LOCOMOTIVES and more
All of my SCLN&TC locomotives are Bachmann Spectrum Series. As a rule I don’t rebuild them, but I do weather them and usually add figures if there is room inside the cab. I do have plans on modifying one and I have a rebuild project on my shelf for one, but not sure at this time when I will get to doing these. At this time I have only one critter and one railbus. This could change in the future, but at this time I don’t have plans for adding any more.
The Locomotive Dept. is an ongoing work in progress. I have more locomotives to finish and will put them here as I get them finished.
Photo 2-6-6-2FC and Photo 2-6-6-2 CT
This is my 2-6-6-2 coming out of Frisco Canyon and on Chugwater Trestle. I love this locomotive; the small boiler and large cab look neat. In my opinion this is one of the best locomotives that Bachmann has made.
Shay No.. 2
This is the locomotive that got my interest in On30. I bought this about 5 years ago, but never did anything with it. Then in 2009 I finally got it out and worked on it, and I was hooked on On30 big time. I added some details, a crew, and lightly weathered it.
I love the Forney, it has character. I added a few details and lightly weathered it. I like crews with character and I believe these two guys have it. Notice the fireman is smoking a cigarette; “Smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.”
This is one of my favorite locomotives. For one thing, it’s a small locomotive with a large cab, the epitome of a narrow gauge engine. The frosting on the cake is that it runs like a top. I didn’t put any additional detailing on it except for a cow catcher pilot, and I also added an engineer and fireman. I lightly weathered it using chalks.
Here is a little sweetheart; a 0-4-2 Porter “teakettle”. I did a fair amount of work on this, beginning by putting side windows in it and window glazing in the front windows. Bachmann made this engine as an open-air cab, which was common with the Porter. But with my railroad in Southern Colorado, it would be cruel treatment to my crews to operate with an open cab. Next I increased the coal capacity by adding front boards to the coal bunker, and then put in some scale coal. I also put a tank at the rear of the coal bunker; don’t ask me why, I just did as I thought it looked neat. I guess we could say it’s for additional water. I also added pull cords for the whistle and bell. Since my locomotives operate in reverse in one direction I added a headlight at the rear. I finished it off with a crew. The engineer was a complete rebuild of the original figure, including a cowboy hat. The water bag was the final touch. It’s weathered with powdered chalks.
Photo on right in above row: Porter No. 2 Upgrade
The oil headlamp was replaced with an electric head light. This will match all of my other locomotives.
I have always liked boxcabs and this one is a sweetheart. It’s a Boulder Valley Models resin kit that fits over a Bachmann 0-4-0 gas mechanical loco. Boulder Valley makes some of the best resin kits available anywhere, just as good as injected styrene. I added some details and weathered it rather heavy. The muffler and horn are part of the kit, but I scratchbuilt the air tank. I also added a rear light and some miscellaneous details. Notice that the operator is smoking a cigar, complete with gray ash.
This started out as a Bachmann rail truck. I heavily modified a Bachmann coach to fit the rail truck frame.
This rail bus, or motorcar as some refer to them, is a straight forward kitbash using a Bachmann coach for the body and the front being from Boulder Valley Models. The coach was shortened and then the front third of the body converted to the power and operator’s section. I made the operator’s door, grab irons, steps, vent screens, stack, and air cleaner intake. The bell, headlight, horn, and air tanks are Boulder Valley parts, and the air hoses and marker lamps are Grandt Line. I also put some figures in the coach. The rail bus rides on a Proto Power West HO switcher chassis that I bought in the late 1970s. The chassis runs as smooth as silk just like it did when I bought it many years ago, in fact, it actually runs better because it’s now broke in. Converting the chassis to On30 was relatively easy and the body is held to it with four screws.
Rail Bus No. 8 - Driver
The driver looks neat and was a rather tight fit, but I got him in there.
This rail bus was quite a project involving kitbashing, scratchbuilding, and modifying a diecast metal 1934 Ford truck cab. A lot of trial fitting was needed to get the length correct to fit the Kato Alco HO chassis. Once that was done the building began, first with modifying the Bachmann combine car, then the floor for the cab. The figures were a tight fit to clear the motor and flywheels of the chassis. I made the stack, air cleaner intake, grab irons, and steps. I made the step grid from aluminum mesh that I had in stock. The tow chains are left over parts from my diecast truck modeling days. The cow catcher pilot and tow hooks, horns, headlight, bell, and air tanks are Boulder Valley parts, and the marker lamps, brake wheel, and air hose are Grandt Line parts. The smokestack on the body is a white metal part that I had in stock and am not sure who the manufacturer was. Putting figures in a rail bus is expensive, but they add a lot of character to the model. Notice the figure looking out the window on the left side of the freight section of the body.
Getting the driver in the cab was quite a trick because he sits right next to the gear tower of the chassis and it needs to swivel for curves.
