[MOC] Oregon Pacific & Eastern 19 - "Emperor of the North"

[Glenn Holland]

My Favorite

Be forewarned, this post will undoubtedly be lengthy. 

On April 9, 1915, Baldwin Locomotive Works completed serial number 42000, a 90 ton, 2-8-2 mikado locomotive (class 12-34-1/4-E-30) for the Caddo & Choctaw Railroad Company, subsidiary of Caddo River Lumber Company in Arkansas. Originally numbered 4 and named "R. L. Rowan," the engine served the logging industry until 1920 when it was converted to burn oil (instead of coal) and sent to Mexico. Upon arrival at the Compañía de Real del Monte y Pachuca, it was renumbered to 105. 105 operated northeast of Mexico City where silver mining was the main industry. In 1924, 105 was sold to the McCloud River Railroad, which would be home for nearly 30 years. 

 

Upon arrival at McCloud, shop forces found bullet holes in the boiler jacket. The rumor formed that the engine served with Pancho Villa during the revolution, however the revolution was over before the engine arrived in the country. The story stuck, and earned the engine the nickname "Pancho." McCloud renumbered the engine to 19 and upgraded the engine over its time there to roughly its current appearance. The 19 was involved in a three-way tender swap before leaving McCloud, and it ended up with the tender from the 18. 19 still uses this tender today, identifiable by a plate with welded letters reading "T-18" affixed to the tender frame. The original tender was scrapped along with the 16.

 

The Yreka Western purchased 19 from McCloud in 1953 (and would later purchase the similar 18). The engines operated between Yreka and Montague where the road interchanged with Southern Pacific. 

 

In 1971, Yreka Western owner Willis Kyle purchased 51% of the Oregon Pacific & Eastern in Cottage Grove, Oregon. 19 was leased from Yreka to the OP&E and in 1971 began operating the "Blue Goose" excursion trains over the line using a large variety of passenger equipment. 

 

In 1972, "Emperor of the North" was filmed on the railroad, using a mix of OP&E equipment and some purchased specifically for the film. 19 carried the iconic "State of Oregon" herald on the tender, designed for appearance in the film, during this time and into as late as 1974. It was then repainted to use the "Blue Goose" logo used by other Kyle-owned roads.

 

19 continued to pull Blue Goose trains into the 1980s when Hollywood once again came to the line and parts of the coming-of-age classic "Stand By Me" were filmed. 19 appeared in the movie in the scene where Corey Feldman plays chicken with an oncoming train.

 

In 1987, 19 returned to Yreka and continued to pull Blue Goose trains on this line, and was occasionally used in freight service. 19 stayed in Yreka into the 21st century. It became the subject of several legal battles where some work performed on the engine was never paid for. Eventually, it was auctioned off in a sheriff sale where it was purchased by Jerry Jacobson.

 

19 is currently in the backshop at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum undergoing its 15-year inspection work for return to operation.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

I can't quite remember when exactly I began this model, but it came together digitally in late 2019, and I began ordering parts and assembling the locomotive in early 2020. It's taken a while to complete, mostly due to the refining of several details, not the least of which being the running gear and artwork. The details on this engine are particular, especially given my familiarity with the real one. I modeled 19 to accurately portray the engine as it appeared in Emperor of the North.

 

 

I'm using a Power Functions L motor driving custom wheels at a 1:1 ratio. It gives the engine a good speed but enough power to pull a realistic number of cars. I'm using a Power Functions I.R. receiver and a 7.4v 700mAh battery due to limited space. I'll write more about every detail on the model in accompanying photos of the model. 

 

I say it every time, but this time, I really mean it: I'm incredibly happy to have the model complete. I should call it version one, as I'll undoubtedly build another copy of this model with new techniques in the future - I already have a few ideas. I've learned a lot between the time I started designing this and now, and I'd love to have more than one model of 19 anyway.

 

It may never be as big or technically impressive as some other models I've built, but 19 will always have something the others don't. It is, by far, my favorite steam locomotive. I'd write about why here, but I'm already putting a lot of words under this photo, so I'll invite viewers to see the next photo for why 19 is my favorite. 

 

As always, I've shared more photos to my Flickr in this album: 

 

And I've uploaded a video to YouTube detailing the model here: 

 

*** I have omitted a large chunk of this post for sake of brevity. If anyone would like to know the reasons why 19 is my favorite, I invite you to enjoy this photo and its description:

 

Thank you for reading. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year.

