Best Of My Children have gone into the world (sniff, sniff) - Bearden Models

[mu26aeh]

I always look for stuff I've painted and sold off.  Haven't seen any though.  Of course, that's been less than 2 dozen units.

[u18b]

Wow, such an amazing portfolio! Are you still improving the EP2's ?

Yes.

I am embarrassingly very slow.   

But when the next two go out, I'll be posting them here.

[u18b]

Since the last post, I have several updates.

First….. Three more of my children have gone into the world.

OMI brass Western Maryland Shay.

This was a version 1 as delivered from OMI- which I heavily modified.

OMI did a recall on these locomotives because they were true shelf queens.  They derailed and were thus not reliable.  The cheap 3 pole motor was loud and top speed was an insane 300 scale MPH.  This particular specimen was completely locked up.    I took a chance on it. 
Once I got it unlocked….  I corrected all of it’s running flaws and installed a new coreless motor with a redesigned the drive train including DCC and operating headlight.

I’ve rebuilt about 6 Shays thru the years.   I acquired this one with the help of a buddy on this board.  @Chris333  was at a train show.  Guy was selling a bunch of brass.   Chris contacted me telling me what he saw that day.    He was gracious to send me photos, buy it from the guy with his money, and then mail it to me (with me sending him money of course).   Thank you Chris- that meant so much to me.  I used to own a version 1 and sold it years ago because I did not know then how to solve the many design flaws in it.    But now with a lot more experience, I was looking for a version 1.

Part of me wishes I had not sold it, but it really does not run as well as a version 2/Bearden rebuild.  If I had kept it, it would have only been for cannibalizing parts to maintain my other three.

As documented starting here with you guys:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=48999.msg776974#msg776974



Video:

The guy who bought it is begging me to paint it for him.   I'm rebuilding a version 2 for him so I will probably see this again to paint.

[u18b]

brass Oriental E1 set made by KMT/Kumata

I picked up this set for a very reasonable price and was astounded that this almost 35 year old set was in practically mint condition.   

I wanted to document how to rebuild one of these E units for the book I’m writing on Kumata N scale brass so I did the work with you guys right here.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=55766.0





Video:   

I have to admit… after adding sound, I fell in love with this set.   But I did not really need it so I sold it.   I plan to rebuild a B&O EA/B set one day.  Besides, the ESU Nano with the E24 plug will make the next install SO MUCH easier.  That NEXT 18 plug made this install very challenging.

[u18b]

NC&StL/L&N  GP7L

(Ron Flanery calls these GP7N but very few people call them that.  GP7L is the preferred term.)

I loved this project.   It took a very long time for it to appear in a magazine.



Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis purchased a handful of the early GP7s.  What made these so unique was that they road on light weight switcher trucks.   So I placed an Atlas shell on an Atlas VO1000 mechanism with the trucks reversed to get them at the right truck center distance.  Because the switcher mechanism was a bit short, I was able to add a lot of extra weight in the ends for great pulling power.

I added DCC including an operating gyralight.



By the way, only a few other roads purchased these (US Army and Alaska RR).   A few of them still live on museum/tourist railroads.
Like this one that runs: 
https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=24592


So this looks a bit strange…. But that’s what the prototype looked like.    I modeled this locomotive as it looked when the L&N acquired the NC&StL.

[u18b]

Several more of my children have come home! (in two batches).

Which is so amazing- though sort of sad because the owners were in poor health.

The first batch arrived about 6 months ago.   Aaron   @chessie system fan     and I lost a dear old friend.    His son got Aaron’s help to go thru his dad’s train collection to dispose of it   The son kept what he wanted for his collection,  Aaron helped him sell some, Aaron was also gifted some….. and then I received a great surprise!

The son returned several pieces I had done for his dad.    He graciously wanted me to have them back.   They will be in some following posts.

They are in need of some repair or touch up because they were well-loved (and used) but I'm glad to have them back.

[u18b]

GM&O FA1 FB1 set  


I made these long before any good ones were made.   I took a kitbashed Roco FA1 shell and placed it on an Atlas/Kato RS3 chassis.   I did the same for a B unit.   JnJ Trains sold a B unit shell…. But most people don’t know that I made the master for JnJ.  The units also have some fine detailing (steps, grab irons, railings, MU hoses, distinctive GM&O roof numberboard).  The A unit also had to have a lowered headlight to match GM&O practice (these might have been “phase 1  FA1s”).







