Peter Jones Loco Works MSR Tribute "American Mamod"

[Superbiker_uk]

I'm sure you have seen the MSR SL6 Tender currently on eBay. It comes with a plate which I assume is to safely cover the gap between the tender and the locomotive so the Fireman does fall off whilst shovelling coal!

Yes I have seen it! The tender apron is excellent. I have some of these available. They fit in the slots that are left exposed when the Mamod rear cab sheet is removed. It's a great design so I have made some very similar ones to use on my tender locos.

[DolwyddelanLightRail]

I'm sure you have seen the MSR SL6 Tender currently on eBay. It comes with a plate which I assume is to safely cover the gap between the tender and the locomotive so the Fireman does fall off whilst shovelling coal!

Yes I have seen it! The tender apron is excellent. I have some of these available. They fit in the slots that are left exposed when the Mamod rear cab sheet is removed. It's a great design so I have made some very similar ones to use on my tender locos.

Does anyone have a link for this tender? I've had a scan of ebay and can't seem to find it

[Chris Cairns]

Depends which eBay you are looking at James! It is in the USA (Worldwide) option - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mamod-Compati ... 2c71867dde

Peter will be able to advise the extra costs incurred, import duty if item including shipping & insurance is above £135, VAT at 20% and the collection fee (Royal Mail £8, Parcelforce £13:50).

Makes getting items imported from outside the EU much less attractive.

Chris Cairns.

[Superbiker_uk]

So what happened to MSR and why is so little written or known about them compared to other manufacturers?

Well the very sad answer to that is that Jim Wilson passed away in 1995. This fact is covered on the Sidestreet Bannerworks page on MSR.  Jim has been described by Terry as an "Idea Factory" in that he could think up more ‘goodies’ for MSR to work on than could have possibly ever been produced. In fact MSR had started to work on a 2-6-0 using a boiler of MSR’s design and 0-6-0 conversion frames which never really got further than the drawing board. Jim had also ventured into steam mobiles and had been working on a Steam Roller model of an American design, and had even built a prototype for it.  The most amazing item in the MSR works was a "Diesel outline" locomotive which Jim had come up with that was propelled by a Sterling Hot-Air engine.  Believe it or not MSR had also built an amazing Mamod based Panzerzug train for running at shows!! Its very sad that Jim died so suddenly and at a relatively young age.  It makes you wonder what could have happened to MSR had they been able to bring to the market some of these other models.  Terry has been a great help to me in providing information and has stated that running MSR was “fun while it lasted” but when Jim died, a lot of the fun died with him.

MSR were formed right at the start of Mamod’s Steam Loco offering and they continued off and on until Jim’s death in 1995.  MSR produced around 45-50 Plantation engines and 150-175 MSR tenders in various colours. MSR unfortunately did not keep any detailed production records so there is nothing recorded about the rolling stock production. It’s safe to say though that the tank cars and crane car are pretty rare items.

The last MSR

The very last Plantation loco that Terry sent out was a rebuilt one for the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum. The museum had purchased an MSR Plantation Style engine and had used it daily at the museum to demonstrate the principles of steam locomotion to the public, and had literally worn it out!  The MSR loco went back to Terry for a well deserved refurbishment. It must have covered countless miles on the steam display area track at the museum – whether it continues to run in public view I am trying to find out.  I have contacted the museum and will post any new information about it that I find.

I was able to track down a YouTube video on the museum’s web site. If you watch the video you will see at about 2.40m a shot of the live steam layout. Sadly you can’t see an MSR in sight but you can see a G gauge Mamod on the tracks and what Terry thinks is the Plantation loco tender!  Hopefully the museum will get back to me with more information.

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dduutNLuhyQ?ve ... width="640" height="390"></embed>

[Superbiker_uk]

Following a suggestion I decided to paint the balloon stack black which is much more prototypical. Whilst I was at it I did the lamp perch bracket and the brass screw heads on the pilot beam supports. Much better. Here are the latest pictures:

[dougrail]

The touchups make a heck of a different Superbiker - she looks a beauty!

Any news on a steaming anytime soon?

[SapperAnt]

Very tempting to try and do my own.........

[Narrow Minded]

That's rather excellent Peter
Hopefully one of the moderators will "sticky" it over into the forum reference section

[Big Al]

Not a Mamod man myself but you can't but admire the quality of your presentation document on the American models , I agree it should be made a sticky in the reference section. Keep up the good work.

