NEB&W Guide to AHM Steam Locomotive Models

Last Update: 2009-02-20

Loco Models Table of Contents
Locos Table of Contents
Rolling Stock Table of Contents

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AHM started producing highly-detailed ready-to-run plastic steam in the 1960's, but insisted on large knife-flanged wheels that wouldn't work on scale track. In order to get around tight 18 inch radius curves, they added a lot of sideways sloop to the mechanism, which did work as intended. (Other manufacturers chose to make the center drivers "blind" which is noticeable.)

AHM locos were unusual for their time in being styrene ready-to-run, when most other models were cast-metal kits.

AHM (American Hobby Manufacturers) was the importer of a number of European manufacturers, including Rivarossi, who made most and the best of the steam locos. AHM went defunct but sort of resurfaced as IHC, who continued to import Rivarossi engines and sold them under the IHC name. Rivarossi also sold the same products under their own name, so also see IHC and Rivarossi, below.

Switchers

• 0-4-0 Switcher Engine - Varney popularized this prototype, the Little Joe Dockside. There were four of these rather heavy saddletank locos (nos. 96-99) were built by Baldwin for the B&O in 1912, nicknamed as such because they were intended for the very sharp curves along the Baltimore dockside. In 1921, two (nos. 96 and 98) were converted to regular type locos with tenders. It is the rebuilt version that AHM produced here. (Later on, c. 1978, they also produced the original saddletank version.)
  • [Little Joe Dockside model, saddletank version.]
  • [Model of the rebuilt version, the AHM version.]
  The review in Model Railroader pointed out that the rebuilt locos had the deep cab roof which was typical of B&O steam. You might want to substitute a new cab to make the 0-4-0 more generic, or take the cab and perhaps use it for a road engine to give it a B&O look.
  Other info has that it was no. 96 and 99 rebuilt with tenders, and the conversions took place in 1926.
  • [B&O 99, engineer's side, c. 1939. B&O photo.]
  • [B&O 99, fireman's side, c. 1939. B&O photo.]
  • [B&O 99, front, c. 1939. B&O photo.]
  • [B&O 99, rear, c. 1939. B&O photo.]

• 50188 B&O 0-4-0 Dockside - Varney popularized this, but their version didn't have any valve gear. AHM made this version c. 1978, after having first offered a model based on the rebuilt version when two engines got tenders.
  • [No. 97.]
  • [No. 97, fireman's side. B&O photo c. 1947.]
  • [No. 97, rear. B&O photo c. 1947.]
  • [Little Joe Dockside model, AHM version.]
  • [Little Joe Dockside model, broadside photo.]
  • [Little Joe Dockside model, close-up of the valve gear (pizza-cutter flanges).]

• PRR A-33 0-4-0 Switcher - There were 84 locos of this class built between 1895 and 1905. The model was introduced around 1978 and the review in the Jan. '78 Model Railroader claimed the model had RP-25 flanges. It has not been re-introduced by either IHC or Rivarossi. (There was a plastic A-3 with RP-25 flanges produced about 1972 for Life-Like and then later for Model Power c. 1981.)
  • [Model as painted blue and decorated in the early steam-era Con-rail scheme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (But it does appear to have RP-25 flanges, not the AHM pizza-cutters.]

• 0-6-0 Switcher - Accurate model (with the annoying deep flanges) of the standard USRA loco of c. WWI. Very useful for many modelers and has since been rendered in a state-of-the-art version by Life-Like.
  • [Builder's photo.]
  • [AHM model as decorated for our club road. Photographed on our last layout by Bob Gow c. 1972. Note the motor is sticking out the back of the cab.]

• 0-8-0 Switcher - This was one of AHM's first locos. The hobby could have used a standard USRA 0-8-0 back then, but AHM chose to model a unique and very heavy Indiana Harbor Belt switcher, the U-4a class built by Alco in 1927. Unlike the standard switchers with 51 inches, this class had 57 inch drivers (although AHM made the drivers undersized to accommodate the oversized flanges, so the model might have had 51 inch wheels). The loco even had a tender booster.
  • [Builder's photo.]
  • [Other side.]

