Railworks America

Hey you guys,

Take a look at this pic and tell me what material is used for the reverser handle? Is it one piece of brass, or metal of some sort, or is it two pieces - the knob maybe made of wood, that rotates on the metal lever?? Im baffled.

What do you think?

Any Alco S2 engineers out there?

Thanks,
Rich

Well I'm a engineer but not the train kind and it looks to me like a piece of cast iron.

Rich,
I think they were two pieces, the bottom piece being either brass or steel and the knob made out of Bakelite?
Here is a photo of the ALCO Switcher we had at Levinson. This was a former Armco switcher.




Regards,
Rich S.

Oh! Cool! That picture is very helpful! Funny how the two pictures of the reversers are so different looking.

Thank you Buzz, and Rich!!

What's the circa on your picture Dog? I agree the second one is a piece of Bakelite but yours sure looks like wood to me. That era it could have been either.

I was guessing wood, too, Buzz! :-) My brain couldnt figure out if I was looking at wood, or metal, in that pic. That is what was baffling me.

Im not too sure when that pic was taken. Someone sent it to me long ago, and I dont know where they got it from. I think brass and bakelite is good enough for me to go on, for now ...

Thanks again for you comments!

~R

The arm sure looks like cast brass.
It is likely that the original handle was bakelite, and when it broke off it was replaced by whatever the local shop could turn up: wood, brass, an old door knob...

Anyway just make it so dirty that it's impossible to tell.

Whatever that looks great!

dogmouse wrote:I was guessing wood, too, Buzz! :-) My brain couldnt figure out if I was looking at wood, or metal, in that pic. That is what was baffling me.

Im not too sure when that pic was taken. Someone sent it to me long ago, and I dont know where they got it from. I think brass and bakelite is good enough for me to go on, for now ...

Thanks again for you comments!

~R

That looks supreme, can't wait to give it a try in the sim.

IMHO, Rich, that's a wooden knob, attached to that arm (can't tell what material the arm is made of ) then bolted to the reverser shaft. Could be coated in leather, too. But most likely, it does rotate, as you speculated. Looks almost exactly like the shift knob on my 280Z.

arizonachris wrote:IMHO, Rich, that's a wooden knob, attached to that arm (can't tell what material the arm is made of ) then bolted to the reverser shaft. Could be coated in leather, too. But most likely, it does rotate, as you speculated. Looks almost exactly like the shift knob on my 280Z.

...It's funny that you say that, Chris. The knob was reminding me of my old stick shift knob in my Ford Pinto Wagon!

Cheers, Lad!

~Rich

arizonachris wrote:IMHO, Rich, that's a wooden knob, attached to that arm (can't tell what material the arm is made of ) then bolted to the reverser shaft. ...

I believe Chris is right about the knob. These control handles borrowed from electric traction practice and used knobs made of hardwood and were typically fastened with a bolt threaded into the controller handle. The handles themselves were made from castings, typically iron, at this point, with steel tending to be used after the War. I was in the cab of an RS-1, a few years back, which is essentially identical to the cabs of S-1s and S-2s except for the rear cab end. In that case, the reverser knob appeared to have been made from walnut. I have seen cherry and maple used in similar applications as well. -P

@Phil

Interesting input! Thank you very much. I think Im now leaning on making the knob out of a dark hardwood, as you suggest, and then make the handle cast iron, so it looks a little different than the other brass handles.

Thanks again, Phil!

Rich

dogmouse wrote:Interesting input! Thank you very much. ...

Likewise, Rich, you've captured these old machines so precisely that the smell of them is conspicuous by its absence. This model sets the bar higher for all of us, and - for my part, at least - I'm delighted to see it. Into the early '60s, the New Haven used to keep a handful of these (along with a couple of RS-3s and some RDCs) in an engine terminal diagonally across the tracks from the station in New London. I developed a real fondness for these little diesels with their steam engine aesthetics when we would go to visit my mother's folks most of the summers, back then. Later I had the privilege of working with a few of the old timers who'd kept them running for so long. They were a unique bunch, a lot like the locomotives they worked on, and the excellence of you model is a real tribute to the way the guys who worked on them did their jobs. Thanks kindly for that.

Hi

Did you notice in the first pic posted that the temperature gauge was replaced? Look at the second picture to see the original shape, the original gauge outline is in the first picture.

One comment on the model, the levers look gold plated to me rather than the brass or bronze the originals probably were. Adding a bit of red might help make the color "cheaper" ;-)

GaryG