Location: Blogs 4-4-0 Repaint and Modification |
 | | Posted by: markoles | 3/14/2008 9:57 PM | Background information on this repaint project
This is the story of the repainting of a Bachmann 4-4-0. Having read Russel Bond's "Stealing the General" last year, I have been thinking about 4-4-0s for a while. The star of that story, the locomotive The General was my first favorite locomotive. Living in Kennesaw, GA from age 4 to 7, I went to visit the old General so often, they stopped charging me to go in.
I now find myself the owner of a Bachmann 4-4-0. I decided to forego the new green one in favor of a undecorated on I plan to paint up like the current scheme of the William Mason, only lettered for the Millersvillanova. The new locomotive even has a name, Estelle, after my dog's middle name. I am going to have to figure out how to paint one of those really fancy bucolic scenes on the side of the headlight box of my dog!! Maybe I can make something using iPhoto and print it out, and glue it on somehow....
This is my first piece of 1:20.3 equipment, but I plan to haul LGB and USA and Bachmann 1:22.5 equipment with it. Maybe even the occasional 40' boxcar.
For fun, here's a picture of the William Mason (Mason Machine works, 1856) under steam last Spring at the B&O RR museum in Baltimore. This is supposedly the oldest operating locomotive in the country. They have relettered her to B&O, but I don't know how real this scheme is. I like it anyway, and don't care about the authenticity for a B&O locomotive. I may try and contact Bachmann about a Radley and Hunter smokestack. The Mason's stack is huge!
Luckily, I have Kevin Strong's garden RR article on painting and disassembly of this engine, so I can take her apart and repaint. I am thinking that I will use some of that automotive pinstriping to do the boiler bands and tender stripes. I'll have to try my hand at modeling making the fenders for the drivers.
Here's a link to a page with more pictures of the Mason, without the crowd control fences.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoPicture.aspx?id=58463
By the way, the engineer in the photo is none other than Chris France himself. Here he is at the cab.
I am really excited about getting my first 4-4-0!!
I have gotten some good feedback on where to find the vinyl striping. Also, the green boiler may not be the most appropriate for the era. Not sure yet.
Mark | | | Permalink | Trackback |
Comments (1)
| Re: Introduction | By peter bunce on 4/8/2008 8:19 AM | | Hi Mark, That stack is not a radly hunter - its the wrong shape - not wide enough and the wrong taper.<br>However it is a easy stack to make! though the plastic will be a bot large when cut. Get some cardboard, and make a washer shape (circle with a hole in the middle) to the size required. The bottom (center) hole is the size of the Bachmann fitting, and the top is the radii of the top, which will need working out!. Cut it out and then cut a tangent line from the outside to the center, and bring the edges to overlap; get it to a point that suits you as to the slope- now mark it, and allow a bit for overlapping and gluing. Replicate in plastic (styrene) card about .75mm (.030) and glue it together - make sure it will fit tje Bachmann syack base BUT you then need to add a bit of tube here to make the parallel sides fixing pipe, again it has to be a nice tight fit. The top is an added piece of plastic card with a lower edge added inside to make a glue area to fit inside the top of the stack. You can add a top like Eureka, or get a tea(leaf) strainer and cut out the gauze then fit that inside the top, and windshield can be made for the back edge if you want. Look at the web images for the<br>locos at Promontory in Utah - Jupiter has a stack like Wm. Mason.Now the fun bit adding the dtail, which is needed, it makes it look much better!. Finally check your mail I send a couple of scans of early stacks to you.<br>Peter Bunce |
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