Many years back, when I first got into model railroading, I had a hobby shop about a quarter mile away. One day I went in and opened up their Walthers catalog, picked out this kit (or the latest Weyerhauser one they would've listed, more likely) and asked them to put an order in for me. They said, "it's on backorder so we'll have to call you if and when they come back in stock." Of course, they never did come back in stock, and it'd be probably 20 years before I finally picked one of these up on Ebay and built it. Not sure how well I would've done putting it together back then anyway. Sadly that shop closed up a few years ago after the owner died, but I don't think my order through them was ever going to get filled anyway.
Yeah, I also first found out about these right before Roundhouse sold to Horizon and had the whole line of kits discontinued. Good thing they made a lot of them over the years!
Only Roundhouse kit I ever built was the 2-6-0 "Old Timer". It was a complicated kit to build but I enjoyed it. I hate those delrin side rod pins and wish they had been screws instead. Those pins are forever falling out during a run. I did make my own wood load for the tender. Little bitty HO scale split hardwood and pine. Whenever I paint a model, I first wipe it down with MEK or lacquer thinner and don the nitrile gloves. Cheers from eastern TN
If you can find some proper screws for the side rods, you might be able to tap the holes in the wheels for screws to better keep them in place. I did the same kind of wood loads for my Tyco General and a Class A Climax. Real wood really makes a difference!
After watching your excellent one take video numerous times I decided to purchase a kit which my local hobby store was selling used. There was an abundance of extra parts in thie kit I was fortunate to find. Mine is a Southern Pacific version which the original owner attempted to change over to a basic undecorated kit. Since I am in the Mid West I can easily place this model in a railroad roster that used to run in either Indiana or Ohio. I had difficulty with the brass side bars or connectors between the wheels. There is a specific way they have to be installed to keep the model from having binding issues. So far I have the mechanism working unpowered and rolling smoothly. I will be adding the motor tonight to see how well my particular 0-6-0 runs powered. I have built the MDC/Roundhouse Atlantic Steamer perhaps 20 years ago. Both are similar in nature, especially parts. This particular video is among my favorites to watch. Thank you for the inspiration!
I’m glad you like the video! I wasn’t really sure how well it would go over compared to my others, so it’s nice to know it was appreciated. :) I hope your 0-6-0 becomes a nice finished model for you!
That looked like a nice, fairly straightforward build, even without solder. It was good to see a kit go together properly, with no major fettling. What a difference, compared to the last one I watched you build, the 2-8-4. Nice, long format too, very relaxing.👍👌😁
Very relaxing video. ‘Bob Ross Builds A Locomotive’ should be the title. I built a Bowser K4 and getting the running gear to operate smoothly was the most satisfying part of the build.
Can you imagine all of the Millennials gasping oh my God you have to read instructions I do have to put it together where is the remote control? Hahaha old school rules.
Being in that age group, I do wonder how there are some who could burn a glass of ice water if you didn’t give them an instruction sheet with large photos. Then again though, as someone who helps now and then with tech support, there seem to be a few of those in every age group. I guess it just depends on how we’re all raised.
Thanks! Aside from the Shay, MDC kits are pretty easy to build and a good starting point to get into kit building. This is my 4th from them, and they can be very smooth and reliable runners when built correctly.
@@DarthSantaFe I see! My ultimate goal is to find a Bowser K-11 kit, as I really like the K class Pacifics. I've seen that featured on the channel before, but will definitely try an MDC kit or two before finding one of those!
Try doing a MDC Shay kit, lol!. Took me 6 months to build a 3 truck little at a time. Something to check into for your MDC Boxcab see if NWSL makes a regear kit for the gear tower. Looks similar to my Shay. Haven't had time to install yet tho. NWSL is machined brass instead of cast plastic.
I actually did a while back, and with some extra tuning and parts from NWSL, it turned out really nice! 5 out of 6 of the NWSL axle gears split after a couple years though, and no warranty replacements since I bought the parts 2nd hand…
Do brass bushings on the axles make an appreciable difference in how well this model will do over the long term ? Could brass bushings have been added to the axles of this saddletank ? Perhaps just abit more free rolling. Is it possible that the axles could also be softly sprung with NWSL retro spring kit ? I know it's alot to perform, but just knowing so much was lavished on this little bugger is sort of fascinating. Would really make it rather special.
