[HMeinhold]

Hi,
the south Pacific Coast and later Southern Pacific obviously ran their 4-4-0's in reverse on commuter trains in the East Bay. This is why the Accucraft SPC 3 has a backup light. Now my question: How did they couple when running backwards? Did they just use a long bar with a modified knuckle coupler or was a coupler with a long shank attached to the pilot? Also it looks to me as if the tender was equipped with a pilot. A remember having seen a fuzzy photo of #3 with a such pilot attached to the tender. Are there better pictures which give enough information for a model?
Regards

 

[Alan in Adirondacks]

Henner,

Bruce MacGregor wrote several books on the SPC and they are a great source of information. SPC ran commuters from Alameda down to San Leandro and back, running the engine around the cars rather than turning.

Here is a picture from one of his books taken looking west across the mud flats with an outbound 4-4-0. Note the link and pin couplers and pilots on both ends:

SPC ran link and pin until it was standard-gauged in 1906. Here is another picture from a MacGregor book, this one of caboose #47 on the last 1906 cleanup train being pushed south through Agnew station, with its link and pin draft gear intact.

I hope this helps. I'm a great SPC fan, but am now far removed from the Bay Area!


Best regards,

Alan

 

[HMeinhold]

Alan,
thanks for the reply. With link and pin couplers there should be no problem. You also confirmed the tender pilot. Now I have to find out how they attached it...
Regards

 

[Larry Green]

Alan, you just provided another piece of information--four passenger cars is a reasonable load for a narrow-gauge 4-4-0 on level track (was that route fairly level?)
Mine handles four AMS J&S cars easily, but I am installing BB's in the trucks anyway, to reduce the strain on the engine's running gear.

Larry

 

[Steve Shyvers]

Larry,

That route was dead level for all practical purposes until it got to Agnew. From there it had to start climbing gently to get to Los Gatos. Then it was up into the Santa Cruz mountains. From Alameda to Agnew the track skirted San Francisco Bay, and from the photo you can see how close to the Bay it was a lot of the time.

Steve

 

[Dwight Ennis]

Posted By Larry Green on 11/03/2008 1:46 PM
(was that route fairly level?)

The SPC had a ruling grade of 1.6% (or was it 1.8%) for their entire line... unusual for narrow gauge lines of the time.

 

[HMeinhold]

Hi,
Yesterday I got an E-mail from Cliff: Green pilots for the 4-4-0 are in stock. As Accucraft is just down the road from my house, I picked one up. Attaching it is actually pretty simple. You just need an adapter plate (Drawings upon request). No new holes have to be drilled and the conversion can easily be reversed. Here is how it looks:

Now my SPC3 is ready for commuter service (and I beat Dwight!!!!!)
Regards

 

[Dwight Ennis]

Looks GOOD Henner!! I'd be interested on how you made the adaptor plate - I like that your method is reversible (and you beat me to mounting it, but I got mine first).

 

[HMeinhold]

Hi Dwight,
the plate is 10mmx2mm (my remaining metric stock...), but 1/2" by at least 1/16" thick should do. The plate must not be too thin, otherwise the brake hangers of the rear truck foul the pilot. With 2mm you can just manage R3 curves. I used the former coupler mounting holes for 4 countersunk M2 screws and cut M1.6 threads into the plate to attach the pilot. See:

If you need the 1.6mm tap, swing by...
Regards

 

[Alan in Adirondacks]

Henner,

Fantastic!

Best regards,

Alan

 

[Dwight Ennis]

Thanks Henner! Looks easy enough.

 

[Larry Green]

Henner--in the picture of your tender with the pilot mounted, is there a deposit along the seam between tank and deck, or is that just dust? My Nevada County version has developed a white deposit in this area, and the seams around the rear toolbox, which I thought I traced to a leak in the tank. The vertical seam of the coalboards by the brake staff had cracked. I epoxied the seam and stopped using softened tap water in the tank (now use distilled boiler water), but the white deposit still seems to show up after a run, I'm wondering if there is some corrosion going on between the tank bottom and the deck. this seems unlikely with brass construction, but???

Larry

 

[Larry Green]

Dwight, Henner (and Allan), I envy your ability to stop in at Accucraft to pick up parts and browse. For a scratchbuilder/basher, this is heaven!

Larry

 

[HMeinhold]

Posted By Larry Green on 02/21/2009 8:54 AM
Henner--in the picture of your tender with the pilot mounted, is there a deposit along the seam between tank and deck, or is that just dust? My Nevada County version has developed a white deposit in this area, and the seams around the rear toolbox, which I thought I traced to a leak in the tank. The vertical seam of the coalboards by the brake staff had cracked. I epoxied the seam and stopped using softened tap water in the tank (now use distilled boiler water), but the white deposit still seems to show up after a run, I'm wondering if there is some corrosion going on between the tank bottom and the deck. this seems unlikely with brass construction, but???

Larry

Just dust...
Regards

 

[fkrutzke]

Larry:

The white deposit is indicative of a leak in a soldered joint. The white is lead oxide from the breakdown of the solder.
Accucraft uses a high lead content soft solder to assemble most of their components.

Although I regularly have to resolder the joints on the tenders of the coal fired conversions, I do the resolder on the inside,
without a resistance soldering tool and a VERY careful technique, you will damage the paint.

There is a rubber based tank lining material available from Aircraft Spruce used by the airplane home builder folks,
that will do a great job of sealing the inside of a tender tank. I have also used it on 7 1/2 inch tenders.
It has a great adhesion to brass and will last almost forever.

By the way if you chose to resolder, use a good grade of solder like StayBrite or what comes from PBL.
They are much better than what Accucraft uses, and not as subject ro breakdown in the presence of water. Also,
PBL sells a great resistance soldering tool. see http://www.p-b-l.com/

Torry