• 5072-B Virginia & Truckee 2-4-0 Bowker
• 5072-C Kansas City & Southern 2-4-0 Bowker
• 5072-D Western & Atlantic 2-4-0 Bowker
• 5072-E Beuford & Morehead 2-4-0 Bowker
• 5072-F York & Peach Bottom 2-4-0 Bowker
• 5072-G Belfast & Moosehead 2-4-0 Bowker
  Very strange-looking model. I never really understood why until I read the review in the June '67 Model Railroad.
  The review said the prototype was built by Baldwin in 1875 for the famed Virginia & Truckee. (It was named after one of the engineers of the road.) The loco was designed as a switcher, but also had horizontal pump atop the boiler for fire-fighting. (First thing I would do is lop this puppy off.)
  • [Prototype photo in our collection.]
  • [Another prototype photo in our collection.]
  • [Color prototype photo of the loco on display in 1942. Photo from the Gulf Oil Co.]
  • [Model photo.]
  • [A similar loco built by Baldwin c. 1888, said to be for "suburban" service.]
  The loco had no claim to fame except it survived scrapping. In 1937, it was presented to the California Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.
  The reason the model is so funky is that it is oversized and not even by the same proportion in each direction, being about 13% too big (the prototype was 47 feet long, the model, 54 feet). The real kicker is that while the prototype drivers were only 48 inches in diameter, smaller than the standard switcher drivers of 51 inches, the model's wheels scale out to 62 inches, basically the same as many ten-wheelers, consolidations, and other moderately fast road engines. (I bet AHM simply used the mechanism for their 4-4-0 Genoa/Reno models.)
  Think of how this loco would look with smaller drivers, no front pony truck, and a footboard pilot - a real neat 1870's switcher. (The model might be too oversized for this to work.)
  According to the review, the stack scales 16 ft. 6 ins. tall. In 1953, the only clearance diagram was Plate B, with a maximum height of 15 ft. 1 in., so this model would be 1 ft. 5 ins. too tall for unrestricted interchange even as last as the end of steam.
  This model was manufactured by Pocher, not Rivarossi. (Pocher was later acquired by Rivarossi, around 2004.)

Mikados 2-8-2's

• 5089-C MKT USRA Heavy Mikado
• 5089-D NYC USRA Heavy Mikado
• 5089-E CB&Q USRA Heavy Mikado
• 5089-F GN USRA Heavy Mikado
  The original USRA heavies were distributed as follows:
  • CB&Q, 15 locos, class O-4, nos. 5500-5514.
  • CNJ, 10 locos.
  • CNW (their subsidiary, the Omaha, four locos.
  • Milwaukee, 100 locos.
  • EJ&E, five locos.
  • EP&SW, five locos.
  • FW&DC (Burlington subsidiary), five locos.
  • GN, four locos.
  • L&N, 20 locos (and 18 of the light version).
  • NKP (W&LE), 20 locos.
  • NYC (P&LE), 15 locos.
  • NYC (PMcK&Y), 15 locos.
  There were a total of 233 of the heavy Mikados (and 625 light, or nearly three times as many).
  The AHM model is their heavy Pacific superstructure on a 2-8-2 mechanism, introduced around 1978. First of all, the USRA light Mikado used the boiler of the heavy Pacific and therefore the heavy Mikado would have a somewhat fatter boiler than a model made from the Pacific. AHM did not really copy the characteristic USRA cab, although what they came up with is not too far off. They also used a cast Commonwealth trailing truck instead of the built-up one used on all USRA orginals. (Easy to switch out a trailing truck.)
  • [USRA heavy, P&LE 9510. Railway Age, 1940.]
  • [AHM model as lettered for the MKT.]
  • [Comparison of the model versus the prototype. (Tried to distort both images a little to get them to match better.]
  On the AHM Pacific, they used their NKP Berkshire tender. On this Mikado model, I think they used their USRA 0-6-0 switcher tender.
  The MKT did not have any USRA Mikados. As far as I know, the NYC's subsidiaries had some. However the Central itself only had light Mikados.

• 5189-08 C&O 2-8-2 - In 1978, AHM took their heavy Mikado model and modified it to represent the C&O's K-2 class. The C&O had been getting Mikados as far back as 1911 through 1914. These only had 56 inch drivers. They didn't get any USRA Mikados. In 1924, they got 50 class K-2 Mikados from Alco, nos. 1160-1209. The same year, they got another 50 K-3 Mikados from the same builder, Alco, and another 50 K-3a engines, again from Alco, in 1925-'26. I understand the three classes were fairly similar except for the tender. All had 63 inch drivers like the USRA engine. I've seen a photo of a K-3, which looked like the AHM K-2 model, except for the Vanderbilt tender and the characteristic C&O notched cab. The AHM model used the NKP tender. I assume the cab would have been similarly notched as on the K-3. Don't know if it would be easier to modify the existing cab or substituting one taken from the IHC 4-8-4.
  • [Model.]