For this model, I don't think it would make much of a difference since it has a very slow gear ratio with very high torque. On models with a more average gear ratio, some good brass bearings can make a difference. Sam's Trains made a video testing this out, and models with identical weight and wheel arrangements were a little more free-rolling with brass bearings in the tests. Adding springs to the front and rear drivers along with brass bearings could help with the overall traction and electrical pickup, but the work to install it would be significant. For someone wanting to get the absolute best out of it, the work might be worth it.
I am wondering if you should remove your brass shim and had a spring where it assembled for the rod and pistons. The spring looks like it should be there where that long screw and nut is
For this model there's no spring. There might have been for a model with a front truck, but since this one's an 0-6-0, there's really no function for a spring.
Nice build! I noticed you had a positive and negative lead marked on your controller. Is there a way to figure out what's positive and negative on a controller where it is not marked?
My name is John, I would like to know ii you put Tsumani 2 decoders for people? I have a mantua PPR E6 4-4-2 2 and a mantua Reading 0-2- Camelback, that I need a motor, and both Led lights.
Hi! I'm not able to do anything DCC related since I don't have a controller, but I can do pretty much other work beyond that if you need. If there is any non-DCC work you want to have done, you can contact me at darthsantafe@gmail.com.
nice build! I was hoping you'd paint up the shell and maybe do a bit of extra detailing. Also your compressor is upside down lol, I hope to see more of these
Thanks for pointing that out! I'll fix that compressor, and I may add more detail eventually since it is so bare. For the video, I wanted to see how quickly I could accomplish the project as-is.
At the beginning you mentioned a can motor Roundhouse used later on. A Sagami I think. Could this 0-6-0 chassis be modified somehow to accept the can motor at the proper height/angle ?
The can motor was narrow enough that Roundhouse simply made a support piece to hold it, and that was then screwed onto the original mounting hole for the open frame motor. There are other ways to do it though, such as stacking thin strips of metal until the mesh is perfect before gluing it all down with bath sealant.
In the old days everybody had Pittman Motors. When you bought a Japanese brass locomotive chances are it had an American-made Pittman motor inside it. You know if the Japanese buy something American made it has to be good
It can definitely depend on the brand, but everyone at the very least uses standard thread sizes instead of creating their own, so it’s possible to figure out alternatives when needed.
What determines if you use an airbrush or not? I don’t think I would be confident in not making stroke marks. Regardless, impressive how quickly you got it together!
For a quick project and small details where brush marks won't be too apparent, I'll use a brush to finish some things. As long as the paint isn't too thick, and you work quickly enough for the paint to flow together, brush marks can disappear or be mostly hidden.
Was it actually wired backwards or where the wheels put in backwards. I recently got an old English 0-4-0 A5 that had the Wheels in backwards. They have one side grounded
I do work on brass pieces now and then. You can see some of my work in the Tetsudo 4-6-4 and Westside 4-6-6-4 videos. If you're wanting me to work on a brass piece that you have, you can contact me at darthsantafe@gmail.com and we can figure something out!
Hello, I’ve been building a Roundhouse Old Timer 2-8-0 for a few days now and as I was finishing the build today, the main rod and crosshead had broken. The hole on the main rod for the pin on the crosshead had broken and the pin on the crosshead had chipped and was now shorter. Both pieces are identical to the ones on this kit and I was wondering if there was a way to fix the problem. I’ve been searching all over for anyone selling the Individual parts to no avail, and I’d rather not spend a fair amount of money on a whole new kit for just those two parts. If you could offer any tips or suggestions in any way, I’d greatly appreciate it. And if you need pictures of how my parts look, I can send them on various social media platforms if you have any. If you read this, thank you very much.
I understand , in the beginning , all ho trains were only , kits. Can you tell us what date this is from? I'm just curious as it looks vintage and great, and your tutorial is so superb.. they are so great .. your personal commentaries ...
Thanks! This version of the kit is likely from the late 80's or so, but they made these all the way up to the early 2000's. The original version from the 50's had a metal body, and the motor was slanted down to mesh the worm directly with the axle gear.
The tool was included with a Bowser kit. They have them available on their retail website for $2.50: www.bowserorders.com/.sc/ms/dd/ee/15589703/Bowser%20RIVET%20TOOL%20-%20H-36
UNFORTUNATELY, YOU DID SEVERAL OPERATIONS 'OFF CAMERA!' TEST FITTING WAS RECOMMENDED! KITS WERE EVERYWHERE, GETTING PREBUILT IN THR 50'S 60'S WAS IFFY AND EXPENSIVE.