Rail Bus No. 09 In-Progress Work
The front wall of the body was notched to clear the driveshaft coupler of the front gear box. The floor for the cab was made to fit around the front gear box and to rest flat on the chassis. At this point, the cab floor is glued to the front of the body. The cab and fenders are two pieces and each was worked independently. In this photo, the two are now glued together. Notice the spacers between the steps and rear of the cab. These were needed so the cab would sit level. The one spacer provided a “seat” for the driver. A lot of cutting and milling was needed to get the assembly to fit over the front gear box, and even the figure required some milling to allow room for the gear tower to swivel. At this point, final milling was done for a good fit using a Dremel. To get the cab in correct position the body and cab floor assembly was screwed down to the chassis, then the cab assembly set in place and glued to the floor and the front of the body using CA gel and allowed to dry. Next, the entire assembly was removed from the chassis and Dr. Mike’s 2 CA was applied where need so the cab would be well adhered to the floor and body.
This rail truck is a combination of kitbashing and scratchbuilding. It’s lettered SCLN&TC “Special Services” for hauling beer and booze between my towns. In theory, the liquid refreshments come into Westcliffe from the north, so loads will travel southbound from Westcliffe to Chugwater and Durdy Dawg, and empty cases on the return run. The main body is a modified Bachmann reefer. The cab and hood are a heavily modified cab and hood from a Bachmann gas mechanical locomotive. The cow catcher pilot is leftover from a Bachmann locomotive. The horn, headlight, bell, air tanks, and tool box are Boulder Valley parts, and the brake wheel is from Foothill Models. I made everything else, including the deck below the hood. The driver has sunglasses, but they are difficult to see in the photos. The short pipe and bonnet on the left side of the hood is the air cleaner intake. The exhaust is a straight pipe with no muffler as I subscribe to the theory “Loud Pipes Save Lives.” This was a fun project. No plans or drawings or anything, just a mental image of what I wanted the finished model to look like, and I achieved that goal very well.
This is the original Bear Whiz Beer advertising sign developed in the 1970s. Many variations have been made since, but the original version is still my favorite. The sign is large enough on the model that all of the small lettering can be read. I made the decal and due to the size of the sign it was difficult to put on the model, but it worked.
I also made these decals. How about that owner sign?
Another pet project. First, I always liked the late 1950s and early 1960s Autocar trucks with the long hood and set back front axle, and that was the inspiration for this rail truck. Again, no plans or drawings, just a mental image of what I wanted the finished model to look like. This project is also a combination of kitbashing and scratchbuilding. The main body is a modified Bachmann boxcar. The cab and hood are a heavily modified cab and hood from a Bachmann gas mechanical locomotive. The horn, bell, air tanks, and toolbox are Boulder Valley Models parts. I scratchbuilt the pilot, headlight, stack, air cleaner intake, and deck for the hood. The oil filter and air filter are modified 64 scale truck parts. Of course I added grab irons and windshield wipers. The brake wheel is a Foothill Models part. The reason I scratchbuilt the headlight is that I was out of Boulder Valley headlights, and waiting for an order of new parts to come in, so I just went ahead and built one. It was fun and looks good, but for ease of building and saving time I’ll use the Boulder Valley parts for future projects. Again, like most of my rail trucks and rail buses, it has a straight stack with no muffler.
Like the Bear Whiz Beer rail truck I made all of the decals. Chief Hosa has smoke shops in each of my towns, so like the booze, the tobacco products come into Westcliffe from the north and this rail truck hauls them south to Chugwater and Durdy Dawg. Check out the driver.
How about that driver; is he cool or what! The figure is from Fun and Games and has really good detail. I added the cigar, complete with gray ash on the end of it. The chassis for this project is a Kato RS3 Alco and runs like a fine-tuned Swiss watch. Like the Bear Whiz Beer rail truck, the conversion to On30 scale was relatively easy. The body is held down to the chassis with four screws.
If nothing else, this snow plow is certainly different, but it sure is neat. This was quite a project, involving kitbashing, scratchbuilding, and modifying a diecast metal 1950 cabover Chevy truck cab. For the body, I used the frame and a modified floor from a Boulder Valley Models resin gondola kit. I scratchbuilt everything else on the body. The load of rocks are on a false floor that goes over the chassis mechanism. The rocks are for weight so the plow has more traction when plowing and were made from NAPA oil dry. The false floor was sealed around the edges and the rocks glued in place with diluted Elmer’s white glue. Notice all of the nut & bolt details; that was a lot of tiny holes to drill. The NBWs are Grandt Line. To get the correct fit to the chassis, the body was built first and screwed to the chassis with three screws, then the cab was fitted. The cab was in two pieces, the cab and the fenders, which made modifications relatively easy. It was first cut for a general fit, then milled with a Dremel for final fit. The plow pilot needed to be heavy and fit up to the body, so the grille had to be modified to fit right. The interior also had to be modified to fit over the front gear box tower, which left just enough room for the seat. Notice the tow chains at the rear sides and the two tow hooks on the rear. If the plow gets stuck it needs to be pulled from the rear. In case this happens, the caboose first has to be moved to a passing siding somewhere along the line; so, in view of this, it is highly desirable that the plow doesn’t get stuck. The figure was modified to fit and I also put a cigarette in his hand. In 1950, just about everyone smoked, so this is very realistic. I did not want to re-paint the red cab so I left the cab marker lights in place. My dad owned and operated a 1950 GMC, which was the same body as the Chevy except for the grille, and his was red. The snow plow rides on a Proto 2000 HO switcher chassis and the cab is held down with one screw.
