After a 30 year hiatus from model railroading, I've rediscovered a kit I purchased all those years ago and am in the process of building. I looked through past posts here (I'm new to this board) and am saddened to note that several members who have had experience with these models have been "dispatched." Steam isn't the era I'm looking to model. The Midwest served by the Burlington Northern circa 1972 is really what I was doing. Anyway, this kit has become a bit of an obsession and a challenge for me. One of the earlier post I read suggested it would require some tooling, not the least of which would be a mill. (No problem: I have an old round-ram J-head Bridgeport, but that seems a bit overkill for this. I also have a Southbend 9A lathe and an Atlas 7B shaper. Yes, I fancy myself a bit of a home shop machinist.) I would appreciate any and all hints and advise you can give to help me make a decent working model of this Decapod. I have studied the instructions and browsed through the Bowser website. I've also purchased some detail parts. I have assembled most of the valve gear, but got stuck on the last rivet. Somehow I managed to mash it. (Dan Bush of Yardbird Classic Trains has generously offered more rivets.) Thanks. Merry Christmas. Alan
