D-10 LOCOMOTIVE ASSIGNMENTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

  A friend asked us for information on locomotive assignments for the Revelstoke Subdivision in 1950 so that he could number his newly acquired D-10 model locomotive.  After digging around in our "Kettle Valley archives" and thinking about sharing what is there, we were moved to start posting again after a long hiatus.  We will begin with a short review of the model and then expand to look at engine assignments for the D-10's in the Pacific (B.C.) Region in the late 1940's and early 1950's.  Here is an image of the unlettered model from Rapido's Website.

 

The Rapido Ten-Wheelers are fresh out of the factory in China and are selling very well. Several reviews on-line are favorable and a short period of testing on the Kettle Valley Model Railway was positive overall.  Here is an extensive review of the model by a happy purchaser: https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/rapido-d10-first-look-12786805?pid=1336495875

PERFORMANCE: The model crawled at a scale 0.7 mile per hour at speed step 1. At speed step 12 she moved well at 13 scale m.p.h. but at speed step 28, she flew by at 56 scale m.p.h.!  There was no stalling or cogging observable in the slow speeds which was impressive.  Unfortunately, there was not enough time for more testing after a train of 15 cars with free-rolling trucks made her slip and stall out on the 2.2% grade even with the traction tire fitted on the rear axle.  With the traction tire, the model should handle a reasonable freight train of at least 10 cars but someone else will have to test her with metal tires.  Rapido has a video on the engine's capabilities on a 1.7% grade here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfoSUHSkoqE&t=1s

BUILD & DETAIL: The detailing of the model is of the highest quality.  The lighting functions were numerous and delightful: headlight, tender light, number board, class lights, ground lights and firebox flicker. Drivers and rods were well done.  The many extra parts with the undecorated model are easily installed on the model to match the particular prototype one may wish to replicate.

SOUND: The factory settings for the decoder sounds are much too loud for our tender ears but that is easily adjustable. To be frank, the overall sound quality is not as good as our Kettle Valley engine models with their shop-built lead speakers and TCS decoders. The brake squeal is excessive when braking at slow speeds but perhaps there is room for adjustment in the programming. The chuff was well synchronized with the driver rotation - perhaps there is a cam to enable this. 

CAUTION: The drawbar coupling is fragile and can be broken or worse if the plug is not connected with care.  It is somewhat surprising that the thing works at all - since the plug has to withstand the pull of a train - but it seems to work on the Royal Hudsons which have been around for some time now.

Here is a listing of D-10's that worked the BC rails in 1947 transcribed from a faint copy of an official CPR Document given to us by Ted Howe many years ago.  There were 20 active D-10's operating in BC at the time, most of them on Vancouver Island.

LOCOMOTIVE DISTRIBUTION PACIFIC (B.C.) REGION
Period Ending February 15th, 1947.
Revelstoke Division:
Okanagan Sub.	Way Freight	983
	Mixed	962 (maroon panels)
	Fruit	985
Shuswap Sub. Freight	Freight	926
Vancouver Division:
Ioco & Coquitlam	Sw. & Transfer	724 (scrapped 1948)
Kootenay Division:
Boundary & Rossland Sub.	Passenger	954
Kettle Valley Division:
D-9's only		[569, 592.]
Esquimalt & Nanaimo Division:
Victoria Sub.	Passenger	922
All Subdivisions	Freight	901, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910,
		911, 914, 915, 918, 920, 923,
		925

 The 14 D-10's on the E&N were transferred in early 1949 to the mainland when they were displaced by the early Baldwin Road-switchers in the 8000 series. The chart following shows where they went including 3 for the Kettle Valley Division: Nos. 907, 914, & 925.  The ill-fated 907 suffered a boiler explosion that killed the engine watchman and destroyed the roundhouse in March of 1949. The Riegger Book has a photo of her on page 216.

LOCOMOTIVE DISTRIBUTION PACIFIC (B.C.) REGION
Period Ending March 14th, 1950.
Revelstoke Division:
Arrow Lakes	Mixed	923
Okanagan Sub.	Way Freight	918
	Mixed	962 (maroon panels)
	Switching	983
Mountain Sub.	Work	910, 985.
Vancouver Division:
Mission Sub.	Mixed	922
Thompson Sub.	Work & Sw.	909
Cascade Sub.	Way Freight	906
Kootenay Division:
Cranbrook - Nelson Subs.	Way Freight	1036
Lake Windermere Sub.	Frt. & Mixed	901, 908, 911, 915.
Boundary & Rossland Sub.	Passenger	954
Kettle Valley Division:
Carmi & Princeton Subs.	Way Freight	914
Osoyoos Sub.	Freight	925
Esquimalt & Nanaimo Division:
None - [Baldwins]

For further information on the Kettle Valley D-10's there is an earlier post here: http://kettlevalleymodelrailway.blogspot.com/2019/

 

Coquihalla Man