• 5089-09 GN Mikado - Numbered 3380 and painted in the "Glacier Park" green color scheme with silver firebox and smokebox, oxide red roof, and colorful mountain goat herald. The GN had standardized on the Belpaire firebox, but they did get 9 USRA standard heavy Mikados, nos. 3200-3208, class O3. Apparently four came from the SP&S and the other five came from the El Paso & Southwestern, but I'm not sure when. (I think early, like in 1919.) In 1979, AHM modified their heavy Mikado to make two versions of the GN O3's. The first version was basically just the use of the correct paint scheme.
  • [Model.]

Berkshires 2-8-4's

• 2-8-4 Berkshire - Again, a model based on a prototype (NKP 759) that became famous in post-steam days simply because it survived (and in this case, restored to service and ran all over the country in excursions). (I don't mean to slight NKP modelers, but what survived and what didn't was more a matter of chance than not.) The original 2-8-4 loco was basically a super powerful version of a 2-8-2, a freight engine. The pony truck did not track as wheel as the four-wheel version so it couldn't run as well at speed. I understand by the time of the NKP version, they had improved the two-wheel lead truck to where such a loco could be used on passenger and other high speed service. The first 15 were built in 1934.
  • [NKP 703. Builder's photo, 1934.]
  • [NKP 703, front view. Builder's photo, 1934. (Note this doesn't have a Mars light.)]
  • [NKP 766. Lima ad, 1947. Also no Mars light.]
  • [NKP 700. Soph Marty photo.]
  • [NKP 712. Soph Marty photo.]
  • [NKP 742. Soph Marty photo.]
  No. 779 was the last steam locomotive built by Lima, in 1948, one of 10 engines, S-3, nos. 770-779, and one of 65 Berkshires total for the NKP. Nearly identical locos were built for the Pere Marquette and very similar to a few other roads.
  The Mars headlight, mounted just above the main headlight which is centered on the smokebox, is one clue of the late construction of this loco. (Or it might have been retrofitted on some or all of these in the late '40's.)
  The C&O started getting their Berkshires in '43 from Alco, nos. 2700-2739. In '46, they got 10 more from Lima, nos. 2740-2749, another 10 from Lima the next year ('47), nos. 2750-2759, class K-4, and 20 from Alco the same year of 1947, nos. 2760-2789.
  • [C&O 2744, one of 20 such locos built by Lima c. 1946. Note the headlight on the pilot deck radiator cover, one of the more noticeable differences from the AHM model.]
  • [C&O 2754, broadside. Lima builder's photo.]
  • [C&O 2754, three/quarter view, Lima ad.]
  The Pere Marquette got 39 Berkshires from Lima. Nos. 1210-1215, class N, were built in '37. Nos. 1216-1227, class N-1, were built in '41, and nos. 1228-1239, class N-2, built in '44. When the PM was merged into the C&O in a few years, the class N locos were renumbered as C&O 2685-2699. The other two classes remained lettered and numbered for the PM.
  The Virginian's five Berkshires were built by Lima in '46, class BA, nos. 505-509. Due to remaining war restrictions, the VGN locos were built identical to the C&O's K-4 class.
  • [VGN 505, Lima ad, Railway Age, 1947.]
  The Wheeling & Lake Erie's 32 Berkshires, all built by Alco between 1937 and '42, class K-1, were basically copies of the NKP locos. C. '49, they were relettered NKP with the same numbers and then around 1952, the first two digits, "64", replaced by "8". (In other words, 6401 became 801, 6402 became 802, and so on.) They lasted until 1961-'64, fairly late for steam.
  • [W&LE 6401, Alco builder's photo.]

• 5061-06 RF&P Berkshire - The Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac got 10 Berkshires from Lima in 1943, nos. 571-580 and were all retired 9 years later, in '52. The sand box was not as massive as the NKP one, which is a hallmark of the NKP design. In 1979, AHM modified their NKP Berkshire to represent one of these locos. I think the only modification they did was to eliminate the Mars light.
  • [RF&P 574, Lima builder's photo.]
  • [AHM model.]

