NorthWestern Pacific Number 178

I just took delivery on a new Bachmann 4-6-0 Anniversary edition.  I had to buy an Annie - the price point was too attractive given the gorgeous detailing.  But a White Pass & Yukon lettered engine isn't going to fit in my pike.  Drivers on the Annie are way too small to model any of the narrow gauge North Pacific Coast 4-6-0s.  So what to do?

The NPC's successor line, the Northwestern Pacific, ran both standard and narrow gauge.  And the book, "The Northwestern Pacific Railroad" by Fred Stindt has a nearly complete set of photos of NPC's engine roster.  I dug through prototype photos  and settled on NWP Number 178.

Prototype

This engine was manufactured by Baldwin in 1906, assigned number 13, then later 11, and went to work for the Bullfrog Goldfield railroad in Nevada.  When the BG railroad suspended operations in 1917 at the onset of World War I, it was acquired by the NWP.  The Bullfrog Goldfield became NWP engine number 178.

She was built with 63 inch drivers, 21 x 28 inch cylinders, and weighed 169,800 pounds.  She shipped with a Vandy Tender.  She's a pretty good sized 4-6-0, much larger than the NG locos the Bachmann was modeled after.  That's important as I'll be asking the Annie to pretend she's really a 1:29 scale engine.

This is a photo of her in the desert, around 1912 wearing Bullfrog Goldfield colors.
This is a photo of her in Santa Rosa in 1935.  She was dismantled in 1954. 

Note the substantial changes in the intervening years.  I find it difficult to believe she's the same engine!  Major changes include pistons, valve gear, stack and domes ...

What I like about her is in later years she had the valve gear (but not the cylinders of the Annie).  In earlier years she had the Annie's domes.  Did she ever exist in an in-between state?  Probably not -- but who really knows.  In later years, she had the Annie's valve gear.  In modeling her, I have a clear choice -- earlier version or later version?

The Model - Annie As A Starting Point for 1/29 Scale Model

But a question that needed to be answered is whether the Annie can serve as a reasonable starting point for a SG 1:29 scale kitbash?  

Out came my ruler and I began taking off dimensions from the earlier version photo.  I used the earlier photo as it is a straight side shot, minimizing the perspective issues.  Here's a table of the takeoffs.  Explanations of the meanings of the columns are at the bottom.

Dimension Photo (32nds)  Scaled (inches) Model (32nds)  Scaled to 1:29  % of Photo
Driver Diameter 23          63 64              58 92%
Smokebox Diameter 24          66 72              65 99%
Boiler Diameter - Cab 27          74 92              83 113%
Steam dome Height 11          30 36              33 108%
Sand Dome Height 11          30 36              33 108%
Front Pilot Diameter 11          30 30              27 90%
Smoke Stack Height 17          47 62              56 121%
Height - Boiler at Cab 53        145 148           134 92%
Height - Cab from rail 62        170 192           174 102%
Height - Cab from RB 32          88 106             96 110%
Height - Man on RB 26          71      
Height - man by cab 27          74      
Tender Diameter 35          96      
Height - Tender at Cyl 50        137      
Height - Tender at Frt 58        159 141           128 80%
Tender Pilot Dia 12          33 36             33 99%
Length - Engine 167        457 528           479 105%
Length - Boiler 104        285 328           297 104%
Length - Cab 32          88 120           109 124%
Length - Cab Top 48        131 182           165 125%
Length - Tender 136        373 380           344 92%
Length - Tender Cyl 112        307 328           297 97%
Length - Tender Angle 48        131      
Height - Tender Angle 32         88      
Whlbase-Mid-Rear Drv 32          88 84              76 87%
Whlbase -Frt-Mid Drv 26          71 84              76 107%
Wheelbase - Pilot 30          82 108              98 119%
Wheelbase - Overall 104        285 350            317 111%
Width - Stm Dm Base 15          41 60              54 132%
Width - Stm Dm Mid 12          33 49              44 135%
Width - Snd Dm Base 12          33 48              44 132%
Width - Snd Dm Mid 10          27 37              34 122%
Cylinder Length 16          44 60              54 124%

Explanation of table columns:

bulletPhoto (32nds) - Dimension on photo in 32nds.  For example, driver diameter was 23/32 on the photo.
bulletScaled (inches) - Inches when scaled to full size based on a known driver diameter of 63 inches.  In other words, each dimension in the first column was multiplied by 63/32.  
bulletModel (32nds) - Dimensions of Bachmann Annie model in 32nds.  for example, driver diameter on the Annie is 64/32 -- or two inches.
bulletScaled to 1:29 - Dimensions of Annie engine when scaled to full size based on multiplying Annie dimensions by 29 - based on a 1/29 scale model.  Driver diameter of 64/32 when multiplied by 29 converts to 58 inches.
bullet% of Photo - Annie full sized dimensions divided by photo full sized dimensions.  Annie drivers at 58 inches are 92% of the 63 inches on the prototype.

