This is the second POriginal BLW Cricket made since we closed the show in 2000, For Mr. Cameron Wilder in Sonoma, CA. The other was for Jack Verducci about 10-years ago. Any other Cricket Owners out there?
THE LAST CRICKET
Mr. Cricket
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This is the second POriginal BLW Cricket made since we closed the show in 2000, For Mr. Cameron Wilder in Sonoma, CA. The other was for Jack Verducci about 10-years ago. Any other Cricket Owners out there?
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Greetings, Herr Cricket,
I can recall when the "CRICKET" Locos were first marketed...... Was mightily tempted to get one then, now I wish I had done so! A famous little Lokey! Some steamer friends in the Denver Garden Railway Society owned a couple Cricket's, fun little LOKEY'S!..... then, Marc Horovitz and a couple of other members came up with a similar 'freelance' design as a 'group project', and successfully built & steamed them, as well. They had 'Oscilators' mounted atop the Boilers and Chain Drive to the Axles.... 😃 -- Ken
I can recall when the "CRICKET" Locos were first marketed...... Was mightily tempted to get one then, now I wish I had done so! A famous little Lokey! Some steamer friends in the Denver Garden Railway Society owned a couple Cricket's, fun little LOKEY'S!..... then, Marc Horovitz and a couple of other members came up with a similar 'freelance' design as a 'group project', and successfully built & steamed them, as well. They had 'Oscilators' mounted atop the Boilers and Chain Drive to the Axles.... 😃 -- Ken
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Hello Ken,
If you can recall when the first Cricket was marketed, you must be almost as old as I am. The first production model went to the late Jerry Reshew, the Mississippi Steam-Up impresario. That was in 1994, I believe. I had lots of fun making them but got tired of the repetitive processes of manufacturing, and after I saw a little brass live steam Porter on a table at the BIG TRAIN SHOW in '98 by a guy named Bing Chen, I read the handwriting on the wall. Packed it it in December 1999.
I remember Marc's over type oscillators. Thy were based on a small batch made by a guy in England. Forget his name. The were in turn based on some little over type locomotives by Stephen Lewin in the 1870-80s.
Happy Steaming!
Michael
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Oscar Wilde maintained that the only way to overcome temptation is to give in to it. On this occasion, however, I must refute Oscar. I have a few 'souvenir' locos left over from production. The loco you have for sale looks very clean. Nice paint job.The advantage of the Kirondakis engines is the opening smoke box door. Makes lighting up much easier. My engines were always tricky. Mike had some teething problems with the first few engines. O'Connor over hauled them, made 'em run.
Be well and good luck.
Michael O'Rourke
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130 Posts
Hi Michael,
Those mid 1990's years is when I was first getting very interested in transitioning from the "Riding Scales" into Gauge #1 Live-Steam..... so you are correct, I am a bit of an 'Old Fart', been a 'Live-Steamer' since 1958 (age 12). Joined the DGRS in @ 1998 or so, being captivated by the small Lokey's. I still have some early Roundhouse, BrandBright, showing other individual Builders, etc., and other Catalogs packed away somewhere..... and very nearly invested in a tiny Hemmen's 0-4-0T Porter(?). Never had space for my own Track at my Townhome in Arvada CO, and never had the opportunity to travel to any of the popular "Live-Steam" get-togethers back then, but I did enjoy my subscriptions to "Steam In The Garden" and "Garden Railways" Mags, and kept up-to-date with the activities.....
Then, it wasn't until late 1999 when I finally bought my "Azure Range Ry" #1 an 0-4-0T R-Hs "Katie", and soon after an Accu "Ruby". Marc and the other DGRS 'Steamers' were good friends, and I Steamed a lot at the DGRS Tracksite until @ 2002-03, when 'Retirement Plans' took priority. I moved to my 'Hermitage' in Delta CO in early 2005. There I eventually built my small, indoor "Azure Range Ry", inaugurated in early 2014. My "Katie" served @ 22 wonderful years until I wanted to "Americanize" her (at @ 77 Hours), and so transformed her into my "UNO". This Lokey is still steaming strong & happy as ever with over 101 'Logged Hours' on her! My "Ol' Rube" started having mechanical issues from @ 65-75 hours (and with no replacement parts available from Accu....), so I pushed the little Lokey until running it became intolerable at 100 Hours, and so then "Ol' Rube" was dismantled..... I kept the Boiler assembly for use as a 'Stationary Boiler & Power Source'. Accu Locos are 'pretty' and 'finely detailed', but no longer hold much of an interest for me, and I cannot be persuaded to invest in Accu live-steamers 😳 🤑 👎! I'll build my own from "Americanized" R-Hs Kit Modules, if I ever need or desire any more Lokeys! 🤔 😜 I am quite content with my Railway as it is.....
