33” (12) pack... $25.35 36” (12) pack... $27.60
Erie and DL&W
Wreck Trains by Ron Dukarm Available through the
Erie Lackawanna Historical Society
ed switches control the flow of elec- trons. The layout holds my attention for an hour or so of pleasant running and switching a couple nights a week. KUAZ Tucson is my sound generator. When my friends nag and berate me for my lack of sound and DCC I just re- spond, “I’m considering it.” This at least implies it will eventually happen, so they drop the topic. My “considering” recently ended
This 100 page, five chapter spiral bound book includes 153 photos of Lackawanna, Erie, and EL wreck cranes and their associated equipment. Most of these photographs are being published for the first time. The book also includes 36 drawings and equipment charts. Ron thoroughly covers the complete roster of wrecking cranes, wreck trains, and wrecking procedures of all three railroads. Ron also provides the first ever explanation of Erie's mysterious Maintenance Of Way numbering system.
Member price plus $8.95 s&h
www.erielackhs.org $1696
US Funds Only Visit us online at Dealer Inquiries Welcome
Order from: ELHS, Department RMC Jay Held, 10-10 ELLIS AVE, FAIR LAWN, N.J. 07410 No phone calls will be accepted For information send SASE
N.J., PA & Ohio res. add sales tax. Outside US extra s&h.
ELHS membership at $35 per membership cycle. Cycle includes four issues of our magazine “The Diamond” and four newsletters with modeling
information. Separate check please. Send to: ELHS c/o Randy Dettmer, 290 W. Prospect St., Hudson, OH 44236
78
Non-member price $1995
when Bachmann released an Alco S-4 diesel model with a DCC-ready sound system that also operates right out of the box on d.c. power. With a list price of around $160.00, my “considering” came to a screeching halt. Out of the box, the Bachmann S-4 is magnificent. Bachmann has captured all the signature features and details of the prototype S-4. I didn’t have pro- totype measurements at hand but in- stead compared it to photos and a number of S-2 and S-4 models I had, not exactly what one would see as pro- totypically scientific but sufficient for my purposes. While I would have pre- ferred an undecorated model one is not offered. I purchased an Erie, a road name that won’t look out of place on my New York waterfront-Northwest Jersey layout until I can repaint it. Ac- cording to the roster in Al Stauffer’s Erie Power, the road only owned four S-4’s. The Bachmann locomotive is numbered 529, which is correct for one of two S-4’s delivered to the Erie in Oc- tober, 1952. The Erie’s yellow stripes, diamond, numbers and lettering are masterfully applied on the black carbody. All of the markings are solid and razor sharp. On the cab side is a simply astonishing Alco builder’s plate which is crisp and legible when viewed with a Schneider 4X lupe. The handrails and stanchions are very fine and highly scale-like in cross section, and they are molded in the now-common acetal plastic with the end rails done in yellow. Separate yellow railings are applied from the
rear steps to the back of the cab. The pilot steps are finished in yellow, and there is a separately-applied coupler lift bar and stanchions on both ends. Nice! E-Z Mate couplers are provided, but
there are no separate brake hoses. Overall, the decoration of this model is commensurate with those costing up to twice as much. There is a horizontal Pyle dual headlight front and back. Is this correct for the Erie S-4’s? I’ll have to check, but in the exploded drawings of the locomotive and all its parts there are three styles of headlights available with part numbers. This certainly im- plies “detail specific for road names.” I suspect Bachmann may be correct. The lights are LED’s and to my eye one of the more pleasantly warm tones. I’ve never cared for the hot white or blue- white LED lights sometimes provided for headlights on models. Grab irons and lift rings have been omitted from the tooling, which no doubt keeps the price point intact. There are two molded-on, horizontal cab door grabs out back, but the others, including the distinctive S-4 wrap- around-the-hood corner curved grabs, were left off. In the balance, this is probably better than having molded-on grabs that would not look as good as the separately-applied parts we usually see today. The more detail fastidious can have an evening or two project adding them, while others will not miss what is not there and will be just thrilled to have a sound-equipped Alco switcher. Having said that, the tooling is real-
ly done well in every respect. That in- cludes the louvers, shutters, window framing and cab thickness, you name it. The carbody is excellent and things that should look crisp and delicate do. The body is held to the frame via the
two coupler screws. Back them out, slide out the coupler boxes and gently pry the body off with a small screw- driver or knife blade between the un- derside of the running board and JUNE 2012
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