The Norfolk and Western’s “Jawn Henry” steam turbine was the last of these experimental beasts, following in the footsteps of the likes of Union Pacific Steam Turbine #1 & 2, Coal Turbine #80, and the Chesapeake and Ohio’s M-1.

The Jawn was built by Baldwin-Westinghouse in 1954. It had a coal bunker in front of the cab, and a boiler behind the cab, feeding the steam turbine which turned a generator. All of this was housed in a “streamlined” body. A separate tender carried water, and was sometime supplemented with an auxiliary water tender.

Once it was running, the Jawn Henry was rated at 4500 h.p. and put out a massive 199,000 pounds of tractive effort.

The achilles heel of the Jawn Henry was its feed-water pump, which had to be operated at over-spec speeds and ran to failure. This caused a lot of downtime. Although the fuel cost per mile was lower than a traditional steam locomotive, the Jawn’s high cost and poor reliability relegated it to helper service on the N&W lines. The locomotive was scrapped in 1957.

Division Point is a fine producer of hand-built brass models, and pictured here is their 2012 release of the Jawn Henry in HO scale. It is factory painted and pictured with the included tender, and optional auxiliary tender. 

The model is huge, measuring 15″ (38cm) long, not including the tenders. Detail is exquisite as one might expect.

Here are some detail shots of the tenders.

Of course I had to install a DCC decoder! Upon removing the upper body shell, I found this unusual wiring harness which initially appeared to be a standard NRMA decoder socket. But it wasn’t, and merely served to route power to the lights and motors. I installed a QSI Titan decoder with a custom steam turbine sound file from Tony’s Train Exchange. I used pins soldered to the decoder leads so that I could use the existing wiring harness. The lights that were factory installed were incandescent. I replaced them all with golden-white LED’s which are much brighter and more realistic. I won’t go into a lot of detail on how that was done here. For more information on installing DCC and LED lighting in a brass loco,  check out my Overland Models Gas Turbine and Coal Turbine DCC conversions.

The Jawn wouldn’t be complete without a matching caboose. As luck would have it, I tracked down a Division Point brass caboose, factory painted. Just needed to get some N&W decals which proved to be an easy task.

Here’s a video of the Jawn Henry in helper service over at my club’s layout. Taking the lead is a Broadway Limited Y6B:

[wordbay]ho turbine[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2014-05-01 17:01:45.

The post Division Point Jawn Henry Steam Turbine first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

I’ve been after a Cineroc on and off for many, many years. I finally managed to acquire one through a private sale and was very pleased.

The Cineroc was produced from about 1970 – 1975. Rumor has it that production stopped when the tiny motor that drove the camera’s mechanisms was no longer available from the supplier. Due to their short production run, Cinerocs are very collectable amongst rocketry enthusiasts, and perhaps cinematographers as well.

Upon initial inspection of the parts, its relatively unimpressive, but that’s what makes it so impressive. The Cineroc is a marvel in simplicity. Its light, compact and sturdy, with few moving parts for dependability. The Cineroc carried about 20 seconds of super 8mm movie film in a special cartridge. The lens of the camera peers out a hole in the side of the nose cone payload section, and the mirror angles the view 90 degrees downward. The view as seen on the film is the ground pulling away as the rocket ascends. The second picture shows a close-up of the camera motor and shutter wheel. The motor is geared to the shutter wheel and you can see the shutter aperture in the wheel. The camera’s frame rate was about 30 frames-per-second which provided a slow motion effect when played normally at 18 frames per second. 20 seconds of film was enough to capture all of the ascent stage to parachute deployment and a few seconds after that.

The inside of the box has a special cardboard container to hold the main parts of the camera and cone securely and separate from each other. Additional box contents include the parachute, shock cord, package of super 8mm movie film in a special cartridge and drive pulley.

Further views of the Cineroc from left to right are the (1) batteries, film cartridge and packaging, (2) camera, film cartridge and drive pulley, and (3) a close-up of the film cartridge showing the exposed strip of film. The film and batteries have long since expired, but they are so rare, even beyond the rareness of the camera itself, that even in their expired state, they are very valuable and essential to completing the overall package. The film cartridge is only held together with Scotch tape, so if I ever decide to fly the Cineroc, I could load it with fresh film quite easily.