[Chris Cairns]

Peter,

That is an excellent reference document that you have shared with us regarding the MSR history. Thank You.

Copy now sits in my Mamod/MSS reference library.

Chris Cairns.

[laalratty]

The document now sits in its own topic in the Garden Railway reference section

[Narrow Minded]

The document now sits in its own topic in the Garden Railway reference section

[Superbiker_uk]

Miniature Steam Railways - The American Mamod

The story continues.....

.....ace carried on the story of the Mamod based Plantation style locomotive in his build thread which has been great to see.  I thought it was about time I updated this thread now as I have so much more going on with regards to MSR that I am looking forward to sharing.

First off I have added a numbered works plate to my build so this make it No. 9 of the Peter Jones Loco Works Mamodification builds.  I have also added the flame guards that I missed of the original build and also added the MSR waterslide decal on the tender to match the original.

Now, the original - I am very very pleased to have a REAL MSR in my collection! This one was made as a special commision in September 1990 for Marc Horovitz of http://www.sidestreetbannerworks.com/

This loco was made by Jim Wilson and the reverser block is engraved "MSR 9.90 MH"

So, the engine that inspired me to build an MSR in the first place is right here sat along side my own 2013 build.

I thought I should share these pictures first:

[ace]

I think I prefer the straight stack, Superbiker. It makes the boiler looks longer and has a tidier line. Well done for finding an original.

[Chris Cairns]

A very nice addition to your collection Peter. Well Done.

You & Ace obviously work to a higher budget than I would go to. Having previously been stung for the rip off postage costs, plus the UK VAT, Duty & mandatory collection fee on purchases from outside of the EU I now restrict my purchases to within the EU - at least until we get back to the good old days of 13% Interest Accounts!!

Chris Cairns.

[Superbiker_uk]

I think I prefer the straight stack, Superbiker. It makes the boiler looks longer and has a tidier line. Well done for finding an original.

I think most if not all the original MSR loco's were straight stack. When MSR started out on the venture to produce this loco, Mamod were approached to supply parts. I understand that Mamod did not want to do this and so MSR had to buy SL kits (SLK) in order to build the models. They then sold on the surplus Mamod parts that were not required for thier Plantation style loco.

You & Ace obviously work to a higher budget than I would go to. Having previously been stung for the rip off postage costs, plus the UK VAT, Duty & mandatory collection fee on purchases from outside of the EU I now restrict my purchases to within the EU - at least until we get back to the good old days of 13% Interest Accounts!!

With the loco purchase I did not insure the package. I paid for shipping via US Priority Mail (the cheapest way) which was $77.85 at the advice of Marc. The total cost for the loco, rolling stock and shiping was still considerably less than what I paid for my Ragleth a few years ago.

[pauly]

Did that museum ever get back to you?

[Superbiker_uk]

Did that museum ever get back to you?

I have tried them a few times via email but no response

[Superbiker_uk]

Build thread correction:

MSR also sourced the dummy air tanks and compressor castings from Model Engineering Works. It was always MSR's intention to eventually develop their own air tank, and compressor castings as well, as they considered the ones they had sourced to be rather crude even if they did add weight for traction. Of course Jim's untimely death meant this development never came to fruition.

Since writing the build thread I have found a few corrections that I need to make. The first is this one in relation to the dummy air tank and compressor. This is actually a reproduction part for a pre-war Lionel 400E standard gauge electric train from the USA.

You can see an example here on a restored Lionel 400E Black Steam 4-4-4 Loco:



For the right hand side of the MSR the casting was done without the compressor part.

[Superbiker_uk]

We have news from Patrick C. Morrison, Museum Educator 2 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania:

Thank you for your inquiry about the MSR live steam locomotive. Yes, I believe I know which locomotive you mean. I have attached photos of its current condition. Sadly, we have not used this one for years. The guys who run these regularly tell me that it no longer works reliably. I’m sure it is fixable, but may need some parts, which I am not certain are still available. Instead, we rely on a fleet of Mamod 0-4-0s that we have maintained and operated for years. We even use the MSR’s tender with these locomotives as part of the train consists we run on a daily basis here.

Perhaps, at some point, we will work out the bugs in the MSR locomotive and get it running again, especially with its American manufacturing origins, which is why we have elected to keep it and not sell it at auction or somewhere like that.

I have passed on Terry's details to Patrick so perhaps the MSR can be put back onto the live steam demo roster once again!