The Magazine of Model Rail roading for Fathers and Sons SINGLE COPY 50cA YEAR 10 CENTS OUTSIDE U. S. 75c Published by THE LIONEL CORPORATION Six Times Per Year WILLIAM R. CAHALIN, EDITOR The Reader Writes: Volume 7 FEBRUARY 1943 Number 37 IMPROVEMENT FOR "A RAILROAD TELEGRAPH" Frederick and Allen Sauder of TABLE OF CONTENTS Lexinit;on, Ohio, submit a suggested improvement on a device whose con­ struction was described in the article "A Railroad Telegraph," published LOCOMOTIVE CONVERSIONS Page 4 in the December, 1942 Model Builder. They write "We find that better results are obtained from the auto- DEMOUNTABLE LAYOUT 8 matic telegraph code sender when the holes punched in the paper tape are made VA-inch in diameter. The 1A- HOW TO CONSTRUCT A WHOLESALE GROCERY 9 inch holes seem to make the dots too long unless the tape is passed quite rapidly through the sender." ST. FRANCIS .& CHARLES RAILROAD 12 WANTS MORE MAGAZINES FUN AND ACTION WITH YOUR ENGINE WHISTLE 16 William F. Love, Jr. of Rochester, N. Y., Wl'ites: "I'm sure that many of the subscribers to the Model Build­ TOOTS AND WHISTLES 19 er will agree with me when I say that it is about the best railroad magazine published at tne present time. The FATHER AND SON PARTNERSHIPS 20 only setback is that it is only pub­ lished six times a year. The information extended in the MAKING A SAND AND GRAVEL YARD 24 Model Builder is for both "0" and "00" Gauge, and 1 think that both types of subscriber are ready and willing to pay more for Model Builder "00" HORSESHOE LAYOUT 27 magazines if they are printed every month. Here's to bigger and more Model Builder magazines!" THIS FOR THAT 34 "0" GAUGE TRACK LAYOUT CONTEST 34 OUTSIDE THIRD RAIL Ray E. Heinly of Pottsville, Pa., writes: "I have just finished reading your last issue of Model Builder. Page 2. Helper engine hauling freight up grade on the Santa Fe Railway. Keep up the good work. How about some dope on outside third rails and engine power pickup Page 35. Line up of five of Southern Pacific's famous "Daylight" engines. for the same in one of your future issues of Model Builder." Published six times a year-January, February, Marcb, October, Nbvember, December-by The Lionel Corporation, IS East ,,6th Street, New York, N. Y. Entered as second class matter, February 19, 194"; at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Entire contents copy­ righted, 19~, by The Lionel Corporation. Prlce IOC a copy. Subscription price Soc a year in the United States and possession.; 7SC per year elsewhere. Classified advertising IOC per word per insertion. Display advertising rates upo n ai>plic;ation. Contributors arc especially advised to he sure to retain cot;>ies. of their contributions otherwise they are taking unnecessary risk. Every possible effort will be made in our organizatIon to return unavailable manuscnpts, photographs and drawing. (if accompanied by postage), but we will not be respOoIlsible for any loss of such matter contributed. It will be assumed that unless otherwise specifically stated, all phatographs and other material submitted are offered for reproduction without compensation. Printed in U. S. of America. FEBRUARY, 1943 Page 3 LOCOMOTIVE Two No. 763 factory-built locomotives contributed the parts a nd the basic construction which were used to make this giant 4-8-4 enlline. HE most extensive stable.of locomotives ever to come to T the attention of Model Builder is owned by Robert J. Fos­ ter of East St. Louis, Ill. It con­ sists of twenty-one converted en­ gines, unusual in their varied char­ acteristics, although most of them were Hudson models before they were altered. Following is Mr. Foster's descrip­ t ion of his railroad and the engines pictured on these pages·: Feedwater pipes and lettering were added to a No. 763 engine and tender to make this model. My system was not constructed to show artistic ability, or to be a show place. I built it for the ex­ press .purpose of railroading. Sev­ eral of my friends and I get to­ gether , we switch our cars, make up our trains in order, following definite switch lists and then, when ready, t he trains are run. This is. repeated over and over, setting out and picking up cars, changing en­ gines, double heading on heavier trains, and to pull my grade. I can run two trains at one time efficiently, three trains or more cause trouble, as I have little or no This is a converted No. 225 locomotive and is used to haul local freight on the Foster layout. block system. My railroad is lo­ cated in a space measuring 20 by 30 feet. The entire space is taken up with main line, freight yards. coach tracks, and engine terminal. It is impossible to walk around the layout, as the platform is built right against the wall. The main line runs around the wall as closely as possible. My rolling stock consists of ap­ proximately 150 cars, of which 50 cars are various types of passenger cars, while the remaining 100 cars are freights. A Worthington pump enhances the appearance of this model which was a No. 763 Hudson. I like to re-design the iocomotives Page 4 MODEL BUILDER .