NH DEY-3 (ALCo S-1) Part III: Shutter Control and Water Fill

Continuing with the DEY-3 models. Units 0971 and later were delivered with automatic shutter controls, while the earlier units had manual shutter controls. The Proto 2000 model comes with parts for the manual shutter controls. It's a small plastic part that mounts near the fan housing, and a long pipe that goes to the cab. There are starter holes inside the hood to drill out for this part. I didn't have a drill bit long enough so Chris drilled them out for me.

The Precision Scale no. 3321 Hancock vertical check valve looked like a decent match to the small motor mounted on the fan housing with the automatic shutter control. On many roads there's a small rectangular box, which is simply protecting this motor. It would have been easier to model.

To start, I drilled a hole at an angle where I wanted to mount it. I also cut off the small round extension on one end and filed it flat, and filed away the mounting bracket that is around the post. I've been using these tungsten bits a lot and find that the large diameter shaft works well as a handle and often just use them manually like this.

While working on this part, I also drilled and cut out the plastic around the fan so it will be open for the speaker. Once I mounted the part, I soldered one strand from a 32 AWG stranded wire as the conduit.

I drilled the hole for the other end based on a photo.

Many earlier units received automatic shutters as well. This motor is on all of them. Some of them received the new radiator shutters, while others retained the original shutters when converted. Not all of the S-1s received the automatic shutter systems, so I'd recommend modeling from photos.

There's also a small water fill pipe missing on the model. I made one by using a piece of 1/64" styrene rod and gluing a piece of 0.035" styrene rod centered on the end.

I cut the larger rod to a thickness that looked good, then glued a second piece of the smaller rod on the other end.

I drilled a hole in the model on the center line roughly halfway between the fan housing and the first panel seam to insert the part.

Then I trimmed off the top and filed it until I liked the dimension.

I also decided I'd rather glue on the fan shutters before painting, so I removed the fan altogether so I wouldn't have to worry about how to mask that. I'll install it after the unit is painted. I also need to figure out what to use for the fan for the other unit, since it started with the round fan housing and I drilled that one out.

Here's how the shutters and shutter actuation systems look on the two units. They've been primed with Badger Stynylrez primer, which I am finding that I love. It's very easy to work with, and appears to be a perfect base coat.

NH DEY-3 (ALCo S-1) Part II: Shutters and Whistle

It's been a while since I've been working on the DEY-3 (S-1) locomotives, but Mike Redden brought the new one-piece cabs he's 3D printing at home, instead of the flat kit he has available at Shapeways. In addition he now has the proper fan shutters and the low-profile radiator shutters.

I'm working on two units for HDX-5, nos. 0967 and 0994 for different years.

There are two versions of the Proto 2000 S-1, here's the one with the square fan housing. It comes with an etched fan grate, but unfortunately it should be shutters like an RS-1. Also note the radiator shutters, with 11 wide shutters and how they protrude a couple of inches from the hood. This was a later style of shutters, automatically operated. On the New Haven, this style was on the post-war DEY-3 locomotives, starting with no. 0971.

Chris started a chat with our CAD buddies Chris Zygmunt and Mike Redden last year to produce the correct cooling fan shutters. Mike has them available now, designed to fit the Proto 2000 models. I was able to provide photos and measurements from an RS-1 shutter, which are identical.

I'm not using a walk-over grate. Based on photos, it appears that the New Haven didn't install these until c1954 with the introduction of the "full balloon" paint scheme. Although there are a few photos in other schemes with them, all of the dated ones are 1954 or later.

One photo of 0943 in Hartford has the narrow walk-over grate and it's still in the Pullman Green delivery scheme. Its next documented repaint was April, 1954 in the "full balloon" scheme, and was obviously prior to 1943. But I haven't documented any others, and also not with the narrow grate. 

It's a see-through part with the shutters partially open, which is great because I've mounted the speaker up front. This is mounted on the second version of the Proto model. I drilled out the top and scratch built the square housing to the same dimensions as the other model. Why? Because that version of the model has flush-mounted radiator shutters. Unfortunately, it still has the 11 wide shutters, instead of the 24 narrow shutters on the prototype. Now that Mike has made the correct ones, I'll replace them.