The cover of the operating manual has some frames of actual movie footage from the Cineroc on the cover. The angle of view is clear; looking straight down to the ground as the ground dropped away during flight.

Above are a few shots from the user manual. Second picture from the left shows a parts breakdown with identification. Launch tips are in the next two.

The second Cineroc came with the full assortment of supplemental literature, decals and some crazy wire used to test the camera’s operation. Note the second picture from the left has a sticker with a return address and a reward offer. You would stick it on the camera just in case the camera drifted away during a launch and got lost. Whoever might find it could be enticed into returning the camera to the owner in order to collect the reward.

The “battery tester” wire was used to ensure that the batteries had sufficient power to operate during flight. These were not high-capacity batteries. You could get 1-2 flights on a fresh set and then they would have to be replaced, which is why they were included in each film pack. Because they had a short shelf life, you were encouraged to test the batteries before flight with the testing kit provided.

This is a collection of factory photos. They came with the purchase of the first Cineroc and are each 8 x 10 glossies. The recommended launch vehicle for the Cineroc was the Estes Omega two-stage D powered rocket above. The whole outfit was an attractive package in my opinion. I have managed to obtain an unassembled Omega from the seller of the camera, but I’m going to practice making a copy of the Omega from parts first before I assemble the real thing.

From the left, the first picture is my attempt to make an Estes Omega clone as pictured above. I have a set of replica decals from Excelsior Rocketry but I had to make my own “Cineroc” decals. The second picture shows the Cineroc decal applied to the camera housing. Also in the picture is the blue and black Cineroc/Omega decal for the rocket body.

The Omega clone now decked out in white primer. Its flanked by the Camroc and latest generation of the Astrocam. The Camroc is sitting on a clone of the Astron Delta two stage carrier. The Camroc could also be lofted by the Camroc Carrier rocket, a single stage rocket produced by Estes.

This is a very rare roll of 8mm footage that was actually produced by Estes. The movie is a promotional piece showing prepping and launching of a Cineroc. Several flight sequences from the camera are included. Some of the sequences are in slow motion; there’s a clip from a three-stage rocket. Another clip appears to be from a Cineroc shooting out the side and catching its own booster on parachute. I consider this a very lucky find.

Here is the entire Estes movie. I converted it to video using my own video camera so the results aren’t great. There is some flickering and the colors are off. Eventually, I will have it done professionally and have them apply color correction if possible. (24mb Windows Media format)

Check out this Cineroc movie (courtesy Mike Jerauld). Mike had a very cool story on his website about getting a Cineroc from a friend’s attic, taking it to a big rocket launch in 2000, meeting Vern Estes there, and actually having Vern launch the Cineroc! I can’t find his website any more, but it was a great story. Hope he doesn’t mind me posting his video here.

Update 7/13/2008: Thanks to Bohus over at retrothing.com, the Estes Cineroc promo video has been properly digitized on professional film transfer equipment. Once I received the digitized original, I used Adobe Premiere CS4 to do some color and contrast correction. It’s not perfect, but considering the color-shifted and faded original, I think it’s an improvement. Check out these before and after screen grabs.

Example 1: Before

Example 1: After

Example 2: Before

Example 2: After

So here’s the entire video now posted on YouTube:

[wordbay]estes cineroc[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2014-06-12 19:41:22.

The post Estes Cineroc (1970) first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

OK, next to the Overland Models UP Coal Turbine #80, the UP Turbine #1 and #2 were my second of two “holy grails” of model train collecting.