Yes, a few things ended up happening off camera. I did my best to keep it all in one spot, but when you're doing everything in one take while mostly going in blind, it's hard to avoid getting out of view now and then.
Definitely not any kind of a mechanic. A lot of stuff could had gone bad. Not equipped with proper tools for modelling. I was ready to go to sleep in the first five minutes. OMG. LEARN HOW TO EDIT DUDE.
This is the long 1-take no-cuts version. I did also do an edited version that's under 25 minutes: ua-cam.com/video/tarSdTBGIFo/v-deo.html I may not have $1,000 per piece model railroad grade screwdrivers with diamond tips, but I do have more fine-modeling tools on hand than most hobbyists. I am open to constructive criticism from those wanting to help, so can you please tell me what it is that I did wrong in this build?
You got to stay in the lens view. Your out of scene most of the time. Hard to stay interested in the build. Gotta get better organized. Have your tools ready and organize the parts first before going on camera.
I did notice that after recording, and have been trying to stay more in frame for my videos since then. I also thought I had all the tools I needed ready to go, but then others were needed that I didn’t anticipate.
Many years back, when I first got into model railroading, I had a hobby shop about a quarter mile away. One day I went in and opened up their Walthers catalog, picked out this kit (or the latest Weyerhauser one they would've listed, more likely) and asked them to put an order in for me. They said, "it's on backorder so we'll have to call you if and when they come back in stock."
Of course, they never did come back in stock, and it'd be probably 20 years before I finally picked one of these up on Ebay and built it. Not sure how well I would've done putting it together back then anyway. Sadly that shop closed up a few years ago after the owner died, but I don't think my order through them was ever going to get filled anyway.
Yeah, I also first found out about these right before Roundhouse sold to Horizon and had the whole line of kits discontinued. Good thing they made a lot of them over the years!
Only Roundhouse kit I ever built was the 2-6-0 "Old Timer". It was a complicated kit to build but I enjoyed it. I hate those delrin side rod pins and wish they had been screws instead. Those pins are forever falling out during a run. I did make my own wood load for the tender. Little bitty HO scale split hardwood and pine. Whenever I paint a model, I first wipe it down with MEK or lacquer thinner and don the nitrile gloves. Cheers from eastern TN
If you can find some proper screws for the side rods, you might be able to tap the holes in the wheels for screws to better keep them in place.
I did the same kind of wood loads for my Tyco General and a Class A Climax. Real wood really makes a difference!
After watching your excellent one take video numerous times I decided to purchase a kit which my local hobby store was selling used. There was an abundance of extra parts in thie kit I was fortunate to find. Mine is a Southern Pacific version which the original owner attempted to change over to a basic undecorated kit. Since I am in the Mid West I can easily place this model in a railroad roster that used to run in either Indiana or Ohio. I had difficulty with the brass side bars or connectors between the wheels. There is a specific way they have to be installed to keep the model from having binding issues. So far I have the mechanism working unpowered and rolling smoothly. I will be adding the motor tonight to see how well my particular 0-6-0 runs powered. I have built the MDC/Roundhouse Atlantic Steamer perhaps 20 years ago. Both are similar in nature, especially parts. This particular video is among my favorites to watch. Thank you for the inspiration!
I’m glad you like the video! I wasn’t really sure how well it would go over compared to my others, so it’s nice to know it was appreciated. :)
I hope your 0-6-0 becomes a nice finished model for you!
Really cool little locomotive!! Nice assembly as well. Thanks!
That looked like a nice, fairly straightforward build, even without solder. It was good to see a kit go together properly, with no major fettling. What a difference, compared to the last one I watched you build, the 2-8-4. Nice, long format too, very relaxing.👍👌😁
Very relaxing video. ‘Bob Ross Builds A Locomotive’ should be the title. I built a Bowser K4 and getting the running gear to operate smoothly was the most satisfying part of the build.
these have always been one of my favorite mass produced models, looks good with most any rolling stock you stick behind it
Can you imagine all of the Millennials gasping oh my God you have to read instructions I do have to put it together where is the remote control? Hahaha old school rules.
Being in that age group, I do wonder how there are some who could burn a glass of ice water if you didn’t give them an instruction sheet with large photos. Then again though, as someone who helps now and then with tech support, there seem to be a few of those in every age group. I guess it just depends on how we’re all raised.