To do that I just drilled a bunch of holes, then cut and filed away the old shutters so I could replace them with the new ones. Mike's part installs from the outside, and the flange covers hides the seam, so it doesn't have to be perfect. Here are a couple of pictures with the new fan and radiator shutters. This will be no. 0967.

Here's a shot of Mike's one-piece cab with the low-profile New Haven roof. I've also shortened the stack to the same height. The bell has been removed (it's mounted under the frame) and the New Haven used a 3-chime whistle instead of a horn.

I'm using a Custom Finishing no. 103 whistle, as it's based on the NH prototypes. It's slightly large/tall, but their shorter whistle is based on a NYC single chime prototype. I'm also using one of the pipes with an elbow from the Precision Scale no. 4839. It's marketed as O-scale parts, but will work well for this. The Precision Scale no. 3321 Hancock vertical check valve (a part that's no longer produced) will be used in the next post...

The pipe has an elbow that is already cored. I shortened the post on the whistle and soldered them together.

Although probably large, I used a strip of 1"x8" styrene because it was wide enough to drill for a Cal Scale no. 512 U-bolt to attach the whistle in the same way the New Haven did.

I scored a second piece of 1"x 8" styrene so I could bend it to make a handle for the other part of the whistle bracket.

You can see how I'm installing it here using styrene cement, and a picture of the prototype behind it. On no. 0967 it's mounted about a foot forward of the cab roof.

On the second unit, no. 0994, it is mounted about three feet forward. you can see the difference in spacing between the two below:

More to come...

Power for the New Hartford Local

Chris has gotten started on building his undecorated Proto 2000 S-1 for a New Haven DEY-3 class switcher. I had started some modifications on mine a while ago, and we need to add decoders as well. So naturally, I pulled mine out to provide some input. Which has led to the locomotives hitting the bench for some more work.

So what locomotives will I need? 

In my case, I need the S-1 for the New Hartford Local. Although I usually refer to this as HDX-5, it's a bit more complicated than that as things were changing throughout the era I model. For now I've decided to focus on 1949 and later since it will be easier to get the diesels running. Especially since HDX-5 used a K-1-d mogul with Southern valve gear, a variation that NERS never released (despite the initial announcement that they would). So until I'm comfortable I have the skills to modify the valve gear on a brass model I'll start with these.

1949

HDX-5 was briefly eliminated in early 1949 when the K-1-d was pulled, and the tonnage absorbed into NY-4 which would work the New Hartford branch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Presumably there was enough traffic, perhaps combined with the fact that HDX-5 originated in Hartford instead of Cedar Hill, and it was reinstated by September, 1949 with DEY-3 (S-1) no. 0967 assigned. It was built on May 13, 1944. 

John Wallace took this photo of  0967 on the Valley Local in Wethersfield in May, 1949. 

John's photo shows that the locomotive was still in it's delivery scheme in early 1949, and records confirm it wasn't repainted until April 3, 1952. So for my purposes it's still Pullman Green.

In 1952 it would have received the current (as of May 9, 1950) scheme of a Pullman Green cab and hood top, with a narrow band of Pullman Green and the curved fillet at the base of the hood, and the remainder of the hood in Warm Orange. This was the third scheme that the DEY-3 and DEY-5 (S-2) locomotives wore.

Later on, it was one of a few of S-1s that received the August 2, 1957-March 24, 1958 Matter/McGinnis scheme with black sides on the walkway. It was one of a few that had a small "NH" on the front of the hood. I haven't identified any other schemes worn by this locomotive, so the third scheme it wore may have been its final one. It survived to the Penn Central era.

1950-1951

In autumn of 1950, the assignment for HDX-5 has changed to DEY-3 0994. This is one of the postwar S-1s, the second to last one, and was delivered in Hunter Green and Warm Orange on January 1, 1949. 

Chris found this undated photo of 0994 in Wethersfield. Looking closely, you can see the line between the green hood top and Warm Orange hood. The question is, which green?

In mid-'51 the NH started the Pullman Green/Warm Orange scheme that 0967 received in 1952. But in a document dated January 27, 1955, no. 0994 hadn't been repainted yet. At that time, the current scheme was 401 Green with Warm Orange, and a 90 degree fillet had been added at the top next to the cab. In other words, the "full balloon" or "hot dog" scheme. This scheme was replaced by the first Matter/McGinnis scheme on February 1, 1956. So it must have been the "full balloon" scheme.