~ Pacific pike which to suit myself. I started with Stand­ ard-wide gauge railroad equipment in 1926, which was disposed of in 1936, at the time scale 14, inch guage seemed to come into its own. No. 6602, 4-8-4, was formerly a Hudson 4-6-4, No. 763. The locomo­ tive bed was cut behind the third drive wheel, the third wheel having been removed, The frame was cut into, leaving that part with motor mounting separate from the frame. Another Hudson type was used then, cutting off the rear or third driver. The fact that the top of the locomo- In photograph above, the s h ape and position of the sand dome was a ltered on t h is model 4-8-4. tive frame or bed was flat gave me a good working surface to bolt the first three-wheel unit to the one pair of wheels that was removed from the second Hudson. This was easily lined up, so I then had a frame with four pairs of drivers, with mo­ tor frame and all together in a unit, that gave me my total length. The superstructure was then strip­ ped in the same way it was done for the No. 5400, mentioned later on. Only the cab remained. This tubu­ lar part was then cut into two por­ tions. The front half was mounted A tank type tender considerably changed the appearan ce of t his No. 763 en gine-tender o u tfit. to the front of the frame with the bolt down through the stack the way all Hudsons are mounted. The rear half was also mounted to the frame by means of the two screws that pass through the rear of the engine frame into a mounting in the fire­ box. This then mounted the front and rear ends to the frame. It was then necessary to anchor or couple these two portions so they would be rigid. A piece of brass bar was used, about % inch thick and Y2 inch wide and long enough to bridge the gap between the two sections of Superstructure of this model was altered considerably. Boiler was stripp ed , and tender revamped. FEBRUARY, 1943 Page 5 A com parison between this model and the oriiinal No. 763 reveals what a ireat amount of work was done on it to obtain the results shown here. the superstructure. By means of pletely new tender was built. exactly the same way as shown in small 2-56 screws, this brass bar No. 8000 is a 4-4-4-4, built from the diagram of boiler construction was mounted on the underside of parts left from the construction of of the Nos. 6602 and 6633. Total the top of the superstructure. This my two 4-8-4's, Nos. 6602 and 6633. wheel base for the No. 8000 is about then gave me a fairly firm founda­ A factory scale tender was used. 26%, inches, including tender. Over­ tion, so I could begin to make a new The locomotive has, what is sup­ all, length, front to rear coupler wrapping around the boiler struc­ posed to be two stacks enclosed in about 28 inches. ture similar to that on the No. 5400. the large rectangular structure you Since completion, the locomotive is A large course in t he middle then see at the top of the front end. This a huge success. It has become my built up my taper to front and rear. is a type used on the two large Union most powerful engine and will han­ New stack, sand dome and steam Pacific prototypes. Both units of dle considerably more cars than my dome were added, with r unning the drivers are geared. Boiler or former largest locomotives, the 4-8- boards pipe detail, etc. A com- superstructure was constructed in 4's, Nos. 6602 and 6633. It is a D A Str~ws usetl to make cOJ1Jucfion B Broce used 10 make first connecft'OIf betwe en two sed/olfs 01 botler strvdvre C Screws used 10 boll Hew /J()i/e;-/oq9'IfQ wh,(-h mak es /J()i/er s';'lIcfl/r~ sfnmq o Rivets vsed to concel worm shoff ext en sion E Screws l.I.sed 10 bolt f'Qrt.s of two f rames f orefher Motor fOllrlh driver added cui here (}eHuo/ method of CO 11 sfru cfion of 11'10 4 -8-4 f'lpes.