The Back Shop

The Back Shop is where all of my motive power projects reside until such time as they are completed. When completed they will be moved to the Motive Power page. In the list below click on the photo, drawing or icon to see what progress has been made to date.

Based on the EBT's #14 it will be mostly scratch built in 1/24 scale. It will utilize a Pittman motor, Aristo gearboxes, borrowed parts from Bachmann 4-6-0's and various castings and scratch built or modified parts. Click on the photo above to see progress to date. This project is currently not active as track work and other projects have moved it down the priority list.

Based on the Maryland & Pennsylvania's #29 it will be mostly scratch built in 1/24 scale. It will utilize a Pittman motor, Aristo gearboxes, borrowed parts from Bachmann 4-6-0's and various castings and scratch built or modified parts. Click on the photo above to see progress to date.

Paiute Lumber Company # 1 Narrow gauge 3 truck Shay

No exact prototype for this locomotive has yet been chosen but it will be similar in appearance to the one pictured above. The base locomotive will be the Bachmann 1/20.3 3 truck Shay. Plans are to replace the cab with an all weather style in 1/24 scale which it will then represent a physically larger locomotive in the smaller scale. Some of the other details will need to be downsized as well. It will be stationed on the Paiute Lumber Company's line but will have limited track-age rights on the RC&G. No work has yet been started on this project so no web page is yet available.

In 1926 the Baldwin Locomotive Works did a proposal for the ET&WCN for Mallet type locomotive that would be equal in power to two of their 4-6-0's. Due to a number of factors this was never built. When Bachmann released their 1/20.3 2-6-6-2 tank Mallet I did some checking and in 1/24 scale the wheel base and driver diameter was a very close to the drawing above so I decided to modify it to see what it might have looked liked if the Tweetsie locomotive had been built. To retain the look of their other locomotives I will be using many parts from the 4-6-0's including the tender and cab. The boiler will be made from PVC pipe. Interesting to note that though the design form shows the request was for a Mallet type the drawing shows a simple type articulated. Not a whole lot has been done on this but if you click on the plan above you can read about what I have done so far and what issues I found right out of the box with the Bachmann locomotive. This is also a currently dormant project.

This project was started almost 20 years ago and was one of my very first motive power projects. It started life as a Northeast Narrow Gauge kit representing a very small 2-4-4-0 tank Mallet. It has lead a tortured life going through several iterations in an attempt to produce a smooth running reliable engine and it's still not there. Due to the need for a place to put batteries and radio I added a tender. This was not an uncommon practice to increase range and allow the boiler mounted tanks to remain full to keep a maximum amount of water over the drivers. In the end I hope to capture a look of what a Mallet might have looked like if Porter had built one. Click on the icon above to see the adventures to date. This project is on hold pending time availability.

A totally fictional project that will attempt to show what a Garratt style locomotive might have looked like had any been built for use in the US. The power blocks came from a used 0-6-6-0 LGB German tank style Mallet I got for a good price on eBay. Pretty much everything else will be scratch built. Commercial castings or bits from other locomotives. The above photo is for reference only for those not familiar with Garrett style locomotives. Click on the photo above to see what this may end up looking like.

Another project started on a whim after seeing something similar done by another modeler. It will utilize the frame and boiler from a Bachmann Climax locomotive. Both the Heisler and Climax companies bought their boilers from the same supplier and so are quite similar. The trucks are scratch built and the locomotive will be powered by a single motor located in the boiler / firebox area. Although there is no intention of building to an exact prototype it will use features common to many of the smaller Heislers. Click on the above photo to see where this has progressed. Like many of the others it is currently on hold.