Locomotives - Overview

PREWAR LOCOMOTIVES

In the prewar period, Gilbert produced six different 3/16" scale locomotives, with some variations.  All of these were steam outline, and had diecast boilers with weights.  All of them were carried over into the post-war period with S gauge running gear, and until 1950 these were the only locomotives in the catalogs.

Two appeared in 1939: the NYC Hudson and the UP Northern.
Two appeared in 1940: the Pennsylvania K-5 and the B&O Royal Blue (torpedo) Pacifics.
    (These both appeared with lower-cost 4-4-2 versions in 1940 only.)
Two appeared in 1941: the Reading Atlantic and the NKP 0-8-0 switcher.

The numbering scheme for these engines has absolutely no pattern that I can discern.  Where separate tenders were offered, they were numbered one less than the first version of the engine itself.

The Hudson, Northern, and Pacifics all had electrical pickup on the frame of the locomotive, as did previous Chicago production.  The Atlantic and 0-8-0 were the first to have electrical pickups mounted on the tender trucks, with a single wire running to the engine.  All prewar locomotives had the reversers in the boiler, of course.

Because of the way electrical pickup works on three-rail track, I find that track cleaning is hardly ever necessary, unlike S gauge.  All wheels on cars or locomotives are metal, and therefore on an engine there are two sliding contacts on the center rail, and the contact with the outer rail is made via the four flanged drivers and all pony wheels.  Lighted cars typically have a single slider, but still they work more reliably than S gauge cars.

Complete examples of the NKP 0-8-0 are extremely difficult to find.  Greenberg said that there were no known operating engines of this type.  I don't have one, to be sure.  There was probably only one production run, and it had several problems with defective casting, particularly the engine frame.  Of course, these problems were solved in postwar production and the S gauge switcher was very successful.

DIRECTIONAL REMOTE CONTROL

Gilbert introduced an interesting new feature in its 3/16" line called either DRC or RDC.  Whereas previous Chicago production, and much of Gilbert's O gauge line, used a standard 4-step reversing mechanism, DRC added a DC-operated relay to change the way the system cycled.  In a normal 4-step reverser, familiar to anyone who's operated S gauge trains, the activating coil is connected to the power from the track, and advances the drum one-quarter turn each time the power is turned on.  When the train is running, the coil is always energized.  If you want the train to always go forward, a locking lever is used to keep the drum from rotating.  This system has its drawbacks.

In DRC, an additional activating coil is added which pulls down a contact only when a DC pulse is applied to the track.  That contact is connected to the coil in the reverser itself, and so the reverser advances only when a DC pulse is applied.  The DC pulse is provided by a separate DRC control button, and this enables the operator to control the direction of movement more conveniently.

DRC parts (L to R) the motor, DC relay, reverser, and headlight

DRC was available only in the Hudson, Northern, and K-5 models*.  The boiler for a DRC model will not have the slot for the reverser locking lever, but it will have a small hole over the DC relay.  By pushing a pin or small nail into the hole, you can cycle the reverser by hand.  The utility of this is not obvious to me, I must admit.

The DRC system was also used to control the whistling baggage car.  The DC relay and the reverser are exactly the same; the only difference is in the wiring.   Whereas the reverser normally is wired forward-neutral-reverse-neutral, on the whistling baggage car it's just on-off-on-off.  You cannot run a whistling baggage car in a train with a DRC locomotive.

This is an excellent control system, and I do not know why Gilbert dropped it in the post-war period.  I have three operating DRC locomotives, and they work as reliably as any post-war standard reverser.  You need an original DRC control button to make it work, but it beats having to either lock the locomotive in forward or cycle the reverser each time.  When you push the DRC button, if for instance the locomotive has just cycled into forward, the motor will give a small push in the forward direction without moving the train.  This makes it easy to keep track of where you are in the reverse sequence.  With standard remote control, when you apply power to an unlocked engine you can't be sure what will happen.

For information on the 540 DRC control button, see under "Accessories - Track".

CHUGGING TENDER

None of the prewar engines ever had smoke or choo-choo sounds, but Gilbert produced chugging tenders that came with some sets, and could be purchased separately to upgrade existing locomotives.  An example is shown in the article on the 565 Atlantic.



* and, the catalog says, the 575 NKP 0-8-0, but it was evidently never produced.