# Favorite RR Oddity



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

I was looking again at a thread Harvey C. started called New "gotta build one", where several fun proto shots were posted.

I'm not modeling these sorts of things, but they strike me as oddly fascinating: armored railroad contraptions of WWII.

http://www.ww2f.com/topic/15244-trains-in-wwii/

Lots of pics, and some fairly wild and nasty "critters" here and there. Here's a couple examples:



















Kinda like a Dalek on wheels. Musta been hot in that sucker!

Anyway, I love seeing the crazy stuff that's been put on the rails. 

What's your favorite RR oddity?


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## bicyclexc (Mar 31, 2010)

007 GoldenEYE the movie had a weird armored train in it.












I always thought it looked like an easter island head.


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## work4fil (Jan 4, 2008)

My favorite RR oddity is all of you. 

You keep me fascinated and entertained in what is the greatest hobby in the world! 

You are all beautiful, don't change. 

Fil


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I don't think I want anyone's talent wasted in making a miniature of these in Live steam, but I have always been fascinated by these two locomotives...

Fontaine's Folly, AKA Fontaine Fiasco, or Fontaine Freak:

http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/...ntaine.htm


And

Holman's Absurdity.

http://scripophily.net/hollocspeedt1.html


Both can be seen here, too:

http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/odcuri.Html


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Holy cow, Semper! 
Here's the Fontaine:


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

[No message]


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Todd and I both have Rail Zeppelins, of sorts. I believe that we both used a plastic bottle for the body. They are fun to watch as they zip along the track. 









No armored train as yet, but I have built a close cousin.










I never had the camera handy to get a photo of my favorite oddity. N&W had a transfer caboose, used in Roanoke, that was a true whimsy. Its chassis was a standard caboose chassis. Instead of a normal carbody, the short hood from a Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster served to keep out most of the weather. I say "most" because the end that would have been attached to the cab on the locomotive remained open to the elements. Inside this "shelter" was a large potbellied coal stove. The crowning touch was on top of the F-M short hood. The crew had managed to find two cast-off Wonder Horse hobby horses, had painted them white, and had bolted them to the roof. Talk about "It ain't prototypical!" I sure hope that somebody got a photo of that thing before it was scrapped.

Best,
David Meashey


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

I have the Rail Zepp in O gauge but, without a doubt my favorite? Its this monster, the Russian AA20, a 4-14-4 monster that never met a curve it couldn’t straighten out:









http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/russ/aa20.jpg


























I have said that if I ever hit the Powerball, I would build one of these in LS


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Some crazy guy already tried this, in HO and based on the damage, equally not too successful just like it prototype, from the looks of it: Big pic so link only


http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/dda40x/imgs/4/f/4fe97f77.jpg



http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/dda40x/imgs/4/f/4fe97f77.jpg


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

How about this - from Shapeways website [they do 3D printing as a service.] 









I assume you could scale it up if you can find a big enough printer!
http://www.shapeways.com/model/1059...terialId=6


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Came up with this in 1998.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Todd & Dave, 

Here's some prototypes for you...


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

If we are going to talk about very fast thing on rails, this is hands down still my favorite...


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Wow Vic, very cool! But did they survive?!? 

Bet it would have been cool if they cooked this one off...










Would have been a bad day for the engineer though!









Back to actual stuff, here's a whopper of a car. I count 10 trucks, so forty wheels per car... wonder what they hauled with it?










On the other end of the spectrum, here's a wind-powered ice car, used on a St. Petersburg FL pier for fish packing needs:










Lastly, an interesting steam specimen...


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Define "survive" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ZnWc1B7W4


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Awesome!


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

This is my all time favorite. Great Northern home shop built Snow Dozers. 








In action 









Craig


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## D-n-H - Kirkville Branch (Jan 14, 2008)

Posted By toddalin on 25 Oct 2013 12:21 PM 
Came up with this in 1998.








http://www.trainweb.org/girr/todds_..._train.jpg />

I have been contimplating building a Lacey Booster Caboose based on this story


http://www.bridge-line.org/blhs/tall_tale_no2.html


Schnable cars happen to be my favorite but i cant afford to re do my track to build one that will be prototypical

http://zierke.com/shasta_route/pics/schnabel.jpg


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

That little round one at the top looks like the prototype for vsmith's avatar!


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Here's another Schnabel monster, 36 axles! Apparently the biggest freight car ever built:










http://southern.railfan.net/schnabe...bx800.html


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

More fun food for thought, from New Zealand.

These from http://www.trainweb.org/nzgearedloc...ities.html



















http://www.trainweb.org/nzgearedloc...nston.html


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/file.php?1,file=22522,in_body_attachment=1


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

CliffyJ... I dont know what your talking about....


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By CliffyJ on 25 Oct 2013 06:17 PM 












Now you've got me seriously thinking about omething like this for the Pizza layout


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

You're not serious Vic, right? You'd have to articulate the main frame, or cut away a lot more tunnel, I think!









Who made that 4-4-4-4 model? Reminds me of the HLW "Big John" 4-4, with double the powered trucks.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

It was made by a company called Price. Look at the NZ website down at the bottom click Price. It is on that website. 

Yes articulated. That's how I built the Price. Its R1 capable. Each truck pair mounts to a subframe 

I figure I could do the Johnson as an unpowered model and use my pusher motor car. That way I can make it small enough to run on the pizza. I just need some more Big Hauler pilot wheels now.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Posted By vsmith on 26 Oct 2013 04:32 PM 

Yes articulated. That's how I built the Price. Its R1 capable. Each truck pair mounts to a subframe 

Beautiful work, Vic! So close to the prototype!
Did you buy the 2-truck assemblies, or make your own? And are they motorized, or is this pushed as well?


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

The Subframes are wood/plastic scratchbuilds, the main frame is two HLW flatcars connected, all 4 trucks are AC Centercab bricks with HLW archbar truck frames grafted onto them.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Now I get it. What a cool approach.


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