# Routing Through the Whyte Configuration



## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

I've always been enamored with old steam (both models and prototypes) and when I started model railroading again I started picking up examples of the different types of engines. Now I have a bunch of them and thought it would be fun to show them off. I'm pretty weak at the top end for a few reasons, both financial and because for me the older the better. Anyway, here are a few:
*The Twos*
*2-2-2 Single*








This is the John Bull. Originally built as an 0-4-0, it was later given a combined pilot truck/cow catcher and the rear driver was detached from the front, creating a very large trailing wheel set. Later still it was given a cab and bell-topped stack. The model is one of the Bachmann old timers.

*4-2-0 Jervis*








Another Bachmann engine, the Prussian, the first engine for the nascent Prussian Railway system.

*4-2-2 Bicycle







*Not sure about the prototype, but this is an Aristocraft engine from way back when. It can run very fast because the driver is huge but runs clumsily and has extremely poor traction that can't be fixed since the drivers are also pickups.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

*The Fours
0-4-0 Four-coupled







*
The top two are Teakettles, the left from Silvine the right Lifelike. They can pull a number of cars above their weight but are too small to be road engines and can't switch because no pilot coupler. Bottom left is the Dewitt Clinton, first steam engine on the Mohawk and Hudson RR in 1831, Bachmann model. The right is a Tyco switcher built from a kit.

*0-4-2 Olomana







*
This is an old Mantua model but post-dates the shift to plastic. I don't know anything about the prototype. I picked it up as non-running but it just needed a little lubrication and encouragement (running around the layout at full blast). Still need to clean the brush contacts.

*0-4-4T Forney*








Named after the inventor, the Forney was popular with commuter and elevated lines where its ability to navigate sharp corners was appreciated. This one is Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railway's number 27, built in 1879 by Baldwin. The model is converted from a Lifelike Teakettle with a bunch of parts from the junk bin.

*2-4-0 Porter*








I'm pretty sure this is a fantasy piece, the only other cab-forwards I found besides the SP mallets were some in Italy. The kit is a Mantua shifter with a Kemtron conversion kit. If I could find a prototype anywhere near this I'd put the RR name on the tender. Here's a 'proper' Porter, the Rivarossi Bowker:









*2-4-2 Columbia, 2-4-4T Boston*








Namesake for the type, Columbia was built by Baldwin specifically for display at the Columbia Exposition in 1893. The model is an old Aristocraft with broken tender trucks replaced. It doesn't run right, either a short or gap I haven't been able to find yet.
The Boston is another commuter engine similar to the Forney, but not as popular in the USA. This model is an AHM 2-4-0 that was modified. It needs a good coat of paint and decals.

*4-4-0 American*








The most common locomotive in its time, at one point something like 80% of all locomotives in the US were Americans (or so I've read). The bottom right is a Tyco General built from the kit, the bottom left is a Bachmann (I think) from a Christmas set. Runs OK at full blast but crappy otherwise. Upper right is an AHM Reno that runs OK except it can't pull anything. Upper Left is a Tyco General kit converted to the USMRR General Grant with a conversion kit from Shapeways. In the back is a broken Bachmann I haven't fixed yet.








You can never have enough Americans.
Bottom row: 2 generations of the Jupiter from Bachmann
Middle: Unnumbered W&A from Pocher and Union Pacific 119 from Bachman
Top: Rivarossi Genoa and the New York, a modified Bachmann.
*4-4-2 Atlantic*








This is a Roundhouse kit someone else built. They bought a detail set too, came out pretty nice but it has a click I can't find and oh yeah, it can't pull for squat.

*4-4-4 Reading*








Not a popular engine in the USA where the sum total built were 3 for the Reading and one (Lady Baltimore) for the B&O. None of them lasted more than a year or two. The engines were more popular in Canada as the Jubilee and elsewhere in the world.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

*The Sixes
0-6-0 Six-coupled







*
This is a Tyco Little Six kit. I think it was the first kit I built as a kid 40 years ago (that one long gone, this a recently built replacement). A neat engine that pulls above it's weight.

*2-6-0 Mogul*








This is a Camelback design used on the CNJ, IIRC to the end of the steam era (CNJ was fond of Camelbacks). IHC apparently thought they would sell more model engines if they mislabelled it for the UP too. Still thinking about changing the labels.

*2-6-2 Prairie







*
This is a Roundhouse kit. Prairies are famous because the ATSF used them in a race when a guy called "Death Valley Scotty" bet $5,500 he could beat the cross-country speed record (he did). Anyway, the main driver should connect to the middle wheel not the last one, but it is suspected this is a scaled-down Mikado rather than an enlarged Mogul.

