I would like to see what odd ball trains you guys (and gals) like. I personally like the McKeen Motor Cars, but I have seen some other cool oddballs like a single truck Heisler.
A 2-2-0
a motor gryo-monorail coach.
and even a Indian motorcycle on a hand car.
So what are your favorites?
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Nothing immediately at hand, but I will say the first two you listed are critters I
have not seen before.
A few more that I like are...
a 6-2-0
an 0-6-6-0, notice the pistons...
another 2-2-0
Supposedly the first cab forward was a Southern Pacific Creation with a boat's steam engine and a tanks for oil and water (I guess.)
Last but not least, the only motorcycle (if you can call it that) I would ever want to own.
Well, there are the Pennsy's alien-looking S1 and T1's but those are already well known.
How about the Meigs Monorail?
The Italian Class 743, with its Franco-Crosti boiler:
And how can I forget this beast?
That's all I can think of for now.
Aaron
How about an 0-3-0 steam monorail?
Great topic.
Great topic.
The Heilmann steam-electric locomotive.
A McKeen Gas Weed Burner.
A 0-4-4-4-4-0?
Rotary 0-6-6-0 steam engine used in Switzerland.
Last one of my favorites, the 2-2-2 "Black Diamond".
I was trying to find a bicycle like one from Cass, no luck but I found a few different pictures of odd rail vechicles http://www.retronaut.com/2012/...icycle-railway-1892/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...sey#Bicycle_railroad
I have a few favorites
But the winner is....
The Volks Electric Railway....yes this existed
I have a few favorites
But the winner is....
The Volks Electric Railway....yes this existed
This is my favourite. Travel in style! 
Not that much of an odd-ball, but I'd love to see some fireless steamers.
Not that much of an odd-ball, but I'd love to see some fireless steamers.
Your reply doesn't make much sense to me. Fireless steamers were in jules Verne novels?
Your reply doesn't make much sense to me. Fireless steamers were in jules Verne novels?
When all else fails, take your locomotive and go off-roading:
Rusty
When all else fails, take your locomotive and go off-roading:
Rusty
Your reply doesn't make much sense to me. Fireless steamers were in jules Verne novels?
But I made no comment or reference to your post about the McKeen car. I was talking about a steam locomotive that doesn't generate it's own steam. They are called fireless steamers. It's a big pressure vessel that gets pumped full of steam from a stationary boiler and then runs around until it gets low on steam. Then it gets recharged. They were used in places where it'd be too dangerous for open flame or to have fumes. I always thought they were kind of neat and wish someone would make one for O gauge.
Your reply doesn't make much sense to me. Fireless steamers were in jules Verne novels?
But I made no comment or reference to your post about the McKeen car. I was talking about a steam locomotive that doesn't generate it's own steam. They are called fireless steamers. It's a big pressure vessel that gets pumped full of steam from a stationary boiler and then runs around until it gets low on steam. Then it gets recharged. They were used in places where it'd be too dangerous for open flame or to have fumes. I always thought they were kind of neat and wish someone would make one for O gauge.
I am more familiar with them being used in areas where steam is abundant ie steel mills where generating steam off the heat is easy to do capture and the need for moving power high. I didn't think it was the fire risk but could be wrong.
Here's a picture of a fireless cooker that served Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L) Company. Not the best, but does illustrate the beast.
Here's a picture of a fireless cooker that served Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L) Company. Not the best, but does illustrate the beast.
A quick look in my 1938 copy of the Locomotive Cyclopedia shows that they are all over the place for pressure stats. A 0-6-0 Baldwin for AT&SF was 200psi storage and 65psi working. A 0-4-0 H.K. Porter Co. for The Mead Corp. was 250psi storage and 60psi working. There is even a compressed air 0-4-0 H.K. Porter Co. for H.C. Frick Coke Co. that was 800psi storage and 250psi working. It looks like a long hotdog on wheels.
How about the D&H #1403 the L.F. Loree, a triple-expansion, poppet-valve, four cylinder compound 4-8-0 with 500 PSI boiler, and three axle tender truck booster?
Stuart
My personal favorite odd ball.
an 0-6-6-0, notice the pistons...
Which railway was that engine built for? Looks more like a Meyer articulated than a Mallet; I am not familiar with any North American Meyers.
But I made no comment or reference to your post about the McKeen car. I was talking about a steam locomotive that doesn't generate it's own steam. They are called fireless steamers. It's a big pressure vessel that gets pumped full of steam from a stationary boiler and then runs around until it gets low on steam.
