I recently decided to add a mining train to my layout, in order to provide a bit more operational interest. At the moment, there's no 'through traffic' on the layout. My trains originate at Camp A, then go to either Camps B or C (in staging) or Camp D (on the other side of the layout). As such, I've decided to expand the backstory of the BVLC slightly, as follows.
In 1946, the Pebble River Mining Company discovered copper ore further up the Bradford Valley, just beyond the location of Camp C of the Bradford Valley Lumber Company. They struck a claim, then made a deal with the BVLC. Namely, the BVLC would allow the PRMC to build tracks from the termination at Camp C to their mine, and allow trackage rights down to Camp A. In exchange, PRMC would have to pay the BVLC a share of the profits.
On the layout, this will be represented by a train owned by the PRMC, which comes out of staging, leaves some hoppers on the standard-gauge interchange track, then returns to staging. For this, I'll need one locomotive, one caboose and some other rolling stock. I've ordered kits for three hoppers, a boxcar and a flatcar. As for the locomotive and caboose, I'll be scratchbuilding those.
My starting point for both the locomotive and the caboose was a Bachmann HO scale 2-6-2 Prairie. I'd had one of these on my first layout, a 'spaghetti bowl' I'd built back in high school. It was one of the smoothest running engines I'd had back then. As such, I'd purchased one about six months ago with a view to converting it into an On30 locomotive.
I started by removing the locomotive's body shell, and found that this version was already DCC-friendly. All I had to do was remove the board and smoke unit at the front of the boiler, and the motor was isolated from the chassis.
My first step was to cut a rectangle of 1.5mm styrene, 7.5 scale feet wide. This would become the footplate of the new engine. I then cut a gap in the middle, to allow it to fit over the chassis. This was immediately followed by the discovery that part of the running gear stuck up above the bottom of the footplate. In order to accommodate this, I drilled holes at the appropriate spots.
My next step was to cut two short sections of 3.2mm square styrene strip, and glue them together. Once the glue had dried, I filed them down so that they fit into the slot at the front of the chassis, where the smoke unit used to be. I then glued this in place, ensuring that it was centred.
To secure the other end, I again used 3.2mm square styrene strip. This time I used a single piece, glued vertically. This reaches the hole in the chassis used to mount the original body shell. After this glue had dried, I drilled a hole in the bottom to accommodate the original screw.
With that done, I used another two pieces of 1.5mm styrene to build the lowered cab floor. This will be a tank engine, so I made the floor long enough to accommodate a cab and a small fuel bunker at the rear. I had a cab left over from my conversion of an On30 2-6-0 into a 2-6-2ST, and decided to use it. This particular cab casting has a wall across the rear, at the end of the side walls. I was able to cut this wall off, and re-attach it to the rear of the cab roof. This opened up the cab itself, and left a gap for the side doors. I also filed the rear opening slightly, to accommodate the speaker that will be mounted in the bunker. This will be facing forward, playing the sound out through the side windows.
In order to locate the cab on the footplate, I drilled two 0.5mm holes in the corners of the cab walls. I then glued some 0.5mm copper wire in them to act as mounting pegs, and corresponding holes in the footplate. I also glued some square brass tubing along the underside of the footplate, to reinforce the plastic.
While the cab was drying, I tested the coupler height at the rear of the locomotive. It was a little high, so I added a strip of the 3.2mm square styrene, and made a coupler mount out of the same material. With this in place, the coupler height was correct.
I continued the brass tubing along the underside of the footplate. The cab steps were formed out of 0.8mm copper wire, and soldered into holes drilled in the brass tubing. Once these sections had cooled down, they were glued in place. I've tried using cyanoacrylate adhesive on copper wire-to-metal joints before, and in my experience it usually doesn't work too well.
With that done, I turned my attention back to the cab. I extended the rear wall down with styrene, and used some 2x1mm styrene strip as trim. I then used 1mm styrene to build an oil fuel tank on the rear of the cab, with a hatch from another project that didn't work out. Unlike the BVLC engines, this loco will be an oil burner, for two reasons. In terms of the backstory, this is an engine working around a mine, which has explosives stored on site. As such, engines that emit sparks such as coal or wood burners, would be a safety hazard. I also wanted to differentiate it from the BVLC locomotives, all of which are wood burners with diamond stacks.
My next step was to sort out the pilot. I started by cutting off the HO scale pilot, leaving only the section sloping up from the underside of the chassis. After cutting a section of 3.2mm square styrene to length, I filed it down to the same angle as the slope and glued it in place.
