Glenn Holland

Thank you! I'm continuously inspired and driven by those in the Proto:48 modeling communities, so having a model of mine compared to their work is quite the compliment. I'm honored that I can be an inspiration. I just might do that! Thanks for the suggestion! Admit it, steam can be fun too ;) Much appreciated, thank you! Thanks very much!

Thank you! I'm glad you like it. 14 paragraphs was a lot to write for a model, but I'm happy that the context and history is appreciated - there's certainly a lot of story to tell with these engines.

"Masterpiece" Spending so much time at the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum, one will really begin to appreciate everything in their collection, not to mention the facility itself. Everything from the extraordinary to mundane will find its way into your mind and heart. I must admit that in my years of steam locomotive research and enjoyment, the Nickel Plate 700's did not strike me. For whatever reason, they just didn't click with me. I'm not sure what it was, but obviously, that's changed now. Cale and I modeled 765 way back in 2017 when we were still figuring out Brick Model Railroader. It took some convincing, but we eventually decided that Nickel Plate Road 765 would be our first collaborative steam locomotive model. We had a running model that needed some adjustment, but quickly became disinterested in the project due to external factors. We were never quite happy with where we left this project, and vowed to each other that we would return to the model some day to do it again, properly. Several years later, in late October 2021, and on a whim, I laid out a scaled wheelbase in stud.io, just to see what it would look like. I left the file alone for a couple more months until the Holiday season of 2021. I began thinking about a Nickel Plate Berkshire running around a Christmas tree, inspired by the amazing "Travel Refreshed" speculative project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2mU6jVcv4w&ab_channel=FortWayneRailroadHistoricalSociety This set my mind racing with thoughts of the late 1940's when large mainline superpower led "hotshot manifest" trains through the heart of America. If there was ever a perfect depiction of postwar steam railroading, it was this, and the Nickel Plate Road was the poster child. The Nickel Plate Road connected the farms of the Midwest in St. Louis and Chicago to Buffalo in the east. The road took a fast, level route along the southern edge of the great lakes. A direct competitor to the New York Central, it was purchased by the Vanderbilts in an effort to remove competition. As such, the line was never optimized and operated with older and slower equipment. The Nickel Plate was purchased by Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen, brothers from Cleveland who had controlling interests of several other roads including the Chesapeake & Ohio, Wheeling & Lake Erie, Pere Marquette, Erie, and more. The "Vans" would lead efforts to completely transform the Nickel Plate into the powerhouse bridge road it is remembered as today. One of those efforts included the creation of the Advisory Mechanical Committee (AMC), which served as a design bureau for the roads under control of the Vans. One of the first projects for the AMC was the design of the C&O T-1 class 2-10-4 engines, the largest two cylinder steam locomotives when built. Continuing in efforts to rejuvenate the Nickel Plate, president John Bernet assigned AMC officer William Black the task of designing a super-power locomotive. The result was the Nickel Plate S class of 2-8-4, built by ALCO Schenectady in 1934. The AMC, capitalizing on their winning formula for the T-1, maintained the factor of adhesion just above 4 while scaling down the rest of the locomotive: eliminating the fifth pair of 69" drivers and creating a locomotive with 70% of the tractive effort and 70% of the weight. Unbeknownst to Bernet, Black, and the AMC, they had just captured lightning in a bottle. To truly appreciate why the 700's were such good locomotives, the operating mentality of the Nickel Plate must be understood. The road was a masterpiece of engineering, maintaining a very flat right of way along the mainline, running shorter but faster trains handling bridge traffic over the line. Operating conditions like these coupled with the high-horsepower 700s, there has hardly been a more perfect match of locomotive and railroad. The Berkshires were so effective and loved, the Nickel Plate laughed away EMD diesel demonstrators multiple times until the end of steam in 1958. Even still, several of these locomotives were stored serviceable in anticipation of a traffic spike that never occurred. 763, part of the third batch of Berkshires in total (S-2 class) and second batch from Lima (Works #8671), was one of these locomotives. Officially retired a few years after the end of steam, it stayed in Conneaut, Ohio until 1966 when it was purchased by the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia. 763 remained in Roanoke for several years until it was towed to New Jersey for inspection to pull the American Freedom Train, but other locomotives were selected., and 763 returned to Roanoke. Ohio Central and Age of Steam founder Jerry Jacobson purchased the locomotive from the museum in 2007, returning the engine home to Ohio. It is currently stored inside the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in stall 4, a regular favorite part of any regular public tour. All that to say: I never expected to have such a deep, genuine understanding and appreciation for these engines. It says a lot when someone can connect with a piece of machinery in such a way, and gain understanding of its purpose and reason for existing. The 700s were truly magnificent machines. So, in deciding that I was going to model one of these amazing locomotives, I began working in stud.io, and over the course of several months, I came up with what must have been at least a dozen iterations of the rough shape of the engine solely to achieve "the look." With 765 currently operating and with countless fans of the locomotives, the 700's are well recognized and people are going to be able to pick out the details, so any model of one has to be done properly. Once I had the correct shape and proportions, I filled in gaps and rebuilt section after section until I had a completed digital model in June of this year. By then, I had just seen 765 operate in person for the second time and was feeling inspired, so work on the custom wheels and connecting rods progressed alongside. Refining, trial, failure, adjustment, and testing continued until December 2022 when I completed the physical model. Naturally, I had to model 763 specifically, being the preserved example at Age of Steam. Under the hood this model is identical to my Mohawk: a pair of Power Functions L motors geared 1:1 driving the third axle, each operating from its own Power Functions IR receiver, and powered by a Tenergy 7.4v 2200 mAh battery. 763 operates smoothly and without issue thanks to the drive train design and high-quality printing of the wheels, rods, and valve gear. Drivers and trailing wheels designed by me and printed by Rob Hendrix, all rods and valve gear designed by me and printed through Shapeways. All artwork was faithfully recreated by Cale Leiphart. Decals printed by OKBrickWorks and UV printed number boards and bearing caps are from Richard Glatter. Thank you all for your help with this project. Having completed and published Buffalo Creek & Gauley 13, Morehead & North Fork 12, and now Nickel Plate Road 763, my Age of Steam collection grows. Those who know me personally understand that I'm not one to brag about my work. However, I feel I must say that I think I've outdone myself with this model. I would say this is the most new, ground-up design of locomotive I have built in a while. I've achieved detail and accuracy that I haven't seen on even some traditional scale models, and it all works together to make 763 perhaps my best model yet. A masterpiece of a masterpiece, if you will. As 2022 winds down, I'm elated to publish this locomotive and check it off the list. As I mentioned earlier this year, I've had a lot in progress recently so wrapping something up feels fantastic. There's a bit more in store for the immediate future, but we'll get to that later. As always, thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for their support of my work through comments, questions, and compliments. It is always sincerely appreciated and I am thankful to be a part of such a fun community. More photos here: Video here: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Glenn Holland

