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Here I am having to relearn how to build a simple All-Nation passenger car kit, but would love to do a steam locomotive.  I did a decent job on my HO Bowser K4 including the super detail kit at 16.  Who knows?  

Now to down to the brass tacks.  Who's bidding on this from the forum?  I'd love to make a run at it, but I won't compete against my fellow forum friends.

Mark,

If I decide to go for it, I will definitely post the build here.  I'm trying to figure out what road I want to do it in as I'll likely add lots of detail parts to it for the fun of it.  It would be my first O locomotive kit build.  I've done plenty in HO during my teens and 20's.  

I recall earlier in this thread it is based on a B&O prototype?  

@GG1 4877 posted:

Mark,

If I decide to go for it, I will definitely post the build here.  I'm trying to figure out what road I want to do it in as I'll likely add lots of detail parts to it for the fun of it.  It would be my first O locomotive kit build.  I've done plenty in HO during my teens and 20's. 

I recall earlier in this thread it is based on a B&O prototype? 

Did you ever end up getting this?

Mark in Oregon

Varney's B&O 4-6-0 kit was modeled after the locomotive assigned to President Daniel Willard's official inspection train as it looked in the late 1920's.  It was B&O 2024, Class B-18ca, which during a conversion was given a B-19 Class boiler. It was one of three B-18's so equipped. The other two were Numbers 2000 and 2003. Three B-19 Class locomotives were reclassed as B-18ca as well, numbers 2039, 2040 and 2065.

In that assignment, it also wore the same deep green livery with red and gold striping as the new P-7 Class "President" 4-6-2's B&O was putting into service between New York (Jersey City) and Washington DC.

By 1932, as the Depression deepened, President Willard ordered the 2024 to be returned to pool service as having a dedicated locomotive for official use was deemed an excess expense. He also took a cut in his presidential salary.

The 2024 was dropped from the B&O roster in 1942 and likely scrapped for the war effort.

The Varney kit for this model was made to be easily assembled and sold for a moderate cost. It did not have the level of precise detailing modelers demand these days. But it was rugged, ran well and lasted long with basic maintenance.

General Models continued the kit after Varney sold it. All Nation took over this General Models kit, which set a pattern for following All Nation steam locomotive kits from 4-4-0's to 2-6-6-4's in sharing common parts and some basic tooling. The steam kit line went to Babbitt, which produced the kits with improvements including frames modified for sprung drivers, new transmissions and modern motors.  Babbitt sold the steam locomotive kit line, but it has not been produced since then.

Here is B&O 2024 in its green with red and gold stripe livery as the locomotive for President Willard's official train.

2024

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Images (1)
  • B&O 2024: Basis of the Varney B&O 4-6-0 kit of 1946.
@S. Islander posted:

Varney's B&O 4-6-0 kit was modeled after the locomotive assigned to President Daniel Willard's official inspection train as it looked in the late 1920's.  It was B&O 2024, Class B-18ca, which during a conversion was given a B-19 Class boiler. It was one of three B-18's so equipped. The other two were Numbers 2000 and 2003. Three B-19 Class locomotives were reclassed as B-18ca as well, numbers 2039, 2040 and 2065.

In that assignment, it also wore the same deep green livery with red and gold striping as the new P-7 Class "President" 4-6-2's B&O was putting into service between New York (Jersey City) and Washington DC.

By 1932, as the Depression deepened, President Willard ordered the 2024 to be returned to pool service as having a dedicated locomotive for official use was deemed an excess expense. He also took a cut in his presidential salary.

The 2024 was dropped from the B&O roster in 1942 and likely scrapped for the war effort.

The Varney kit for this model was made to be easily assembled and sold for a moderate cost. It did not have the level of precise detailing modelers demand these days. But it was rugged, ran well and lasted long with basic maintenance.

General Models continued the kit after Varney sold it. All Nation took over this General Models kit, which set a pattern for following All Nation steam locomotive kits from 4-4-0's to 2-6-6-4's in sharing common parts and some basic tooling. The steam kit line went to Babbitt, which produced the kits with improvements including frames modified for sprung drivers, new transmissions and modern motors.  Babbitt sold the steam locomotive kit line, but it has not been produced since then.

Here is B&O 2024 in its green with red and gold stripe livery as the locomotive for President Willard's official train.

2024

Thanks for all that info; very interesting stuff. Looks like a slight difference in the valve gear "hangers".

In both the picture I posted and the one above, you can see the rather odd-looking "looped" piping, just to the front of the cab, on the top of the boiler. I've often wondered what that's all about...

Mark in Oregon

Looped piping allows a pipe carrying hot water or steam to expand without an increase in thermal stress due to heating. If both ends of a straight pipe are constrained and it is heated internally, the pipe cannot expand and an internal (compressive) thermal stress will develop. With a loop, the looped part of the pipe is free to expand away from the constrained ends and no compressive stress is developed.

MELGAR

Last edited by MELGAR

My father who is a Varney collector just picked up his first O-Scale Varney locomotive with this model and typical of all his model work, he is doing a very high quality restoration of it to original condition.  He sent me a few photos of it last week and it was in much better condition than many I've seen so I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future in person. 

In the past, I have done his painting but I must say my airbrush is buried under lots of other boxes and it has been many years since I've actually done any painting with it.  Seeing the as delivered photo though is some inspiration on how to paint it.

I just got one of the 4-6-0 locos (finally).  It is a Babbit kit I got on the bay.  It has never been started and it has no tender.  I think I will scratchbuilt a tender for it.  I have several photos and I think ALL Nation had a drawing available years ago. Looking forward to getting it and I’m sure i will be back for help when assembly begins.

Yay... that's awesome. 🙂

Mark in Oregon

It should also have a sprung drivers set up that Babbitt developed for the GM/AN steam locomotive kits.  At one time Babbitt offered and exchange program where you could send in your GM/AN loco's frame, drivers, gearing and motor. Babbitt would send back a modernized frame, drive and motor of your model (for a modest fee of course). The old parts would be re-machined and assembled into newer design drives for the exchange program.

S. Islander

@AGHRMatt posted:

I have on in kit form. Haven't had the spare time to build it. Weighs a ton with that bronze boiler. By the way, what's the minimum radius one of these can negotiate?

Well...I just checked; mine will fit on some of the old Atlas 24"R track, but seem happier on the newer 36"R...🙂

Mark in Oregon

EDIT: I might add here that, although it'll negotiate 24"R the coupler over-hang is too great to allow the tender to hook up to anything...so I suppose the REAL answer to 24"R is "no"...

Last edited by Strummer

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