Remarkable, Mindblowing only because you might have great sight.......Thanks.
Very nice build! I really like these longer uncut videos. Will have to look for an MDC kit like this!
Thanks! Aside from the Shay, MDC kits are pretty easy to build and a good starting point to get into kit building. This is my 4th from them, and they can be very smooth and reliable runners when built correctly.
@@DarthSantaFe I see! My ultimate goal is to find a Bowser K-11 kit, as I really like the K class Pacifics. I've seen that featured on the channel before, but will definitely try an MDC kit or two before finding one of those!
Very nice I sat with you through the Build trains are fun!!! Be well my Friend
Great update today .It's nice to support your channel .Keep the good work up.
I have one of these kits on the way. It should arrive by the weekend. This video was invaluable! Many thanks.
Try doing a MDC Shay kit, lol!. Took me 6 months to build a 3 truck little at a time. Something to check into for your MDC Boxcab see if NWSL makes a regear kit for the gear tower. Looks similar to my Shay. Haven't had time to install yet tho. NWSL is machined brass instead of cast plastic.
I actually did a while back, and with some extra tuning and parts from NWSL, it turned out really nice! 5 out of 6 of the NWSL axle gears split after a couple years though, and no warranty replacements since I bought the parts 2nd hand…
Do brass bushings on the axles make an appreciable difference in how well this model will do over the long term ? Could brass bushings have been added to the axles of this saddletank ? Perhaps just abit more free rolling. Is it possible that the axles could also be softly sprung with NWSL retro spring kit ? I know it's alot to perform, but just knowing so much was lavished on this little bugger is sort of fascinating. Would really make it rather special.
For this model, I don't think it would make much of a difference since it has a very slow gear ratio with very high torque. On models with a more average gear ratio, some good brass bearings can make a difference. Sam's Trains made a video testing this out, and models with identical weight and wheel arrangements were a little more free-rolling with brass bearings in the tests.
Adding springs to the front and rear drivers along with brass bearings could help with the overall traction and electrical pickup, but the work to install it would be significant. For someone wanting to get the absolute best out of it, the work might be worth it.
I am wondering if you should remove your brass shim and had a spring where it assembled for the rod and pistons. The spring looks like it should be there where that long screw and nut is
For this model there's no spring. There might have been for a model with a front truck, but since this one's an 0-6-0, there's really no function for a spring.
Great video makes me want to kit bash one of my locomotives
Nice build! I noticed you had a positive and negative lead marked on your controller. Is there a way to figure out what's positive and negative on a controller where it is not marked?
My name is John, I would like to know ii you put Tsumani 2 decoders for people? I have a mantua PPR E6 4-4-2 2 and a mantua Reading 0-2- Camelback, that I need a motor, and both Led lights.
Hi! I'm not able to do anything DCC related since I don't have a controller, but I can do pretty much other work beyond that if you need. If there is any non-DCC work you want to have done, you can contact me at darthsantafe@gmail.com.
nice build! I was hoping you'd paint up the shell and maybe do a bit of extra detailing. Also your compressor is upside down lol, I hope to see more of these
Thanks for pointing that out! I'll fix that compressor, and I may add more detail eventually since it is so bare. For the video, I wanted to see how quickly I could accomplish the project as-is.
At the beginning you mentioned a can motor Roundhouse used later on. A Sagami I think. Could this 0-6-0 chassis be modified somehow to accept the can motor at the proper height/angle ?
The can motor was narrow enough that Roundhouse simply made a support piece to hold it, and that was then screwed onto the original mounting hole for the open frame motor. There are other ways to do it though, such as stacking thin strips of metal until the mesh is perfect before gluing it all down with bath sealant.
In the old days everybody had Pittman Motors. When you bought a Japanese brass locomotive chances are it had an American-made Pittman motor inside it. You know if the Japanese buy something American made it has to be good
Are those screws/crank pins standard size for 00 and H0? Or does every brand have it's own size?
It can definitely depend on the brand, but everyone at the very least uses standard thread sizes instead of creating their own, so it’s possible to figure out alternatives when needed.
@@DarthSantaFeThanks!
I was wondering if the Quartered the wheels right.
Yes, they’re quartered as far as I can tell.
@@DarthSantaFe Man this is a nice kit.
What determines if you use an airbrush or not? I don’t think I would be confident in not making stroke marks. Regardless, impressive how quickly you got it together!
