Westside Models brass C-16 I replaced the open frame motor with a Maxxon core-less motor, NWSL gears, added wheel wipers, SMLED’s, and painted it with Testors Model Master paint. The Russian iron color is a mix is Metal Master non-buffing steel with a touch of blue. The boiler banding was an experiment with “gold” foil tape.This 2-4-4-0 was a project I started using a Roundhouse 2-8-0 outside frame locomotive kit. I stopped construction on this because the drive that I scratch-built is too noisy. When I find the time to work out the gearing, I’ll finish it up. The Chimbote Railway in Chille, South America had a tiny little inspection locomotive, built by Baldwin. I fell in love with the looks of it, so I am scratch-building it in brass. I wasn’t able to find any dimensional data for this. To build this locomotive I had to draw it to scale. I had a set of 36″ drivers in my junk bin that I used as my starting dimension. I then printed the photo so the driver in the photo was 36″. The scaled photo was used to get all the dimensions I needed to build this. Rear truck is from Grandt Line. Scratch-built domes turned from acrylic rod and brass tube. Cylinders are made from hexagonal tube and round tube inserted and soldered in place Real coal in the bin. PSC and Wiseman details for the cab interior.This little guy is an HOn30 locomotive. It started off as a Bachmann HOn30 “Scarloie” from the “Thomas the Tank Engine” series. It has a great running chassis, and makes an excellent starting point for a kit-bashing project. The shell is 3D printed, and comes from Shapeways. It is based on the Hawaiian plantation locomotive “Kahuku” which is restored at Roaring Camp Railroad in Felton, California. I placed an HO scale figure next to it here for size comparison. Most of the brass detail parts are castings I had in the parts bin and junk box. Many of them are from PSC, some are scratch-built.Here is the finished model on display at the Bachmann booth, at the 2017 National Narrow Gauge Convention in Denver, Colorado.Another view of the completed model. I intended for this to serve as a mining locomotive on the layout, I’m not sure I will have any HOn30 on the layout though. Key Imports brass C&S locomotive. Purchased as a non-running basket case. Here it is assembled for test fitting and functionality. I fixed the quartering issues of the drivers and replaced the cracked gear with an NWSL unit. It didn’t come with the original motor, so I bought a Faulhaber core-less replacement for it. FED brass 2-6-0, Heavily modified and painted by good friend Craig Hoefer. Painted for North Pacific Coast #13. I acquired this from him in a trade. It has seen extensive use with the North Coast Narrow Gaugers modular club. It’s a little tired and I will need to freshen it up a bit to get it running properly again.FED 4-4-0 brass NPC “Tomalas” was also acquired in the trade from Craig. Totally modified and painted by Craig, it is another example of his fine craftsmanship. This also saw extensive use on the modular club layout and needs a bit of care to bring it back to it’s former glory.Not sure who made this little 4-4-0, but I am certain it wasn’t FED. It’s a nice starting point for another project. I haven’t decided what I want to build with it yet.Key Imports 2-6-0 C&S #8. This locomotive came from Jim Vail. It’s a great running little gem, although it needs paint, DCC, lights, and sound.Diamond Models 2-4-4 This little guy was my first attempt to paint a locomotive with a rattle can. I used Duplicolor engine enamel semi-gloss black and aluminum. I painted this as a tribute to a friend Keevan Burnside, aka “Barkeep” He was a great guy and always had a funny story to tell. The decals were from his personal railroad, the Big Trees & Good Rock Railroad. I made the number decal on my laser printer, and the Burnside decal on my Alps printer. The locomotive number 76 was his age.Blackstone C-19 early Russian iron painted, unlettered. This is another locomotive from Jim Vail. I made the decals using my Alps printer and also painted the banding on the boiler. The locomotive requires some additional detail, programming, and a crew. New smoke stack added. I was looking at pictures of Mason Bogies for the various paint schemes, and I came across this bastardization. I don’t have a clue who drew this, or why, but I had to build it. Instantly, my mind went to a “bumble bee” paint scheme. I printed the drawing and broke out the colored pencils. Then I grabbed my PSC parts catalog and started ordering parts.Lots of changes for this. New C-16 round domes, a bear trap smokestack, new pilot wheel, new headlight. Now with the snow plow and the roof hatch. Painting this will be a blast. I can’t wait to see the reaction of the purists when this rolls out at a Narrow Gauge convention! Hehehe
