I'm thinking of building a PRR G5. Any thoughts on the better starting point - Bowser or Roundhouse?
Thanks,
Dave Evans
Thanks,
Dave Evans
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Roundhouse & Bowser G5
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 devansprr |
Roundhouse & Bowser G5 |
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Posts: 101 (09/21/08 11:17 PM) |
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locoi1sa |
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Posts: 48 (09/22/08 08:14 PM) |
Hi Dave
You cant go wrong with the Bowser. I have built and rebuilt several. Not the G5. I have the I1s and the L1 and a B6. All of them super. Pete |
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devansprr |
G5 Boiler | ||
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Posts: 102 (09/23/08 08:47 AM) |
What about the boiler? I've read where people have used the Roundhouse boiler on top of a Bowser H9 chassis because they felt the Roundhouse boiler was
more accurate. Since the H9, E6, and G5 all had the same boiler, I was wondering how the Bowser boiler compared to the Roundhouse boiler as far as general
proportions, and then specific features (e.g. steam dome).
Dave Evans |
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John Romig |
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Posts: 1 (10/11/08 04:59 PM) |
Dave, in my opinion, I'd stick with the Bowser boiler to build a G5 since the Bowser cab is correct for this class. The Roundhouse plastic cab is correct
only for the H-class or E-class locomotives. The G5 had a smaller, more modern cab than the other two classes.
Regards, John R. |
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devansprr |
Bowser G5, H9 and E6 | ||
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Posts: 104 (10/14/08 08:32 PM) |
John,
Thanks for the info. Does Bowser use the same boiler for the G5, H9 and E6? Does Roundhouse use the same boiler for their G5, H9 and E6 (did they make one?)? Is it possible that some prefer the roundhouse H9 boiler over the Bowser H9 boiler because of the cab? Just curious - I'm watching e-bay and wondering which of the kits would be a better starting point. Do not have much need for the E6, but the G5 and H9 could be useful. At this point they all seem to be out of production. How closely does the Roundhouse small PRR tender match any of the G5, H-class, and E6 tenders? I've seen them for sale on e-bay and at train shows. Thanks, Dave Evans
Last Edited By: devansprr
10/14/08 08:35 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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John Romig |
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Posts: 2 (10/19/08 03:28 PM) |
Dale, in reply to your questions, I'll answer then in order. First, Bowser uses the same boiler for the E6 and H9. They have a different casting for the
G5 whereas the Roundhouse/MDC used the same boiler & cab for all of their PRR kits. You've assumed correctly about the preference of the MDC boiler
over the Bowser casting for the H9 and E6 because of the separate plastic cab. As far as I know, the Bowser
kits are all still available; not so for the MDC. The Roundhouse line was bought out by Model Power and, to my knowledge, they are not producing the kits. If
you'd like to build either the H9 or G5, the Bowser mechanisms are by far the best starting point. Use the MDC boiler, cab and tender for the H9. For the
G5, I'd go all the way with the Bowser kit.
The Roundhouse tender (if you can get one) is a MUCH better representation of the H9 / E6 tender than the Bowser is. It's not exact, but pretty close, especially if you replace the incorrect MDC Archbar trucks with the more correct Bowser Daulphin-style trucks which are really very nice. Glad to help out with information. Regards, John Romig |
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