For a quick project and small details where brush marks won't be too apparent, I'll use a brush to finish some things. As long as the paint isn't too thick, and you work quickly enough for the paint to flow together, brush marks can disappear or be mostly hidden.
Use testors Aztek airbrush paint with a brush, flows nice.
@@Gfysimpletons Yup, I do that all the time with enamel paints. You can get a real nice finish that way!
Hello, a good job
Was it actually wired backwards or where the wheels put in backwards. I recently got an old English 0-4-0 A5 that had the Wheels in backwards. They have one side grounded
It was backwards. The wheels are grounded on one side, but the pickup wiper fits to the left, so the grounded wheels had to go on the right.
Do you work on any small brass loco projects ?
I do work on brass pieces now and then. You can see some of my work in the Tetsudo 4-6-4 and Westside 4-6-6-4 videos. If you're wanting me to work on a brass piece that you have, you can contact me at darthsantafe@gmail.com and we can figure something out!
Right rail is positive when facing forward.
Hello, I’ve been building a Roundhouse Old Timer 2-8-0 for a few days now and as I was finishing the build today, the main rod and crosshead had broken. The hole on the main rod for the pin on the crosshead had broken and the pin on the crosshead had chipped and was now shorter. Both pieces are identical to the ones on this kit and I was wondering if there was a way to fix the problem. I’ve been searching all over for anyone selling the Individual parts to no avail, and I’d rather not spend a fair amount of money on a whole new kit for just those two parts. If you could offer any tips or suggestions in any way, I’d greatly appreciate it. And if you need pictures of how my parts look, I can send them on various social media platforms if you have any. If you read this, thank you very much.
If you want to send the photo to darthsantafe@gmail.com, I'll see if I can come up with any ideas!
@@DarthSantaFe sure thing, sounds great. Thanks a ton 👍
I understand , in the beginning , all ho trains were only , kits. Can you tell us what date this is from? I'm just curious as it looks vintage and great, and your tutorial is so superb.. they are so great .. your personal commentaries ...
Thanks! This version of the kit is likely from the late 80's or so, but they made these all the way up to the early 2000's. The original version from the 50's had a metal body, and the motor was slanted down to mesh the worm directly with the axle gear.
Were did you get the rivet toll / what size is the tool?
The tool was included with a Bowser kit. They have them available on their retail website for $2.50: www.bowserorders.com/.sc/ms/dd/ee/15589703/Bowser%20RIVET%20TOOL%20-%20H-36
loks like small Dorn would be useful :)
I’ve always wanted to build the tyco old timey 4-4-0 but never had the nerve to try lol
I had to redo the quartering of the wheels on my 4-4-0. Beyond that though, the kit went together with little difficulty.
It's binding not bind 40:08
Im after one of these, but that mold seam down the middle would have to go!
The only reason I didn’t trim it is because the shell is painted. Otherwise it would have come off first thing.
Bachman 4-8-4 northern steam engin fix
Did not check your coupler height.
I did miss that in the video, but they are the correct height.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
UNFORTUNATELY, YOU DID SEVERAL OPERATIONS 'OFF CAMERA!' TEST FITTING WAS RECOMMENDED! KITS WERE EVERYWHERE, GETTING PREBUILT IN THR 50'S 60'S WAS IFFY AND EXPENSIVE.
Yes, a few things ended up happening off camera. I did my best to keep it all in one spot, but when you're doing everything in one take while mostly going in blind, it's hard to avoid getting out of view now and then.
ASMR loco building.
Definitely not any kind of a mechanic. A lot of stuff could had gone bad.
Not equipped with proper tools for modelling. I was ready to go to sleep in the first five minutes. OMG.
LEARN HOW TO EDIT DUDE.
This is the long 1-take no-cuts version. I did also do an edited version that's under 25 minutes: ua-cam.com/video/tarSdTBGIFo/v-deo.html
I may not have $1,000 per piece model railroad grade screwdrivers with diamond tips, but I do have more fine-modeling tools on hand than most hobbyists.
I am open to constructive criticism from those wanting to help, so can you please tell me what it is that I did wrong in this build?
You got to stay in the lens view. Your out of scene most of the time. Hard to stay interested in the build.
Gotta get better organized. Have your tools ready and organize the parts first before going on camera.
I did notice that after recording, and have been trying to stay more in frame for my videos since then. I also thought I had all the tools I needed ready to go, but then others were needed that I didn’t anticipate.