Not Your Daddy's Standard Gauge Addendum and Errata

 Not Your Daddy's Standard Gauge:

A Guide to Modern Era Standard Gauge Trains and the People Who Made Them

– Arno Baars

MESG Publishing, 2022

To contact the author, or to order a copy of this book,

email:  CMTLLC@gmavt.net

or write to:

CMT  LLC, PO Box 21, Hinesburg, VT  05461

Addendum & Errata (as of January, 2025)

Information about MESG trains is an ongoing project: we have found some errors in the book as printed, readers continue to be most helpful with their comments, additions and clarifications, and we continue to make new discoveries:

On page 18: While Bernie McHugh made his locomotives unpowered, in some cases motors have been added by later MESG craftsmen. In October 2022, Carl Neidlinger installed a motor in the 4-4-0 General pictured in the bottom photo.

On page 56, the caption to the photo at the top of the page is incorrect. The 1981 flatcar is marked TTOS, and the 1982, 1983, and 1984 flatcars are marked TPC, as shown in the photos and correctly stated in the text on that page.

On page 101, the top photo is of trolley #21; the lower photo shows #24.

On page 120, left column, third line; and also page 123, second paragraph: the Pride Lines steam locomotive is a 4-4-0, as pictured.

On page 124, first line: The Pride Lines Voltamp Interurban was made in four colors, including also dark Blue. 

On page 166, last line of text and top photo: we now know that Mayer made a second 28-wheeled Cascade in Milwaukee colors and with the "8501" and "Milwaukee Road" brass plates. There is also another Rich-Art 8501 Milwaukee Road Cascade, a 3-C-C-C-3 that has three motors, three frame sections, and 30 wheels. This may have been an experimental/prototype model made by Mayer, or possibly made as a special order for Abe Cohen, as it was in his collection.

On page 169, fourth line from the bottom, should read "but only the rear truck is powered ..."

On page 170, the caption for the second photo; and on page 366, fourth line: Bob Hendrich put a more powerful motor in the rear truck of his Rich-Art Santa Fe McKeen car. In the front truck, he installed a wheel-driven flywheel mechanism.

On page 251, the photograph at the bottom of the page obscures the last line of text. The last sentence of the text should read: "The tender is also mostly stock CMC with modified trucks."

On page 269: The "Super Standard" multi-tie track made by USA Track LLC described at the bottom of this page is pictured in several photographs in Chapter 27. Many of the photos of Karl Rammling's trains in that chapter were taken by Arno using this "Super Standard" track and clearly show the very close spacing of the ties.

On page 285, right column, the last sentence of the second paragraph should read: "The inside edges of the car sides were lined with felt to prevent scratching of the vestibule as the train articulated."

On page 342: There is some discussion as to whether the blue Hudson in the photo on the left side of this page was made by Randall or by Park Railways. Some of the details (e.g. the cab windows) match the Park locomotives; but the dimensions of this engine and tender are exactly the same as a Randall, indicating that it could not have been cast using the Park patterns or molds (see sidebar on page 352 for an explanation of casting shrinkage and the Park Hudsons). 

On page 344, photo and caption at the bottom of the page: we now know that George Campbell built his Randall interurban in 1974.

On page 365, fifth line from the end: Lionel introduced its Hiawatha in 2001, as detailed in Chapter 48.

On page 373, bottom of the first column and top of the second column: we now believe that the Maurer brass DD-1 made for Jay Duke is one of Pete Maurer's O Gauge engines. This O Gauge brass DD-1 is illustrated on pages 370 and 372. 

On page 384: After almost 50 years in hiding, Karl Rammling's Bridgeport Hustler reappeared in April 2023 in a Stout Auction listing. Abe Cohen, the orthopedic surgeon who obtained the engine from John Davanzo, never sold it: it remained part of his collection until after his death in 2014.

On page 412, right column, second caption: The fuel tanks on the Forney GP are solid steel, not lead. The Forney GP diesel locomotive is now being reproduced by Classic Model Trains LLC, in 12 road names. 29 have been built as of April 2024.

