Kitbashed from a Mantua 4-8-0, this HO scale model of a Jersey Central camelback sits outside the roundhouse awaiting its next assignment. MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
Kitbashed CNJ 4-8-0 camelback
These chunky engines were built for heavy freight drags/Steve Olear H
ave you ever had one of those projects that simply got stalled? You know, one where you hit a
stumbling block and it got pushed off to the side for a while. Well, I did. I started my HO scale model of a Central Rail- road of New Jersey K-1 4-8-0 back in 2002 with the idea that it would be fin- ished in a year or so. It took a lot longer than that. After a few changes of address and
several years of gathering dust, I had lost interest in finishing it. Somewhere during this time I joined a web group called “The Gauge” (
www.thegauge.net), a forum dedicated to model railroaders and railfans, and I met a member with the screen name of JGLfan. He invited me to attend the North East Fallen Flags Railroad Prototype Meet back in 2009. It was then that I realized this model was perfect to bring to the meet even though it lacked several details and finishing touches. At the time the valve gear was the
biggest sticking point, and, as the en- gine was nowhere near complete, it would be displayed as a work in
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
progress. The 4-8-0 got a decent amount of attention and was well received by the attendees. Although that sparked a renewed interest in the locomotive for me, it once again got set aside and sat
RMC/Dremel Kitbashing Award........
for a year. More dust accumulated until the people on The Gauge forum got me back to work by announcing their “end of year clearance challenge.” The prem- ise of the contest was to finish a model or project that you started but halted. This gave me the shot in the arm I needed to get the job finished. After tak- ing first place in that contest I decided to submit the model to RMC for the RMC-Dremel Kitbash Award.
Prototype background The 4-8-0 wheel arrangement,
A minimum of $100 and a Dremel Rotary Tool Kit with a variable-speed Multi-Pro rotary tool, flex shaft attach- ment and accessories are awarded to the monthly win- ners of the RMC/DREMEL KITBASHING AWARD. Entries must consist of at least two photos (5″×7″ or 8″×10″ prints or two color slides; more may be included) and a short text. Models must use at least 50% commercial components; unused entries may be held for BOOMER TRAIL.
known as “Chunkers” on the CNJ, were not popular with most U.S. railroads. They were owned by two other an- thracite roads in a camelback configu- ration, the Lehigh Valley and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. Southern Pacific and Norfolk & West- ern also had Twelve Wheelers; one of the latter is at the Strasburg Railroad as their restored No. 475. The Valley and Lackawanna road crews did not look upon them favorably, and the loco- motives had relatively short service lives. On the other hand, the Jersey
55
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100