# RGS #74



## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

Rio Grande Southern #74[/b] 

The unloved, unwanted, ugly duckling[/b]












RGS #74 was an engine that Rodney Dangerfield would have understood -- it got no respect! But this much maligned locomotive actually outlived the four narrow gauge railroads that owned her. Originally built in 1898 by the Brooks Locomotive Works as #30 for the Colorado & Northwestern Railroad, she was transferred to the Denver, Boulder & Western in 1909 when the C&N went bankrupt. In 1921 she went to the Colorado & Southern and was renumbered as #74. And finally, in 1948, she was sold to the Rio Grande Southern. In April 1952, when time finally ran out for the RGS, she had nowhere else to go. She did manage to elude the scrapper’s torch and sat for many years as a deteriorating and vandalized display in a Boulder, Colorado city park. She is currently stored in Denver awaiting cosmetic restoration and a return to her earlier DB&W #30 markings.

Technically, RGS #74 was a class B-4-F inside-frame Consolidation locomotive. With 21,170 pounds of tractive effort, she was roughly comparable to a D&RGW class C-21 in capability. The steam chests containing the engine's slide valves were canted outboard under the large 60" diameter smokebox. Unfortunately, increased steam pressure made possible by new boiler technology and size caused an unbalanced load on the old-fashioned slide valves. This in turn caused damage and excessive wear to the valve gear. Also, the sloping nature of the steam chests caused major lubrication problems that plagued #74 throughout her operating years.

#74 underwent many re-builds and changes during her storied career. Just about every surviving photograph reveals slightly different details on both the locomotive and the tender as her various owners made numerous modifications. From her canted steam chests to her auxiliary air tanks, everything about her looked slightly out of place.

I knew that it would be nearly impossible to replicate every prototype detail. I decided to create a model that would attempt to capture the “spirit” of the #74 during her RGS years. The starting point for this scratch-bash was a pair of inexpensive Bachmann large scale locomotives purchased on E-bay for less than $100 apiece – a 4-6-0 “Annie” and a 2-8-0 outside frame “Connie.” I began by dismantling both locomotives and sorting through the various parts to determine what was usable and what needed to be modified or replaced. I decided to use the locomotive frame from the Annie and the tender and cab from the Connie. The Annie’s 4-6-0 running gear was replaced with a new BBT 2-8-0 power block and C-16 style drivers.

The tender was modified significantly, using styrene to fabricate a new top surface for the water tank, a sheet iron coal bunker extension, coal pocket doors, and a beefed-up frame. Numerous detail parts were added to the tender including a water hatch, steps, grab irons, re-rails, water valves, air tank, air hose, chain, and miscellaneous tools. An Accucraft coupler was added.

On the inside of the tender there was plenty of room to mount a QSI 3” diameter high-bass speaker, a QSI Quantum Magnum controller/decoder with a C-16 sound set, a G-Wire receiver with antenna, and a 14.8 volt, 5200 mAh Lithium-ion battery pack. A DPDT center-off switch provides ON/OFF/CHARGE control for the battery pack and a DPDT switch provides ON/OFF control for the smoke system. The battery pack is charged via a jack hidden inside of the water fill hatch. I also added a homemade circuit board for my lighting circuit. (See my article titled “Auxiliary Lighting Circuit,” previously posted on MLS, for lighting circuit details.) The coal load is aquarium filter carbon glued to a piece of Plexiglas. It is removable for access to the interior electronics.

A new boiler and smokebox core was fabricated from five 2” diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe couplings glued end-to-end with PVC pipe cement. A 1 ½” diameter hole in the bottom of the core provides clearance for the large Pittman motor on the BBT drive. Three 3/8” diameter holes mate with the three mounting posts on the Annie frame where the original boiler was attached. A small section was removed from the bottom rear of the PVC core to clear the cab floor. Portions of the Annie locomotive frame were cut away with a Dremel rotary tool to fit the new PVC boiler core. The frame and the PVC core were permanently joined with polyurethane glue. The combined frame/boiler is attached to the BBT chassis with two 2” long 4-40 machine screws.

The boiler jacket is curvable PVC board. Curvable PVC board is a composite of high-density PVC foam bonded between smooth-surfaced PVC sheets. It is about 3 mm (1/8”) thick. When warmed on a cookie sheet in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about five minutes, it becomes very pliable and can be wrapped around the PVC boiler core. When it cools, it holds the curved shape. It can be cut, glued and drilled just like regular PVC. The boiler jacket runs from the front of the cab to the smokebox. A second smaller piece of curvable PVC board was used to jacket the portion of the PVC boiler core inside the cab. The curvable PVC board pieces were permanently attached to the PVC boiler core with PVC pipe cement.