The pilot itself was originally from a Backwoods Miniatures conversion kit for the Bachmann HO scale 0-6-0. The rest of that kit ended up as my saddle-tank-and-tender engine, BVLC no. 9. Once I'd glued the pilot in place, I checked the coupler height. Fortunately, it was correct the first time.
I used 3cm diameter PVC pipe for the boiler, cut so that it would sit flat on the footplate. Two slots were cut in the sides, in order to allow the cab to fit over the boiler.
To form the number board for the smokebox door, I started by gluing a nail to a washer, then the washer to some 0.5mm styrene. Once this was dry, I cut it out, making several cuts to get it as close to a circle as I could. I then held the washer end against a large file, and twisted the nail between my fingers. After a few moments, this produced a circular number board.
I built up the smokebox door from discs of styrene, with styrene strips and copper wire for the door hinge. The nail from the number board was trimmed to length, then mounted in a hole drilled through the middle of the smokebox door. I then put in the front and side walls for the side tanks. The side walls are flush with the cab, and so no rear wall is needed.
While those were drying, I built the rear pilot. After gluing two strips of 3.2x1mm styrene in an 'L' shape, I cut four sections of 1x1.5mm styrene. Once those were glued in place, I put the L-shaped section on the bottom.
To finish off the water tanks, I added a top made from 1mm styrene along each side. I then cut two sections of 0.5mm styrene. These matched the curve of the boiler and went at the front, to complete the front wall. Once these were dry, I used some 0.25x2mm styrene strip to make the boiler bands. I also filled in the gap at the front of the cab, trimming it short enough to clear the mechanism but long enough to finish below a slot cut in the top of the boiler.
With that done, I started on the firebox. I glued some 0.5mm styrene to the rear of the pipe. After it had dried, I used a hobby knife to cut around the top half, following the curve of the pipe. I then cut straight down for the bottom half and used a file to tidy up the shape. The firebox was then wrapped with some 0.25mm styrene to create the correct shape.
Now that the main body was completed, I turned my attention to the details. I was able to obtain most of them from my shoebox of failed projects, but I didn't have a whistle casting to hand. What I did have, though, was some brass rod of a suitable size, and some slightly larger brass tubing which just fitted over it. After cutting the tubing to length, I glued it in place. I then used a hacksaw to cut a small slot in the front of the whistle, and filed the top smooth. For the valve handle I used 0.8mm copper wire, soldered into a hole drilled at the back of the whistle. When the whistle had cooled down, I glued it in place atop the rear dome.
I made the cab doors out of 1mm styrene, cut to fit just behind the cab walls at the front and the trim at the rear.
In order to hide the bottom of the motor, I cut two 'firebox sides' from 1.5mm styrene. I test-fit them before gluing, to ensure they would clear the rear driving wheels.
I made the water hatches using the same method as the numberboard, but with two washers instead of one. I used 0.5mm copper wire to form the handles on top.
After adding some handrails, grab irons and other details, I test-fit the body on the chassis. The headlight was one of the spare ones included with the Bachmann 2-4-4-2. There were a few spots where body putty was needed, and I applied it before priming the model. Now, all I had to do was wait for the DCC decoder to arrive.
In my next post, I'll outline how I built a caboose for the other end of the mine train.
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
That looks fantastic. Nice job!
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
tbdanny,
Tough-looking little loco. Awesome!
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Part 2: The Caboose
In order to add a mine train to my layout, I needed both a locomotive and a caboose. In my previous post, I covered the construction of the locomotive, and in this post I'll be covering the construction of the caboose.
Just like with the locomotive, I started off with the chassis from a Bachmann HO scale 2-6-2. In this case, it was the tender chassis. It comes with plastic wheels, which I don't use on my layout. Instead, I replaced the original trucks with a pair of Walthers HO scale archbar trucks, which were drilled out to fit the bolsters. I also removed the cast-on coupler pocket and drawbar.
My next step was to cut some 1.5mm styrene to size, 7.5 scale feet wide and with enough overhang to accommodate a Kadee coupler box at each end. I then marked out the centreline, and the width of the chassis. Using these, I aligned the styrene in place on the chassis' metal weight and glued it in place.
The metal weights are slightly loose on the chassis and as such, the styrene floor wasn't level. In order to rectify this, I glued 1x1.5mm styrene strips along both sides, between the plastic part of the chassis and the styrene on top. With glue on both sides, these strips were enough to hold the floor level.
