Elvas Tower: D&RG Class 56 #55 - Elvas Tower

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#1 User is offline   bpratt 

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Posted 05 May 2012 - 05:59 PM

http://www.elvastowe...eenshot&id=1384
File Name: D&RG Class 56 #55
File Submitter: bpratt
File Submitted: 06 May 2012
File Updated: 07 May 2012
File Category: NG Steam Locos

Denver & Rio Grande Class 56 Narrow Gauge 2-8-0. 36" Drivers, 15x18" Cylinders, 56,000# Weight, 12,450# Tractive Force.

The 56 Class Baldwin 2-8-0's were the first large group of Consolidations used on the Denver & Rio Grande. Two locomotives of the 60 Class were bought before these but they were considered to be to heavy for the rail so the D&RG opted for the 53 locomotives of the 56 Class which were built between 1877 and 1880 with one, the 83, being built in 1881. Ironically, as heavier rail was laid in 1881 and 1882 the D&RG once again turned to the 60 Class with the 200 series engines and the little 56 Class were gradually sold off and retired until the last engines left the roster in 1917. They were gone before the 1924 re-classification but they would probably been a C-12 or C-13 if any had survived. These engines were built with cast iron boilers and the government requirement to replace all cast iron boilers with steel in 1916 served as the death knell for the remaining few members of the 56 Class.

These MSTS models are depicted as they appeared in the early 1880s. Improved air pumps had been installed and the original and their very small cabs had been replaced with larger peaked roof cabs at the Burnham Shops in Denver.

The locomotives not only came with numbers during the era they were built but also with names. Each locomotive of the Class was given a name of a prominent location in Colorado or the name of a notable pioneer of the region. The locomotives provided here are Number 55, the "Tomichi," which has been painted black with a lot of the brasswork painted over, and the last engine built, the 83 "Sera La Sal", which still retains her Russia Iron jacket but has had a little use. The names seem to have disappeared with the rebuilding of the cabs and the practice was discontinued in 1882.

To install these locomotives, download the zip files to a location of your choice, unzip them and copy the 56_Class_55, 56_Class_83 and 56_Class_CrewCar folders to your Trainset folder. These locomotives use a FreightAnim for some of the details so they require a "CrewCar" to put a crew into the cabs. When creating consists, insert the "56 Class Crew Car" between the engine and the tender. We have included two light engine consists to help you to visualize this arrangement.

These models still retain the original link and pin couplers but they will couple up with your knuckle coupler equipped cars. The locos are strictly straight air and hand brakes with no locomotive brakes - good luck moving them around light!

My thanks go to Howard Saunders for ongoing technical support, to Herb Kelsey for prodding and poking and providing prototype information and to Tom Werb for his fantastic crews which bring the locos to life. A little trick from Herb is a Virtual cab view. Hit the 5 key to see it.

Note - when first uploaded the tender would not install because of not being able to find a texture file. This problem has been fixed.

Click here to download this file

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