOOR, LOCK,
LATCH, & HINGE CO. sounds quaint at best, phony and contrived to most.

  Hmmm ....  what's wrong with this picture ?

[Keith Hayes]

One and all. As the C-19s are on the property,  they need to be modified for service across South Park in accordance with the agreement with the Forest Service. The first modification is installation of the Ridgeway spark arrestor to each locomotive. How were the prototype pilot decks modified to accommodate the cinder tube?

My first project is 346, A PFM model from the 80s. Here is a front view.

And from the side (better retail that pony truck, Andy!)

And with the spark arrestor in the approximate location.

The big Brooks engines lack a pilot deck; 71 and 9 have a notch in the deck to accommodate the cinder tube. I am guessing 9th Street just torched the deck short to fit the spark arrestor? Jeff Ramsey,  does 346 still have a short deck on the left side?

Once I have 346 figured out, I will attack 345, a PBL import from Samhongsa. Both locomotives run well on DC and are reasonably quiet. They will get Tsunami 2 decoders with Current Keepers and 28mm speakers.

[Todd Hackett]

Keith Hayes wrote

...How were the prototype pilot decks modified to accommodate the cinder tube?...

I took a bunch of photos when the spark arrestor that Sam Schreiner made for #74 was fitted to the 346, but none were looking down on the pilot deck. The best one to see how they did this was a black & white photo which I never scanned. I'm having issues with both of my scanners, so I just took a photo of the negative:

It looks to me like a notch was cut out of the deck sheet, and a wire strap was wrapped around the cinder tube. The only cutting done to fit this arrestor was on the ring at the top of the stack, so this notch must have still been there from the C&S days, although there may have been a plate bolted over it.

[Jim Courtney]

Based on Otto Perry photos, it looks to me as if the Denver shops cut a semicircular divot out of the side of the pilot deck, to pull the lower tube of the spark arrestor in a bit, secured with a strap:

https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/46621


D&RGW 343.


https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/46545


D&RGW 345.


https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/46679


D&RGW 346, after the wreck.


Perhaps you could mark the location where the lower tube/chute crosses the pilot deck, then grind out a semicirucular notch with a bit in a Dremel tool . . .

[South Park]

   I would have to insist, to be prototypically correct, that you use
a micro-tiny torch to do the cutting.  

[Chris Walker]

Does this help to confirm

[Keith Hayes]

I am so excited!

More this weekend!

[Keith Hayes]

And 346. This is a PFM model.

[Jim Courtney]

Beautiful C-19s, Keith!

But we could use a bit of text here.

Did you paint and letter the two locomotives yourself?  If so, what paints did you use? Primer?

Did you do your own DCC / sound / light install? If so, what decoder, speaker and keep alive did you use?

Inquiring minds want to know . . .

[Keith Hayes]

As all of you know,  Sn3 requires patience and commitment. I have been collecting 1:64 models and details since before 1990. I am sure many of you are the same.

Mike mentions a shopping list and roster on another post, and I have long had both. It keeps me focused and my spouse happy that the PBL 401k is not too extensive a portfolio.

As I model the 30s, C-19s would compliment the roster and provide some variety. I kept my eyes open and a couple appeared on Brass Trains for a reasonable price. Both were DC/ unpainted models. 346 is a PFM import, and my plan was to take a deep breath and install the decoder and paint it. 345 is a PBL model. 345 came with the Ridgeway spark arrestor,  but I had to install the new stack on 346.

Life is short and ELS had done a nice job on 537, so I reached ot to Dennis to ask if he would take in these two projects. It has taken two years, but they are finally back, along with an Overland model of 69.

All three got decoders and sound and were painted. Some work remains. I had to paint the bells and whistles. 345 lacks class lettering on the cab and none of the three have numbers on the tenders. I need to modify some crew members and install Kadees on the pilots. Of course all three models need flue reamers and clinker rods. 69 needs a wood coal gate. And the ubiquitous extra scoop shoved into the injector pipe. I think I need to add some tool boxes, grips and the occasional water bag to the locomotive fleet, too.

All three sound great. 345 runs well out of the box. 346 needs the drawbar to be adjusted so it stays connecte
d to the tender pin. 69 has a gear train issue. That will require some added cogitation.

[Mike Trent]

Looks great, Keith!

You can spare yourself a little work, I think all the D&RGW engines had steel coal doors. If it's not too late. Or, if they came without doors. thinking they had wood gates. I've never really looked at the Sn3 OMI engines. But they look beautiful no matter what.

[tonyk375]

They all look great Keith!