Vestibule Cab Problem

[doctorwayne]

I certainly understand you wanting to build the one that appeals most to you visually.    While both the T-1-a and T-3-a locomotives were built by ALCo's Brooks Works, the 1916 T-1-a pre-dates the USRA by a couple of years.  The T-3-as, from 1919, are true USRA locos.  Also, the boilers for the T-1-a class were constructed by Montreal Locomotive Works, which was, or later became, an affiliate of ALCo..

CGR (Canadian Government Railways) was an amalgamation of provincial lines in the Maritime provinces and eastern Quebec, most sponsored originally by the Federal or Provincial governments.  Eventually, the Federal Government constructed the Intercolonial Railway, linking these smaller lines.  The CGR was operated as a department of the Federal Government.  In  September, 1918, the CGR took control of the Canadian Northern, and in December of the same year, adopted the name Canadian National Railways for the combined operations.

You should do fine with the Miniatures By Eric cab - I'm using one of their CPR-style cabs to construct a CNR S-class Mikado.  It's easy enough to add window sash, handrails, etc., and, with the addition of the etched brass cab numerals from the CN sig, your loco can look really good.

Wayne

[AndyManCNR]

Thank you for your imput. However, instead of changing the prototype, (I really like the look of the one I chose ) I have decided to get a Miniatures by Eric cab. It may not be as detailed but as I have seen when its painted it looks really nice. http://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/itm00043.htm That is not to say that I don't like yours - its very nice aswell. You did a great job. The only visible difference that I can see between your prototype (class t3-a?) and mine (t1-a) is that on mine the feedwater heater is on top of the boiler as opposed to being suspended over the front. My prototype is also a USRA loco. It was built in 1916 by Alco (brooks) for the "Canadian Government" (The CGR?) http://www.steamlocomotive.info/shownotes.cfm?Loco=1920

[doctorwayne]

You could always choose a different CNR prototype to model.  The Bachmann model is of a USRA 2-10-2, which is what the CNR got when they purchased 10 such locos, secondhand, from the Boston & Albany.  After a trip through their shops, they were unmistakedly CNR locos.

I built such a loco for a good friend, starting with an Akane USRA 2-10-2, as the Bachmann version had not yet been released:

That's an unmodified Bachmann tender in the above photo, by the way.  After some considerable effort, and using a Kemtron (now Precision Scale) cab like yours, this is what I came up with:

Here's a scanned page from the October 1983 issue of Mainline Modeler, showing a photo of the prototype loco, from the Charles T. Felstead collection:

You can read about the conversion, with lots of photos HERE, although I'm told that you'll need to join-up in order to view the photos.

Wayne

[AndyManCNR]

Here's a photographic description of my situation:

 

So, as you can see the wall that I described is straight at the top but then it bends. Perhaps I could use heat and bend it and then patch up the side walls accordingly with styrene. However I would have to file off the details that would normally be near the end of the wall which will have moved. 

[Flashwave]

G Paine

Can you fill the gap with styrene to match the contour of the existing cab to the contour of the Percision Scale cab?

That's your best bet, I suspect. Cut a rectangular piece the width of the cab and as long as you need, where the bottom pice is "standing" on the slope (assuming your slant is like this \ ) or hanging if the cab is sloped like this /. Also remember, it doesn't need to go all the way down, becuase the firebox will be in the way of all but the peskiest detail experts, but the longer the better.

EDIT: The above assumes that the entirety of the slope is between the two side walls. If the slant peeks out from behind there, then you may need to file/whack/grind/lop it down to being flush wiht the edges of the sidewalls and then follow the above steps.

[G Paine]

Can you fill the gap with styrene to match the contour of the existing cab to the contour of the Percision Scale cab?

[AndyManCNR]

I have started a project that involves replacing the cab of a bachmann 2-10-2 with a vestibule cab. (this is HO scale) I have a precision scale cab and I like the detail of it. My problem is that the wall closest to the front of the loco of the PS cab is slanted, unlike the cap on my prototype.

The only alternative that I know of is a cab from miniatures by eric. It has the correct shape but is not nearly as detailed. What should I do?