Thanks very much for the compliment. The turnouts in the video are from BrickTracks, they are the large radius switches. I recommend them.

Trial and error is a part of every model, especially with printed parts like rods. Depending on how intricately arranged they are, it can often take several revisions of parts to get right. And yes, it was nice to be able to move cars around with a proper locomotive!

Thank you!

Davide, thank you very much. Being able to photograph the model with the real engine was a treat.

Very glad you like it. The brakeman on the tender adds so much character for how easy it was to include.

Thank you! Making the running gear accurate and tuning the operation can be challenging but is always worth the effort. Thanks very much!

Thomas, thanks very much. It certainly is a nice change from the locomotives I have recently published!

Very glad you like the wheels. I enjoy going the extra step in modeling the wheels accurately, even if it can be a pain sometimes.

Thanks! Thank you both very much. I enjoy building what I like, the stories that are attached to each piece are part of that and is what helps make something stick out to me. Vilhelm is correct in this case - no instructions for this model. It is a bit finicky, as many of my models tend to be, so it is not a great model for instructions anyway. Thanks very much. I have at least two cars in progress to match the locomotive and I need a fitting caboose, but those will come in good time. The display track itself is right out of my Brickmania Mohawk kit. It's the nicest (only) display track I have so it gets used when photographing new models.

Thank you very much. The comparison is always really nice to show off. The brakeman on the tender certainly adds more character and life to the model. Thanks! The boiler was definitely challenging given the unique proportions and sections that were necessary. Working all that around the motor was interesting. Thanks very much Dave. Glad you like it.

