Model Trains And Their Attachment To The Past

By: Victor Epand

There is a deep and flowing tie to the past between model trains and their full size kin. Without the big locomotives of the past the models would have never realized such a long and glorious reign as a popular hobby and pastime. It is hard to imagine a train without a model or a model without a train and it would seem that they are destined to remain hand in hand.

The locomotive first began as an idea to make life easier by carrying heavy loads across the land in such a way that man or beast would not have to struggle as much. The many innovations that came along with rail travel did not come over night nor were they created by one super genius. Much time and thought went into these developments.

The man that is considered the inventor of the very first steam locomotive for use on rail lines was George Stephenson. The world's first locomotive, however, was actually built by Richard Trevithick. An Englishman, Trevithick also operated this steam engine from 1803 to 1804. The father of American railroads is considered to be Colonel John Stevens. George Pullman was the first person to design the sleeping car for the railway making the railroad much more traveler friendly. This car became appropriately known as the Pullman Sleeping Car.

A huge innovation toward making the railroad much safer was the system of air brakes that was invented by Mr. George Westinghouse who held many other patents as well. Railroad Car Couplers were invented by Eli Janney and were named after him and a former slave, Andrew Jackson Beard, created an improvement to the Jenny Coupler. George B. Dorey himself had more that 175 rail transportation patents.

Women have made very significant contributions to the history of the locomotive as well. The safety feature that has saved innumerable lives over countless number of years, the railroad crossing gate, was invented by Mary L. Riggin. In an attempt to reduce the number of derailments Eliza Murfey created a lubricating system to use on railroad car axles. The infamous L-Trains in New York City also benefited from a woman's touch. Mary Walton created a noise reduction system for them.

These great iron horses though would likely not have enjoyed their birth and subsequent reign either had it not been for the foresight of some of the great minds of the world who once built a model. Great inventors have often made a model before they ever tried their hand at the full sized project and locomotives are no exception. Even the great Leonardo DaVinci drew sketches of great machines that he imagined would one day fill the world. One of these drawings appears to greatly resemble a steam engine. Who knows, it might have been or it might not. All that matters now is the fact that they are here to stay no matter how many changes take place. The railroad as well as model trains are here to stay.

Author Resource:-> Victor Epand is an expert consultant for model cars, model trains, and model trucks. You will find excellent hobbying and trading resources here for model car tricks and tips, model train history, and model race trucks.

Article From ArticleSlide.com

LIVE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 1/4 SCALE -3 1/2 INCH GAUGE

The steam locomotive arrived in America with sufficient force and perfect timing to do precisely the job needed for an emerging nation with a considerable task to perform. America was not the first to develop steam locomotion - that had been the privilege of the English - but in the burgeoning states of America the problems that this monster of industrial development faced were far greater and more dramatic than the British pioneer engines were required to surmount. America was a vast, untouched landscape, with distances that no "civilizing" nation had previously encountered, and the ter­rain itself was more varied and less tamed than anywhere in the world at that time.
One of the most popular and successful vehicles to set this national force in motion was an American type 4-4-0, the definitive early form which first appeared during the 1830s, when much of the early pioneering track was well underway. The most famous example of this locomotive was called the"General," built by Thomas Rogers of Paterson, New Jersey. The type formed the most numerously-built of all the engines in this great growing country. Rogers incorporated the latest of Stephenson's developments - a gearing system that permitted more than the "full forward" and "full back­ward" movements, giving the opportunity to use the steam power to its com­plete extent. Additionally, the new design brought improved features, such as the provision of adequate space between the cylinders and the drive wheels, thus reducing the maximum angularity of the connecting rods and therefore the up-and-down forces of the slide bars.
In the rugged and varied lands of the Americas, flexibility was needed on curves, and the slightly later versions of the General contained side move­ment on the leading "trucks" or "bogies," producing a greater facility to han­dle curves at speed.