Actually, it was a little more complex. The loco was charged with a combination of steam and water. As the steam pressure went down, the water would convert to more steam, extending the length of time between chargings.
an 0-6-6-0, notice the pistons...
Which railway was that engine built for? Looks more like a Meyer articulated than a Mallet; I am not familiar with any North American Meyers.
Canadian Pacific. Classic Trains had an article on it recently.
Rusty
WHAT?? Of course they're steam engines. The machinery runs on steam, and is operated exactly like any other steam engine. The only difference is that the locomotive does not create its own steam.
WHAT?? Of course they're steam engines. The machinery runs on steam, and is operated exactly like any other steam engine. The only difference is that the locomotive does not create its own steam.
"Locomotive" is defined as a self-propelled verhicle able to move independently from place to place. So the fireless engines are still considered "locomotives."
It might be better to call them "unconventional" steam locomotives, as opposed to conventional steam locomotives that use a firebox and boiler to create their own steam pressure.
"Locomotive" is defined as a self-propelled verhicle able to move independently from place to place. So the fireless engines are still considered "locomotives."
It might be better to call them "unconventional" steam locomotives, as opposed to conventional steam locomotives that use a firebox and boiler to create their own steam pressure.
Here's a picture of a fireless cooker that served Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L) Company. Not the best, but does illustrate the beast.
Believe that the picture was taken at Shamokin Dam. Locomotive now sits rusting away just off Rte. 15 north of Lewisburg. BTW, the Shamokin Dam power station has been shuttered.
Poppyl
fmbugman makes good points. Fireless cookers were used to eliminate sparks, fumes, and other potentially hazardous products of fuel burning in fireboxes. But, he adds, they were also used where steam and hot water were available to charge them. They ranged from tiny 0-4-0's to a big streamlined 0-8-0 built by Heisler and now displayed in The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg.
I heard that if a connection failed during charging, the steam and water roaring out of the pressure vessel could turn over a small 0-4-0.
I bet this would go like heck, IF it ever stopped slipping!
A few more that I like are...
a 6-2-0
Kirkman,
This is a very outstanding, interesting and enjoyable post.
Thank you,
Ralph
Compressed air engine for use in coal mines
You're welcome. Also I think this train would be the most likely to slip...
Here is an electric snowplow.
and here is a cool non-conventional Steam engine.
Some more odd-balls.
In the "Oddball, but currently operating on a daily basis category":
(35 degree incline on a curve = FUN!)
Original "Cogger": (looks like a dragster to me)
... and in the "Not a train, but certainly oddball" category:
... they say it's the fastest way down Mt. Washington!
(subtitled "Brakes? we don't need no stinking brakes!")
Ed
A GG 1/2? Half a GG1 used as an ice melter and switcher
How about the severely harsh lines of the Southern Railway's Q1?
A GG 1/2? Half a GG1 used as an ice melter and switcher
A GG 1/2? Half a GG1 used as an ice melter and switcher
Lately, Ive been thinking real hard about my band saw while eyeballing my Williams dummy GG1. When I get up the nerve, Ill try to let you know.(Its really just a matter of timing, the seed is planted, so it will happen eventually).
How about the severely harsh lines of the Southern Railway's Q1?
Ill see your odd Q-1, and raise you one.
(Lots of strange "Q" locos. Did Q stand for queer or something)
Adriatic: Has anyone modeled that Pennsy 4-6-6-4 commercially, since they have many
Pa. oddballs..T-1, etc.? And K-Line did one of those commuter 4-6-4 tank engines similar to that Reading pictured. (I researched where I could use one of the K-Line
versions, wondering if any went to logging or industrial applications after their lives
in the big city?)
The PRR Q-1 duplex above is a 4-6-4-4, with rear facing pistons on the rear drivers(4). I have no clue if either has been made as a model. I just noticed over time, Q locomotives on almost any road, seem to be weird.
The Southern Railway Q1 was a very successful locomotive class, and popular with crews too. Despite their rather bare looks, which were chiefly a result of wartime austerity measures, they were the most powerful 0-6-0 locomotives in Britain. They were also designed to be cleaned using carriage washers, thereby saving a lot of time and money.
I just hope this thread continues, for sooner or later, somebody is gonna put something
on here I will want a model of.....
I just hope this thread continues, for sooner or later, somebody is gonna put something
on here I will want a model of.....
A GG 1/2? Half a GG1 used as an ice melter and switcher
Lately, Ive been thinking real hard about my band saw while eyeballing my Williams dummy GG1. When I get up the nerve, Ill try to let you know.(Its really just a matter of timing, the seed is planted, so it will happen eventually).
Sounds like a good way to get a scale GG1 on smaller radius curved tracks...
