D&RGW "T-12" Class 4-6-0 - #174 circa the 1920's - 1930's. A PHOTO STUDY OF A FOREGROUND MODEL from P-B-L.

~ Updated Wednesday, March 02, 2022 ~

- D&RGW "T-12" #174 circa the 1920's - 1930's -

Click here to skip the rhetoric and view more photos. . . .

    Ahhhhhhhhh. . . What a Classic Locomotive they were, these "T-12"s of the D&RGW... One of their prominent features was all that "stuff" between the 2nd and 3rd drivers which included, among other things, the equalizer linkage and main spring; that unusual brake cylinder mounting bracket which got it up and out of the way; and in behind that you'll spot one of the boiler "stays", plus a "blowdown" for the firebox... Of course, behind the rear driver you're looking at the slack adjuster for the brake rigging itself...
    Like the S.P. "Tenwheelers" we did some years ago, of note is the fact that the locomotive's Steam Cylinders with their "Alligator" Crosshead Guides are canted slightly rearward so that their centerline lines up with the centerline of the main drivers axle, a detail missed by EVERY "T-12" model produced in EVERY scale except "Sn3"... (For the record, their cabs weren't right either...)
    Barely visible is the wire to the marker lamp. Can you spot it? It's about .008" (0.2mm) in diameter, and there's only ONE of them to each bulb! 'Years back we divulged our "secret" for accomplishing this on a videotape, but getting one of the Korean Builders to copy this method was like pulling teeth! Thankfully, our friend Se Ho of Boo Rim Precision saw the need to downsize the marker lamp wiring, and what you see is the end result... Pretty trick, huh? (Unfortunately this arrangement isn't possible with DCC so our DCC equipped Foreground Models have the more "conventional" two-wire bulb arrangement, which is a bummer... )
    Oh, and YES, you can click on either photo to get a SUPER-SIZED view, if you like...

"T-12" #174 - A bit of history. . .

"T-12" #174 was built in 1884 by the Baldwin Locomotive Company bearing their construction number #7224... She remained in service up until the time that heavier rails finally allowed the much more modern and heavier "K-28's" to take over the passenger business south out of Salida and on to the "Chili Line" which led to New Mexico's State Capitol, Santa Fe...

More photos will be posted as time permits. These models were, of course, constructed from Firm Reservations ONLY, which required a deposit... None remain as of this writing... Sorry...