Making a simple 2-4-2 engine from scratch?

[Trains2006]

Hello, I'm a newbie to the forum but have been following it for a few months and have enjoyed the commentary and helpfull information provided.

I have what may be considered a crazy question.  Has anyone ever thought about or made a simple but working copy of a 2-4-2 engine?  No sound or smoke or anything fancy, just something simple.

I was thinking about casting a copy of an existing engine shell out of plastivc using one of those mold/casting kits and then adding a can motor and the wheels/gearing from there.

I realize that I could simply rebuild an old engine but I thought building one from scratch would be an interesting project that my son and I could work on togther.

[tomikawaTT]

Rather than copy an existing casting (mold shrinkage problems, plus the probability of violating the original designer's copyrights) you can start with a piece of PVC pipe and sheet styrene to build up a boiler, cab and other details.  I have done this to put a freelance superstructure on an existing mechanism.

Longer ago than I would care to admit, I fudged an Alco 2-4-2T superstructure on a scratchbuilt frame, using drivers filched from the remains of a 4-8-2.  It would have been a lot more believable if I hadn't used the unmodified cast steel trailing truck (from the 4-8-2) under a 1890s design rear bunker.

Chuck

[Trains2006]

That's a pretty good idea.  I think I'll try that.

 Thanks Chuck