ASTER 232 U1 QUESTIONS / HELP
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Robert,
I rectified my earlier mistake and reacquired a U1…I sent you a message since the instruction manual I received was in French… if you could find time to copy at a professional copier, I would reimburse you accordingly. This one was built not by me but by the finer Italian builder—Luciano Pinchiroli—and has one of his well-known steam turbines installed. Magnifico, Luciano!
I need to wait to run so I make some adjustments to my CiWL coaches to lower the probability of a heart attack while running this consist!
Thanks!
Sam
I rectified my earlier mistake and reacquired a U1…I sent you a message since the instruction manual I received was in French… if you could find time to copy at a professional copier, I would reimburse you accordingly. This one was built not by me but by the finer Italian builder—Luciano Pinchiroli—and has one of his well-known steam turbines installed. Magnifico, Luciano!
I need to wait to run so I make some adjustments to my CiWL coaches to lower the probability of a heart attack while running this consist!
Thanks!
Sam
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Ready to get carried to the track..Happy 2023 to all!
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Sam,
I didnt see your message. L
Let me dig them out - just to clarify, it is the build instructions you want, not the drawings. If the former, I can scan at home and send you a PDF if you let me have your email address.
I have modified all my CIWL coaches to Kadee couplers. I did run the 232 a couple of weekends ago and it went well although I was too focussed on the train to find time to video.
Robert
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robert,
the instructions are what i need. thanks!
sam
the instructions are what i need. thanks!
sam
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Sam, I have scanned the document - it is 12MB. Can you let me have your email address so I can send to you.
Robert
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Robert,
You can send the pdf to sdimaggio at ameritech dot net.
Thanks,
Sam
You can send the pdf to sdimaggio at ameritech dot net.
Thanks,
Sam
Another question for those in the know - I've been trying to find some of the provenance of my U1 and looking at the two most authoritive Aster locomotive rosters - namely Jim's (RIP) Southern Steamtrains site - and the one in Fred's excellent 'Unauthorised History of Aster' book - the number listed for the 1991 production run both show 370 units.
However the name plate on my loco shows the production run as being only 190 units. The prominent name on the plate is Fulgarex although Aster's name also appears in smaller form - so I'm wondering if my loco is from a separate production run specifically for Fulgarex.
However the name plate on my loco shows the production run as being only 190 units. The prominent name on the plate is Fulgarex although Aster's name also appears in smaller form - so I'm wondering if my loco is from a separate production run specifically for Fulgarex.
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John,
i think the engine was commissioned by Fulgerex. There was an electric version of the engine but 370 I believe is the correct production number for the U1…so perhaps 180 electric engines and 190 live steam but just a guess based on the the total.
Sam
i think the engine was commissioned by Fulgerex. There was an electric version of the engine but 370 I believe is the correct production number for the U1…so perhaps 180 electric engines and 190 live steam but just a guess based on the the total.
Sam
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Thanks but I haven’t seen it—you might need to compress the file since it’s 12mb or send via dropbox.
sam
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It might be difficult to find out the real production numbers. A guide on Fulgurex and other Swiss makers/importers mentions 250 live steam and 50 electric SNCF 232 U1's. I assume 190 steam and 50 electric versions were made for Fulgurex and a further 130 U1 locomotives, most of these live steam, not commisioned by or sold via Fulgurex (for USA/UK/Japan).
Regards
Fred
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My apologies to the Count.
Robert--thanks and now printed.
Sam
Robert--thanks and now printed.
Sam
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The U1 model was definitly a Fulgurex model and I doubt that it was marketed by anybody else, although firms like Gauge 1 America at the time might have gotten a batch to distribute it in the US. I knew John Van Riemsdijk very well, He was a very close friend of Antonio Giansanti, They both had a comune love of the French school of compound engines (which is how I became friends with him) which probably explains the choice of the De Caso hudson, as well as it having survived at the SNCF museum at Mulhouse. Another factor was the fact that this very popular engine in France had been marketed a few years earlier by Fulgurex in O scale with great success. This model's prototype had been built by Alain Baldit , who was long time curator of the Rambolitrain toy train museum and also friend of the count. This model was very refined as Baldit had really gotten the proportions of this very elegant streamliner just right. The thermodynamics of the engine benefitted from the great knowledge about compounds of JVR, the extraordinary capacity of the builder Aster, who had already designed a coal fired boiler for the japanese hudson and Baldits fine representation of that unique engine... (Although it should have been the prototype for a unified series of hudson for the SNCFwhich is why it was named U. A project which never came to light because of the french governement's order to the SNCF's direction which fell in 1949 to stop any research and production of new coal fired loocomotive, because oil had become so cheap at the time.) Like with most oriental fabrications it is possible that a few unnumbered examples have been produced beyond the original series or official reruns. Apparently Fulgurex had a hard time selling the batch as quite a few were sold at bargain prices at the time, including my own kit. Thanks to what, I got one!
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Hi Fred - many thanks for your reply. Yes, my loco's number plate looks just like the one in your picture - even down to the curious silver mark immediately after the '190' - which in my case appears to be an attempt to obscure the stamped letter 'K' - and I'm told that it may indicate that the loco was built from a kit.
I'm still alive!
I've had two U1s, but only one at a time.
There's a story that goes with how I came to own two, but I'm never telling the tale.
Here's a shot of the inside of the smoke box on the first one, no S/N plate:
![Automotive tire Fluid Gas Automotive exterior Automotive wheel system]()
I've always assumed this one was coal-fired.
I did manage to clean it up for the next owner:
![Motor vehicle Light Hood Automotive tire Automotive lighting]()
Here's a bit of a curiosity . . .
U1 # 2:
Notice the S/N of mine 023/175
Whereas the example above shows 190?
Perhaps the planned run was 175 and somewhere along the way, 15 additional models were added?
![Light Motor vehicle Auto part Engineering Machine]()
Note the coin battery on the right for my lighting project:
![Wheel Automotive lighting Mode of transport Vehicle Automotive tire]()
![Train Wheel Vehicle Rolling stock Bookcase]()
~ Joe
I've had two U1s, but only one at a time.
There's a story that goes with how I came to own two, but I'm never telling the tale.
Here's a shot of the inside of the smoke box on the first one, no S/N plate:
I've always assumed this one was coal-fired.
I did manage to clean it up for the next owner:
Here's a bit of a curiosity . . .
U1 # 2:
Notice the S/N of mine 023/175
Whereas the example above shows 190?
Perhaps the planned run was 175 and somewhere along the way, 15 additional models were added?
Note the coin battery on the right for my lighting project:
~ Joe
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