Mallets

• 5093-02 B&O 2-8-8-0 Mallet - Said to be based on the Baltimore & Ohio's EL-3 class of locos built by Baldwin in 1917. AHM simply took their N&W Y-6b 2-8-8-2 model (see below), left off the trailing truck, modified the front end and substituted their B&O 2-10-2 Vanderbilt tender. This model was produced around 1978.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [Close-up on the drivers and valve gear, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [Front view. Photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [Around the tender and cab. Model photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  Apparently there was the similar EL-5 class on the B&O, built by Baldwin in 1919-'20, nos. 7145-7170.

• 5092 N&W 2-8-8-2 Mallet - Based on a specific N&W class of locos, which in turn were copies of the USRA standard design of the same wheel arrangement. The N&W Y-class of locos date back to the original USRA locos and over time they got a total of 191 of these. The model is of the last class, the Y6b, built from 1948 until '52, nos. 2170-2200. The model scales out to be 116 feet long.
  • [Original USRA Mallet, 1922 Loco Cyc.]
  • [N&W 2171, Y6b, home-built in '48. Drivers 58 inches in diameter.]
  • [Comparison of the USRA and Y6b.]
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  According to Steve Orth (Dec. 2005 Railmodel Journal), the N&W, Virginian, and Clinchfield got the original engines. After WWI, clones were acquired by the D&RGW and NP.
  AHM also offered this model decorated for the PRR (model no. 5090) and ATSF (model no. 5091). The Pennsy and Santa Fe got original USRA Mallets from the N&W.
  Perhaps the biggest difference between a USRA Mallet and the Y6b/this model is the cab. The USRA loco had a pretty standard looking style cab, while this version had a shorter slanted-front cab. If you were desperate, you could backdate this model by substituting a cab from the USRA Pacific or Mikado. The tender, too, is more modern looking and using a USRA tender, the so-called long version, would help.

Santa Fes 2-10-2

• 2-10-2 B&O - According to the review in the Dec. '67, the B&O got their original "Santa Fe's" from Baldwin in 1914, class S-1. Subclass S-1a were built by Lima (unknown date), series 6175-6199 and series 6200-6224 were built by Baldwin in 1926. (I assume the Lima engines were also built in '26.) I would think the AHM model is based on the later S-1a which were essentially the same as the original engines, but with a larger tender. The last engines lasted until 1959.
  • [No. 6100, builder's photo, built in 1923. Drivers were 64 inches in diameter.]
  • [No. 6100, builder's photo, other side.]
  • [Plans, Railway Mechanical Engineer, 1924.]
  • [In action photo, 1943 ad.]
  The engine has a Vanderbilt tender. The engine also has a characteristic B&O-style cab. (It would be interesting to switch out the cab for a different look.) There were two sand domes and they were unusual in each being split in two (because the loco boiler was so close to vertical clearance, there wasn't much room left for the dome at the top?).
  • [Plans with the split sandboxes highlighted.]
  • [High level view, showing the split sandboxes. Railway Age, 1946.]
  This is one of the few Rivarossi models that has not be resurrected since it was first introduced.

Americans 4-4-0's

• 4-4-0 Reno/Genoa - These two models came out around 1965 under the AHM name, and both are based on the locos of the same name on the Virginia & Truckee. The Reno was the V&T's first loco, built in 1872 and the Genoa, the following year. And both are very famous, I believe, because the V&T locos were stars in many a western. (The Genoa was on display at the 1939 World's Fair to represent one of the two locos at the gold spike ceremony completing the transcontinental railroad in 1869. And plans of the Genoa appeared in July '50 Model Railroader, which is probably where AHM got their inspiration.)
  • [The Genoa c. 1890.]
  • [The Genoa c. 1890, engineer's side. (What's with the covering over the pilot?)]
  • [The Reno c. 1905, as converted to burning oil (and with a straight stack instead of a diamond stack).]
  • [The Genoa as a stand-in for the Jupiter, 1949.]
  The prototype Genoa had 57 inch diameter drivers.
  Like the Bowker, the models are oversized - the review in the Feb. '65 Model Railroader said about 6% too big. For instance, the balloon stack tops out at 17 feet (as like the Bowker above, two feet higher than Plate B clearance of almost a century later), while the prototype was 13 ft. 9 ins. I'm not that familiar with the prototypes, but the models differed mainly in the type of stack, headlight, and pilot (cowcatcher).
  • [AHM's Genoa and Reno models.]
  • [AHM's Genoa, up close.]
  Mantua's General represents a similar type of engine from about the same period, but the General has closer spaced drivers and thus overall is shorter. And also close to scale, not oversized.