The Union Pacific railroad was never afraid to try anything new. Wanting to try an alternative to conventional steam power, UP worked with General Electric and began building two experimental oil-fired steam turbine locomotives in 1936. Simply named #1 and #2, UP took delivery of the locomotives in April, 1939. Oil was fired to heat the water from a 50 gallon tank into steam. The steam turned a turbine which turned a generator to power electric traction motors. The steam was then collected and condensed back into water through condenser units in the rear. Slats in the rear side panels opened and closed automatically depending on outside air temperature and density to regulate the airflow through the condensers. These steam turbines were the first of their kind in North America. They each produced 2400hp and were often run together as a pair. Because of the need for unrestricted, smooth airflow into the condenser units, the locomotives had to be run nose-to-tail, instead of the more common tail-to-tail.

Sadly, the locomotives proved unreliable in service and were returned to GE in June, 1939 after only two months in operation. #1 and #2 were the only steam powered locomotive GE ever built.

Word War II put tremendous strain on the railroad system in the US, and UP Turbine #1 and #2 were briefly brought out of retirement. They were painted dark gray and renamed to GE 1 and 2. During 1943, they were leased to the Great Northern Railway for nearly a year for wartime short-haul freight service in Washington, performing without major failure. By late 1943, they were returned to GE and retired and later scrapped.

If one wants to run the Overland Models #1 paired with a #2 as the prototypes did, one has to first find a #1, which is really hard. Even harder is finding a #2. Less of the #2’s were made (53 vs 72) and their current owners are not looking to part with them anytime soon. I know because I’ve been looking for one for what seems like forever. I finally found one online after many many searches. BrassTrains.com had just listed one when I happened to check the site quite by chance. It’s pictured above and is in excellent shape.

Funny thing about the number #2, BrassTrains also had a #1 listed. I already had the #1, but in my haste to secure the #2, I accidentally bought the #1. I recognized my error quickly, but the purchase had already been committed. So, I went right back in and bought the #2. I now have two #1’s so one will be sold, probably through ebay.

The two look awesome together. As mentioned previously, the prototypes ran like you see them here – nose to tail, or “elephant style” as it’s often referred.

So, it’s time to get these things all DCC’d up!

Installing DCC is fairly easy. Lighting was a bit more of a challenge. The models come equipped with factory lighting, but it consists of small incandescent bulbs which are not very bright and tend to burn out. I prefer to replace this type of lighting with LEDs of a ‘golden white’ color (a color which resembles the color of incandescent bulbs, but brighter). I’ve covered installing DCC and LED lighting in greater detail in two other posts – OMI ‘Big Blow’ turbine and OMI Coal Turbine #80 – but I would like to talk about one of the unique challenges with this model.

The UP #1 and #2 have lighted ‘winged’ UP badges on either side and just forward of the cab. They are translucent in the lighter areas of the badge itself so light can shine through. From the factory, they are lit from behind by three incandescent bulbs and as I stated before, they are very dim. They also do not light the badge evenly. The solution to this problem came from a crafty internet search (I’m really good at crafting search phrases to find what I want) that led me to a product called ‘side glow’ optical fiber.

I’ve used optical fiber a lot for various lighting effects in my DCC conversions, so I’m familiar with its properties. Side glow optical fiber differs from regular optical fiber in that it not only glows on the ends, it also glows along its length.  It’s not perfect – the glow fades as the distance from the light source increases, but for the short length that I would need behind each badge, it worked perfectly.

Here is a short length of side glow fiber under illumination from an LED that I glued onto the end. Note the glow along the entire length. The second photo shows emblem removed and the fiber sitting in a alcove previously occupied by the incandescent bulbs.

And here the emblem has been reinstalled and the lighting turned on. Notice the nice even illumination.

And here’s #1 and #2 with all lighting installed. The top light is a surface-mount LED (smd), the headlight a small LED bulb, and the two marker lights are (regular) optical fiber strands illuminated from the other end by LEDs. And of course, the ‘side glow’ illuminated badges.

Overall I love the effect.

And of course, the pair in all of their DCC glory.

The Overland Models #1 & #2 are very hard to find and pretty pricey. Alco Models made a really nice version of the #1, probably back in the 1970’s, but it’s actually a very nice model. It’s pictured here behind the OMI version. It’s a bit different in terms of detail and paint, but the detail is very nice to be sure and it runs super-smooth. I was quite surprised when I put it on the track and it just glided silently down the track. This is an old model, so to see it run so smoothly right out of the box is a testament to the quality.

