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In 2019 Model Railroader magazine marks its 85th anniversary. To help celebrate, editor Hal Miller provides you with this look at two locomotives that ran on the model train layout of Model Railroader‘s founder Al Kalmbach. Hal will give you some insight into Al’s O scale Gulch Route RR as well as the mostly scratchbuilt models. And you can see what happens when we run power to these 1934-vintage electric motors.
Brings back those wonderful memories when I received my first Lionel train set back in 1950. Thanks Hal.
At time 3:56 you started to talk about the snaps on the top of the locomotive for the electrical pantographs. At about 4:20 you said that Al probably made only one and wanted to keep from damaging it so he used the snaps so that it would pop off of the locomotive if snagged. I found, in the February 1944 issue of MR, on page 82, first column, last paragraph, (by Boomer Pete as he visited Harry Bondurant’s O-ga. railroad) the same description of the snaps attached to ‘standard pantographs’. Apparently, though expensive, you could purchase nicely made pantographs and they were protected by the snaps.
Excellent work from you and the staff. I look forward to 2019 for more of the same.
Well, by the way #3 moved and sounded on the track, and given that it has an AC motor, you may most surely be able to get it moving like new if the motor gets a good cleaning inside, some slight lubrication directly on its axle, and most importantly, if you can get some replacement brushes (this I believe to be essential). Thank you guys at Kalmbach for such an exquisite treat!
That was an outstanding video from Hal. Am anxious to see if they aare fianally running well on the track.
\OUTSTANDING WISH THE STAF ANS ALL OF MR A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS
Great to see the “child” sitting on the floor playing trains. Al, I hope you did not do yourself any damage and were able to get up OK! I would have needed a hand.
I’m surprised that the locomotives run on AC (from Lionel Transformers) rather than DC (probably 6 volts at that time).
Thanks a lot !!! What a great idea to try running these . Think I might try to resurrect my old Lionel . After all Christmas is the time of the year where we lay down and run the trains in circle !!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !
Note : I might try them on a table , the floor seems to be lower and lower ….
Amazing that they were able to run at all given the years of corrosion and oxidation they have endured sitting around. Next time you decide to lay track for a demonstration of an O scale engine borrow a table Hal, it’s getting harder to get off that hard floor for all of us?? thanks and Merry Christmas.
I used to operate on a Milwaukee area O gauge traction layout that had scratchbuilt rolling stock (17/64″ scale), some strap iron “rail” and some of the Rube Goldberg type controls and signals from that of Al Kalmbach’s old friend and fellow charter member of the NMRA, Harry Bondurant. The trolleys and locomotives used the exact same chain drive as Al’s locomotives and ran off of overhead wire. Now I wonder if those dress snaps were also used on Harry’s locomotives and might have been interchangable. It would not surprise me to learn that Al and Harry pooled their talents when building their locomotives and rolling stock; I know Al’s layout also used that strap iron track.
Those engines were the same age as Al’s, so built in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and while noisy, they ran very smoothly 50 and more years later — BUT unlike Al’s they had been run continuously and had never sat idle for decades. I have no idea what happened to those trains — the guy became more interested in body building and claimed to have entirely lost interest in model trains so the operating sessions ended. Go figure.
Very cool in deed
Hal, you are trying to bring to life an 84+ year old locomotive that hasn’t been run – let alone serviced – in how many years? You are going to need to pop the hood off and service things a bit first. While I appreciate your concern for their well-being, I think I you would do Al a greater disservice in leaving his models on a shelf – stuffed and mounted, so to speak – than anything you might do to them in restoring them to operating condition. I mean, think of the Hiawatha y’all “restored” for the 50th Anniversary – or think of UP 4014 being restored as we speak – is an unrestored dead locomotive truly better than one restored to a state where it can function as its creator intended?
I think #511 is awesome.
You are a brave man, Hal. Even so, I can almost smell the burnt grease of the motors. Good try.