Ten-Wheelers 4-6-0's

• 5151-02 IC 4-6-0 "Casey Jones" - Illinois Central loco no. 382 was built in 1896 and used to power the IC's top express trains, including the Cannonball. Casey Jones was an engineer at the throttle in April 1900 when the train crashed into three freight cars left on the main. Rather than jumping to safety, he stayed at the throttle until the end, in an effort to slow it as much as possible. He was the only fatality. His heroism was fairly common at the time, but a ballad was made of this wreck and due to its popularity, his name became synonymous with railroad men everywhere.
  The loco itself, which AHM replicated, was typical of the 1890's, with two exceptions. It had a Belpaire firebox and a short clerestory on the cab roof, apparently the second as a way to blend into the profile of the passenger cars. After the wreck, the loco was rebuilt and I believe the AHM version duplicates that. The loco had 69 inch drivers (the song called the loco a "six-eight wheeler" which probably referred to the driver diameter, off by one inch) and a narrow firebox between the drivers. By the late '30's, this class of locos had been extensively rebuilt and not recognizable as the AHM version.
  • [IC 382 c. early 1900's, as rebuilt after the wreck.]
  • [The PRR's Pennsylvania Limited c. 1900, nicknamed "The Yellow Kid". The 4-6-0 was PFW&C no. 260, looking like the "Casey Jones".]
  • [AHM model.]
  This is one of the few AHM locos that was only resurrected under the IHC name for a short time and never under the Rivarossi name.
  If you wanted to "unspecify" this model, besides replacing the headlight with an electric one and removing the clerestory on the roof, you'd probably want to replace the Fox trucks under the tender with more modern ones (or even arch bar, just more typical ones).

• L-1002 PRR 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler - A European model with an American pilot (and not even the characteristic bar type of the PRR). But for all its prototype inaccuracies, the model did have a smoke generator. (Whoop-de-do!)
  • [Model.]
  • [PRR G5, no. 1844, builder's photo.]

Pacifics 4-6-2's

• 5088C PRR USRA "Light" Pacific
• 5088D CNW USRA "Light" Pacific
  In 1974, AHM came out with what they termed a "light" Pacific, "simplified". This was actually the heavy Pacific, but with a smaller tender (think it might be off their USRA 0-6-0) and with no valve gear except the drive rods. Since a few years later, they did produce a whole new different model which was based on the light Pacific, this can be very confusing.
  • [Model.]

• 4-6-2 USRA Light Pacific - Introduced around 1978, decorated for ATSF, CNW, SP, and UP. Don't think this model was manufactured by Rivarossi. (And I think the same model showed up under the Model Power name)
  • [Model as decorated for SP (and with the trailing truck derailed.]

• 4-6-2 USRA Heavy Pacific - According to the review in the February '73 Model Railroader, only 20 locos were built to this plan, and all went to the Erie (class K-5, nos. 2915-2934). After WWI, other roads basically copied the design, such as the C&EI (nos. 1018-1023 built by Lima in 1923), B&O (P7), and Southern (Ps4). Even the PRR's famous K4 were similar and I think the Rutland's three K2's were also akin. The Erie also got 10 more after the war, in 1923 (class K-5a, 2935-2944). The Atlanta & West Point and the Western of Alabama each had a copy, with 73 inch drivers.
  • [Erie 2925, USRA heavy Pacific, builder's photo.]
  However, all these had cosmetic changes that were of little concern to the prototypes, but represent major changes for us hobbyists. For instance, the Erie replaced the drivers with solid-looking disk ones and added a feedwater heater hung off the front of the smokebox in the later 1920's. Many of the Southern version had a feedwater heater on the top of the smokebox and had smaller 72 inch drivers. The C&EI and the Rutland had a shorter cab - starting with the Mantua/Tyco cab would be a good starting point, while the B&O had their own distinctive cab - take the one off the AHM 2-102 or even the 0-4-0 switcher. (Changing a sheet metal cab for a real road, or relocating a fixture like the air pumps doesn't give them a moment's pause, but drives us into a panic.)
  While the light USRA Pacific had 73 inch drivers, the heavy had 79 inch ones. The review pointed out the AHM model had .045 inch wheel flanges, deeper than the NMRA standard of .035 and much deeper than the hobby's de facto RP25 standard of .025. To compensate, they made all the wheels smaller by about five to 6 inches (72 inches). (The Southern's PS-4 had 73 inch drivers and the Rutland, 72.)
  The review in the March '73 Railroad Model Craftsman pointed out that this model was closer to the Erie's clones, the K-5a, rather than the original USRA loco. The cab is not a true USRA (which has a distinctive look), the trailing truck was a cast heavy-looking Commonwealth (as on the K-5a) instead of the built-up Cole, and the tender was from the AHM/Rivarossi NKP Berkshire. (Some of the K-5a's got large Berkshire tenders, probably of the Erie, not NKP 2-8-4 type.) Within a few years, AHM was making a smaller USRA type.
  Despite the popular conception, the heavy Pacific and heavy Mikado were not the same except for the wheels. The heavy Pacific used the LIGHT Mikado boiler with the firebox of the heavy Mikado. Since the boiler sat up higher, the domes were not as prominent on the Pacific as on the boiler of the light Mikado. This means the light Mikado LOOKS more like the light Pacific in overall appearance than the heavy Pacific.