The paint tones are slightly different between the OMI and Alco models, with the OMI brown having a more reddish hue to it, and the yellow being more saturated. But the detail on the Alco is really nice. Just like the OMI model, the condenser vanes are moveable and are linked together so they all move at once. The panels around the side windows are silver and I’m not sure which is really correct, or if they’re both correct and reflect different time periods. I was originally planning to make this a #2, but with the acquisition of the OMI #2, this Alco model will also be sold.

And finally, some video of this unique pair on the club layout:

[wordbay] overland models ho[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-10-12 20:19:47.

The post Overland Models UP Steam Turbine Number 1 & 2 first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

The Datsun was more of an entry level Racing Master vehicle. In an effort to reduce cost for the first time buyer, the Datsun did not come with some of the more advanced features of the Can-Am Lola, such as the Tamiy “Black” motor, differential, ball bearings, or “high-efficiency” microswitch mechanical speed controller.

Chassis schematic.

Box contents. Notice the plain vanilla silver can 540 motor. The Lola came with the high performance “Black” motor.

Miscellaneous items of interest. From left to right: Manual, decals and catalog, fiberglass chassis.

This is a new-built Datsun 280ZX. This one was upgraded with ball bearings and the metal differential. The body is used, but in OK shape. A spare has been purchased for restoration.

Vintage Tamiya Datsun promotional video here.

[wordbay]tamiya datsun[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-05-21 12:53:05.

The post Tamiya Datsun 280ZX RM Mk.2 (1980) first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

What would prompt a railroad to take two perfectly good 2-10-2 locomotives and turn them into this?

That’s just what the Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway did in 1911. This class of ten 2-10-10-2 locomotives were actually rebuilt from more conventional Baldwin-built 2-10-2’s. The super-long boiler that resulted from the joining the two locomotives was actually only a boiler in the rear half, while the front boiler was converted into a primitive firetube superheater to further heat the steam before use. Two large outside pipes, visible on the top of the locomotive near the center, carried the steam from the boiler to the superheater. It also contained a “reheater” to heat the exhaust steam from the high-pressure rear cylinders before it was fed to the front low-pressure cylinders.

Beyond their unusual construction, and immense size, the 2-10-10-2s had a unique “turtleback” tender that would have looked at home behind steam streamliners yet to come. Alas, the experiment proved unsuccessful. The undersize boiler couldn’t generate enough steam to propel the locomotive to acceptable speeds in the role of  head-ehd power. As a result, the 2-10-10-2s were relegated to helper service and subsequently rebuilt to 2-10-2s during 1915–1918.

This Westside Models HO brass version of this loco captures a terrific amount of detail in this model. Both sets of drivers are powered with the only complaint being that they’re powered by an open-frame electric motor. An upgrade to a new can motor is likely.

This is a long model at about 16 3/4 inches including tender.

[wordbay]westside models brass[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-06-20 14:25:20.

The post Westside Models AT&SF 2-10-10-2 first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

The Ranger was also the last vehicle Tamiya made to utilize this chassis in the original form (the Super Champ continued with most of the original chassis, but a newly designed rear suspension). Front and rear tires on the Ranger are the same as the rear tires on the Rough Rider.

The inside of the box reveals the typical SRB components. Metal of course.

Box artwork showing the innards.

Manual, bumpers, radio box, decals, manual and wheels.

These are two Rangers that I picked up. The one on the right is very used and needs a lot of TLC to bring it back to its former glory, so it gets thrown into the restoration queue.ÔøΩ

Vintage Tamiya Ranger Video (and others) here.

[wordbay]tamiya ranger[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-09-09 18:59:12.

The post Tamiya Ford F150 Ranger XLT (1981) first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

I tracked down the various pieces for the 2007 run, but fortunately for those of you interested in this set, Walthers is reissuing all the pieces of the Empire Builder set in 2013-2014. Improvements have been made since the 2007 run, like passenger cars that have factory-installed grab irons (standard stuff these days) as well as factory installed lighting and window tinting. The set you see in this post is from the 2007 run, where the cars do not have the grab irons installed, nor lighting, nor window tinting.

