Skip to main content

Reply to "NdeM 4-8-4 Niagra Project"

@MTN posted:

Like Rusty noted, the prewar Flyer 3/16ths O gauge Flyer 4-8-4 is S scale sized (the boiler is a little chubby for full S scale) - it would look small compared to traditionally sized O and 0-27 cars. The engines aren't cheap - they were subject to zinc pest (especially the tender, whose shell, frame and sideframes are frequently disintegrated, the engine is prone to pilot and trailing truck wheels being rotted, the shells not as much), and you have to be careful when buying one so you don't end up with a pile of pest-ridden metal parts. There are intact models out there, but it's best to look one over in person before making a purchase - they're also not cheap, expect to pay $275+ for an intact/VG model. They do look super pulling Marx tin lithographed 3/16ths O gauge cars.

Thanks for the comprehensive info! My take away then is that it is not a super common piece and should I come across one I'm not gonna want to modify it and detail it to represent a different engine. If I found one of these in good condition I wouldn't want to then ruin it by detailing it or painting it differently.

What I need to find really is an inexpensive 4-8-4 that hopefully has side walkways and such that are to my liking. Alternatively I need to find a good 8 drive wheel chassis and separately find an engine shell that is to my liking that mates with the chassis.

I'm considering a Berkshire or an MPC era Northern but the boiler is a bit wide. Ideally the donor engine boiler will be a bit more narrow but long, or it will appear long due to it's narrowness. The wheels will also have to be bokpok style so the donor engine ideally will have those or it will have to be relatively easy to switch out spoke wheels with bokpok wheels. I'm going to keep searching.

Thanks for your continued help everyone and I welcome any suggestions and advice.

Edit: The rail king Santa Fe 4-8-4 looks like a good potential base for a donor locomotive. Someone earlier in the thread recommended this loco as a potential donor and the more I look at it the better I think it looks.

Some modifications that will likely need to be made will be the removal of those tubes on the top of Santa Fe 4-8-4 that connect to the steam dome. I will also have to mask the numbers on the sand dome some how. The collapsible smoke stack is distinctive to Santa Fe so removing that I think is a must.

This may seem nit picky but on the NdeM Niagra the side walkways are straight and level from the steps on the pilot all the way to the cab. On the Santa Fe model the side walkways go up and down to different levels and the left and right walkways are not the same height with each other. Does anyone know how difficult it is to remove and replace side walkways and pilot steps on an MTH engine?

Oh also the marker lights on the Santa Fe are mounted on the smoke box face while on the Niagra the marker lights tend to have been mounted above the smokebox face. Can marker lights be easily removed or are they molded into the face of the smoke box?

Last edited by HCF

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
×