Little Lego

[lionelsoni]

Years ago, I bought a toylike four-wheel tinplate Diesel switcher in Prague, made by ETS (Electric Train Systems).  It was designed for 2-rail DC; but I added a center-rail pickup and squeezed a rectifier, filter capacitor, and a cut-down American Flyer reversing unit under its tiny hoods.

The cast-zinc railings turned out to be rather fragile; so I have just rebuilt it and replaced the railings by soldered brass.  Then I replaced the railings again when I noticed that the model's railings weren't the same as the prototype's.

I knew this because I had discovered Internet photographs of the prototype, like this one:  http://colnect.com/en/pocket_calendars/pocket_calendar/3585-Dieselloc_704_001_-_0618-Diesel_Locomotives-Czech_Republic.  The locomotive turned out not to be just a fanciful toy, but a very close model (except for the railings) of CSD704-001-7 which itself was one of two prototypes for its class on the Czechoslovakian national railroad.  The locomotive's nickname is Czech for "Little Lego".  If it is still in service, it lives in Brno, Moravia.  We have a friend near there.  I'm thinking of asking him to check up on little CD704-001-7.

I have two four-wheel cars for it to pull.  One is a generic CSD boxcar.  The other is painted for the real Budweiser brewery, which is in the Bohemian town of Ceske Budejovice.