An Oil-Electric for the Hillside & Eastern

But the new Superintendent of Motive Power wasn't quite so reactionary, and when, at the end of the management meeting, the subject of acquiring another switcher as a backup to the aging fleet of 0-6-0 Baldwins came up, he suggested the purchase a new EMC SC Diesel switcher such as he'd seen on the New York Central.

From the stunned reaction, you'd think he'd committed Heresy, blasphemy and high treason, all in one. 

"There's no reason for us to get involved in all this new Hocus Pocus.  We're getting along fine with steam locomotives, and we know how to fix them if they break."  growled the Old Man.  "Let the other railroads have the Diesels, let them work the bugs out, and then we'll see."

"Besides," added the Treasurer, "the H&E has never bought a locomotive new, and we aren't about to start now."

"Plus," added the General Freight Manager, "we have got to remember many of our customers are coal mines.  If we start using Diesels, they are likely to turn elsewhere."

But the new man wasn't about to give up so easily, and prosecuting his case with vigor he pointed out the Diesel's increased availability, efficiency and proven lower operating costs.  Gradually, the others began to concede a point here and there.  When informed some of the boys at the roundhouse were already studying Diesel by correspondence, they saw their case begin to weaken.

Finally, in a moment of weakness, the President said "OK, OK, go ahead, buy any kind of locomotive you want."

"As long as it isn't new." added the Treasurer

As the young superintendent was rising to leave the room, the General Freight Manager got in the last word: "And as long as it burns coal!"

As it turned out, the answer was practically on their doorstep.

The Boxcab Diesel produced by MDC/Roundhouse is a passable representation of the early oil-electric switching locomotives made as a joint effort by Alco, General Electric, and Ingersol-Rand in the mid 1920s, a venture later known as AGEIR, from the initials of the participating companies.  One of the most notable among their early locomotives is CNJ 1000, the first production-line Diesel-Electric locomotive, which is on display at the Baltimore & Ohio museum in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

The Fireman's side and rear of an early AGEIR Diesel.

I was able to find several pictures of the prototype on the internet.  Here's the links to some of those pages, but if you have a dial-up connection please realize the pictures are going to take a long time to download.

• Alco-GE-Ingersol Rand boxcab Diesels
• Boxcab Diesels
• CNJ 1000 detail photos
• More CNJ 1000 detail photos
• Still more CNJ 1000 detail photos

Some of the changes I intend to make are:

• Move the sandbox filler lower on the body.
• Add handrails to the end.
• Remodel the roof to more closely resemble the real thing.  The roof details seem to have changed over the years.  Some had the original exhaust stacks replaced with mufflers that ran lengthwise on the body.
• Lower the body.  The channels at the bottom of the side should line up with the end.
• Replace the toolboxes with the tanks and details seen on the original.

This is a work in progress.

After the cement has set, cut or file the tube into a wedge shape to form a latch, as shown in red.

I started by removing the two tabs on the frame (on the gear housing actually) that hold the body and frame together.  I also removed the toolboxes, since they are no longer needed.  I next removed about 1/16" from the bottom of the ends of the cab, leaving the sides and corners as is.

Removing the tabs leaves the locomotive in a perilous condition: If some unsuspecting soul picks it up by the body, the works will fall out, probably onto the floor.  I drilled a shallow 0.128" diameter hole in each side of the frame.  I made them slightly off center so I could put the body back on the same way every time.  I cut two pieces of 1/8" styrene tube about 1/16" to 3/32" long, to serve as latches.  The next step was finding a way to locate them correctly on the inside of the body.

After several attempts, I found the best way was this:  I put the piece of tube into its hole, shimming it underneath with enough solvent-resistant material to allow about 1/32 of the tube to protrude out of the hole.  I then slipped the body shell on to the frame, guiding it over the end of the tube.  When everything was place, I used a Touch-and-Flow applicator to place cement where the tube touched the body, and let it set overnight.

The next evening, I was able to get the body off the frame without dislodging the tube.  I cut and filed the tube into a wedge shape, with the upper side just long enough to catch in the hole and the lower side even with the body, then repeated the process on the other side of the body.

Cement the angled piece to some 0.010" material.

I made new sand hatches from 0.125 square styrene, cut to a 45° angle, then cemented them to some 0.010" styrene cut somewhat oversize.  (I used two pieces of scale 1×10 laid edge to edge, because that's what I had on hand.)  After the cement set, I cut the flanges to size: flush on the top and about 0.025" of the sides and bottom.  Round the lower corners.

I waited until the headlights were removed before reinstalling the sand hatches.

After cementing the hatches in place, I rounded the point and cemented on a lid.

The circuit for the headlight LEDs, with a lamp for current limiting.

I wanted both headlights on no matter which way the locomotive was going, hence the use of a diode bridge in the circuit.  Directional headlights would have been easier.

The spare headlight castings that came with the locomotive have a tapered rather than cylindrical shape, so I took time to file them square.  I drilled a slightly undersized hole for the LEDs, and used a small round file, working from the back, to open the hole up to the point there the end of the LED was flush with the front of the headlight.