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A few folks have asked for pictures, so here ya' go....
This is my first large scale scratchbuilding project. I've attempted various cars and kitbashet locomotives in HO and On30, but I've never tried scratchbuilding a locomotive before.
The chassis is from an old Bachmann 0-4-0T Circus train set. Eventually she will be a 2-4-0 with a 3 axle tender, although other options include a 2-4-2T and a 2-4-4 (or 0-4-4) Forney. Scale is 1:20.3
Not counting the cost of the original locomotive, which I've had sitting around for longer than I can remember, I've spent around $12 so far on the project, including styrene, conduit, and dome tops (cleverly disgused as furniture sliders). The cylinders in the photos are from the donor, and they will be replaced with a scratchbuilt cylinder & saddle block.
Features of interest include the boiler wrapper, which is made from a latex caulk tube (previously emptied, of course), the homemade bonnet stack (still under heavy construction, but made out of a kitchen funnel), and the cab drawing in the background. The drawing started as a standard gauge 4-4-0 drawing (I think from Forney's "Catechism of the Locomotive") which I downloaded, edited so that the various parts match those on the model, and printed to scale. The idea is that I'll use it to properly scale the cab.
None of the parts are being built to any particular dimension, and there's no prototype in mind. The idea is that she'll be a dimutive, reasonably accurate model of something that could have been. Thanks, Fletch, for the inspiration to get started!
I'm particularly proud of the steam dome (sand dome to follow, smaller but of the same construction)
The brass top started life as the bottom half of a nail-on furniture slider. The cylindrical portions are cut out of a $0.67 3/4" electrical conduit bend. They're pretty handy - for under a buck, there's enough material for the body of the dome and the perfectly concentric rings top & bottom. If you're careful, there's enough material for 2 domes in each one. I plan to find some O-rings that will fit over the inner tube, to dress up the joints.
This is my first large scale scratchbuilding project. I've attempted various cars and kitbashet locomotives in HO and On30, but I've never tried scratchbuilding a locomotive before.
The chassis is from an old Bachmann 0-4-0T Circus train set. Eventually she will be a 2-4-0 with a 3 axle tender, although other options include a 2-4-2T and a 2-4-4 (or 0-4-4) Forney. Scale is 1:20.3
Not counting the cost of the original locomotive, which I've had sitting around for longer than I can remember, I've spent around $12 so far on the project, including styrene, conduit, and dome tops (cleverly disgused as furniture sliders). The cylinders in the photos are from the donor, and they will be replaced with a scratchbuilt cylinder & saddle block.
Features of interest include the boiler wrapper, which is made from a latex caulk tube (previously emptied, of course), the homemade bonnet stack (still under heavy construction, but made out of a kitchen funnel), and the cab drawing in the background. The drawing started as a standard gauge 4-4-0 drawing (I think from Forney's "Catechism of the Locomotive") which I downloaded, edited so that the various parts match those on the model, and printed to scale. The idea is that I'll use it to properly scale the cab.
None of the parts are being built to any particular dimension, and there's no prototype in mind. The idea is that she'll be a dimutive, reasonably accurate model of something that could have been. Thanks, Fletch, for the inspiration to get started!


I'm particularly proud of the steam dome (sand dome to follow, smaller but of the same construction)

The brass top started life as the bottom half of a nail-on furniture slider. The cylindrical portions are cut out of a $0.67 3/4" electrical conduit bend. They're pretty handy - for under a buck, there's enough material for the body of the dome and the perfectly concentric rings top & bottom. If you're careful, there's enough material for 2 domes in each one. I plan to find some O-rings that will fit over the inner tube, to dress up the joints.