Sure enough, here's a photo confirming this scheme:

Location, date, and photographer unknown.

This was the fourth scheme worn by these classes. I haven't found any record or photo showing that 0994 was subsequently repainted prior to the PC era either. There are some photos of DEY- class locomotives in these (very worn) schemes in the late-'60s so it's possible that neither 0967 or 0994 were repainted again.

I don't have any engine assignments for 1951 so for now I will keep 0994 on that assignment.

1952

In Spring of 1952 the New Hartford local and the Cedar Hill-Holyoke local were combined, operating out of Hartford. By September 1952 the New Hartford local is reinstated, now as NX-25 after the elimination of the Hartford Division. It still originates in Hartford, and has DERS-2b (RS-2) 0503 assigned. This is convenient, since it's one of the two locomotives regularly assigned to NY-4/YN-3 in earlier years and I've already modeled it.

I don't have any repaint information for 0503, but here's a shot in South Boston in another scheme:

Date and photographer unknown.

This scheme, the same as noted for 0967, was applied from ~June, 1951 to ~June, 1953,  and was the second scheme applied to RS-2s.

The diagram for the following "full balloon" scheme was dated for June, 1954, but it was noted as a correction, and photos indicate that the switch occurred earlier, probably mid-1953. So there's a possibility that 0503 would have the pictured scheme by late '52, but it could have been sometime in 1953 as well.

1953

In fall of 1953, NX-25 and NY-4/YN-3 are replaced by NX-28, but it now operated out of Plainville. 

No 0967 is assigned to this train, but we know that 0967 was repainted in the above scheme on April 3, 1952 as noted above. But it doesn't work New Britain at all, which is one of the reasons there are no daytime freights in my November, 1953 ops sessions. This train, as NX-28, would switch back to originating in Hartford for fall of '54 and NY-4/YN-3 would also be reinstated by then. Tom McNamara caught DERS-3 (Fairbanks Morse H16-44) no. 590 on the job in that era.

All of these changes are beyond the operating sessions on the layout. 

Repaints?

During this era, locomotive paint schemes were changing frequently, and those schemes help set the era. But not all of a given class received a particular scheme. Although I know 0967 was repainted by 1953, it doesn't look like it was operating in New Britain at that time.

As for 0503, that could have been repainted after November, 1952, the last year it will be running on the layout. At that time, there are a couple of DERS-2c (RS-3) locomotives, one of which will be in that scheme (and the other in one similar to the RS-2 delivery scheme, but Pullman Green and including a band of green along the bottom). So three different RS- paint schemes running at once if I stick with the delivery scheme on 0503. I do have a third model already disassembled, and I could do a second model if I wanted to. For the moment that will stay on the back burner unless/until I find documentation that it was repainted prior to November, 1952, and I'll get working on the S-1s instead.

HDX-5 in Newington and New Britain

I've been trying to maintain a steady pace of posts this year, but at the same time I am also rebuilding my website.

I built my current site on Google Sites. But like so many products and services Google has created, they have decided to end the old Google Sites and create an entirely new (and less flexible) product. Long story short, I've been rebuilding the site on the new Sites (after looking at alternatives), and I've taken the opportunity to essentially rewrite most of it as well. It needed it anyway.

When I get there, it has lots of new information, compiled information from the blog (that was the point anyway), and new photos too. 

Since the new site is still some time off, here's a teaser. I've been working on the page for the New Hartford Local. Kent Cochrane photos, of course, c1947-8 unless noted.

K-1-d No. 423 with HDX-5 westbound at Newington Junction.

479 westbound with HDX-5 with a 15 car* train taken from Black Rock Bridge in New Britain.

*This is noted by Tom McNamara on the back of the photo, which comes from his collection. I count 11 cars. The date is also stamped on the back of the card, but it doesn't look like mid-October to me. All of the distant visible buildings on the north side of the track (to the left of the train) are part of Stanley Works.

The photo of 423 is great, because I could finish the K-1-d that I have since it has Baker valve gear. Since HDX-5 ran with steam until the end of 1948, it makes it easier to get it up and running. Then I can worry about how to fabricate the Southern valve gear for 479 in the future. Of course I'll still have to see if I can get it to haul 11 cars up the helix...