Making a Roundhouse Fowler more Austrian/German looking

artfull dodger

artfull dodger

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Ok, I have made my mind up to work with what I have to make it better suit my LGB rolling stock and Austrian look of my railway. Starting with the tender to get up the energy to tear the locomotive down to the bare frame rails. Tender also isnt all oily and such either. I have the frame and trucks primed and painted into the usual red that most German and many Austrian engines had thier frames painted. A pair of Regner lanterns, one for the engine to replace the box headlight and one on the little shelf on the rear of the tender will give the look of a Fowler outfitted to work on the meter gauge railways of Austria or Germany. Planning to leave the rods as made for now instead of painting red as well. The shiny rods looked good against the red frames of my old LGB/Aster Frank S that I once owned. Pics as soon as I get the frame and trucks baked in the oven for an hour at 175'F to cure the paint. Mike
 
Progress picture time. Got the chassis back together, tested on air successfully. Now the fun of fitting the boiler and cab back to the frame without scratching up the new paint. She needed a good tear down, very greasy and gritty from years of use by the previous owner(s).
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artfull dodger said:
Here she is! Other than lanterns that I do not have on hand yet, she is basicly done. I would like to have etched brass "Zillertalbahn" and number plates for her at some time in the future. Turned out nice and changed the whole look of her.
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You certainly have altered her!
 
The red and Black certainly do the job, but perhaps a Tender altered to look a little like the FrankS, need not be a permanent job as it could be removable. And perhaps some more plumbing on the loco, German/Austrian style locomotives have all sorts of bits n bobs around. Made from Brass Mains Wire and Tubing you could do all sorts of stuff. My USA 2-6-0 has been Europeaned somewhat.
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JonD
 
I am working on trying to convert her to a tank engine and do away with the tender. Either grafting a Billy cab from the kit series or having a custom body made that makes her look like a Zillertal engine, just outside frame instead of inside of the prototype. Considered trading for a Beck Helene with Roundhouse cylinders, but those are a bit more crude looking than I want right now. I will probably buy one of those engines in the future though, as I still think they are neat to. Just not neat enough to give up my Fowler for. I am having trouble finding proper European head lanterns though. USA dealer is out of the Regner ones with no ETA on getting them back in stock. Need to be metal to be on the smokebox or I would just use LGB ones!
Mike
 
The other option might be to fabricate one out of Brass Box Square Tubing if you can source a small enough length. Just a gew drilled holes and some brass sheet would make a nice flat botyom to hold it on place. I should probably do something more European looking for my US Conversion above.
JonD
 
I am going to research that as I could strip some of the Fowler's cab to solder the tanks on. Then form sheet brass to enclose the Fowler cab. Just not sure how to cut open the rectangle shaped windows though. Still pondering. Got a quote of $675 for someone to do all the body work for me. Not in the budget for a few months, but doable very soon.
 
artfull dodger said:
I am going to research that as I could strip some of the Fowler's cab to solder the tanks on. Then form sheet brass to enclose the Fowler cab. Just not sure how to cut open the rectangle shaped windows though. Still pondering. Got a quote of $675 for someone to do all the body work for me. Not in the budget for a few months, but doable very soon.
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You can do what is called Chain Cut for the Windows.What you do is scribe out where the Windows are to be then do a line of small holles inside that line. There you then join up with a Hand Held Jig Saw with metal cut blades to cut between the holes. Then put in a vice and clean back to your lines with a file. If there are curves at the edges you need to use as close a round file as you have for them.

Simples, that hardest part is starting!
JonD
 
How does one know when its time to rebuild the RH cylinders? Maybe its the weight of the tender combined with the 3 LGB cars I was pulling today, but with the off position being at 9 o clock, I had the throttle all the way around just past 3 o clock up against the bottom of the fuel tank to keep up a decent speed and get over the slight hump in my line thats near the depot. Anything below 3 o clock and she was stall at that hump and just sit there, even after the safety lifts(which is at 40psi, I paid attention this run). I have a cylinder rebuild kit, with her being being built in 1996, with unknown hours of run before me(not much slop in the motion though), is she due for freshening up? Even my little Bertie seemed to have more get up and go with this same basic load other than the tender. Engine still looks way to big on my little line, the Bertie was more the size that fits. Definatlly need to get a 4 coupled RH engine soon. Think I figured out my issue, when I put the valve gear back on, Its supposed to be right hand leading when the left side is at 12 o clock. I had it with the right side trailing at that position. Waiting on steam to raise now for another run. Having both cylinders working might help ya think? LOL! Mike
 
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Yep, that fixed the issue, runs happy now between 6 o clock and 4 o clock on the throttle now. Whilst she lacks a "Summerlands" chuffer, the previous owner made his own cuff pipe caps for the twin exhaust pipes and to me its just right for my sensitive hearing. At many shows where we run indoors, some of the chuff pipe fitted engines actually start to hurt my ears after a few min. These give Fowler a chuff, the plume is nice through the whole run duration, even in summer 89'F temps, and my ears are not overwhelmed by a chuffer that is to loud IMHO. Starting to wonder if mine will be the first one fitted with a Slo-mo on youtube. From my studies of the Lady Anne install video, it should drop in on the Fowler since its the same driver wheel spacing. He is going to supply a plate to cover the top of the Slo-mo, one to keep any crud out of the gears and with that plate painted flat black, help it hide some on the more open Fowler chassis(no side tanks to hide the Slo-mo). With her speed balanced, not hauling ass around half my layout, then slowing thru the depot area to catch her breath, it will be nice to sit back and watch her run.
 
The SloMo certainly appears to help with Loads as well, as the excess slipping is controlled greater loads are supported. Well that is certainly the case with my 0-4-0's slomo fitted that manage a greater load up my short bit of 1:30 on a 4ft Radius curve.
 
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