I think the driver looks neat, especially with the cigarette in his hand. The pipe on the left side is the air cleaner intake. Theoretically, this unit is powered by a GM Diesel 6-71 engine, which was often referred to as a “screamer” due to the noise of the 2-cycle engine. In view of this, it needed a muffler, and judging by the size and shape of the muffler my guess is that it’s a Riker... goodness gracious, how I carry on! Anyway, the Riker mufflers were straight through design and didn’t quiet down the noise very much, but sure sounded neat.
The floor of the Boulder Valley gondola kit had to be used to give the frame some support as both had to have the front removed to clear the motor and flywheel of the chassis. The front wall of the body could only have the top two boards in place so it would clear the flywheel.
This is the complete consist with the caboose, which was built just for the snow plow.
I love shorty cabooses, and this one certainly is short. The caboose is a radically modified San Juan Car Co. long D&RGW caboose kit. In my opinion, the San Juan Car Co. kits are the most highly detailed kits available on the market (and the most expensive.) So why cut one up? Well, I do things like that. I love the design of the Rio Grande caboose and I love the details included in the kit. In all honesty, modifying the caboose was relatively easy by making my cuts along the vertical side sheathing. Since most of the mounting holes for the curved side grab irons were removed with the kitbash, I made new curved grabs using brass wire. I also made the end grab irons with wire. The stock end handrails and ladders were used. In this kit many of the intricate details are cast in an industrial plastic, but I use Dr. Mike’s 2 CA adhesive, which bonds Delrin and some other industrial plastics. Years ago I dreamed of a CA adhesive that would bond Delrin, and we finally now have one. My goal for this model was the exterior appearance and I was not interested in the interior, so I painted the window glazing with gloss black on the inside. The caboose is so short that I’m not sure how sharp of curves it will negotiate without the wheel flanges hitting each other. I use 24” radius curves and No. 5 turnouts on my railroad and it negotiates these with ease. Like the snow plow, the caboose is very lightly weathered. You can find more photos of this caboose in the “Rolling Stock” section.
I thought the guy standing at the rear added character to the caboose, especially with the hat that he is wearing. The caboose is equipped with a horn for when the snow plow is backing up. The horn of course needs a control, so I scratchbuilt the control and air lines. The marker lamps are Grandt Line parts fitted with MV lenses. The safety chains are from stock I had on hand. The coupler lift bar and flexible air hose were included in the kit. The small silver thing on the roof is the toilet vent. Notice the brass hardware on the doors.
After the walls were cut I sanded them for a reasonably good fit, then sanded a taper on the inside. This allows the exterior to fit together for a perfect fit without much sanding. When the pieces are joined together this leaves a “V” toward the inside, which doesn’t allow for a strong joint, so after everything is tack glued and aligned I glue in a piece of plastic that covers the joint. Now there is a strong bond. I should mention here that the entire body is only tack glued together at first, using Testors liquid plastic cement. When the body is all together I then run a bead of liquid cement along each joint line on the inside of the model. When this is dry I go over each joint on the inside with Dr. Mike’s 2 CA right from the bottle which allows a heavy bead of CA along the joint. If I get too much adhesive on the joint I immediately soak up any excess with a paper towel. After the CA dries the body is rock solid.
The frame was spliced at an offset from the floor splice. After the frame is tack glued in place, I run a bead of cement along the joint where the side walls and frame come together and clamp the side wall in place until the cement sets.
At each corner there is a 3-way joint of the floor, frame, and side. Liquid cement is applied to the joint, then everything aligned and clamped to hold the good fit in place. On this model, this is a critical joint, so I leave it clamped until the cement is dry. After the clamps are released I go over the joint on the under side with CA, but not straight from the bottle like I did on the inside walls. This time the CA is applied using a piece of small wire. While this kit includes extensive frame details, such as all of the brake rigging, air lines, etc., I only put in the air tank which is partially in view when the caboose is upright. As stated above my goal was only for the exterior appearance, so the underframe didn’t need additional detailing.