Lionel 0-8-0 at York

Strasburg's #475 is the N&W 4-8-0.  As far as I know, they don't have any 0-8-0's there either.  Keep in mind it's from a starter set and isn't really meant to be accurate.

Jake is correct. The Strasburg #475 (currently lettered N&W 475) is a 4-8-0. The Strasburg does own and operate two 0-6-0s, ex-Canadian National #7312 (#31) and Thomas The Tank. They also own an 0-4-0, ex Reading 1187 Camelback. No 0-8-0s. 

Thomas the Tank is formerly Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal's Number 15. She was erected by HK Porter in Pittsburgh in 1917. She worked at BEDT until October 25, 1963  in Brooklyn NY. At that time It was one of the two last Commercially active steam engines east of the Mississippi , the other being BEDT's number 16 , also a Porter loco but of different design.Number 16 is at the Railroad Museum of Long Island but not operational. If you visit the Lionel Visitors center layout in Riverhead take a look at Thomas' cousin.

Number 15 spent 10 years working in North Carolina on the South Appalachia Railroad and another 23 years working for the Toledo, Lake Erie and Western in Ohio before coming to Strasburg. She was an oil burner working for BEDT, Appalachia and Toledo but was converted to coal at Strasburg. Its first season at Strasburg was 1999 i believe. Thomas is 95 years of age this season.

What did you pay for the engine alone? I know he was selling the Strasburg sets for $225., and another dealer was selling the Strasburg engine/cars only for $165.

Here's a link to the Strasburg RR equipment roster as of June 2011:

http://www.strasburgrailroad.c...ment-Roster-2011.pdf

Taken last Saturday!

Peter

Mr. Hohman was asking what I paid for the Lionel Strasburg 0-8-0, that Charles

Ro was selling several versions of...I think Pennsy and NYC and ?? but none of

these had the original orange box, so, although I was going to reletter, and the

Strasburg is one I was less enthused about repainting (although since I have

verified that they don't have an 0-8-0 and it is fictitious, I feel more comfortable

with that), I took the Strasburg at $100, which in looking at it, and thinking about

today's prices, looks like a deal as long as it runs well (not yet tested).  While I

would much rather have a two truck Heisler, then a Climax, and lastly a Shay,

if the current Lionel two truck Shay (which I think is not available in a conventional version, which would help the price) gets blown out by anybody, I wanta hear

about it.  Some of the other deals people have posted on here really do sound

like legitimate deals.

I flipped through the 1941 Locomotive Cyclopedia, and there WAS a 2-8-0, #60.

on the Great Western that vaguely looks like this engine.  #60 has two domes,

a different pilot, and a different tender, so switching and filing may be in order (I think my raids on O scale shows may have already provided me with a pilot...tender, which is low, long and slim on #60, will be more of a challenge)

Also shown above #60's photo is a similar 2-8-0, also built by Alco, that has a

switcher pilot, again just two domes, a different tender, and requiring a pilot truck, is

#400-404 for the Bangor and Aroostook, and a project for Down-Easter spud shippers. (I think there are O scale structure kits out there for tater warehouses)

Whistles and top boiler appliances are different and the B&A loco weighs 25 tons

more, is almost 3 feet longer in driver wheelbase, and is a bigger, chunkier looking

critter than the GW engine, so may not be as believable a take off from this 0-8-0.

That #60 survives on the Black River & Western RR in New Jersey. It hasn't run for about 12 years but it is hoped to make its first runs this year since a VERY lengthy overhaul. 

Ro has set break-ups?  Or only at York?  Rolling stock from break-ups, too?

  --Joe

Not exactly true.  The Lake Superior & Ishpeming in Michigan had a couple of their 2-8-0's active in 1963.  There was also a tank engine operating down in either North or South Carolina (can't remember which) servicing a factory, and finally several 0-8-0's at Sterling Wire in Illinois.