The Yard Switcher It's hardly a secret that I'm a frequent visitor to the Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum in Sugarcreek, Ohio. I take every opportunity to get out there, most notably for days when they have trains operating. Age of Steam is the legacy of Ohio Central Railroad founder Jerry Jacobson, who built the OHCR system before selling to Genessee & Wyoming in 2008. This sale helped fund a new-construction 18-stall roundhouse in Ohio Amish country to house Jerry's growing collection of steam locomotives and railroad equipment. MNF 12 was built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Pittsburg (no H) in September 1905 for the Southern Railway as A-7 class 0-6-0 no. 1643. Acquired by MNF in 1952, it was put to work on the Kentucky shortline until 1963 when the road dieselized. 12 was put away in the engine house in Clearfield. Jerry had a long-standing interest in #12 and finally acquired it and moved the engine to Sugarcreek in 2011 and 2012. In July 2018, with restoration completed, 12 was fired up and became the first locomotive restored completely from a "derelict hulk" at the Roundhouse. It can be seen on any regular tour program at Age of Steam sitting Stall 1. Having visited the museum so frequently and seeing 12 literally every time I visited, the engine grew on me substantially. Along with the fact that I've been able to ride in and behind the locomotive a few times, it's become one of if not my single favorite 0-6-0 in preservation. I recently decided that I needed a dedicated switcher in my collection. Most recently I've been building road locomotives or road-switchers, but not a single dedicated switcher. I had to correct that, and decided to model 12 as preserved at Age of Steam. The design came together over the course of about three months starting at the end of January 2022, and I ordered parts but then set them aside for quite some time. Deciding to just go for it, I assembled and decaled the locomotive in June 2022. During the first half of September, I decided to finally bring the engine to completion, fixing some details and adding just a few more, painting the rods, and installing the electronics. I'm using a Power Functions M motor to drive M.5 size wheels at a 3:5 ratio, geared for torque, appropriate for a switcher. Originally I wanted to install a fancy DCC-like system in this engine, but after two unsuccessful attempts, I decided to stick with PF for now. Of course, I can always go back and upgrade this engine when the time is right, and I plan to do so in the future. Lastly, I'm using a 700mAh 7.4 volt battery due to limited space in the tender. Artwork has been faithfully created by Cale Leiphart and printed by OKBrickWorks. Thanks to them for their assistance with this project. 12 is a strange one. The design and proportions of this locomotive definitely make it stand out from most other 0-6-0's I'm familiar with. Capturing the spirit and essence of the engine was challenging but fun, a sure departure from the mid to large size locomotives I've published. I'm sure I say this about all my models, but I'm happy to call this one finished. I've had a lot of WIP models on my plate recently, so checking one completely off the list feels good. I'm excited to have this one in the fleet and I already know I'm going to thoroughly enjoy using it. More photos here: Video here: Thanks for reading, and happy building. Glenn

Looks awesome!

Display tracks can easily be built to suit your taste. I like the look of simple displays with the track elevated slightly and a clean black outline around lightly ballasted track pieces. It frames the model very well. I used 45 degree slope parts around all four sides and tiles to cover the studs on those. There's really no trick to it. Build whatever you think looks nice.

Thank you! Even with that short rigid wheel base it does run pretty smooth. I think the flat car is so simple but something about it just works! Thank you very much!

It's always those details that set things apart, even if it's a freelance model. Thank you so much! I uploaded a video with some clips running here: What a compliment.. thank you so much. A true passion project for me, but I'm so glad that other people can understand the ideas that went into it and the finished result. Thank you very much Benn! For what it's worth (probably not very much), but the tires are silver-walled instead of white :) I imagine the Grey Ridge being a fan of silver leaf lettering on their equipment. The decals are an imitation silver leaf, and the tires are painted to match. Thank you both very much!

