# Hartland Paul Bunyan Dunkirk Locomotive



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

Finally achieved a dream I've had for a couple years now, thanks to the wonderful folks at Reindeer Pass and Hartland Locomotive Works. Bought and unboxed this beauty, being a green Paul Bunyan 0-4-4-0 Big John Dunkirk locomotive that I've seen no pictures or posts about anywhere on the internet.

True to reputation, its a chunky powerful beast, and this one in particular with the big balloon smokestack, dark green color and red trim actually looks quite pleasing to the eye. (At least to me!  )










Put down 51 feet of straight track along the retaining wall on the side of my home, and ran it back and forth with a short freight consist. Have yet to run any of the small minis and dump cars, but I'm sure this beast will pull all of them at the same time, no problem. Reportedly these engines can handle R1 curvature, which is another boon to my operations. 










The future intent is to do some light weathering to the smokestack, cab roof, rods, and potentially other spots to better match the rolling stock, but otherwise the engine is a very appealing powerhouse. Can't wait to really put #7 to the test!


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Congratulations Sam;

You will love that locomotive. They are surprisingly powerful for their size. In the photo below, all the cars had loads of "coal" (plastic coal and Woodland Scenics plaster talus rocks dyed black). The load in the cars was enough to be "felt," but the locomotive pulled them without much effort. Of my "sparkies" it is my favorite puller. I had a Bachmann Heistler (reversed the polarity to NMRA), and the Big John would still pull it backwards - kicking and screaming all the way!











Enjoy your engine,
David Meashey


----------



## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

HLW is telling us these have been discontinued, and several other items.


----------



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

Treeman said:


> HLW is telling us these have been discontinued, and several other items.


I had actually read this somewhere, hence why I jumped on buying the locomotive. Didn't want to pass up on a model that might soon be gone, if not already scarce!


----------



## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Treeman said:


> HLW is telling us these have been discontinued, and several other items.


Mike do you know what else has been discontinued?


----------



## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

Renee was showing me a list the other day. I will have her look that up.


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Hartland seems to be doing less and less. Hope this isnt a sign of impending doom for them. They have a nice, simple and robust product. Was hoping to pick up a few items in the future now that I have a job with a decent income. Mike


----------



## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike Toney said:


> Hartland seems to be doing less and less. Hope this isnt a sign of impending doom for them. They have a nice, simple and robust product. Was hoping to pick up a few items in the future now that I have a job with a decent income. Mike


HLW seems to have the same issues Bmann has, lots of NOS that needs to be moved before they produce anything new. HLW does trains as a secondary business, running new stock only as spare production line time allows. So it's no surprise that their production is erratic.


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

I knew it was a offshoot of a business that molds other stuff. Having to much dead NOS stock is a double edge sword. Wait to long and you loose market share. To much dead item, NOS stock is what is or has killed Polks next gen. Hopefully there will be stock to purchase when I am ready. Hardest part is doing the battery conversion, I hate having trailing cars for batteries. Wonder if a custom stack of sub C cells in that rear bunker would power it for an hour or two of sedate running? I know a restacked 6 cell RC car pack, 5500mah, 7.2vt, Nimh will run an LGB 2015 with powered tender for over 3 hours of non stop running with a decent load.


----------



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

Built a layout for a few hours yesterday on the not-quite-green-belt across the street, L shaped loop, with two decent grades. The Dunkirk snorted up and down with everything in tow like a champion.

Also this is post weathering but hard to tell. Painted the side boards, and weathered the chassis, rods, smokestack, cab roof and the water tank. Matches the rest of the stock a bit nicer, if not showing its a well kept engine with lots of brass. Awesome model that's already convinced me it was completely worth buying.


----------



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Well, HLW & Phil will be at York in a couple weeks, so it will be interesting to see how they're doing.


----------



## on30gn15 (May 23, 2009)

Hey, Coool! Appreciate the Paul Bunyan review. I'm working on sloooowly saving up money to try to get one at end of this year. Most likely from those reindeer folks - sounded like the appropriate place from which to acquire "Merry Christmas to myself" 
Living on SSD, and buying anything else, makes that saving up $300 a slow process.
Treeman - _Discontinued_? Oh no!


