Well, its been a while since I started a new project. But last time my club operated a show last week, there was a small fire on my Bachmann 2-8-0. Nothing damaged but boards in the Tender, which are now shorted and cannot be used until they are repaired. The engine still runs, its been worked on considerably since I last posted about it, but after a year of constant breakdowns, I decided to drop D&RGW 370 to backup service only.

 

So, that left me with a shortage in motive power. Both for shows, and my Backyard Layout. Sure, between the entire club we have plenty of engines, but that would leave me without any main line engines.

 

So after debating about it for most of the Summer (I wanted to buy this Shay all Summer), I finally bought a Bachmann 3 Truck Shay, DCC and Sound. After it arrived, it stayed intact for about 2 hours after I got home from work, and then it got dismantled. The overall Plan is to dress the Shay up as Georgetown Loop RR 14. One, because I have seen lots of Westside Lumber Shay's, but never a model of a Shay post Westside. Two, because I work at the Georgetown Loop (although on Westside Lumber 9), and its always great to show support for the Railroad you work on!

 

So I have only been at this for a week, so there is not a whole lot of Progress. 14 has some really unique features that are difficult to replicate. And as I pointed out while working on my 2-8-0, I am not a very skilled Scratch builder, its not prize winning work, nor is it intended to be. I love constructive criticism, but Rivet Counters will be ignored. And don't get me started on "The Red is not the right red, the roof looks a little sloppy on the paint, this model is going to mostly be viewed by Kids under the age of 10, although a few adults come around to our club shows. I don't belong to DRGS, its Colorado Locomotive Works, and Offshoot of Youth in Model Railroading.

 

So, here is where I was at as of Last night. Still very much in pieces, but starting to take shape

 

 

 

 

 

Actually Kevin, 14 still has her original kerosene lamps on her to this day, I asked Phil Reader about it, they just removed the vents from them, so I cut them off last night. But yes, I will be at the Train Expo next weekend, and Hope to be running 14 in whatever form she can get to by then.

 

No, 9 is still not running, were hoping to get her ready by next season. Lots of hoops to jump through once she got torn apart.

Once I get the last parts, I get to repaint the engine (well, mostly touch up) and then I'll have something to show off here!

 

14 will be running at the Great Train Expo in Denver Tomorrow and Sunday.

Well,  a few things have been done so far, but not a whole lot of progress yet. 

 

I did all the Plumbing before the Great Train Expo a few weeks ago. The only bit of Plumbing left to do is the Compressor work, but since the Compressor is not mounted yet, seems rather silly to do it until I can mount the Compressor. I added the Firemans side injector, which for me, being the first time working on an Injector on a model, was a challenge, but it came out pretty good I think. would like to find a way to model the Water Feed lines from the tender, but still be able to seperate the two parts of the locomotive for transport.

 

I ended up creating new Branch pipes for both sides, it was just easier to do, plus the Firemans side one has to feed into the Injector mounted ahead of the cab, so it required a custom fit.

 

I also have my Decals for "Georgetown Loop RR" so as soon as the repainting work is done, 14 will come to life!

 

So here are a few shots of the current progress.

 

Tender Lettering Removed (with a slight ghost still visible, did that on purpose) 

 

 

Cab lettering removed, along with patches to the Firebox, and domes. The Stack and Firebox are sporting their new colors, which is a close match to the Proper Graphite/Silver Mixture we are using on WSL 9 at the Loop. Helps to have the real thing to reference. 

 

 

Firemans side injector

 

 

New Sanding Lines to match what is found on 14, along with at closer look at the stack color

 

 

Engineers side view. Engine Sets were removed for painting

 

 

 Dynamo close up

 

 

New Air Compressor. Westinghouse Cross-Compound. Its not mounted, just sitting on the running boards, I have a few things I need to change before it goes on, and the smokebox needs to get painted.

 

 

Front View 

 

 

Spent today removing a lot of the piping around the smokebox so it could be painted. Very glad now I only used light glue on the piping, came off pretty easy.

 

 

 Also took the time to paint the number plate. 14 has a red ring on the outside, as compared with most engines, which have the inner circle painted red. Was quite a trick to get it right without messing up the lettering. My roommate came up with a solution, we took a candle and rubbed the wax onto the raised lettering, then used our airbrush compressor to blow off the excess. Used a Micro brush to paint the red, then a papertowl to wipe off the red from the lettering. It actually worked quite well, and I only have some minor touchup to do!