Hello folks,
We just thought we would post some photos of a unique idea. The LGB smokestack that comes with the 2-6-0 mogul just didn’t look right when we were building our Disneyland Railroad locomotive. Now I don’t profess to be any kind of a professional when it comes to the description, usage or replacement of smokestacks, that’s for sure but I will tell you this; the smokestack on the mogul had some characteristics that just didn’t seem or look accurate for an American locomotive. Now I’m sure someone out there is probably going to tell me that it is which is fine, however, I personally didn’t like the look of the LGB smokestack. I did like the look of the Bachmann smokestack and especially with the center part removed which makes it into diamond stack.
Anyway, we decided to try an idea but I really wasn’t sure if it would work or not. I soon found out through trial and error that it was a lot more simple than I thought. I simply cut off the bottom portion of the LGB smokestack and did the same with the Bachmann smokestack. I then slid in and glued the bottom portion of the LGB smokestack into the bottom of the Bachman smokestack. I then slid the decorative headlight bracket onto that and placed the Bachmann smokestack in the original location of the LGB.
I had to build an inside mounting bracket for the LGB smoke unit and then splice the wires to avoid dismantling the entire locomotive body just to attach the wires. A second reason for splicing the wires is that LGB’s smoke unit won’t slide into or through the bottom portion of the Bachmann smokestack.
I think it looks great and operates very well. The only issue that I seemed to have was that the bottom LGB piece had to be directly in line when gluing it into the Bachmann stack to avoid a lopsided smokestack. I’m not really sure what other people think of this idea because I know there’s a lot of hardcore LGB guys out there that probably think this is a terrible idea but what made me want to share it with you guys is rather interesting.
I met a gentleman on my Imagination Station Kids On Track YouTube channel that showed a great interest in learning how I did this. His name is, Kalvin Tse. Kalvin sent me a series of messages requesting photos and information on how we modified the smokestack on our LGB Disneyland Railroad mogul with Barry’s drive in it on the video on You Tube. I sent him this;
"I did forget to mention one thing. There are two different Bachmann size stacks. The diamond stack should be the accurate size though. Still, before you cut anything, try this idea first to make sure everything fits.
Take the Bachmann stack, as it is and try sliding it over the bottom insertion piece of the LGB stack to make sure it will fit properly. When you do this, please be aware that there is a keyway at the bottom of the LGB stack, so this may make it impossible to fit the Bachman stack insertion piece over the top of the bottom insertion piece of the LGB stack. That’s another thing, when you put them together you will need to possibly file off that keyway where you’re going to glue the bottom insertion piece of the LGB stack into the bottom of the Bachmann stack. That of course is so that it will fit and fit snug because if you don’t file that off, it may not slide over it. That’s why I want you to test all of this before doing anything because this is my best memory according to looking at the original LGB locomotive".
The photos that I have provided of the Denver South Park And Pacific mogul we’re taken by Kalvin and show the installation work that he did with the Bachmann diamond stack. I think it came out fantastic myself and I thought it would be great to post it here on Large Scale Central to see what all of you may think. I have also posted a few photos of our original mogul that Barry did for our kids program.
I don’t know if Kalvin has ever had the privilege of viewing or posting on this site but with his permission I am posting this information for him.
“My full name is Kalvin Tse. I’m located in the San Gabriel Valley area.
I’ve been into model railroading since I was a little kid and have always wanted an accurate Disney model in G scale. Now that I have Bachmann’s Emma Nevada, Hartland’s Ward Kimball, LGB’s Olomana, and the LGB mogul with the diamond stack, I am more than happy to say I have my own Disney Railroad in my collection”.
I have informed Kalvin that I would email him the link to this post so he can interact with all of you who are interested and if he is not a member here, I am sincerely hoping he will become one. The smokestack project is a little time-consuming but as I mentioned before, I really believe the Bachmann stack has a much more unique and accurate look for LGB’s mogul. Of course that is only my opinion!
Kenneth Mathews and Kalvin Tse.