 

Glenn Holland

[bogieman]

Another fantastic model, well done!

[Murdoch17]

Is the cylinder packing wearing thin, just to be accurate to the film dialogue? 

Fantastic MOC! (I think I've commented on it in three places now...)

[AbleChristopher]

Well done! I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we enjoy the lengthy posts.

[LordsofMedieval]

Wow, this is awesome. It runs really nicely, too. Very impressed by the stability.

[Supplement_Creatif]

Wowzers!

One fantastic locomotive after an another! Another gram slam, stunning to watch it run!

cheers,

[Shiva]

Fantastic.

[GoHabsGo]

Incredible! I'll try to build it!

Amazing work

[Feuer Zug]

Fantastic build. Even the 3D printed valve gear looks great. Your detail work is amazing, but you do have the ability to look at the real thing. Still, excellent work.

[Glenn Holland]

22 hours ago, bogieman said:

Another fantastic model, well done!

Thank you!

21 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

Is the cylinder packing wearing thin, just to be accurate to the film dialogue? 

Fantastic MOC! (I think I've commented on it in three places now...)

Thankfully I don't have to worry about that, lol

21 hours ago, AbleChristopher said:

Well done! I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we enjoy the lengthy posts.

I'm certainly glad to hear that, I find it fun to write out the details in a presentable way. Thanks!

18 hours ago, LordsofMedieval said:

Wow, this is awesome. It runs really nicely, too. Very impressed by the stability.

Thanks very much! Being a much (relatively) smaller engine I'm also glad about the stability. 

16 hours ago, Supplement_Creatif said:

Wowzers!

One fantastic locomotive after an another! Another gram slam, stunning to watch it run!

cheers,

Thanks! I'm trying not to set a precedent for myself, I certainly don't have another locomotive to share soon!

12 hours ago, Shiva said:

Fantastic.

Thank you!

5 hours ago, GoHabsGo said:

Incredible! I'll try to build it!

Amazing work

Glad you like it, thanks!

37 minutes ago, Feuer Zug said:

Fantastic build. Even the 3D printed valve gear looks great. Your detail work is amazing, but you do have the ability to look at the real thing. Still, excellent work.

I am blessed to be able to walk up to the real thing and get many photos which most regular visitors are unable to, that's for sure, but most of the reference material for this model came from extensive and thorough research. 
Very happy you like the model, thank you.

[Darkkostas25]

Astounding engine! 

[Glenn Holland]

10 hours ago, Darkkostas25 said:

Astounding engine! 

Many thanks!

[Paperinik77pk]

Great work!!! And I'd say...nice photo with the original , full scale one!!!

Ciao!!!

Davide

[LordsofMedieval]

Really glad to see this made the front page.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wonderful locomotive full of details, starting from the wheels and pistons up to the boiler!
Beautiful wagons and great work with the stickers!
I have just one question: the wheels of the gondola carriage are brown, where did you get them?

[Glenn Holland]

On 12/26/2022 at 7:07 AM, Paperinik77pk said:

Great work!!! And I'd say...nice photo with the original , full scale one!!!

Ciao!!!

Davide

I always enjoy providing the photo of the real thing... adds a lot of context to the model. This photo is already four years old and the engine is much more torn apart.

On 12/26/2022 at 8:54 AM, LordsofMedieval said:

Really glad to see this made the front page.

Wow, I didn't notice! I'm honored!

On 12/27/2022 at 2:51 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Wonderful locomotive full of details, starting from the wheels and pistons up to the boiler!
Beautiful wagons and great work with the stickers!
I have just one question: the wheels of the gondola carriage are brown, where did you get them?

Thank you so much! The cars I used in the operating scene are a homage to the train seen behind 19 for a majority of Emperor of the North. 

The wheels on the flatcar (just behind the tank car) are indeed reddish brown - they are from BrickTracks.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wow, the site also sells red wheels, too bad they have to be bought in groups of 100 pieces.
Thanks for the information!

[Murdoch17]

7 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Wow, the site also sells red wheels, too bad they have to be bought in groups of 100 pieces.
Thanks for the information!

Actually, they have them in 6-packs as well!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

5 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

Actually, they have them in 6-packs as well!

Oh, thanks for the news!