The Northern Pacific received forty S-4 class ten-wheelers beginning in May 1902 from Baldwin as Vauclain compounds, numbered 1350 to 1389. Intended for passenger service on the mountainous west end of the line, these were the last 4-6-0 locomotives built for the NP, with the exception of ten S-10 class delivered in 1907, part of an undelivered order for another railroad. By the time half of the S-4's were delivered, the NP was already on the way toward purchasing Pacific type locomotives for passenger service, receiving the first of these faster and more powerful engines in December 1902. Over the 121 Q to Q-4 class Pacifics were delivered through 1910, so the nearly new S-4's lost their varnish assignments quickly. Their light weight and 63" drivers made them ideal multipurpose locomotives. Ironically, this niche was the key to their longevity, as the first to be retired was in 1945, one of only three in the 1940's. The remainder were retired between 1953 and 1959, when ironically, S-4 1351 was the last steam locomotive on Northern Pacific's roster. Beginning in 1917, all S-4's were rebuilt to simple by replacing the cylinders and also superheated, the program lasting until 1928. Superheating made them more efficient steamers, another factor in their longevity. The Stephenson valve gear and new sloped cylinders gave the locomotives a plain but clean look, a characteristic shared by other NP Pacifics and Mikados. NP's S-4's operated in all types of service: passenger, freight, work, and local switching. They operated as passenger helpers over Stampede Pass and routinely pulled the Missoula-Wallace passenger train over Lookout Pass, with it's 4% grades. For example, in June 1952, one of these fifty year old S-4's was a pusher on the streamlined North Coast Limited from Missoula over Evaro. On June 15, 1954, the day retired 1364 was being loaded for movement to be displayed in a Tacoma park, 1356 was helping Train #1 west on the mainline over Evaro. More common and less glamourous was their use in local freight service on locals in Western Montana, Idaho and Washington, especially on branches where bridges and light rail kept larger locomotives away. They tied up at outlying points like Bellingham or Woodinville Washington or Whitehall, Montana. They also shared roundhouses and the mainline at Missoula, Spokane, or Pasco with NP's most modern 4-6-6-4's and 4-8-4's. As EMD's GP7 and GP9's arrived, the S-4's were set aside, the last being scrapped in 1960. Four are on display today. Our models of Northern Pacific 1369 and 1374 were carefully selected to represent this significant NP locomotive. Each version will have a distinctly different look from each other, while at the same time, capturing the look of a "typical S-4." Both are detailed as they operated in the 1950s, a period when the two remained virtually unchanged. Tenders chosen for each version were used for many years on these and other S-4's and among the wide array of types used, are about as "typical" as could be found. Other S-4's were modified repeatedly and tenders changed, making their look only useful for that engine in a specific year. |
|
Engine #1374 was photographed in 1951 in Spokane, WA. She was a bit of a
"boomer", operating in Montana, Idaho and Washington during her long career.
Number 1374 will be modeled with the 8E class tender shown in this photo.
Huge articulateds and Northerns are great to look at, but when it comes to the compro- mises imposed upon us by our real-life situations, it's locomotives such as these that can actually be pressed into service to complement just about any scene ! |
|
|
As is the case with all of the models we've been responsible for creating thus far, these Ten-Wheelers are right up there on our list of personal favorites too. They had these peculiarly canted in cylinders, you see, and N.P. had them in droves... 'Way back "in the day", TOBY built a small run of these for Pacific Fast Mail in HO scale. They were pretty crude by today's standards and few guys ever saw one because they were so few and far between. Ever since that time we've kinda wanted to change that, and what with the C&NW "R-1's" being so close to the NP's "S-4's", dimensionally, we figured this was our chance. And of course, that makes it your chance as well. With a level of detail and operation only dreamed about in times past, these models are being created to our specifications by South Korea's Premier Builder of Brass Models, Boo-Rim Precision. Whether you are a collector of Fine Hand Crafted Brass Models, a Serious "O" Scale Operator, ( "Standard O" or Proto-48.). or just like unusual Steam Power, these Ten-Wheelers are sure to please! 
|
WARNING: This site features Adult Hobby Products unsuitable for
children under 14 years of age.
This Page and its Contents are Copyrighted Material c. 2008 - 2010 Glacier Park Models - All Rights Reserved.