Mark V said:Its what they had in the shop the last time it went through. :P
Odd wheels on the pilot truck, solid front/spoked rear.
Wow! I just caught up with all this. Very nice work Mike! You’re far too humble… I like the prototype pix that Steve and Jason posted on this page… Got my wheels turning too…
A couple of the guys were speculating about why so few of these proposed conversions actually get started… I would guess that it’s because there are so many other things to do… most of these other things are far more basic or essential to the running building and running of a railroad than the details of just how a loco looks. Researching, then deciding, then tearing an engine apart and rebuilding it can be a real time consumer, and can take you away from a whole bunch of jobs that would be far more fruitful.
Speaking for myself, I’m not a generally a perfectionist - life’s just too darn short - but in the past when I have scratchbuilt or done a major rebuild on a loco I have suddenly become uncharacteristically fussy. Part of me just feels the locos are the one thing that must be done carefully. But meanwhile I’m having too much fun doing lesser jobs. So it takes me a LONG time to get started on a loco…
…and even longer to get finished! I have three locos in pieces in the workshop right now; all three of them have been in that state for at least four years. There is a constant stream of more pressing, or more fun things to do, things that require a much less concentrated effort than the rebuilding/reassembly I have planned for them… Every year I say to myself, “Possibly next winter…”