• 5086-02 C&O 4-6-2 - In the late '70's, AHM modified their so-called USRA loco to represent the C&O's F-19 class. They added a feedwater heater and air pumps on front (but I bet they had to leave the original pumps on the fireman's side), and substituted a Vanderbilt tender. Model was numbered 471 (apparently wrong). According to SteamLocomotives dot com, there were only five of these locos, nos. 490-494, built in 1925-'26. They arrived with the air pumps on the front and the Elesco feedwater heaters - these weren't later modifications. In 1946-'47, these Pacifics were rebuilt as streamlined Hudsons, still with their same numbers.
  • [Model photo.]

• 5087-12 Southern 4-6-2 - The Southern's Ps-4 loco no. 1401 was placed in the Smithsonian. This is basically the USRA heavy Pacific. Biggest noticeable difference is the Elesco feedwater heater placed on top of the smokebox. AHM added this detail to their stock USRA Pacific, and painted it up in the apple green color with all the striping. This model, introduced c. 1979, had the reduced .039 inch deep flanges. The prototype had 73 inch diameter drivers, the model, because of the deep flanges, 72, while the original USRA engine had 79. (So in this case, the compromise worked out to the best.)
  • [Model.]
  • [Another model photo.]

Hudsons 4-6-4's

• NYC 4-6-4 Hudson - For years, Lionel made freelanced O gauge steam loco models, but around WWII, they took a brief plunge into scale by producing a model of the NYC's J3a Hudson, a class just recently produced and a loco from Lionel's neck of the woods. While this foray into scale went no further, this particular model was drooled over and thus bringing this specific prototype into the public spotlight.
  The first Hudsons were the J1, built in 1927. Basically it had a straight boiler. The J2 class (20 locos) were built for the hilly Boston & Albany and had 75 inch drivers instead of 79 inches.
  Alco built 50 of these J3 Hudsons in 1937-'38, nos. 5404-5454. No. 5344 was the first loco to be streamlined, given a "bathtub" shroud in '34, but five years later, in '39, was rebuilt to have the same type of streamlining as the other J3's. In 1945, after a grade crossing accident, the shrouding was removed. This loco was the prototype of the famous Lionel O-gauge scale model.
  • [NYC 5405.]
  • [NYC 5405, broadside, 1937 Alco builder's photo.]
  • [Lionel ad, 1937.]
  • [Another Lionel ad, 1937.]

• 5095-B NYC Streamlined 4-6-4 - A total of 13 of the 275 NYC Hudsons were streamlined. The first looked like an upside down bathtub and two more were given stainless steel cover to match the Empire State Express. Ten of the J3 locos, nos. 5445-5454, were built with streamlining in '38 and it is this version AHM duplicated with their streamline model of this loco. The locos were painted light gray with a dark band to match the original NYC two color scheme, but this was reversed, I believe in 1941, to dark gray with a light gray band. I have to check if the Hudsons were repainted to match.
  • [Photo.]
  • [Model.]
  According to SteamLocomotives dot com, the streamlining on these 10 locos were removed in 1945. (I have to check this out - I might be misreading this - but we had been planning on having a streamline Hudson in our 1950 operating session.)
  • [The Rivarossi version on our layout.]
  Nos. 5426 and 5429 were given a slightly different cowling for the Empire State Express. These two locos retained their streamling until 1950.

