Taking the chainsaw, hammer, and cutting torch in hand I'm off to bash another Bmann into something else. Chopped up a new tender off of one of the newer tender pickup Bmanns. And got the urge to create the cousin to the loco on the front page of Timber Times. Created the stack about a month ago, which took about four hours of carving, sanding, and filing. And I am tempted to add this structure to the Brewery Module that I ran across while researching it.
Continuing on with the tender. The tender is being designed to run almost empty or be staged at the engine house with an empty tender bunker.
I remember stopping at at two story motel in Arkansas in 1957 where they had a two story outhouse with about 4-5 stalls top & bottom. I remember my brother and I freaking out about sitting in the first floor stall. I think that would be a interesting structure for a 40s-50s layout. I also remember hearing a train near by (I hope that was a train!)
When you're on top you look down and see smiling faces. When you're on the bottom looking up, all you see is ah's.
Ahh Grasshopper thou art perceptive in thy observations. Yes, and it's location is Virginia City, Montana. Found this while researching the Brewery there as the model for the Brewery I'm building. A very excellent modeler of narrow gauge and logging equipment, who we knew as Jersey George, and who is unfortunately not with us anymore, built a four story version that was on his layout. There was a sometimes notorious group of four, known as the B-4, who were, and still are, members of our rather rowdy group of logging modelers known as The Cabbage Stackers of which Jersey George was one. Each story of the structure was dedicated to the other members of the B-4 and thier professions in life determined the location of thier privy in the stack. Thus the member who was a mining engineer was on the bottom.
Added the wood extensions to the feul bunk. It is now at its maximum heigth. And I'm testing the stack on a spare loco body before mounting on actual loco body. And a shot of the tender interior and the stack. Shot is purposely darkened since all that white styrene tends to wash out. Trimming of boards on side and bracing is yet to be added.
Added some extra weight to the tender chassis. I sometimes use split shot fishing weights. In this case the split shot is in the rear and some thinsheet lead in the front. The front of the tender feul bunk extensions have now been notched and a toolbox is underway behind the feul bunk. In this shot the tender is back on its wheels and posed with what will be the loco that goes with it. This is the loco before modifications. The shell in the rear is an old scrap shell being used to to work out the parts locations and modifications. That big stack shown in a previous photo makes it necessary to relocate a number of items on the smokebox. The big stack is designed to simply slip over the existing stack, only having to file away the lip around the top edge of the stack. Other than having to change the location of a few items this loco is very close to the loco featured on the cover and in the Timber Times article. Only the tender requires some bashing.
Finally a completed tender shell sans grabs and handrails. Ahh but one of the N Scale Gods stepped in, Forgotus Moorus, so I added the underslung toolboxes I had set aside earlier. And an over the top shot. Note that parts are missing. They are waiting to be relocated. Headlight, bell and handrails. The original pops will be left as is, along with the whistle. Being added is a Pyle generator, a detail Bmann seems to have forgotten on this shell. Just the adition of the stack seems to change this loco giving it a deceptive beefier look. One thing about a 1st or primer coat of paint is it will tell you where to fine sand some more. Test fitting the resin cast big stack. Today I hope to get the tender handrails and grabs on, paint the tool boxes and work on the tender feul loads. Loco will get the headlight relocated and hopefully the bell, and generator get mounted. Then its ready for paint. And additional N Scale Gods stepped in last night. Frustratus and Arggh. Plus Flyus Partis. However Lady Luck was around and I found the parts, both together within an inch of each other, and in less than 30 secs. In the Lessons Learned Department: Don't try to use coupler conversions other than what MT sez goes there. After all they did all the research and test fitting. So after 3 hours plus some more time this early AM a Z scale is on the pilot, and a MT Bamnn conversion as called for is on the tender.
Now working on tender feul load. Note weights in one section. Adds weight over tender truck pickups. Two sections in tender. And tender with load simulating partially empty. Load is being built in three sections. Wood burners normally left the yard with wood piled above the cab and anywhere else on the tender it could be placed including the gangway between loco and tender and even on the loco cab floor. Wood load is made from a pack of mini dowels from the craft store and then split with a razor and cut to 3 foot lengths in a chopper.
Wrapped up except for decals. Lyle Fir and Pine Lumber Company's Two Spot is ready for the test track. Took the new Bmann split frame 2-6-2 with tender pick-up and rebuilt to a wood burner for logging service. My first wood burner on the roster. The inspiration is from a Timber Times article on the Lorane Valley. The colors are Lehigh Valley Cornell Red, Engine Black, and Gun Metal. The detail parts consisting of bell and generator are Detail Associates. The stack is made from a resin casting that started with a filed down Bmann 4-4-0 wood burner stack. The cab has been extended with styrene. Note that the motor has just about disappeared. Amazing what a small piece of styrene and black paint can do. I decided I wanted to do a tender that could have a removable feul load to simulate the wood being used or to be empty when setting at the engine house being serviced. Completely removed all the coal bunk and made a new compartment out of styrene. The tender was also cut down some. Bell is now on smokebox. Pyle generator is in front of stack.
And a top shot. And a poor shot but showing the wood down on the gangway. Note the motor has almost vanished. This new loco has phosphor bronze grabs. I used the ones from a older scrap Bmann 2-6-2 since the silver goes with the paint job. Okay a little question here. Debating on painting the cab roof. What do you think?