John

Well, there seems to be some lack of information/confusion as to what WAS the last, commercially operating, steam engine in the eastern U.S.  I would have thought

Kalmbach's "Trains" magazine would have the date down when they banked the

fires on the last 0-4-0T? switching a garbage dump in ?? wherever.  Often I see the

engine and date prefaced by "one of the last".  This plagues the Great Western

west of the big Muddy..whose combine is in the Colorado RR Museum at Golden and

is purported to be "the last passenger carrying" car operated commercially on a non

tourist road, and its engines, two mentioned on here, #60, and #90 at Strasburg, were still used for sugar beet rushes (the GW hauled passengers in cabooses after

it stopped using the combine and I think behind diesels after it sidelined its steam, which has been described as the last "real" RR carried passengers, but was it?).  While several roads have blurred that date by operating tourist runs, and, maybe, in a pinch, as could have, say, the California Western, by hauling a freight car of lumber from Ft. Bragg to Willits behind a steam tourist run.

And then there are/were? the Chinese steamers which I saw operating in Iowa during a TCA convention,  and for a while at a museum in southeastern Illinois (haven't been by there lately...is that still existent?).  I think the Illinois one also moved freight.

And then you could say, well, those Chinese steamers don't count...they are not

historical engines from operating U.S. railroads.

I'm confused.

To answer concerning the engine and its running:  it runs GREAT!  My younger son got the Strasburg set for Christmas.  It smokes well--not fan-driven by any means, but that's a plus IMHO--and runs quietly and strongly.  Keep the smoke fluid level up.  It will pull its set plus at least 6 or 7 more cars without a strain; we haven't tried to find the limits.  It looks superb--has the full-on valve gear--and the whistle works reliably.  The sound isn't anything special--it IS from a starter set, ya know?--but you can put in aftermarket sound if you must have that.  The movement of the rods makes a whir.  Has evinced no troubled on Atlas O switches.

I only wish the add-on passenger car sets weren't in such demand.  They seem to go for around $200 on the Bay, and dealers don't have any in stock (that I have found).  the set cars look sharp, FWIW.

Hope this helps.

Great!!  Thanks!!  Glad the 0-8-0 runs great!!  I won't have to take time to check it out just yet.  I just love stuff that WORKS, and you don't have to fool with it.  Is that a set of STRASBURG RR passenger cars that is hard to find?  With the people, TCA, and the general public, that get to that RR and ride it, and that Amish tourist area, I can see Strasburg RR passenger cars and that set being in demand.

The last commercial use of a steam locomotive I saw was in 1986 on the CSX here in Atlanta.  Am I kidding?  Am I drunk?  Lying?  No.  I was on a local fantrip behind S&A 750 when the real train crew stopped our train, uncoupled 750 and used 750 to spot a boxcar at an industrial siding.  This was done for business purpose.  After spotting the boxcar the 750 continued our fantrip.  But spotting that boxcar was real railroad business so that to me constitutes real commercial use of a steam engine.  Odd-d

Yes.  As I understand it, Lionel made many fewer add-on sets than the starter sets, figuring few people would buy the add-ons.  Apparently, they were mistaken.

Since Strasburg's #475 is a 4-8-0, is it possible to add a front truck to make this Lionel RTR starter set Strasburg 0-8-0 engine into a 4-8-0?

Has anyone you know successfully attempted it? How difficult would is be for a novice to do? What parts(s) would be needed and where would they be obtained? I'm interested in doing this to mine so it would be more prototypical as that obviously isn't the case now.

Thanks for any help, suggestions and advice as to how doable this conversion would be.

I doubt you will have room for a 4 wheel pilot truck. This is a pic is of the starter set 0-8-0 and it is virtually the same size as the "Scale" engine.

Scale version on top, starter set engine at the bottom:

Pete

The tricky part is placing the pilot where the rear wheels can clear the cylinders on curves.

An early version of Lionel's renowned N&W J (746) used a Berkshire frame and running gear. The catalog drawing shows both pilot wheels crowded in front of the cylinder.

Lionel made a new frame and boiler casting that provided clearance for rear pilot wheels between the cylinders and the first pair of drivers.

To see this clearance vividly, compare the piston rods of a UP Big Boy. The rods on the front engine are a lot longer than rods on the rear engine to clear the rear wheels of the pilot truck.