That's great to hear!! I told myself I would stay strickly modern, but my inner SP is coming out in Z scale with F-7s and now I'm thinking about scratch building a Mountain. :tb-biggrin: Plus they will fit right in on my Northern California - Oregon based layout. :tb-wink:
Marklin makes a sort-of-Mike...kinda like their sort-a-Pacific. Good starting points if you want to really get into super detailing. I've been engineering for 30 years and the thought of scratchbuilding a steam engine sends willies up my spine! ) I am working on a Vanderbuilt Tender for my Pacific, but since I'm modeling 1959/1960 SP it may be religated to secondary ops.
Yeah I picked up a Mikado for the frame and main gear. We will see what else can be used when it gets here. Does the Pacific come close to any thing the SP had? I know a new tender is a must, but what about the rest?
Eddie, if you can get a vandy tender and move the bell and add a few number boards you can make those shells look ok. here is what I did to a pacific. Not proto by any means, yet more convincing nonetheless.
I've been working on a Pennsy Mountain for years. The first one was a Marklin Mikado, lengthened to allow for the leading truck of a Marklin Pacific. But, I wasn't happy with it. The drivers on a Pennsy M1 are closer in size to the drivers on the Marklin Pacific. So, I am still trying to decide if I want to merge two pacifics, or just make a new chassis. As Joe S. Said, you can make the Marklin USRA Lights look more like other locs. The photos below are of a couple of Marklin Miks that I modified to be a little more Pennsy. Including Pennsifying the tenders (including train phone on one), adding Belpaire firebox, reservoirs, modified pilot, steps, generator, autoreverse (on one)... Not perfect, but closer. Dan S.
Can't you just cut the dome off an MTL tank car, and add elephant ears with a lid up top to make a vandy?
Oh yeah Rob, I know you and Chris can knock that one out. AZL wheels and all. Heck, you could even make triple axles or hi speeds for the few that order them. They will run well enough ! .
Robert, While you're at it, you should just offer a line of tenders. Long haul, short haul, dog house... Aspenmodel - Fine Model Trains Dan S.