Bill Barnwell
Registered
Conversion started with removing water tanks from engine cab and replacing with doors, removing side parts off motor housing, replacing cab roof with Kalamazoo roof. Kept original boiler but cut smoke box off and made new one with PVC pipe adding rivet detail using plastic rivets from eBay. Made sand dome and steam dome from PVC fittings. Boiler railings are 1/16" brass hobby wire held off the boiler using the crushable part of a pop rivet and cotter pins, front smoke box grab bar is same. Smoke box front is made from plastic hole plugs. Front # medallion is the poppet from a dental valve and the boiler maker plates are brass rivets bottom out. Cylinders were capped with dental bit package tops and rivet detail was added to look more like Stevenson valves. Added walk ways around the engine using strip styrene and small paper clips with styrene for the air cooling piping. Cow catcher is scratch built using plastruct pieces. Coupler release is held in place using same cotter pin, pop rivet parts that I used on the boiler, and is made using piano wire bent to the proper configuration. Capped it off with a Kadee G scale coupler. Used a aristo craft 2-4-2 Rogers front pilot mainly because it had sprung wheel which helps keep the wheels on the track + it has electrical pickups.
Being as this was suppose to be an old logging engine I opted for the older steam engine look, flared stack which is from a dental tubing retaining fitting. Not sure what brand the bell and light are from but they looked old and might have come from the Kalamazoo roof engine. In the engine there is a voltage reducer board supplying 5vdc to the smoke unit and 2vdc to both the red/yellow flickering LED's lights in the firebox and the headlight LED. Sand dome pull bar is brass wire and the bell rope is twisted electrical wire. Parts on top of the steam dome are just that, what ever I had that looked right. Krylon spray paint was used to color major parts and weathering using acrylics brush on. Lettering was done with a Cameo silhouette. Logging company name is pronounced in southern redneck slang, hint the P.T. stands for pressure treated, sound it out.
The tender is an LGB powered unit and along with the engine having front pilot, drivers and skates pickups tethered electrically to the engine gives over 17" of electrical contact with the rails, it will run on pretty dirty track and pull a bunch of cars. Opted for a wood burner (what else would a lumber Co use), so I replaced the coal load with twigs (logs) same ones I used for my pulpwood car. The tender has an older chuff unit in it something I had form the late 70's. I have build a complete train around this combo which includes 2 log cars, water tank car, pulpwood (favorite) car and work caboose. In the works is a flat car with a WWII bulldozer on it. Fun train and will pretty much go anywhere. I will post pictures of the cars at a later date. Bill
Being as this was suppose to be an old logging engine I opted for the older steam engine look, flared stack which is from a dental tubing retaining fitting. Not sure what brand the bell and light are from but they looked old and might have come from the Kalamazoo roof engine. In the engine there is a voltage reducer board supplying 5vdc to the smoke unit and 2vdc to both the red/yellow flickering LED's lights in the firebox and the headlight LED. Sand dome pull bar is brass wire and the bell rope is twisted electrical wire. Parts on top of the steam dome are just that, what ever I had that looked right. Krylon spray paint was used to color major parts and weathering using acrylics brush on. Lettering was done with a Cameo silhouette. Logging company name is pronounced in southern redneck slang, hint the P.T. stands for pressure treated, sound it out.
The tender is an LGB powered unit and along with the engine having front pilot, drivers and skates pickups tethered electrically to the engine gives over 17" of electrical contact with the rails, it will run on pretty dirty track and pull a bunch of cars. Opted for a wood burner (what else would a lumber Co use), so I replaced the coal load with twigs (logs) same ones I used for my pulpwood car. The tender has an older chuff unit in it something I had form the late 70's. I have build a complete train around this combo which includes 2 log cars, water tank car, pulpwood (favorite) car and work caboose. In the works is a flat car with a WWII bulldozer on it. Fun train and will pretty much go anywhere. I will post pictures of the cars at a later date. Bill
