Model Train Journal

The old thread died due to Photobucket demanding money. I guess I don't blame them - nothing is free.

Pete asked about my opinion as to the best O Scale model ever. Here it is - details later:

Look forward to hearing details about this Waller Mike.

BH

Bob,

Do you remember the one Si had? He told me it was built by a guy named Spanknoble (sic).

Very nice model and he offered it to me and Don Miller. I couldn't afford it so Don Ended up buying the model. I may be wrong but, I think Tino or Jerry sold it on ebay for Don. Shoot I couldn't afford it the second time either.

I do have one of Bob's kits and I'm putting it on a Glacier Park mechanism.

Jay

Yes - that one was the fabled "lost wax" Mike. I have portions of one - the casting masters went to Spot Hobbies, then to Henry Pearce, who kept me supplied for a while, then to Stevenson, who modernized and resurrected the model. Bob recently sent me enough castings to start another.

Well now; that's indeed a beauty. For me the prototype is half of the appeal of it as I love the look of mid-sized and small SP steam in particular; the boiler and the long tender's details are well rendered too.
What kind of drive is this set up with Bob?

I don't know. It is a Ray Waller, so probably Lobaugh. It currently is in the care of my friend Howard Hansen. It knocked around san Francisco, and I had the opportunity to buy it for $500, when good Lobaugh Mikes were $300. I suspect it is in the $1500-$2000 range now.

Here is my version of the Lobaugh Lost-Wax Mike:



This one has a lot of Waller castings in it, but the tail beam is my work, along with boiler, cab, and tender. 786 was, at the time, outside our crew hotel in Austin. It was restored after that, but I spent hours measuring the tail beam and otherwise trying to be accurate during my modeling attempt.

While I am at it, my first Lobaugh, bought essentially the way you see it here (I changed the angle of the cab and added the tailbeam). Built by Harold Peters (RIP).

Here's a link to an OST article and photos showing some locos detailed by and with Waller parts.

Also, the Ed Spanknoble Mikado owned by Si is shown.

If it's the same Ed Spanknoble (believe it is), he was/is from KCMO and was well know by the local O scale guys. Owned a company called Industrial Machine and Tool. I never met him but his name would come up from time to time when we set modules up at train shows or during meetings.

http://www.oscalemag.com/docs/ost66_pg40.pdf

BH

Thanks for the link. Here are a few more of the photos we used in that article - I have permission to use the ones I did not personally take. Also, I forgot to "enhance" the above photos. Seems to me the enhancement algorithm really makes a difference on things like trains.





These are obviously prototype photos.

And here is the original 1937 catalog version of the Lobaugh model - probably built by Gerry White, with tailbeam and rivets added at assembly:

Color photo of 786 appears very realistic--hard to tell from full-size version.

My late friend, John T Hill, was familiar with Ed Spanknoble & I agree that he was well-known in KC ca 1940s-50. the lost-wax version of the Lobaugh SP Mike was developed by Al Ellis and marketed by him during his ownership of the company ca 1957. I think it could reasonably be stated as the most finely-detailed Lobaugh loco ever produced.

Just my tuppence,

bob turner wrote:Pete asked about my opinion as to the best O Scale model ever. Here it is - details later:

Waller Mike.JPG

Outstanding model for sure. If one was not an SP fan this locomotive would certainly convert most folks into one.

Robert

BobT,

You talk often about the tail beams, can you clue us (me) in on why?

I'm guessing none of my commercial engines have one, so maybe that's the reason I'm ignorant on the subject. So why don't commercial engines have them? If it's because of small radius track I can't imagine a tail beam having any more interference than the pilot (beam?).

I added a booster engine to my first Williams USRA Mike when I converted it to a SAL class Q3, but it kept interfering/derailing so I took it off. Now that I think about it, it might have been shorting out on the electrified track. Maybe I'll put it back on since I'm running battery power now.

Oh by the way...nice models!!! 764 sure has a lot of detail hanging on it.

Tailbeams for Hodges trucks are lacy affairs. To my knowledge, only the Lobaugh lost wax Mike came with an accurate one. The prewar Mike used the Berkshire tail beam.

Sunset sort of tried, but since the thing had to run on 3- rail, they had a giant cut-out. Not good for scale. One could replace the truck and tail beam with Stevenson parts, but the boiler would still be incorrect.