*4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler*








Bottom left is a Bachmann tender-driven IC RR engine. Pulls pretty good for such a small engine. Bottom Right is an Aristocraft model with the biggest drivers I think I have. Runs nice too. Usually these are painted blue but either the company or a previous owner did a nice job painting this a more reasonable color. Top is an old Tyco someone repainted maroon. The only company I could find with that particular color was Chicago & Alton.

*4-6-2 Pacific*








This is the oldest engine I built that I still own. It's an old Mantua kit I built it a teen; my brother kept it after I joined the Navy then it was a prop for wargames for a decade or two. When I started railroading again I replaced the missing cow catcher, fixed a jink I could never resolve before and now it runs pretty nice after it warms up.

*4-6-4 Hudson







*
Hudsons were basically enlarged Pacifics, but did not perform well in hilly terrain. Thus they were popular with the New York Central, who purchased 250 of them. This one is a repaired Rivarossi with an old wood tender salvaged from who knows where.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

*The Eights
0-8-0 Eight-coupled*








This is an AHM tender-motored engine where the tender frame suffered Zamac cancer. I've been trying to get it to run again but need a gear box to convert the new can motor to something the engine can run with.

*2-8-0 Consolidation*








This is another AHM 8-coupled with Zamac cancer. I replaced the tender with a Chattanooga Choo Choo tender-drive I found in a junk box and took the worm gear out of the engine then replaced the engine weight with a broom handle. It runs OK at full blast but really needs a better motor. Anyway, after all that I found out the Union Pacific didn't run 0-8-0's but it did run Consolidations so a pilot truck later and Bob's your uncle. Anyway It pushes the snow plow.

*2-8-2 Mikado*








Called Mikado because the first models were built for the Japanese. The upper engine is an Aristocraft that I got with the frame for the valve gear broken. I ended up cobbling something together out of brass sheet, filing the bottom of the gear box so it doesn't hit switch frogs and it runs pretty good. The bottom engine is a Kit-built Mantua Camelback. Lehigh Valley was the only railroad with Mikado Camelbacks so not much choice there. It pulls a 16 car coal train at a stately pace (meaning I have to give it a little help on some curves) and the tender likes to derail on two specific switches but otherwise it's a fun engine.
*2-8-4 Berkshire







*
A Rivarossi that someone gussied up

*4-8-0 Twelve Wheeler*








Another Tyco, this one can't even pull itself. I think the pilot truck is too high or too low, resulting in only one driver actually pushing. Otherwise it runs OK. That orange though...

*4-8-2 Mountain







*
Another Aristocraft, this one is a nice runner that is screaming for me to build a Southern Passenger train for it.

*4-8-4 Northern







*
A popular engine at the end of the steam era. This is a Bachmann model of a Union Pacific engine It's a decent engine but some day I'm going to put a couple ounces in the tender as it tends to derail on switch frogs.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

* The Tens
2-10-0 Decapod








Called "Russian" *because a large number were built to export to Russia and some didn't make it. This is a Bachmann Spectrum.*

2-10-2 Santa Fe*








Basically souped-up Mikados for heavy freight usage. 2200 built in the US, so they should be more common in model railroading circles than they are. This is a Rivarossi model. Needs new traction bands and a Kadee coupler...

*2-10-4 Texas







*

430 of these engines were built for the US and Canada, basically either a Santa Fe with a bigger firebox or a Berkshire with an extra driver. Pennsylvania had the most at 125, followed by Texas Pacific with 70. This is a Bachmann "Texas Chugger".


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Interesting thread. I try not to duplicate wheel arrangements when I get steamers, but I never considered trying to get one of each configuration. Don’t think I have seen some of the ones that you have. Going through my list, this is what I’ve accumulated.

0-4-0, 2-4-2, 2-6-4, 4-6-0, 4-6-2, 2-8-2, 2-8-4, 4-8-2, 4-8-4, 2-10-0, 2-8-8-2


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Murv2 said:


> *2-8-0 Consolidation*
> View attachment 544868
> 
> This is another AHM 8-coupled with Zamac cancer. I replaced the tender with a Chattanooga Choo Choo tender-drive I found in a junk box and took the worm gear out of the engine then replaced the engine weight with a broom handle. It runs OK at full blast but really needs a better motor. Anyway, after all that I found out the Union Pacific didn't run 0-8-0's but it did run Consolidations so a pilot truck later and Bob's your uncle. Anyway It pushes the snow plow.


Actually, UP did have 1 (one) 0-8-0, but it started out as a 2-8-0 Consolidation. The front pilot truck was destroyed in an accident, and rather than fix it UP just removed it and used it for switching duty. And now _you_ know.... the _rest_ of the story.