Presented for your review: Grey Ridge 4-6-0 no. 26. I got the thought in my head at some point in 2019 or 2020 that I needed to build a new freelance steam locomotive. All of the locomotives and cars I've been building recently have been legitimate models of something that existed at some point. Instead, I wanted to break from that for a while and build something realistic but fantasy. My old ten wheeler model is pushing twelve or thirteen years at this point. Being one of the first locomotives I built that both worked well and that I was proud of, I decided that this new freelance locomotive should also be a ten wheeler. From there, I set some other goals: - XL wheels. My old ten wheeler was lightning fast. I wanted this new engine to be quick, and well-suited for passenger service. An L motor driving XL wheels would work well. -Tapered boiler. I was very proud of the boiler I designed for my old ten wheeler, even if it was still using just basic 45 degree slope bricks. A new tapered boiler was an absolute must on this model. -Reliable operation. I never had a problem with the old engine. It's always worked well whenever I needed a locomotive to run. The S160 power train would check this box well. On top of these things, I wanted to build this model as a way to highlight the progression of my skill as a modeler. Thirteen years is quite a long time. All of the components and goals were set. The design process was challenging, particularly the boiler. But I eventually had a locomotive designed. Then came the Brick Train Awards earlier this year. This engine was designed and ready to order parts for, so I decided that I would build this locomotive in order to enter into BTA as a brand new locomotive. A photo of this was shared across a few of the BTA social outlets, but now I'm finally publishing this locomotive through my own channels. Of course, I couldn't just slap a road name and number on this engine and call it a day. It wouldn't have been proper, being a freelance locomotive. Instead, I needed a freelance railroad to letter it for. I remembered the Grey Ridge. I had created the concept of a railroad called the Grey Ridge in late 2019 but not progressed with it much until this point. The Grey Ridge is a true mountain railroad. I've always been fond of the idea of railroads running through very mountainous terrain, under snow-capped mountains and up and down mile after mile of twisting, winding track with short trains. The new ten wheeler I had been building was now the first engine of the Grey Ridge to be modeled. A very fitting first , being well suited to handle both freight and passenger trains over the line effectively. I'm quite pleased with this engine. It's appropriately fast and strong, and also looks great. I was aiming for the style of locomotives that were built in the earlier years of the 20th century, and I think I have a perfect mix of that and "old-timey shortline locomotive" mixed into one model here. Under the hood: I'm using one Power Functions L motor geared 1:1 to XL size drivers from Big Ben Bricks. I'm using Ben's new XL wheels with traction tires which work perfectly in this application. The motor is driven from a Power Functions IR receiver and a 7.4v battery from Tenergy. Thanks to Cale for his help with the custom wiring, and of course, the decals. All of these decals were designed by him and me, and his feedback and creativity helped deliver a better finished product. Decals printed by Andy at OKBrickWorks; thank you Andy for your assistance as well. Overall? I achieved my goals and exceeded my own expectations of this locomotive. I created something new and original out of my own imagination; modeling a unique locomotive while maintaining strong ties to reality and the inspirational sources which I drew from originally. By all of those metrics, I think it's safe to call this one successful and complete. More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/41032663@N08/albums/72157719608730348 Thank you for reading.

Nice job on this streamliner! It looks great.

You did such a great job on this engine, and it looks right at home with the passenger cars in that video. Your model does a great job capturing the presence and look of the real locomotive. Awesome job all around Enrico!

You pretty much nailed it.

@Jeffinslaw- I recommend R104.

@JWBDolphins- I have placed the engine on an R88 curve and did not see anything to cause concern, but I did not run the engine through the curve. I have used it with R104 and R120 curves and R104 turnouts easily. @neonic- I opted for a custom battery mostly due to cost. It’s a pretty simple 7.4V, 2200mah lithium ion battery, but it works well powering the receivers and motors.

All, thank you for the compliments on the model. I did put a lot of effort into achieving the correct details. @SteamSewnEmpire, I appreciate your comment on the Hudson being perhaps the more iconic of NYC steam between that and the L-2a, and I agree. In my decision making this time around, "NYC" wasn't as much of a reason for choice in locomotive; instead it was "1920's and 1930's" and "freight", if that makes sense. The L-2a fit those criteria, along with being a personal favorite. Regarding the price, I do admit the price of the kit version was not what I was expecting, but maybe I can offer some more information to this point. This model does use more parts than the T-1 4-8-4, and includes some extra features in the box, such as the display base (thanks @neonic, I was going for simple but attractive there), lights, custom printed minifigures, knuckle couplers, wheels from Big Ben Bricks and Bricktracks, custom 3D-printed wheels from Brickmania, custom 3D-printed rods and valve gear, and some custom electronics (and the work that goes into fitting those components to work with Power Functions). I'm not writing this in attempt to change anyone's opinions, but rather offer some reason. Again, thanks for the compliments on the model.