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Model Forum / General / Railroads / September 2004Brass V&T #26 Question
I'm looking around to buy a brass model of an HO V&T #26 4-6-0. I know that Westside had one that had the motor hanging out of the locomotive cab like some of my older HOn3 C16s. They ran well but looked funky until the motors were replaced. If I get one of these I want to cram a decoder in it somehow, sound too if at all possible and if its like an old Westside I'll want to re-motor it so the motor does not hang out of the cab in such an unsightly way. The tender drive models would be ok with me if they run well or can be made to run well but I wonder where I could stash a decoder in one? If any of you guys have had some experience with any of these models or know what one might serve my interests best let me know. Thanks, Bruce >I'm looking around to buy a brass model of an HO V&T #26 4-6-0. I know that >Westside had one that had the motor hanging out of the locomotive cab like [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >one? If any of you guys have had some experience with any of these models >or know what one might serve my interests best let me know. Thanks, Bruce There's also a much better Beaver Creek model with the motor hidden in the firebox. It's also got a lot more detail. Mine ran well straight out of the box. Christopher, I've heard of Beaver Creek but I'm not real familiar with them. IIRC they imported several V&T models. I didn't know if they were a tender drive or not. Since the motor is in the locomotive this is good news. The #26 is very close to the prototype I'm after, even the tender. Have you converted yours to DCC and do you have any advice on the installation if you have? Thanks. Bruce > >want to re-motor it so the motor does not hang out of the cab in such an > >unsightly way. The tender drive models would be ok with me if they run well [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > the firebox. It's also got a lot more detail. Mine ran well straight > out of the box. >Christopher, >I've heard of Beaver Creek but I'm not real familiar with them. IIRC they [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >to DCC and do you have any advice on the installation if you have? Thanks. >Bruce I haven't converted it. Beaver Creek went out of business a few years ago due to bankrupcy - the owner was living off downs paid for models. He had downs off me for a 2-6-0 (Tahoe), a set of 4 passenger cars (the Brill and Oxford cars) and the water cars. But in spite of that their models were super-detailed museum quality. I have their #26 and #27, and can recommend Heather Clark of Portland OR as a custom painter (she also super-detailed my oil-fired Reno, you wouldn't recognise it from the original model). She is a V&T specialist who attends some of the West Coast shows (I met her at a train show in San Raphael CA before I moved to New York) and also the annual V&T symposium at Carson City. She does a terrific job, and I only stopped sending her work because of financial difficulties and job uncertainty. The engine was state of the art for pre-DCC sound systems and has a cam on one of the driving wheels with room for a sensor switch. So there ought to be room for a decoder. I bought mine more than 10 years ago, and they're probably fetching more than I paid, these days. I'm not into DCC myself, but the motor is a small low power consumption can so you should be able to use a small decoder. Maybe even an N-scale one. Or put it in the tender next to where you would put the speaker (there is a grille for the speaker). I'f you're installing sound then you will have wires to the tender anyway. It might even be a coreless motor - it has many of the characteristics (smoothness, sensitivity and low power consumption). So I'd be careful which decoder you choose. That kind of motor doesn't like time-division pulses - my throttle gives pure voltage regulated DC. Good luck....Chris >> >want to re-motor it so the motor does not hang out of the cab in such an >> >unsightly way. The tender drive models would be ok with me if they run [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> the firebox. It's also got a lot more detail. Mine ran well straight >> out of the box. Excellent advice re Beaver Creek. If you can find one, jump on it.... Matter-of-fact excellent advice all together and endorsement of Heather.  Signature+GF+ SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Books may introduce unfamiliar or confusing ideas. In the event of uncomfortable self-reflection, heat to 451° Fahrenheit ( 232.78° Centigrade or 505.9 Kelvin ) and seek television immediately. www.internationalrailfair.com www.ete.org >Excellent advice re Beaver Creek. If you can find one, jump on it.... > >Matter-of-fact excellent advice all together and endorsement of Heather. They ain't cheap unfortunately. I did a quick web search and found a Beaver Creek V&T 27 (26's sister; basically the same engine with a shotgun stack) at Caboose Hobbies, and they're asking $749. Which is a heck of a lot more than I paid for mine 10 years ago. They've also got a PFM tender drive V&T 26 for $150, painted for a private railroad. Must be in pretty awful condition at that price. And a Westside tender drive V&T 26 for $325. Again for a private railroad. The photo looks quite good. It's not superdetailed, and the paint job looks good - pity it would have to be stripped and repainted. I have a Sunset V&T 25 as well, which is a nice, well-detailed model. I bought it second hand, painted. I don't know who did it but they made a nice job of it (and the Julie Bulette club car I bought at the same time). IMO this is a better looking engine than 26 or 27. It is smaller, with a lower boiler and long smoke stack. And when it shows up at the dealers, it tends to be cheaper than the Beaver Creek engines. $749 is a chunk of cash for a little loco. Must be a very desirable model. I was planning on keeping the cost of the model along any new gears, additional detail and a new motor to under $400. The beaver Creek model may be out of range unless I get lucky or find a basket case. Bruce >>Excellent advice re Beaver Creek. If you can find one, jump on it.... >> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > a lower boiler and long smoke stack. And when it shows up at the > dealers, it tends to be cheaper than the Beaver Creek engines. >$749 is a chunk of cash for a little loco. Must be a very desirable model. I >was planning on keeping the cost of the model along any new gears, >additional detail and a new motor to under $400. The beaver Creek model may >be out of range unless I get lucky or find a basket case. Bruce I was surprised how much they wanted. I checked ebay as well but didn't see anything. Will you be painting it for the V&T, or a freelance railroad? >>>Excellent advice re Beaver Creek. If you can find one, jump on it.... >>> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >> a lower boiler and long smoke stack. And when it shows up at the >> dealers, it tends to be cheaper than the Beaver Creek engines. For the Texas Midland. The TM #108 was almost exactly the same as the V&T #26. The layout is called the Trinity Midland and is freelanced but I'm attempting to be as prototypical as possible to the Texas Midland with the locomotives, rolling stock and key structures like the stations, freight houses and water tanks. Everything else is pure fantasy except by chance the track arrangements and structure location at one of the towns turned out to be almost exactly the same. Bruce > Will you be painting it for the V&T, or a freelance railroad? > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >>> a lower boiler and long smoke stack. And when it shows up at the >>> dealers, it tends to be cheaper than the Beaver Creek engines. |
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