• 5196-B ATSF 4-6-4 Hudson - I think AHM took their NYC streamlined Hudson and gave it a new front end to make the Santa Fe "Blue Goose" (as it was irreverently nicknamed). Frankly, I think this captures the look of the ATSF look fairly well and shows how important the nose of a streamlined loco was visually. (By the way, the unshrouded Santa Fe Hudsons don't resemble the NYC ones much at all.)
  • [AHM model.]
  • [AHM model, other side.]
  • [Santa Fe version versus the NYC one.]
  According to the May '39 Model Railroader, Baldwin built five conventional-type Hudsons for the Santa Fe around 1937, and one streamlined version, no. 3460. (ONE engine.) As befitting the greater clearances on western roads, the "Blue Goose" was 7 inches higher than the Central Hudson. All of these, including the "Blue Goose", was oil powered. (This was also the ONLY streamlined steam engine on the ATSF.)
  • [ATSF 3460, builder's photo.]
  • [ATSF 3460, broadside.]
  • [Close-up of the running gear.]

• 79-50 C&O 4-6-4 Hudson (& Caboose) - AHM took their NYC regular Hudson and modified a few details. The tender is not the Central one, it is from their NKP Berkshire. The front end of the loco was changed, including putting the headlight on the pilot deck. They also changed the Boxpok drivers of the Central version for spoked drivers. (And by the way, the caboose included is based on a Santa Fe steel one and I think it was painted in the post steam - c. 1962 - yellow with blue lettering scheme.) This model version, offered around 1979, had the smaller .039 inch deep flanges.
  • [Model numbered 302.]
  According to the review of this C&O version of the AHM Hudson in the April '79 Model Railroader, these were the L-2 class on the Chesapeake & Ohio, built by Baldwin in 1941-'42. Surprisingly, the model was within a few inches of the prototype, despite its NYC prototype. The tender was about 7 feet short, but the use of the different tender helps disguise the Central look.
  Don't know the total number of locos in this class, but there were apparently 13 built by Baldwin and five home-built, so a logic guess is that the five C&O built locos were the L-1 class and the 13 Baldwin ones were the L-2.
  • [C&O 305. From a Hunt-Spiller Gun Iron ad in a 1944 Railway Age.]

Challengers 4-6-6-4's

• 4-6-6-4 Challenger - According to SteamLocomotives dot com, the UP came up with this wheel arrangement in 1936. Railroad officials watching a test run said "that is a challenge for any locomotive" and the next day, a memo went out saying the loco was to be called "Challenger". There were a total of 252 such locos built to this design, of which the UP got 105. Other roads include the Clinchfield (18 total, 12 new, 6 second-hand), D&H (40 locos), D&RGW (21), GN (two second-hand from the SP&S), NP (47), SP&S (two), WM (12), and WP (7). The AHM represents the UP prototypes. All but the D&H, Clinchfield and one of the classes of UP locos had a slanted front "sports model" cab, which would have been a useful variation to this model.
  • [Alco ad, UP Challengers, 1941. The AHM model had a regular type cab, not a "sports model" slanted front, so I would bet the model is of the last class of locos.]
  • [Alco ad showing a slew of Challengers, 1942, including a large photo of the NP version.]
  • [Alco ad up close.]
  • [Alco ad, Clinchfield Challengers, 1944.]
  • [Ad showing a Clinchfield Challenger, 1947.]
  • [D&H Challenger, Railway Age, 1940. In 1940, they got nos. 1500-1519, in '43, nos. 1520-1534, and finally in 1946, a single engine, no. 1539.]
  • [D&H Challenger tongue and groove arrangement between the front and rear drivers, Railway Age, 1940]
  • [D&H Challenger Railway Mechanical Engineer, 1940. These locos had a recessed headlight and capped stack, characteristics of D&H steam.]
  • [D&H Challenger, fireman's side. RME, 1940.]
  • [D&H Challenger being given the once-over, 1946. Photo courtesy the BLHS.]
  • [Challenger in action, unknown date and site. Photo in our collection.]
  • [Alco ad showing a NP Challenger, 1944.]
  • [Close-up, 1944.]