In these early days of US pioneering, the "extras" available were many and varied, with beautiful adornments such as brass name-plates and fancy trim. But as the competition increased, and the financial restrictions of the latter part of the nineteenth century grew, the "American" became the "American Standard" - which had a tougher style with less trim and with more severe lines. It was a locomotive type which nevertheless sold more than twenty-five thou­sand engines.

Model is 46 inches long
x 7 ½ inches wide x 13 inches high
Live Steam model 4 - 4- 0

HO brass Ingalls 4-S GM&O with long stack

HO brass Ingalls 4-S GM&O with long stack.

Made by Ajin Precision of Korea.

This model has been imported by Ampolex in January 2008.It is powered Canon EN-22 can motor with twin flyhwheel. Amazing detail; cab interior detail; all axles powered, window glazing, roof fan interior detail etc.....

Each locomotive has serial number.

Factory installed Kadee couplers #5

Live Steam Scale Model Logging Donkey Engine

1/4 Scale Model Steam Donkey. Weighing around 250 lbs. and measuring 57" high x 24" wide x 46" long. Bronze castings include two engines and cross slides. Also included are two 6-inch diameter by 3/4-inch steel crank disks, bronze eccentric, cast iron piston and rings, and all moving parts for the engines. The two engines run on 25 lbs. of steam or air pressure. The bore is 1.75 inches with a 2-inch stroke. It also features a 10" x 24" boiler that is 3/8-inch thick with a Penberthy injector, oilers for both engines, a pop off valve set at 100 lbs. and two 9-inch spool drums with oak clutches, braking system and ratchet-and-paw.

7.5 gauge 1/8 scale 040 live steam engine w/ tender

Built from the ground up with a "little engines" pattern from Mason's Trains Ltd. Includes a 7.5 gauge 1/8th scale 040 full steam engine and tender with a certified boiler.
There are many invaluable upgrades to go along with the standard parts and features:
Plumbing for cylinder
Petcocks for cylinder
Blow down valves
Functioning lights
Stack insert kit
Cover dome
Front and rear coupler
Hand rails
Boiler bands
LSB water treatment
Cylinder oil
Alpha Boiler
Propane fired
Equipped with feed water pump and injector
Footpegs on tender for rider
Milwaukee Road symbol on tender on both sides
Painted black

Dimensions:
7 feet long from front coupler on engine to rear coupler on tender
23.5 inches from bottom to stack
16 inches wide
Approximately 600 lbs. total weight
Alpha boiler came from "Alpha boiler and pressure vessels" in Canada. It includes 17 pages of certification, certified to 125 lbs., hydrostatically tested at 200 lbs., and includes a radiography report.
All tubing is 3/8"x.065" wall copper tubing.

1886 - One of A Kind John W. Rice Antique Railroad Car

On July 4th 1885, and July 18th 1886, patents were issued to John W. Rice for his invention of a new braking method for railroad cars. His major competitor was Westinghouse. Though not techically a "patent model", one submitted at time of application, as used to be required, the Rice car provided "illustrative services" for the company's sales staff. The car, illustrated, is a perfect scale model that shows the effectiveness of the Rice patents, and works in every detail. The car was carried all over the world to demonstrate the method, by inclining the base support, lifted on brass rods enclosed in bottom grooves, and applying the brakes with the working, scale trucks. It is truly a "work of art" and is "one of a kind"!! Almost 4 feet long and 18" high , built of solid mahogany and brass, by a long-gone artisan. The decorative figures(not original!) standing in the car are 8" to 9" tall. The Rice car is a real part of railroad history and belongs in the collection of a true railroad historian or quality museum.

SCRATCHBUILT BRASS WM CLASS M-2 4-6-6-4 CHALLENGER

Western Maryland M-2 Challenger Road Numbers 1201 to 1212.
Built 1940 Baldwin Locomotive Works - Scrapped 1953
Used for Pusher Service Hagerstown - Connellsville

Time frame:

Prototype 1940.
Scrapped 1953.
WWII 1941 - 45.