This locomotive kitbash comes from my love of small quirky locomotives. After seeing a few different scratchbuilt, kit, and bashed boxcab diesel models, one of the existing original boxcabs at the B&O museum, and spending a bit of time looking through all the great pics here - http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/boxcabdx.html , I found a few boxcabs to be used as the basis for my bash. My boxcab kitbash is prototypically based on a Pennsy A6 two axle boxcab –
while taking a few elements (end platforms and doors) of this Jay Street Connecting RR boxcab –
I started with my Aristo track cleaning car (the Aristo bobber caboose without the cupola). I never liked this car but it did a good job of track cleaning so I put the cleaning pad on another car.
I also had an Aristo two axle motor truck that I bought for another project and never used.
I started by stripping the track cleaning car of all it’s bling - handrails, window and stack. I removed all the undercarriage, started to trim away some of the underside framing to make room for the power truck to fit, and trimmed down the end canopies. I also trimmed down the center roof section and glued it back in place so it fit flush with the rest of the roof. This is how it looks so far –
Body work entailed shaving off the window sills, enlarging the existing end windows and carving out windows on the other side. I used the cut out section to fill in the rear side windows. Gaps and holes were filled with green squadron putty and filled/sanded flat.
I carved out the bottom and drilled a few holes in the bobber floor for the mounting yoke of the power truck. It was glued in place top and bottom with 5 min. epoxy.
After test fitting it together, there is still room for the original side frames that can be trimmed and used as a frame to attach additional framing and journals later.
Metal panels with rivet details were added with 0.010 styrene sheets treated with a sewing tracing wheel. The underframe was created with styrene epoxied onto the existing sideframes that had been trimmed and filed down. Journals are from a LGB truck.
Scratch air tanks, piping, brake cylinder detail, and push pole pockets (cut down from Ozark Miniatures) were added to the under frame. The original steps were cut down and new strap added. Foot pilot steps and hand and grab rails were created from brass. Additional rivet detail was added as well as roof detail of a horn, lights (Ozark) with directional LEDs, a bell from a MDC Hustler kit, stove stack and an engine smoke stack from a cut down garden hose quick connector.
The final exterior detail was the rooftop radiator created from brass wire and styrene. Painting has started with base coats of flat black. The roof and frame got coats of high heat BBQ black followed with a light coat of camouflage earth brown and buffed to shine. The body is high heat BBQ almond.
Last things left to do on the list are - Exterior work - decals and weathering Electrical - install the track/battery power DPDT/CO switch and add a couple of interior lights Interior - The motor and generator has been installed. I will also add fuel tanks, a coal stove, cab controls with engineer and maybe a few other details. I have also added 21 oz. of weight (8 oz. underneath and 13 oz. in cab) Here is the final result – Under frame -
Cab controls –
Interior –
and a few outdoor shots –
-Brian
Need to do that…some year. It also needs handrails. 
