Steam Train Poll

[Guest ___]

You heard me, I said poll.

[Bernard]

I love polls! Now which Shinkansen runs on Steam?  :D

[Guest ___]

All of them.

[Martijn Meerts]

Considering I'm collecting a 1/24 brass/cast iron building kit of a C62, and have 4 of them (or rather 3 and 1 on order) in N-scale, I guess its safe to assume the C62 is my favorite ;)

[lbriand_fr]

In fact, my preffered is the C57-1 Yamaguchi, and after the Pacina 12 and after the C53-43 Streamlined and after the ... C62  ;D

[C62]

C62.17 - the fastest of them all. World spped record for narrow gauge steam, 129 km/h:

 

 

Thomas

[Guest ___]

To be honest, I don't know cheese about J-steam. I picked C62 cause of the GE999

[to2leo]

To be honest, I don't know cheese about J-steam. I picked C62 cause of the GE999

 

Me too! 

 

But since then, I am starting to like steam, so I purchased D51 498 オリエントエクスプレス’88 タイプ for the Japan Orient Express.

 

I am also in the process of purchasing my first US steam, GS-4 from Southern Pacific.

[marknewton]

None of the above...  :)

 

Of the JNR standard classes, my favourites would be the C58 2-6-2s, and the C61 4-6-4s, which I think are better proportioned than the C62s.

 

Of the old JGR classes, I'd choose the B6/2120 0-6-2s, and the 9200 class 2-8-0s.

 

From the private lines, I'd pick the Jobu Railway's Dubs 2-4-2T No.8, and the Rumoi Railway's Krauss 0-4-0T No.17.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Guest ___]

BURP BUMP

[Martijn Meerts]

Last count, I think I have about 15 steam engines, with another 2 or 3 on pre-order.

 

5 of them are C62's... C62-2, C62-3, C62-15, C62-17 and C62-50 (Galaxy Express 999)

 

The worst is, I have 2x D51-498.. The MicroAce version, and Kato's Orient Express version.

I also have MicroAce's C57-135, and pre-ordered Tomix's C57-135...

 

I hate having multiple locomotives of the same road number, guess I should keep a better list of what I already have ;)

[alpineaustralia]

Apart from the GS4 are any steam dcc friendly or otherwise easy to install a decoder in?

[Martijn Meerts]

I haven't come across any DCC friendly ones (from the Japanese brands that is), and installing a decoder can be quite tricky depending on the locomotive itself. My Kato C57-180 was pretty difficult, but that was more because I couldn't get a wire soldered onto the frame. My MicroAce 9633 is far worse, I haven't been able to even open it up to check if there's enough space =)

[bikkuri bahn]

Moving the discussion back to prototypes.  I would have voted the D51 as the king- just for the sheer numbers that were built and their utility- they could pinch hit as a passenger loco, especially on lines with grades.  But my favorite would be the C58- good proportions that give a sense of compact power- also, like the D51, versatile, indeed a true dual purpose loco with wide route availability. I wish one was running up here in Hokkaido rather than the ugly C11 tank.

[CaptOblivious]

Apart from the GS4 are any steam dcc friendly or otherwise easy to install a decoder in?

 

Yes. The Kato C62:

http://www.katomodels.com/hobby/customshop/jouhou/c62_dcc_dec.shtml

 

Ignore the instructions on that page though: One of these two decoders should fit without any modification:

http://www.digitrax.com/prd_mobdec_dn123k3.php

http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Literature/Decoders/N_Scale/Kato_N/K3D3.pdf

[alpineaustralia]

Brilliant thanks

[Guest ___]

BUMP BURP

[westfalen]

Moving the discussion back to prototypes.  I would have voted the D51 as the king- just for the sheer numbers that were built and their utility- they could pinch hit as a passenger loco, especially on lines with grades.  But my favorite would be the C58- good proportions that give a sense of compact power- also, like the D51, versatile, indeed a true dual purpose loco with wide route availability. I wish one was running up here in Hokkaido rather than the ugly C11 tank.

 

I like the C11, I would have voted for it but it wasn't a choice. I like riding behind the smaller engines because they have to work harder. My most memorable run behind Japanese steam was with C11 207 from Kushiro to Shibecha and back.

[David]

And no mention of the 9600. First all Japanese locomotive, second? most produced steam locomotive in Japan (could probably be first if you split the D51 into its subtypes).

 

C11 is nice too, too bad Kato's model doesn't run nicely on R177, as the Wafu 29500 car was designed with fast freight C11's in mind (making it a perfect match for my soon to be tiny layout).

[bill937ca]

Where's just plain any steam locomotive?  Do don't see those every day anymore.  I won't be picky at all. 

[marknewton]

I like the C11, I would have voted for it but it wasn't a choice. I like riding behind the smaller engines because they have to work harder.

 

I'm with you on small engines -  I love 'em. And these days, tank engines have some advantages over tender engines when running on main lines. The only downside IMO is that if the engine works harder, so does the fireman! 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

And no mention of the 9600. First all Japanese locomotive?

 

Were they? I'm not sure about that.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[bikkuri bahn]

And no mention of the 9600. First all Japanese locomotive?

 

Were they? I'm not sure about that.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

According to the wikipedia entry (accuracy not a given), the 9600 class was the first genuinely all domestic produced steam locomotive class, though the design seems to have a strong German (namely Borsig) influence.  The whole class was manufactured domestically, rather than say, acquiring a few copies from abroad and then building the remainder domestically.

[marknewton]

According to the wikipedia entry (accuracy not a given), the 9600 class was the first genuinely all domestic produced steam locomotive class...

 

BB, I think the Wikipedia entry is incorrect. Other sources give the 6700 class 4-4-0s as the first engines to be designed and built entirely in Japan. But as you and I both know, what constitutes the "first" is often highly arguable.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[bikkuri bahn]

BB, I think the Wikipedia entry is incorrect.

 

Could very well be.  The Japanese wikipedia entry for the 9600 qualifies the assertion by stating that it was the fully domestic-built freight locomotive.  The first fully domestically designed and built steam locomotive (intended for light passenger duties) appears to be the 6700 type, though this does not seem to be widely known, perhaps because the remaining examples of the type were retired by 1951 (photos may be scant).  Interestingly, statements about the 6700 type being the first domestic steam loco tend to come from Kawasaki Heavy Industries sources, such as their web page:

 

http://www.khi.co.jp/overview/history/topics06.html

 

Wikipedia's entry on the 6700 doesn't seem to explicity state the "first domestic built" nature of this type.

 

Some sources claim an earlier type, the 860 tank (c. Meiji 26 or 1893) as being the first domestic steam locomotive, but this is disputed because the original design is not a fully independent Japanese one.