Cab Forward 4-8-8-2's

• 5111-02 SP 4-8-8-2 Cab Forward - These were locos on the SP that were built to run cab first, because of the many and long tunnels and snowsheds. This kept the crew in front of the exhaust, not trailing it. These engines burned oil which could be piped to the firebox. Otherwise they couldn't have separated the firebox from the tender.
  According to the review in the June '66 MR, there were several classes of cab forwards, AC-4 through AC-12. The first three series (AC-4 through AC-6) had a flat front to the cab, while the rest had a rounded front.
  The classes are as follows:
  • AC-4, nos. 4100-4109, built in 1928.
    • [SP 4100, Railway Signaling, 1926. Built c. 1923, the first locos, up until no. 4150, had a flat front. (Those holes under the cab were later plugged.]
    • [SP 4100 with plugged portholes. W.C. Whittaker photo.]
    • [SP 4101. Railway Age, 1943.]
  • AC-5, nos. 4110-4125, built in 1929.
    • [SP 4117, being turned. Railway Age, 1943.]
  • AC-6, nos. 4126-4150, built in 1930.
  • AC-7, nos. 4151-4176, built in 1937.
    • [SP 4152 (I think, it might be 4132) on a long freight. Railway Age, 1945.]
    • [SP 4159, Railway Age, 1938. The bowed front allowed them to check the staybolts without having to remove the cab.]
  • AC-8, nos. 4177-4204, built in 1939.
    • [SP 4177, one of 20 being built by Baldwin. Railway Age, 1939.]
    • [SP 4185. Baldwin builder's photo. Railway Age, 1940.]
    • [SP 4185. Another Baldwin builder's photo. Railway Age, 1940.]
    • [SP 4185, front end. Baldwin builder's photo. Railway Age, 1940.]
  • AC-9, coal-burning "cab backwards" locos.
  • AC-10,
    • [SP 4211, Railway Age, 1942. Maybe an AC-10 class?]
  • AC-11, nos. 4245-4274, 30 locos built by Baldwin in 1942-'43.
    • [SP 4272, Railway Age, 1948.]
    • [SP 4272, Railway Age, 1948. Fireman's side.]
  • AC-12, nos. 4275-4294, built by Baldwin in 1944.
    • [SP 4294, Baldwin builder's photo.]
  The AHM model was based on the plans of AC-11 no. 4272 in the June '48 MR and reprinted in Steam Loco Cyclopedia.
  • [AHM model numbered 4272, in the post 1945 lettering. This upgraded model c. 1979 has reduced .039 inch deep flanges.]
  The first cab forwards were the MC-2 class ("Mallet - Consolidation) built in 1910. "AC" stood for "articulated - consolidation", probably meaning they were not compound engines. The SP had a total of 256 cab forwards and no other road is known to have had any. (There were also the AM-2 class of 4-6-6-2's, built by Baldwin in 1911, nos. 4200-4211, later renumbered 3900-3911.)
  • [Class diagram of the 2-8-8-2 Mallet. Railway Age, 1911.]
  • [Postcard c. WWI. (The most distinguishing feature is the bulky arc headlight.)]
  There was the AC-9 class, 12 locos built by Lima in '39, which being coal burning locos, had to have the cab back by the tender. These locos looked like backwards cab forwards - the article in a '39 Railway Age even mentioned this. (And one could suggest these with the model turned around, although these had a streamlined skyline casting). These locos were used in the southwest, burning low grade bituminous coal from Dawson Field, NM. The driver diameter was 64 inches on these.
  • [Builder's photo SP 3800.]
  • [Builder's photo front. (The pilot is sheet metal with the "spokes/slats" painted on.)]
  • [Ad. Railway Age, 1943.]

Big Boys 4-8-8-4's

• UP 4-8-8-4 Big Boy - By many attributes, this class of locos were the biggest steam engines ever produced. Only the UP had ones like this. These 25 locos were constructed in late 1941 (nos. 4000-4019), with five more built in '44 (nos. 4020-4024). Legend has it that the name came about when some unknown worker at Alco chalked "Big Boy" on the smokebox front. They stayed in service until 1962 and a large number (proportionately) were preserved. This model, with smaller flanges, but still not RP-25, is still available from Rivarossi.
  • [UP 4002, broadside. Railway Age, 1941.]
  • [UP 4002, front. Railway Age, 1941.]
  • [UP 4000, in service. Railway Age, 1941.]
  According to the review in the July '67 Model Railroader, the model has 61 inch drivers, undersized as the prototype had 68 inchers.

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