And so, Time & Steam still march onward!! Vaporis In Fraternitate!! -- Ken S.
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Hello Ken,
I think I read in your profile that you are an ex-hogger; D&RG and AMTRAK. Well I may have ridden behind you. I ran steward on 5 and 6 from 1974 to 1978.
You say you used to be in large scale live steam. Why the change? Large scale for me is the holy grail. At the moment I am laying down a 12" 'Decauville' type minimal gauge system in the garden. It's purpose is t move things around
ots, bags of soil etc. I could use a wheel barrow, but where the fun in that? A railway for the garden, rather than a garden railway. Though I would love to have a live steamer, it may be too late in the game,so I am planning an air motor driven lby a 2.5 x 3.5" vertical launch engine at 50 psi. It it doesn't work, I'll probably go to battery electric.You can't beat the boys and girls of Doncaster for top quality motive power. As you say, Bing's products are very pleasing to the eye, but if they can't go the distanced... You want something to leave to the grand-kids.
Vaporis in Fraternitate? Bibum ad ipsum! M
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I don't know how that smiley face go in there. Igt is supposed to say 'pots'. But, better a smile than a frown.Hello Ken,
I think I read in your profile that you are an ex-hogger; D&RG and AMTRAK. Well I may have ridden behind you. I ran steward on 5 and 6 from 1974 to 1978.
You say you used to be in large scale live steam. Why the change? Large scale for me is the holy grail. At the moment I am laying down a 12" 'Decauville' type minimal gauge system in the garden. It's purpose is t move things around
You can't beat the boys and girls of Doncaster for top quality motive power. As you say, Bing's products are very pleasing to the eye, but if they can't go the distanced... You want something to leave to the grand-kids.
Vaporis in Fraternitate? Bibum ad ipsum! M
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130 Posts
Hi "M",Hello Ken,
I think I read in your profile that you are an ex-hogger; D&RG and AMTRAK. Well I may have ridden behind you. I ran steward on 5 and 6 from 1974 to 1978.
You say you used to be in large scale live steam. Why the change? Large scale for me is the holy grail. At the moment I am laying down a 12" 'Decauville' type minimal gauge system in the garden. It's purpose is t move things around
You can't beat the boys and girls of Doncaster for top quality motive power. As you say, Bing's products are very pleasing to the eye, but if they can't go the distanced... You want something to leave to the grand-kids.
Vaporis in Fraternitate? Bibum ad ipsum! M
Yeah Man! Those were the good ol' days!..... Was a 'Hogger' on the ol' "Wry Grandy" (aka: "Dangerous & Rapidly Getting Worse" 😱😛) starting in '69, quit, started again in '74, loved it, but took a 'Buyout' when the D&RGW was changing to RG/SP & I didn't like the draconian new Mgmt changes; Hired onto Amtrak in '91 and stuck 'til 2004 & Retirement. So, unlikely I was hauling you around in '74 to '78....🤔😜. My Trips were all out of Denver, freight only routes on the Rio Grande, Passenger routes with Amtrak "C-Z" #5 & #6 as far as Grand Jct CO, also to Lincoln NE, & also "Pioneer" #25/#26 as far as Green River WY.....tho I had a very interesting temporary Amtrak stint out of Sacramento in 1994, with the "C-Z" over Donner Pass as far as Lovelock NV, and the "Coast Starlight" thru the incomparable N. California "Shasta" forest territory as far as Klamath Falls OR.
Since I tend to get very long-winded & overly chatty when I write stuff, as you can see..... and I do not want to clutter up this thread..... I will try to open a "Conversation" mode with you here on MLS and we can "Swap" some Tales, OK?
Hi Joel did you sell that Cricket??
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