SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

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ERIE S-1 BERKSHIRES
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by ERIE S-1 BERKSHIRES »

About 5 years ago there was a Yahoo group Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge and they had Adobe drawings of sp1 on there, I haven't been able to find the group anymore so we'll see if I find it I'll post a drawings or a link!
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senorgilamonster
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by senorgilamonster »

Wow. That would be great.

In the mean time...a first test of my attempt at scaling the cab side dimensions from a photo overlayed against a portion of a different photo:
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scale test 1.png
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rkcarguy
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by rkcarguy »

drawing-s-12-hlb.jpg
I tried to find a print on that, didn't have any luck. I know I was able to find this online for the S12 after some rooting around in google with "image search".
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senorgilamonster
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by senorgilamonster »

Can someone tell me what the humpie doohickey box is in front of the engineer? I need a better name.

I also bent my first piece of metal today (ever). I want my loco to have the radius curves at the cab edges like the prototype. I think it looks more graceful than an edge bent with a brake or welded corner (IMHO). But I had no idea of how I would do that...so this was a test bend. Not a lot of extra care put into it. All thing being equal I think that I can live with the results. 16 ga,
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sp_narrow_g89a_test.jpg
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get bent.jpg
ERIE S-1 BERKSHIRES
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by ERIE S-1 BERKSHIRES »

I believe that is a battery box
DRS_RR
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by DRS_RR »

senorgilamonster log in and check your messages, I sent you some stuff
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senorgilamonster
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by senorgilamonster »

you are the best. Thanks
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by 0351 »

54F10360-F171-46A5-B9FD-766629E71AEC-334-000000CCFF863753.jpeg
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
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Harlock
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by Harlock »

The Little Giant is a fun prototype that very few people have built.

One of those people is Harry A. Pulaski, who built a 1/4 scale copy in 9" gauge for his future Mesa Grande Western Railroad.

The unique thing about this build is that the model locomotive is roughly the same age as the real one - it was built in 1956 shortly after the real X-1 made its debut on the SP Narrow Gauge in the Eastern Sierras.

This locomotive is actually the oldest piece of equipment in our fleet as it is the first thing he ever built. At 60+ years old it has nearly outlived two motors. The locomotive was initially built as a true diesel electric, using a surplus Lawrence aircraft diesel APU out of a WWII bomber. These engines were available as war surplus from the Airborn Sales Co. in Culver City at about the time when Harry built the loco. Attached is an ad from Popular mechanics that details this power unit. The electric motors that Harry used with this powerplant are unknown.

By the 1980s, parts for the Lawrence became impossible to get, and a one-cylinder Tecumseh gasoline engine was retrofitted along with a hydraulic drive system. Ironically, Tecumseh closed its engine manufacturing division in 2008. Certified Parts Corporation owns the rights and remaining inventory for Tecumseh's engine division. Hopefully we will be able to get spares for some time to come as there are a lot of these out there. For now it runs well and I recently upgraded the airbrake compressor to something a bit more modern and reliable. The engine features a full sized independent locomotive brake stand, which is fun to use while operating the engine.

Harry did not super-detail the sides of the cowling on his engine; there is a lot of opportunity to do so if you wanted to make an interesting model. With laser cutting technology being widely available and cheap these days, it would not be difficult to make sides with the doors and louvers per prototype. Ken Schroeder has done so on his battery powered diesel creations as of late.

The 1/4 scale model is large enough to sit inside of, much like the cape gauge diesel engines popular with Australian model engineers. They sometimes bring them to the triennial, shipping them over from Aussie and re-gauging them from 7 1/4 for the event. With 9" gauge you can go a little bigger, and this one is fairly roomy.
Attachments
A copy of the ad advertising the Lawrence aircraft APU
A copy of the ad advertising the Lawrence aircraft APU
An early photo of the X-1 in the late 1960s, clearly showing the adjustable seat which also slides the back of the engine in and out.
An early photo of the X-1 in the late 1960s, clearly showing the adjustable seat which also slides the back of the engine in and out.
A contemporary photo of the X-1 on Wig Wag Trestle at the Mesa Grande Western.
A contemporary photo of the X-1 on Wig Wag Trestle at the Mesa Grande Western.
A photo with the cowling off showing the Tecumseh engine.
A photo with the cowling off showing the Tecumseh engine.
Myself in the engine during a work day.
Myself in the engine during a work day.
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Harlock
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by Harlock »

here's a few more pictures of the X-1.
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16-03-21_MGW-2679.jpg
16-03-21_MGW-2674.jpg
16-03-21_MGW-2665.jpg
16-03-21_MGW-2689.jpg
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Harlock
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by Harlock »

Here is a good prototype photo from a collection I have been scanning.
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15-05-03_duke_SPNG_little-giant-7917-watermarked.jpg
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Harlock
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Re: SP NG Diesel #1 (GE 50T) - Triennial or Bust

Post by Harlock »

I don't have too many pictures of this one, but another reference is the RMI version that was initially designed and built for Ron Schmidt. Multiple copies were built, Karl Hovanitz at the Bitter Creek Western has one as well.

This is Ron's at the now defunct Flintridge & Portola Valley Railroad, shunting Bill Boller's bumblebee. The X-1 is radio controlled and driven by a Kubota tractor motor. It is fun to control it like an HO DCC model while making up trains in the yard.

You can see the size difference between the 3" scale Mesa Grande version and this 2 1/2" scale version. This one is quite more manageable for transport.

More information: https://www.rmirailworks.com/X1.asp


-M
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10-11-06_FPV_MM-run-0210.jpg
10-11-06_FPV_MM-run-0212.jpg
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