Steam Engine Question

Havent looked in a catalog recently?

MTH has used a wireless drawbar between the engine and the tender for the past few years (when they were making steamers). Those models also have a hinged deckplate which spans the gap.

Lionel steamers of recent also have a wireless drawbar.

Most of your 3rd Rail steam engines have the plate between the engine and tender (although the TMCC wire bundle runs underneath it, I regard it as the "water feed' from the tender to the injector pump). The Lionel CC-II Niagara steam engine also had the plate + optical tether which eliminated any wiring between the engine & tender.

There may be some MTH and Weaver engines as well; I'm just not familiar with those lines to say accurately.

This is a great question that has never been asked before. I've stood on that plate many countless hours on the SP 2472. It will kick you and rock you at the same time. It's something that's needed. Thanks Don

here is an example of a 3RD rAIL engine with the plate

PRR M1b

Havent looked in a catalog recently?

MTH has used a wireless drawbar between the engine and the tender for the past few years (when they were making steamers). Those models also have a hinged deckplate which spans the gap.

Lionel steamers of recent also have a wireless drawbar.

Lionel predates MTH in the use of a wireless tether by MANY years. The Lionel Lionmaster Challengers(Black UP #3983, Item #6-28077) were using wireless tethers at least as far back as 2001.

Doug

weaver models did a deck plate with there diecast 2-8-0.

just wish all the steam engines came with a deck plate.

Yes the Weaver 2-8-0 had the deck plate. Hinged and hanging down in this picture.

What about a coupler between the engine and the tender? Have you ever seen that? I believe only on some of the 3 truck Shays.....but on the other steams I have never seen it. Also, and in answer to the question "have I seen a catalog lately"....... it is very hard to see that type of detail in a catalog.....most of the time.

3rd Rail N&W K2A has a deck plate...

A coupler between engine and tender? Never heard of such a thing. Locomotives and tenders are connected with drawbars (usually two of them).

smd4 brings up a good point about the drawbars (one does the connection and the second is the "safety drawbar", incase the main one were to brake) over the use of a coupler. With a coupler assembly, there would then be slack between the engine and tender, and THAT is an absolute NO-NO!

There is a buffer and carrier assembly in the tender, which has a huge spring inside. This buffer assembly is drawn up tight, so the tender buffer and mating buffer plate on the engine, are all under compression so that there is ABSOLUTELY NO SLACK between the engine & tender. 

Does anyone have a photo of the real thing ?

Both the 3rd Rail and Lionel NYC 4-8-4 Niagaras have deck plates. I suspect many more. They aren't difficult to add. Lionel's version is diecast and was broken when I received it. I just made one out of brass diamond plate.

Pete

TrainHead, I went through a couple of hundred pics taken in and out of the cab but didn't have any good pictures of the plate. The problem is if your filming in the cab your standing on the plate. Sorry Don

Here a picture of the mating buffer and the pockets for the drawbar on an N&W Y:

Cropped from an image in "Norfolk & Western In The Appalachians" by Ed King, Kalmbach c.1998

Rusty

I had never even considered deck plates. After reading thread I'm thinking why aren't they standard on all streamers. I'm going to play around making one out of black cardboard tonight just to see how it looks. I have more than a few 031 curves. I'm hoping such tight turns will be a problem. My layout is less than two years old and if there is one thing I would do over its the turn sizes. I learned a lot on this forum, wish I read before I built. 

You can see the bottom one has a larger hole--this one "floats" unless the top one breaks.

I believe the drawbars (2) are listed on the yearly steam locomotive inspection.  They may have to be checked for cracks and wear after being remove. I could be wrong.   

Not exactly "wrong", but drawbars are part of an FRA quarterly inspection, i.e. every 90 days. A required monthly inspection involves a boiler wash, but the quarterly inspection requires separating the engine from the tender to hammer test the drawbars, plus removal of all gauges (steam & air) for dead weight testing, and of course a boiler wash.

An annual inspection, is a much bigger deal, involving the hydrostatic test of the boiler. 

I definetely want to see draw bars and deck plates on these locomotives....take note  Lionel, MTH, Weaver, 3rd Rail etc. Thank you all for your photo's and responses!!!!

That's all well and good, but you better plan on having REALLY BIG curves on your model railroad then!

Why....because they only manufacture these locomotives in scale? Well... if they want to increase sales, in a shrinking and difficult market, then they better start making detailed locos in semi scale. Like a lot of you, I do not have a large area for a layout and believe they should manufacture smaller detailed locomotives (charging for the detail) to accomodate people like me....it just may increase their market share.

Increased detail is one thing, but adding prototypical deck plates AND drawbars, plus closely coupled tenders, "just like real steam locomotives" will require VARY big curves, just like real steam locomotives. 

You left out the stoker auger housing (or oil piping,) plus the water, air hoses and wires for the back-up/rear headlight.

The former S Helper Service S Scale 2-8-0 has a deckplate.  While the locomotive and tender are normally semi-permantly connected, if they're taken apart for servicing, it can be a real pain in the patootie to connect the drawbar and hold the plate out of the way at the same time.

Rusty

I took a "B" unit tether cable and put it in one of my MTH Imperial Railking Big Boy Tenders. It has the flat end VS the 90 degree up end.

I then took the Dremel tool and cut a slot in the front of the tender for the cable to ride in.

It looks like the Stoker tube now and I love it. I Just need to fab up a plate and it will be awesome.

I got rid of the really tight curves to be able to run this. My Min curve is now O-54 and I needed a slot over an inch wide in the front of the tender to go thru my switches.

And DON'T go thru an S curve smaller than O-72 with this engine!!!

It will derail the front of the tender if you hit an S of O-54. A wider slot would help, but I'm still cringing from the cut I already made in the Diecast tender body.

I am going to do it to all my Steamers eventually, unless they come out with PS-3 Kits including Wireless drawbars before I get them done.

For all those engines already sporting a wireless drawbar and plate, Add a Stoker tube guys. I always feel that area should be full of stuff connecting the tender and the engine. The Stoker tube is one of the biggest items in there, isn't it?