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gunslinger87 — The General WIP 1
Published: 2014-07-17 19:41:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 474; Favourites: 13; Downloads: 0
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So with my busy schedule lately I managed to find some time to do some small scale fiddling. I've only just realized just how many Mantua 4-4-0s I have! (4 total, I think...) And since I've made so much progress on the sister W&W locomotive "Texas", I thought I'd select one to bash the General. Actually this isn't anything new, I started working on parts for the General using the Texas as a base so some of the work would be done already. Such as the steam dome.Anyway, here is the first WIP photo of my HO model of the General! It's still in the early stages and I borrowed the tender from the Texas since I have yet to fully remove the paint off of the General's tender.
One thing that I realized is that I was hoping to keep the factory location of the sand dome and just place the second steam dome in front of it. Though when the bell is in place I think it's safe to say that things look a little... crowed. So unfortunately I'll have to file off the sand dome base and acquire a new sand dome. I'm thinking about getting the same sand dome as I used for the Texas, cut off the base and used the factory sand dome shown here. It's the proper size, where as if I were to use the the same dome as on the Texas, it would be too large.
Anyway, still a long way to go. I still need to file off of the lip from the stack and find a top like with what I did with the Texas. Hope you guys like it so far! Comments are strongly encouraged!
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Comments: 10
Nice job! The problem is in the original Mantua model. They made the firebox oversized to get more weight on the drivers. I've wondered about this for some time and concluded that I'll have to file the casting down to the proper shape, reducing the height of the firebox under the dome and cutting back the sloping course while retaining the same angle. That will leave enough room for the bell, forward steam dome and the sandbox to be located in their correct locations. Some modification or replacement of the cab will probably be necessary, because it may look too high. How much easier if they had designed the model after the original General instead of the rebuilt version.
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Sorry for having not responded sooner, some RL complications and just plain forgetting...
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but there's a group on Yahoo that is solely focused on modeling Civil War railroads in HO. (Or any scale really, HO is just the most popular) From what I've read and gathered from there, there isn't really all that much 'wrong' with the current wagon top profile. I do see where you're coming from, but also the need for an in-cab weight wouldn't have been needed. I've elected to leave the weights out of my Mantua 4-4-0s anyway to I can detail the cab interiors. Not like the prototypes would haul much anyway by today's standards.
However, the boiler on the rebuilt General is exactly the same as the General's original, as-built boiler. The only difference is the lack of a second steam dome. As for the sand dome, just file off the original mounting that is cast onto it and replace it with a brass casting of the UP 119 sand dome. The design is exactly the same as the Civil War General's sand dome. And it's what I've used for my model of the Texas. (Check out the photos of it if you haven't already) This way you can move the sand dome back to the very edge of the flare from the wagon top part of the boiler and will create enough room for both a second steam dome and bell in front of said steam dome. I've got some progress photos of the "Dutchess" I'll be posting soon. It's a freelance Dutch Wagon style 4-4-0 with internal cylinders. (left to the imagination at present) I drilled a new hole to mount a bell on the tapered part of the boiler/wagon top as there wasn't enough room behind the steam dome and wouldn't have looked very good placing it on the sand box. This way it looks more balanced.
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This looks like the General alright! When it and Texas are done, can you re enact a scene from the silent film?
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As long as it doesn't involve a locomotive falling into a river via a collapsing bridge, I think I could work something out.
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I am digging the second dome. Keep up the nice work.
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So do I! Out of the three engines used in the chase I have to say my favorite is the General. And not because she was in the spotlight, but I think she is just a fabulously attractive locomotive!
The only sad part is I have to file off the cast on sand dome base. As it is, the sand dome, steam dome, and bell are just too closely spaced together. So I'm going to have to figure out what to about it.
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