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

Surprised no one mentioned the clumsiest of them all: 0-5-0 ! 🚂


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Nice! I think I have one of every configuration from a 0-4-0 up through all the combos with 4,6,8,10,12 drivers and 0, 2, 4 or 6 pilot and rear truck wheels, to a couple of 2-10-10-2s and some Yellowstones (maybe my favorite big loco type - 2-8-8-4) and of course the Big boy 4-8-8-4

The only one I am missing I think is 4-14-4. I would love a model of the Soviet AA20-1, the only 4-14-4 build. I know it was a truly lousy loco but that is beside the point. Its fun just to collect and compare.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

4-8-4 + 4-8-4 ?

Beyer Garratt


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

That Dewitt Clinton really caught my eye so I had to find some more info. I happened to stumble across one on ebay with a lot of bids but still a really low price, so I stuck in my bid and waited for the countdown (which was only a couple hours away at that point). Amazingly enough I won it! I'm hoping to see it early next week so I can get a closer look. I had seen some folks talking about converting it to DCC several years ago when the model was still being sold but there was nothing small enough then. I'll be curious to see if anything from N scale will fit in it now.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

Not sure there's any room, the motor is in the tender. I did have problems because the tender wheel base is so narrow it stalls crossing frogs. I ended up adding brushes to the rear drivers and wiring them to the tender and that seems to have solved the problem. Did you get the cars too? They look like old west coaches.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Yeah from what I can see from the pictures I know it's pretty tiny, but we'll see. If the equipment isn't available now, maybe we'll see something in another 5 years?

And yes, it came with the full set - the loco, tender, and three stagecoach cars (which is pretty cool looking as well!!!). They should be arrive Monday or Tuesday, then I can see what kind of condition they are in. All I really know is that it runs.


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## Aard D'Vaark (Aug 1, 2019)

if you wanted a Clinton, you could have had mine ..... it's not really good for too much, lol
and as far as DCC, there really isn't enough room in the loco or tender


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Woo-hoo it works!  The little DeWitt Clinton arrived early and is in mostly running condition. It wasn't too happy at first and needed full power on the DC throttle to get moving, but slowly starting working smoother. Then I tried to reverse it and it didn't want to move at all (and was very hot!). I did a full tear-down and I think there was a bit too much oil in there, so I cleaned off the brushes and contacts and now it's running smoother at about half throttle, in both directions. I might need to pick up a PWM throttle next time there's a train show just to get stuff like this running well.

The thing runs and smells like a slot car, but it's trying. I was wondering, can anyone tell me if white lithium grease would be suitable for the plastic worm gears? Or is that too heavy for such a tiny thing?

@Murv2 -- sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I do appreciate that you led me to this model!

[EDIT] By the way, a quick update... I DO believe converting this little guy to DCC is possible with today's electronics. Digitrax makes a tiny decoder (model DZ126T) which is only 14x7x3mm and handles 1.25A peak, and could be tucked into the tender between the wood piles. The real trick is isolating the motor from chassis since it's all a big chunk of metal, but I think I have a solution for that. There are copper plugs holding the brushes and providing the electrical contact between the chassis pieces and the motor. If I replace the plugs with a plastic screw and solder lead wires to the brush springs I think I can make the whole thing self-contained. Other projects on the bench right now, but this looks promising!


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

You didn't hijack the thread, glad I inspired you.There are two more Bachmann pre-Civil War engines, the Pegasus and Lafayette I hope to find one day.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

_(thread updated with 2-6-0, 4-4-4, 4-6-4, 4-8-4, 2-10-2 & 4-4-4-4)_
*Articulated et. al.
4-4-4-4 T-1*








A steam-powered rocket designed to haul Pennsylvania passenger trains. Technically not articulated since all four drivers are on the same frame. These engines were rumored to have gone in excess of 140 mph IIRC. BLI model.

*0-6-6-0 Erie







*

This is "Old Maude", the first mallet locomotive in the United States. It was built in 1904 for the Baltimore and Ohio. This is an Aristocraft brass model from ~1960.

*4-6-6-4 Challenger







*
This is a Bowser Kit. Not recommended for the faint of heart. It runs but better in reverse than forward.

*2-8-8-2 Chesapeake







*
From Rivarossi

*4-8-8-2 Cab Forward*








Another Rivarossi


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

the dewitt doesn't really have the room for a DCC decoder in the tender, at least it didn't for what i had available to me maybe six years ago ....now it just sits on the 'display queen' rack


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

*Etcetera
B-B Shay*








Used primarily for logging where track was poorly built with steep grades and tight turns, Shays had excellent pulling power but extremely slow speeds. This is a Roundhouse Shay, not sure about the road name.

*B-B Heisler







*

Another logging locomotive with impressive low speed performance, 625 built starting in 1891. This is a Rivarossi model.



(Also added Erie, Texas and Boston in their respective categories.)


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