On page 422: Classic Model Trains LLC is now reproducing Glenn boxcars and tank cars, in various road names. As of July 2024, 150 boxcars and 202 tank cars have been made.

On page 431, right column, end of first paragraph: Glenn Gerhard used an open-frame AC motor in his Switcher, similar to the motor he used in his Alco power trucks. Several Glenn Switchers were modified by Bob Hendrich, who put the larger and more powerful DC can motor in the cabs.

On page 432, photo at the top of the page: with its can motor, low-swooping drawbar, and added marker lights, this is a good example of a Switcher built by Glenn Gerhard and modified by Bob Hendrich. Compare with the photo directly below it, of an unmodified Glenn Switcher.

Also on page 432, last paragraph, Leonard Schenk's name is misspelled. Schenk collected the trains of other MESG makers as well, and even made a few of his own tinplate Standard Gauge freight cars.

On page 443, second column, second paragraph, tenth line; and also caption to upper right photo on page 429: we now know of two more Glenn rectangular-vat pickle cars (another No. 70, and an all-Tuscan 111) for a total of seven; there may well be more. 

On page 489, top photo: unfortunately, this extremely rare (perhaps one-of-a-kind) Lee Lines set of streamline cars in Pennsylvania RR Tuscan no longer exists: a collector recently painted it over in Daylight colors.

On page 501, the table in the right column. The last entry in the table, the Creswell 600E sold as a kit at a Stout auction in January 2019, we now know is actually 2-tone Gray, not Black. No plates were included in the kit, but the new owner made plates, numbering this engine #5324. We also have two new engines to add to the table: one is #5326, which is gloss Black with brass trim, smoke, and a chugger; the second is a scarce two-tone State Green engine, #5334, with brass and copper trim.

On page 528, left column: both the DeHanes 4-door baggage car and the combine were sold with either U. S. Postal Service or Railway Express Agency name plates, although the REA plates are more common.

On page 531, first full paragraph: "At the time of the fire, DeHanes... had made three GP-9 diesel locomotives when the fire put an end to that... DeHanes said that he did have several boxes of parts..." It turns out that the boxes included not only parts, but also about forty finished cars, or ten 4-car sets. Whether these 10 sets were included in the 90 sets Bob DeHanes said he made, or should be added to that, is uncertain. In 2023, Dan Furmanski of Schwenksville PA teamed up with Jim Waterman to purchase the boxes of remaining parts from the DeHanes estate. Waterman took the car parts and has begun to finish about 15 more DeHanes 4-car passenger sets using these components. Furmanski received the approximately 35 DeHanes GP9 cast resin shells, and has been powering them with converted G Scale motors and finishing them to order, making the DeHanes GP finally a reality for collectors.  Dan Furmanski and his son, also Dan, do business as Trainmakers, and have also begun production of an impressive Standard Gauge Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster diesel engine. They also produce a Standard Gauge steeple cab; a line of "shorty" single-truck freight cars; a number of specialty freight cars such as articulated drop-center flatcars; and some accessories. Trainmakers are the first new and exciting source for Modern Era Standard Gauge to emerge since the publication of this book.

On page 535, top right photo, the B unit of this New Jersey DeHanes set was later destroyed in shipping.

On page 541, bottom right photo: note that there is no center rail pickup on this trolley. DOK made this for 2" Gauge two-rail, not Standard Gauge.

On page 559, left column, third line from the bottom, and also the caption to the photo in the upper right of the same page: the bright red frames (upright support posts) on Jerry Loman's York Town waiting platform are water-jet cut from flat steel and powder-coated, they are not die-cast.

On page 568, the 100 Year Bridge Company of York PA also made a model 924 bridge, which is as wide and as high as the 948 but only 24" long. Unlike the 524, the 924 is wide enough for Standard Gauge trains. The inside height clearance of all these bridges can be either 8-1/4" or 7-5/8", depending on the size of the top end brace used.