This set was my second locomotive to make the cover of N Scale Magazine.   Sadly, when I was young and green, I did not realize that GM&O painted the roof black (this was before I had good internet access for research in “the old days”.  In 1989 I was using a Commodore 128 computer!).

Also, I was not very good at photography in the early days, so Bob Hundman (publisher) asked me to send this set to another author for photography (Pete Thomas).   This set made the cover for Pete twice.   So this set has appeared on two covers.








The magazine covers did not have the B unit.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Because the switcher mechanism was a bit short, I was able to add a lot of extra weight in the ends for great pulling power.

Lol, how ironic!!

[GM50 4164]

Kato Steeplecab electric which has been dieselized and Americanized.  Also with homemade decals and decoder added (space is tight!).   Made a great little freelance switcher.   Appeared in article.


Ron, this post came out before I remember seeing the Kato Pocket line steeple cab locomotive, was this something different before they were offered or is this the Pocket line offering? I have a Pocket Line unit and it came with Rapido couplers and no pilot, how did you install MT couplers to yours?

[OldEastRR]

I can think of two more children that have left me.... but I have no photo.
It's possible I had a shot at one time, but I lost some data years ago in a hard drive crash.

5-Axle C-Liner.   I never painted it up.... but I made a 5-axle C-liner.  I took an old Atlas shell and placed it on a highly modified Atlas/Kato SD7 chassis.  I also modified the skirting for the trucks.  Bryan Bussey acquired it years ago, but I don't think he ever did anything with it.   It's probably buried in his basement now (assuming he's still got it).

I'm VERY interested in how (if)  you got both trucks powered, as I too have modified a Atlas/Kato SD7 to run under a Atlas C-Liner shell. But the gear towers in each truck are different since one is two axle and the other three. I run it now with only a powered rear axle, with the C-liner side frames on the rear truck.

[u18b]

I'm VERY interested in how (if)  you got both trucks powered, as I too have modified a Atlas/Kato SD7 to run under a Atlas C-Liner shell. But the gear towers in each truck are different since one is two axle and the other three. I run it now with only a powered rear axle, with the C-liner side frames on the rear truck.

Actually.... this thread is not complete until @bbussey Bryan posts a photo of the chassis.   He owns it now.   Sadly, I have no photo of the chassis.   He probably has to go looking and dig it up in his stash.  I think he was going to make a New Haven 5 axle C-Liner with it.

I *think* I simply chopped a wheel (and gear) off of the SD7    3 axle truck and glued new sideframes on it.  The new truck is underscale, probably, but I thought it looked OK and of course it ran great since it was almost stock Kato.

I would love to see photos so that I can see what I did!
 

[u18b]

Kato Steeplecab electric which has been dieselized and Americanized.  Also with homemade decals and decoder added (space is tight!).   Made a great little freelance switcher.   Appeared in article.


Ron, this post came out before I remember seeing the Kato Pocket line steeple cab locomotive, was this something different before they were offered or is this the Pocket line offering? I have a Pocket Line unit and it came with Rapido couplers and no pilot, how did you install MT couplers to yours?

Ben,
I used a Kato coupler.   

I have no idea what style Kato uses now.   The redesigned the pocket steeple cab loco.   The shell may be the same, but they made it low friction with end needle bearings and a coreless motor.   

Here is a screen grab from my article.



Article was in the July 2006 issue of N-Scale Magazine.

It sounds like you have the same version I used.
I did not add a pilot.  Just replaced the Rapido couplers.

[u18b]

Ben,
Kato has changed part numbers.

The article says I used caboose couplers.

They currently sell some couplers that look like they would work.

https://store.katousa.com/product-category/kato-parts/n-scale-parts/n-freight-car-parts/n-cupola-caboose-parts/

[u18b]

Ben,
Kato has changed part numbers.

The article says I used caboose couplers.

They currently sell some couplers that look like they would work.

https://store.katousa.com/product-category/kato-parts/n-scale-parts/n-freight-car-parts/n-cupola-caboose-parts/

The key for this application is that they have a hole for the mounting post and a flat edge for the spring.

And here is the pocket line couplers they are currently using.
Looks like they would work.

https://store.katousa.com/product/magnetic-knuckle-coupler-short-shank-with-trip-pin-n-scale/

[Mark5]

NC&StL/L&N  GP7L

(Ron Flanery calls these GP7N but very few people call them that.  GP7L is the preferred term.)

Weird prototype and very creative mechanism - love it!