----------



## HaBi Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

I'm glad I got myself one of these for Xmas 2014. Wanted to stay steam era but already had a Bachmann Big Hauler. The "Paul Bunyan" gave me a different look at a decent price. Then I had Mike put in battery operated Airwire with Phoenix sound in a trailing box car (which cost more than the loco). In the loco there are 2 separate motors with 1 taking up the space under the bunker, so a trailing battery car is about the only way to go. A surprisingly heavy loco with great traction and good low end speed. I'm very satisfied!

the other Rodney


----------



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

HaBi Farm said:


> A surprisingly heavy loco with great traction and good low end speed. I'm very satisfied!


Agreed completely, I believe the engine is somewhere around 12-13 pounds. Definitely outweighs other engines for its size, and outpulls too. Deceptively powerful little monster.


----------



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

It is a beast. I might convert mine to a snow plowing loco.


----------



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

I spoke with Phil Jenson (HLW) at ECLSTS about the Big John. In a nutshell, he said that:

- They were certainly NOT going to drop Big John
- Nor were they dropping Paul Bunyan
- But, the solid brass domes on PB were getting too costly, so they would be converted to plastic domes

Mike Kidman obviously knows more, and I'm just a drive-by consumer; but that's what Phil said, to the best of my recollection.

I also asked about the Duchess (which I'd like to get, the only 2-4-0 ever on the market as far as I know), and he said they were considering bringing her back into production in a year.

Cliff


----------



## on30gn15 (May 23, 2009)

Thanks Cliff! There's still hope for me to have a Bunyan! 
(note to the fates, that's _Bunyan_, not bunion)


----------



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

You bet!

BTW, you could also get a Big John and re-paint it's side walls green... You also might call HLW and ask for pointers on acquiring one, or restoring a used one, etc. 

I saw a used one at ECLSTS for $200, but it didn't sell, not sure why. But be sure, if you get it used, that it all works. If they can't give a demonstration or guarantee, consider offering a lower price... And that's why it might be good to call HLW for power truck prices, in case there's a doubt that one or both don't work on the used one.

Just some thoughts,
Cliff


----------



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

CliffyJ said:


> - But, the solid brass domes on PB were getting too costly, so they would be converted to plastic domes


That's a shame, cause the turned brass really does a lot for the older character of the engine. That's one of the first things I liked when I pulled it out of the box!


----------



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

*fixing the PB blitzkreig*










Finally achieved a dream I've had for a couple years now, thanks to the wonderful folks at Reindeer Pass and Hartland Locomotive Works. Bought and unboxed this beauty, being a green Paul Bunyan 0-4-4-0 Big John Dunkirk locomotive that I've seen no pictures or posts about anywhere on the internet.

True to reputation, its a chunky powerful beast, and this one in particular with the big balloon smokestack, dark green color and red trim actually looks quite pleasing to the eye. (At least to me!  )










Put down 51 feet of straight track along the retaining wall on the side of my home, and ran it back and forth with a short freight consist. Have yet to run any of the small minis and dump cars, but I'm sure this beast will pull all of them at the same time, no problem. Reportedly these engines can handle R1 curvature, which is another boon to my operations. 










The future intent is to do some light weathering to the smokestack, cab roof, rods, and potentially other spots to better match the rolling stock, but otherwise the engine is a very appealing powerhouse. Can't wait to really put #7 to the test!


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Sam;

You will love the pulling power of the HLW Dunkirk. In the photo below, all nine cars have "coal" loads (plastic coal mostly). They are fully loaded, no lift-out loads. The grades on that garden railway were stiff in places, but the Big John handled them without any strain.









Best wishes,
David Meashey


----------



## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Nice pic Dave! Would love to see that same train with some of your Roundhouse live steamers with a nice plume above them! Mike


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike;

These two are as close as I can get at the moment. In the first photo, each tipper truck had a small brick in it.


















Now back to the HLW Dunkirks.









Best,
David Meashey


----------



## Sampug394 (Dec 30, 2010)

That curved trestle shrouded in foliage looks fantastic and mysterious. I'm sure that's the centerpiece of that particular railroad cause it makes for some great pictures!


----------



## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Sam;

Sadly, that railroad is no more. The owner passed away. Fortunately, his son salvaged all he could, but has moved it to another state. I am not sure whether things have been set up again.

Regards,
David Meashey


----------