The most important variances and my proposed solutions are the following:

bulletDriver diameter - The Annie will be a little undersized here.  I could go with a different NWP prototype as some had 57 inch drivers.  But I'll probably live with this shortcoming.
bulletBoiler diameter - Cab - the Annie has more boiler flare than the prototype.  Unless I'm willing to totally replace the boiler, I'll need to live with this problem.  I'll probably live with the problem.
bulletSteam dome and sand domes - there are problems with both height and width.   I'm thinking about using the Annie's sand dome as the new model steam dome and fabricating a new sand dome.  Placement and height problems will be corrected at the same time. 
bulletFront pilot diameter - the Annie will also be undersized here, but it will be consistent with the undersized drivers - so they may not look out of proportion.
bulletSmoke stack height - an easy cut down.
bulletEngine and boiler length - I need to reduce the wheelbase of the front pilot.  I may shorten the engine slightly at the same time to eliminate this variance.  Otherwise, I may have too much front overhang.
bulletThe Cab - there are problems here with both length and height.  I'll scratchbuild a new cab, making it both shorter in height and length.  Doing so will drop the model's overall height below that of the prototype - which would be consistent with the model's undersized driver diameters.
bulletThe length of the floor of the Bachmann tender is very close to correct for the prototype.  I may convert the Annie tender to a Vandy by giving it a new superstructure.  Or I might build a new tender from scratch.
bulletThe prototype had a different driver wheelbase between the front-middle and middle-rear drivers.  While it's relatively easy to move the middle driver of the Annie to correct this problem, I'd have to redo the side rods and main rods.  One of the attractions of the Annie is the valve gear.  I may decide to live with this problem. 
bulletWheelbase of front pilot - I need to shorten this wheelbase which will also reduce the overall wheelbase inconsistency between the model and the prototype.  But it may also force me to shorten the engine slightly.  Based on my other Annie Kitbash experience, these changes are feasible.

Modeling The Later Version

Linn Westcott's, "Steam Locomotive Cyclopedia" contains photos and drawings of a Harriman Standard 4-6-0 with a Vandy tender at the very end of the 10 Wheeler section.   The two engines shown are slightly heavier (200,000 vs 170,000 pounds) but are very similar to the later NWP 178 photo.  When I get a chance, I'm going to take off measurements from the Cyclopedia drawing and compare them to the Annie.  

Dimension Photo 32s  Scaled " Model 32s  Scaled 1:29  %-Photo
Driver Diameter 23           63 23              63 99%
Smokebox Diameter 24           66 26              71 108%
Boiler Diameter - Cab 27           74 28              76 103%
Steam dome Height 11           30 10              27 90%
Sand Dome height 11           30 10              27 90%
Front Pilot Diameter 11           30 11              30 99%
Smoke Stack Height 17           47 12              33 70%
Height - Boiler at Cab 53         145 57            155 107%
Height - Cab from rail 62         170 65            177 104%
Height - Cab - Run Bd 32           88 35              95 109%
Height - Man on RB 26           71      
Height - man by cab 27           74      
Tender Diameter 35           96 36              98  
Height - Tender at Cyl 50         137 46            125  
Height - Tender at Front 58         159 53            144 91%
Tender Pilot diameter 12           33 11.5              31 95%
Length - Engine 167         457 176            479 105%
Length - Boiler 104         285 126            343 120%
Length - Cab 32           88 33              90 102%
Length - Cab Top 48         131 48            131 99%
Length - Tender 136         373 141            383 103%
Length - Tender Cylinder 112         307 126           343 112%
Length - Tender Angle - Top 48         131 44            120           1
Height - Tender Angle 32           88 28              76           1
Wheelbase - Mid-Rear Driver 32           88 34              92 105%
Wheelbase - Front-Mid Driver 26           71 26              71 99%
Wheelbase - Pilot 30           82 27              73 89%
Wheelbase - Overall 104         285 113            307 108%
Width - Stm Dm Base 15           41 16              44 106%
Width - Stm Dm Mid 12           33 14              38 116%
Width - Snd Dm Base 12           33 14              38 116%
Width - Snd Dm Mid 10           27 11              30 109%
Cylinder Length 16           44 15              41 93%

Additional issues raised in modeling the later version include:

bulletThe steam and sand domes are a different style.  But I need to redo the steam and sand domes anyway so dealing with this issue would only add marginally to the project.
bulletThe cylinders would need to be redone from side valves to piston valves.  Hopefully I'd be able to do this without modifying the Annie's valve gear substantially.
bulletThe tender is slightly different, but the tender is a scratchbuild project in either case.
bulletA number of other more minor modifications would be needed to update mechanical components and safety equipment.

Conclusion 

This is not an easy kitbash project but it is well within my capabilities.  With a few compromises, the Annie could turn into a fairly credible model of NWP 178 in 1/29 scale -- either the early version or the later version.  

Furthermore, it is likely that the Annie can be adapted to model many of the larger 4-6-0 standard gauge locomotives produced after the turn of the century.

 

(c) 2007 Iron Horse 1:29