NPC No.21
I recently ran across a photo and plans for the very unusual loco No. 21 of the NPC in the Sept-Oct 1987 NG&SL Gazette.
I've wanted to build a model of that loco since seeing a very dim old photo of her in one of George Abdill's books. The
1:48 plans in the center of the magazine when blown up 236% at Kinko's made a perfect 1:20.3 set. Learning that the
prototype was a one-off creation of the NPC shops based on a wrecked Baldwin 4-4-0 chassis set me to thinking that a
Bachmann 4-4-0 might just do the trick. I picked one up at the Big Train Show, took it apart and laid the chassis on
it's side on the plan and found that it was almost spot on in wheelbase, space from the pilot to the drive wheels, the
tender, everything fit! And so it started.
After I'd created the shell of the cab and the boiler, the problems arose. With the back of the cab open and so many
windows in the cab, there is no way I can hide the fact that the plans gave no hint as to how the backhead was made
or where the firebox was located or how the tilted boiler was attached to the frame inside the cab. It is just floating i
n the plans that we have.
Does anyone have information (drawings) of the details of this locomotive? Chris Walas and I are both diving into this
project and we've just noticed that the pool is only half filled. We'd be most appreciative of any help that anyone
could provide.
Here's a shot of the prototype so everyone can see how weird this engine was and why I am so fascinated by
it.
My progress so far. The original loco was the first cab forward built in the US, the first to use oil as a fuel, and the
first to use a marine type boiler. Water was in the tubes rather than surrounding them.
Here are some plans from Mike Reilly, who these scanned images of the construction of UPC #21. First, if you can read
Acrobat files (PDF), just download this document and have at it.
All the Plans and Pictures in PDF format
Caution.. these are BIG files...from 750K to 1.8M each.
I've never built anything from plans before, usually just adapting existing units to another form. This is the most
difficult and time consuming project I've ever tackled. The pressure to create something as close to a prototype as
possible is new to me, it's been slow going here
I'm almost finished with the old girl. Except for an engineer and fireman and full details of the cab interior she is
all together and operational. Itwas a struggle to fit a smoke unit (Aristo SD45), a Phoenix sound system (stolen from
my "connie") a working headlight, and the flickering firebox light from the Bachmann 4-4-0 that has sacrificed so much
to make the construction of this loco possible. Installing the wiring to connect the three different units that make up
the locomotive was no picnic.
The sound system went into the two tubs on the tender body, the speaker in one and the wiring, battery, volume control,
and circuit board in the other.
Everything except the window frames is sprayed with Krylon semi-flat black and will be dusted with grimy black when
I'm in the mood to do some airbrushing. I decided that as all the photos of the original were in black and white, I could
give it a little more character by doing the window frames in ruddy brown primer. None of the photos showed her with touches
of white here and there but I felt that the model needed a little brightening up so the running boards got their edges
painted white.
It's been the toughest job I've taken on since I started working in large scale. I've always freelanced my models and
built things that "could have been" rather than to try to follow plans. Kitbashing is a lot easier than
scratch building but I just couldn't resist this challenge. I might mention that I decided to model her as she was
first built, before they added the sand dome, the flip-up stack cap, and the relocated headlight. She looks as she
did on her inaugural run.
No. 21 gets a crew. An all day project (and some of today) resulted in these two characters to sit in the cab of No.21. I'm
not happy with the faces but I'm no Chris Walas. As the bodies aren't much of a problem, I think I'll just sit down and make
face after face until I get something I'm really pleased with. It is EXTREMELY delicate work. Actually, these guys look better
in person than in the picture. The fireman isn't happy about the roar of the blowers that feed air to the oil burners so he's
got his fingers in his ears..
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