The wrapper for the smokebox portion of the core is .020 sheet styrene embossed with rivet detail before being glued onto the core. Approximately four pounds of lead weight were placed inside of the PVC boiler core. An Aristo-Craft ART-29311 smoke unit was used to replace the Bachmann smoke generator. A new front for the smokebox was fabricated from sheet styrene. Bolt head detail on the smokebox front is actually miniature hex head lag screws that attach the cover to the PVC core. The smokebox door and hinges are brass castings. The boiler backhead from the Annie was modified and reused. The Connie sand dome was modified and reused. A new steam dome from an Accucraft K-27 and a stack is from an Accucraft C-19 were added. New running boards were cut from styrene. The Annie saddle and cylinders were cut apart with a razor saw. The saddle was modified to fit under the new boiler. The cylinders were attached to a piece of aluminum sheet stock mounted under the saddle and angled to achieve the canted steam chest arrangement that added to #74’s unique appearance. The BBT valve gear was modified to mate with the new cylinder positions.

Numerous detail parts from Trackside Details and Ozark Miniatures were added to the locomotive. These include a number plate, builder’s plates, headlight, headlight bracket, pop-off valves, bell, whistle, air pump, governor, generator, generator platform, classification lamps, air tank ends, cooling pipes and brackets, a toolbox, boiler steps, handrail stanchions, washout plugs, tube pilot, sand dome lid, and miscellaneous piping, fittings and valves.

The Annie pilot deck was reworked substantially to provide clearance for the leading truck of the BBT chassis. A new Accucraft coupler was added. The Connie’s cab floor was modified and mounted to the cutout portion of the PVC boiler core. The cab windows were modified with styrene filler pieces as needed. A new roof hatch was made from styrene and canvas cab curtains were made from nylon pantyhose. Cab interior details, miscellaneous piping and valves were added. Commercially available engineer and fireman figures were surgically altered with polymer clay to fit within the tight confines. A new drawbar and deck plate were fabricated from brass and attached to the chassis. Warm-white LEDs were used for the headlight, classification lamps, and interior cab light. Orange LEDs were added to the firebox. The various wire leads from the motor, lights, and smoke unit are connected to the tender using miniature electrical disconnects.

After lubrication, break-in, and thorough checkout, the locomotive and tender were disassembled, cleaned, and air-brushed with flat black, grimy black, oily black, graphite, and cab green acrylic paints. The red valve handles and white running board edge stripes were hand-painted with acrylic paints. A combination of decals and rub-on lettering helped to achieve the RGS circa 1951 appearance. After final re-assembly, the weathering was accomplished using a mix of layered acrylic washes, ink washes, and powdered pigments.

The speed step settings were configured so that #74 runs identically to my RGS #455 K-27 in a double-headed consist. My next project, currently underway, will give me a third RGS locomotive. I am remaking the remainder of the Bachmann Annie and Connie into a locomotive that never actually existed. In my alternate version of reality, the RGS bought outside-frame Consolidation #537 from the C&S (CB&Q) in 1948 and rebuilt her into a C-20 class RGS #73. I can’t wait to see my first RGS triple-header!

And now … for a blatant bit of advertisement: I will be giving a clinic on kit-bashing large scale locomotives at the 30th National Narrow Gauge Convention in St. Louis on September 1 - 4. See the following link for details: link to convention info

I will have #74 at the convention for detailed examination along with a slide show documenting the entire build-up and detailing process. I will post the slide show here on MLS after the convention. Also, if anyone wants to see #74 in action, I plan on taking it to “Marty’s Battery Powered Steam-up” later in September.


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

I WANT PICTURES!!! That sounds like an amazing build, and I wish I could make it to the convention, just to attend your clinic. I'm looking forward to your slide show when you post it.


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## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for posting so many "how-to" details.... 
#74 is a fascinating prototype, and it sounds like you've created a great model of it !! 
I'm also looking forward to your posting the slide show....


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Absolutely!! Pictures!!! We need pictures!!! (I also love #537!! When you have time, don't forget to send us pics of that project as well!)
I'm looking forward to seeing it in person at Marty's!!


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