I bet is wasn't a duct, just a crude cattle guard/deflector to keep anything found on the tracks from getting under the carriage. as the bay window, it's been stated it was for switching. This allows the engineer to "stick" his head "out" to see.
Ive read GG1s had blowers to cool the electrical boards, and that its "exhaust" was re-routed for melting ice on the yard rails, not blowing snow. Those are the first photos Ive seen of the right side with the bay window, thanks
. Any more info you find on this one would be appreciated!
This PP&L fireless locomotive I saw when I visited the Pa RR Museum before York:
I bet is wasn't a duct, just a crude cattle guard/deflector to keep anything found on the tracks from getting under the carriage.
Oh, that's definitely a duct. Any kind of a pilot certainly wouldn't be flat across the front, and wouldn't need to extend into the body of the unit.
looky looky looky
looky looky looky
That's a beauty Popi!
Most of what Ive read suggested mostly ice detail, but the last two articles I found referred to it as a yard switcher, one didn't even mention the de-icing. They did take time to add the new coupler, so I imagine it was at least a switching back up, or something that could lend a quick push without waiting for a full warm up.
Interesting....http://youtu.be/iajwyx02Hqw
The PRR Q-1 duplex above is a 4-6-4-4, with rear facing pistons on the rear drivers(4). I have no clue if either has been made as a model. I just noticed over time, Q locomotives on almost any road, seem to be weird.
Yep - 3rd Rail made it back in 2003.
At last! A scale GG-1 you can have for 0-27 (as long as you make the center wheels
bland on the large truck!
Uh, blind, not bland....
A GG 1/2?
Actually, it should be known as a "G1" since "G" referred to a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement. "GG" meant two such wheel arrangements connected together.
A GG 1/2?
Actually, it should be known as a "G1" since "G" referred to a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement. "GG" meant two such wheel arrangements connected together.
Since the PRR already had G1 - G5s (4-6-0 steam engines), this critter would probably get the next number and be a G6. Although they were known to give one of a kind and odd ball engines numbers in the 20s or 30s (e.g., J28, K28, K29, etc.), so it could be a G28.
A GG 1/2?
Actually, it should be known as a "G1" since "G" referred to a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement. "GG" meant two such wheel arrangements connected together.
Since the PRR already had G1 - G5s (4-6-0 steam engines), this critter would probably get the next number and be a G6. Although they were known to give one of a kind and odd ball engines numbers in the 20s or 30s (e.g., J28, K28, K29, etc.), so it could be a G28.
I'll buy that!
How about an Eg1, or E1g? Better decide quick
, I made the band saw cut on the semi-scale dummy!
(Madison told me to, it's his thread, so all his fault
). It was a tough choice, cut prototypically, and have one(still not 100%proto), or cut it exactly at the half, and fill a bit in plastic and/or brass to get two semi-scale representations. Harder, but Ive chosen to build two.
Right now, the frame can swing too much. I think Im going to lock one of the trucks down, or at least limit turning travel. The front if I can, to eliminate the notorious forward overhang.
The cut is square&plumb, its looking "off" is an optical illusion...a bad photo shot.
Time to give this semi-hijacking up too. After today Ill continue showing this build by rekindling this https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...motive-today-?page=2
I thought this a bit odd. No rear coupler, that I see, "nice axels" under the tender, and the boiler looks like maybe its a sphere.
Edit: link attempt
Edit: link attempt
This is a cog locomotive, designed to push the cars up a steep grade. This is what it looks like from the side.
Thanks Sinclair, I can see now the "sphere" was another optical illusion.
That Mt. Washington loco bring up a few questions...and they would apply to the steamers that used to run up Pike's Peak, which I rode in front of in the 1950's:
(1) Did the grade have to be kept the same, or within close tolerances to keep the
boiler fairly level, since it is at an angle to do so...wonder how much leeway you had?
(2) On this Mt. Washington loco pictured above, the stack is vertical, but the steam
whistle in front of the cab is not?
Of course, there is no coupler on the rear as the loco always pushed up and pulled
down cars, for safety reasons, to prevent a runaway. Those thin tender wheels and
axles really do look toy-like.
I think there have been toy rack railroads made, and I bet somebody on here has one.
I would imagine that it had as much leeway as a standard loco? I would also imagine that the fireman had to be dang sure the water was over the crown sheet when sitting on level track!
I believe Cass Scenic has grades up to 7%, but it's Shays do just fine with level boilers.
(1) Did the grade have to be kept the same, or within close tolerances to keep the
boiler fairly level, since it is at an angle to do so...wonder how much leeway you had?
