The Diesel Dog News and Happenings in the World of Live Diesel Models Vol 1 – Issue 1, January 2008

Diamondhead, MS, 18-20 Jan 08 – The 15th Annual International Small Scale Steamup & Arts Festival was held in Diamondhead, Mississippi (www.diamondhead.org) with its usual fashion and flair. Live Steamers and Live Diesels from all over the world were in attendance. In the past, gas-electric, nitro-fueled live diesel locomotives were limited to the offerings produced by Wada Works of Japan from 1995 through 2005. The ubiquitous EMD GP-9 would make a rare showing from time to time. But this year was different! After 13 years of trying to build this hobby, the modelers came out of the wood work in 2007 and there were three unique types of live diesel in action at the steamup, or should we now say “Steam and Rev-Up”! Bob Pope, Jerry Hyde and Scott McDonald all did their best to instill a few “Diesel Daze” into the atmosphere of the event. Bob Pope of Tallahassee, FL has been working on his live diesel model for the past year. Progress was chronicled at the LargeScaleOnline Forums, where the live diesel community has been active in the Live Steam Forums. Bob’s P-1, as he calls it, features a very large fuel tank that gives Bob almost two hours of run time. His prime mover is a 1.5 cc model car engine that is started using a small battery powered screwdriver. The shell is fiberglass and also has foam baffling that really keeps the noise down. At three feet away from the engine with the shell in place, the unit is barely audible. His free scale, streamline consist is beautifully rendered and is reminiscent of the Art Deco era of streamlines such as the Burlington Zephyr.

Bob entered his diesel in the annual draw-bar pull and took the win for the four axel group, beating out the steamers with a pull of 103.7 oz’s. Next best pull by a steamer was 88.4 oz’s. Speaking of the Zephyr, yours truly was there with his Wada Works Burlington Zephyr getting several runs on the large track. Always a crowd pleaser, the Zephyr raced around the track at its scale 110 mph keeping everyone on their toes – especially the operator! The newest entry into the live diesel market is from Jerry Hyde of Jewett, Ohio. Jerry converted 1:32 scale Marklin MAXI 1:32 scale EMD F7 tinplate locomotives. His unit fills the space of the F7 shell and features an onboard starter, lubricant recovery, and both manual and R/C control capability. Jerry got some great track time to run his loco and generated a lot of interest his offering. It was great to meet and see all of these new entries making their way into the world of Live Diesel Modeling. Stay tuned for more Live Diesel news for the O’le Diesel Dog. Keep on Rev’ing! Scott McDonald