This little beast was built from a Bachmann 2-4-2. It popped up on Facebook a few months ago and I bought it, thinking it would need a new gear and maybe other stuff, but it was too cute to ignore.
Somone spent some time adding details, as you can see from the photos. I don’t know where the cab came from but it is solid and well attached. The dust is actually paint - weathering I guess. Some details are delicate - the white air pipes from the pump to the tanks seems to be hollow wire insulation, but it is now brittle and breaks if you lean on it! When I found this out, I threaded some thin wire into it to support the glue. It then broke at a different place.
There’s a couple of figures in the cab, and for some reason a pair of marker lights on the side of the tank. The writing says “R.G.S. Ophir Loop Lizard Head Scenic Line”.
It did need a new gear, and also a new rear truck! The latter was an old New Bright truck pivoted under the cab, but with no means of moving sideways if there happened to be a curve, so it would not have run in the configuration it had when I got it.
I chopped up the truck to make it work, and it got all floppy so I junked it and dug out a truck from my stash of Gilpin Tramway kits. The wheels are Slaters with steel rims and nylon spokes - a bit overkill but they were the only small wheels I could lay my hands on. [An appeal to the various forums produced more - thanks guys.]
I decided it would need wheel pickups on the truck, and I had some Accucraft J&S coach wipers which worked perfectly. The original wheel pickups and skates seemed to be working so it’s electrics are OK. The headlight wires run back to the motor but aren’t connected, and when I applied power nothing happened, so the headlight bulb is probably dead. The driving wheels wipers have been bent outwards but work.] I covered the screw I used, as a pin got lost. After swapping the gear and fitting it back together, I took it to the SC&M and it ran fine.
It looks to have been well-used before the conversion, which may be why it got a non-working rear truck. The axle bearings are worn, to the point where it will drop out of gear if you lift it off the track! As you can see from the video, it does work.
But it is surplus to requirements, as I am saving for a new live steamer, so it is listed here for sale. It cost me $90, plus $25 for the gear and $20 for the truck and wheels. I’ll sell it for $115 o.b.o. plus shipping. Paypal preferred.