The grades on the Mt. Washington Cog Railroad are as steep as 36%. The pilot of a locomotive 100 feet long on that grade would be 36 feet higher than the bottom of the rear end. The front flue sheet in a normal horizontal boiler would be mostly dry.
To avoid that, the first Mt. Washington cog locomotives had vertical boilers - mounted at an angle to compensate for the steep grades. Later, larger horizontal boilers were also mounted at an angle. Some had smokeboxes in line with the boiler, as in the photograph above. Others had smokeboxes parallel to the frame. Stacks extended straight up from both smokeboxes to promote free flow of exhausts and draft for the firebox.
Odd they didn't make the Mt. Wash. cab level with the boiler...makes you wonder if the cab floor is level or are the fireman and engineer wearing suction cups on their shoe soles to keep from sliding out the back of the cab?
Introducing "CLICO", the dyslexic locomotive!
Do its boiler tubes double back at the front? That seems a big waste of heat if not.
Here are some more photos I have found.....
Stokes Railway Crane
A Steam engine crane
Turret FlatCars
Just Wow.
"Tank Train" The new game?
And last, this huge thing...
The derrick engine is cool enough to raise my interest, and lift my spirits
.
War... Good God yall! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, but strange trains, now say it again....
Vietnam-
Then there is this engine that should have been the star of "The Little Engine that Could." Although this is pretty cool, on the back of the postcard it said this was the first locomotive on any part of the Illinois Central System.
Almost looks like a Photoshop job, doesn't it? It's a Brooks-built engine for the Chicago Locomotive Improvement Co. Probably had a return set of tubes. The pipe on the outside of the boiler probably took exhaust steam back to the stack. Obviously, this experiment was likely a failure, since it never caught on.
And absolutely, the height and proximity of the stack to the cab would have been beneficial to the crew, but it was probably an experimental boiler design that just happened to place the stack there.
I cant believe I for got about this one:
The Bavarian PtL 2/2: essentially a camelback tank loco. Also, it's firebox is gravity-fed by the coal bunker.
Aaron
How did those European couplers WORK? And did they have to be manually coupled
with the brakeman standing there, maybe protected by the buffers? And did they
create slack between cars?
How did those European couplers WORK? And did they have to be manually coupled
with the brakeman standing there, maybe protected by the buffers? And did they
create slack between cars?
Not much slack really as you can see now. This lighter duty coupling system can be used because of the lighter max. weights of the European railroad cars.
How did those European couplers WORK? And did they have to be manually coupled
with the brakeman standing there, maybe protected by the buffers? And did they
create slack between cars?
Here's a short video that I made of a locomotive being coupled to a train. 
Originally Posted by Madison Kirkman:
When all else fails, take your locomotive and go off-roading:
Rusty
I figured Rusty would follow up on this more. Those are Russian train bodies on top of the frames for Russian missile mobile launchers. Built for a science expedition I think. Russian heavy equipment off-roading is no joke, its a necessity. Here are three of my favorites on Youtube. The military launchers have some videos too if you look for them. Incredible river crossings, about 50mph land-water-land, doesn't phase it much. Worthy of having a train body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWg89miW02Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgiJ-E1mh8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTDn604ipYY
This is a great video for unusual train enthusiasts: http://youtu.be/iajwyx02Hqw
Okay, time for some more Japanese trains!
The Nankai Series 50000 was already covered earlier in the thread (the one that looks like a Dreyfuss Hudson that collided with Sonic the Hedgehog).
Here's the JR Hokkaido KiHa 283 (Express DMU):
JR East Series 251 (Express EMU). The two windows on top allow passengers to see forward:
JR East Series 255 (Express EMU):
JR West Series 281 (Express EMU):
JR Freight Series M250--that's right, a 16-car freight EMU!
JR West Series 500 Shinkansen:
JR East Series E4 Shinkansen:
JR East Series E5 Shinkansen:
Nothing particularly odd about this D51. I just thought it looked surprisingly modern with that pilot, smoke filter over the smokestack, and those uniquely stylish smoke deflectors:
This C53 Pacific, on the other hand, is definitely all kinds of odd:
Is it just me, or does it not look surprisingly similar to this Series 700 Shinkansen?
This video can top it off.
Aaron
Weird, wacky, unusual... http://youtu.be/-rtAoBKKd1Q
This is a great video for unusual train enthusiasts: http://youtu.be/iajwyx02Hqw
There was a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile?...Sure he didn't take a train?
There was a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile?...Sure he didn't take a train?
This is a shay. It's typical for shays to have boilers off center.
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