The full A-B-B-A consist of EMD F3’s with DCC/Sound is a handsome quartet! These too, are being reissued with factory installed Tsunami DCC/Sound, or straight DC.

Detail is fantastic.

Watch out for details on top of these A and B units. The A unit has an antenna over the cab that sticks straight up, and is very easy to bend. It’s molded in plastic, so it’s very fragile. The B unit also has some fragile protrusions, but not quite as bad as the A unit.

The passenger cars are beautiful. As stated previously, the 2007 run does not have the grab irons installed, and there are a lot of them. So expect a fair amount of assembly time to get them all installed on the earlier models. And of course if you want lighting, Walthers also makes lighting kits, but you’ll need to install them.

I picked up this metal placard off of ebay. It’s a promo piece for the empire builder that should look nice hung on the wall in the layout room.

This black and white publicity photo shows the Empire Builder in a valley in the Rocky Mountains.

Here’s some video of the Empire Builder on my club’s layout. The Budd “Great Dome” car is missing from the consist. Although I do have the car, the 3-axle trucks were having difficulty getting through some of the layout’s switches, so they’ll need some work.

[wordbay]walthers empire builder[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-08-31 18:33:33.

The post Walthers Proto 2000 Great Northern Empire Builder first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

The box cover sports the usual top-notch artwork as well as a few mechanical detail illustrations.

More illustrations on the box sides detail the chassis, suspension and drive components.

Truly a lazy person’s RC kit, the JR-12 comes comes with a fully painted and detailed polycarbonate body.  All you need is the battery, speed controller and radio.  OK, that’s a lot, but I think painting a bodies is a pain.

This model has been discontinued in 2008, but these models can still be purchased from some hobby stores and ebay.

[wordbay]tamiya jaguar x[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-05-09 12:28:45.

The post Tamiya Jaguar X JR-12 (1991, 2005) first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

Tamiya’s model doesn’t have a V10, but it does have a mid-ship mounted 540 motor and shaft-driven four-wheel drive. Not sure why they chose to make the model 4WD when the real one wasn’t.

Box artwork highlights the sophisticated F201 chassis with cantilever shock system at each wheel; very much like a real F1 suspension.

More box photographs highlight the chassis layout and suspension components.

Inside the box is nothing special. Clear polycarbonate body, nice set of tires. I’m guessing Tamiya’s F1 cars just aren’t/don’t generate a lot of excitement.

Manual and decals. Decals take care of some of the difficult painting chores associated with a polycarbonate body. Notice the printed “shadows” on the radiator intake decals.

[wordbay]tamiya ferrari f2001[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-03-22 09:38:40.

The post Tamiya Ferrari F2001 (2001) first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.

In 2006, Tamiya issued a modern day version of the 934. The new version shares little in common with the original beyond the name. The most obvious change is that the hard plastic body has been replaced by a polycarbonate version. A peek inside the box will quickly illustrate Tamiya’s plastic model heritage. The body is a very detailed scale version of the 934 and is made from hard styrene plastic. Styrene was the material of choice for car bodies for Tamiya for several years to come until polycarbonate became more popular. There are separate castings for headlight lenses, signal lenses, windscreens, and many other detail parts.

Once the shrink wrap is removed, the inner contents reveals a nice mix of old and new. The colors on the inserts are similar to the original, especially the insert holding the body. There are some nice anodized aluminum parts. Vacu-formed blisters holding the parts are a nice retro touch.

Engineering schematic box art (a Tamiya staple) shows the chassis layout of the new 934. Not at all like the original, but that’s to be expected, of course. It’s interesting that this kit does not come with a motor. I guess Tamiya figured as a collector’s piece, few will be driven, so why include a motor?

[wordbay]tamiya 934 30th[/wordbay]

Originally posted 2015-01-09 05:29:09.

The post Tamiya 934 30th Anniversary (2006) first appeared on RC/GrabBag.com.