I then tested the coupler height. In order to get the correct height, I added a strip of 3.2mm square styrene along each end of the floor, and coupler mounts made from the same material behind them.
With that done, I cut four slots, one in each corner of the floor. To add the framing around the middle, I used 1x3.2mm styrene strips. Once those were in place, I formed the side steps from 0.8mm copper wire, with the top rungs soldered in place.
I cut the end walls from 1.5mm styrene. They're 4.5cm high in the middle and 4cm high at the end. After cutting the holes for doors and windows, I used 1mm styrene to form a door.
After cutting out the side walls, I glued some 0.25mm styrene across the inside of the window holes. I then used 0.75x1mm styrene to form the window and door frames. Once they were dry, I carefully cut the middle of the 0.25mm styrene out. I also drilled the holes for the grab irons on the end.
The walls were then glued together, and test-fit on the chassis.
I then glued a styrene block in each corner of the body, and sanded the underside of it smooth. I then drilled holes for four M2x6mm screws, to hold it in place. I may be adding an interior later on, so I want to be able to remove the body.
Next, I added the roof. I started by cutting two pieces of 1mm styrene and gluing them in place, meeting in the middle. This still left a bit of a seam. My plan was to put a layer of 0.25mm styrene on the roof, to provide a smooth surface. However, I'd run into this problem on a small boxcab I'd built for my train club. Namely, the plastic weld cement I'd used had warped some of the thin styrene. As such, I decided to use the same method I'd used on the club model, an adapatation of 'glueshell' scenery.
After cutting a piece of printer paper to fit over the roof, I glued the edges down with CA. I then covered it with CA, spread evenly over the top. This was absorbed by the paper. Once it had dried, I had a smooth surface over my roof. I also used 0.8mm copper wire to add handrails and grab irons.
In order to put the roofwalk on, I tried cutting some 2mm square styrene strip to match the angle of the roof. Fortunately, I still had the leftover plastic from when I'd made the end walls, and I was able to use this to get the correct angle in my chopper. Unfortunately, due to the width of the styrene strip, the chopper didn't cut cleanly. As such, I needed a different approach.
I started by marking out two lines along the roof, each 5mm out from the centreline. I then cut slots at regular intervals using a hacksaw, then filing them slightly so they were 1mm wide. I then cut 7 strips of 1x1.5mm styrene, each 1cm long. These were glued into each slot.
The walkway was made from 1mm styrene cut to size. I left a bit of an overhang at each end, to allow for the end ladders.
After the walkway had dried, I cut two pieces of 1mm styrene to support the platforms at the ends. To get the angle on this, I used the same approach I'd tried on the 2mm square styrene strip earlier. This time it worked, due to the thinner material.
With that done, I made two ladders out of 0.8mm copper wire and installed one at each end. I used body putty to tidy up a couple of spots, then primed the caboose for painting.
In my next post, I'll cover the wiring of the locomotive, and the finishing of both models.
tbdanny:
Once again, some excellent and inspiring modelling!!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Nice work so far. I love this kind of stuff, but I decided against small narrow gauge in HO because of light-weight-equals -electrical-pick-up-problems, but you should have no problem packing the weight on that engine!
Part 3: Wiring and Final Assembly
I've finally been able to complete this project. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a delay with regards to the decoder for the locomotive.
After finishing the caboose, I painted it in the colours I'd chosen for the Pebble River Mining Company. Unlike the BVLC, which uses maroon on their rolling stock, I decided that the PRMC would use a teal-ish blue colour. After weathering it, I gave it a little overspray with white primer, to simulate paint fade. Once that had dried, it oversprayed it with dark grey to give the effect of grime from the locomotive smoke. This is the same technique I used on my town buildings. With that done, the caboose was finished.
By this point, the speaker had arrived. I'd designed the fuel bunker so that it had space for a keepalive module above the speaker. After installing this, I cut four sides for the speaker baffle out of styrene and glued it to the rear of the fuel bunker. This formed the back of the baffle. Some slight filing was required to allow the cab to sit level after this.
Before installing the speaker, I tested it with the decoder I'd bought. Using test leads, I'd connected the decoder's power pickups to the track, then the speaker outputs to the speaker. However, when the track was powered up, the overload protection (car tail light bulb) kept tripping. It would trip, then reset and trip again, over and over. As such, I raised a warranty claim with the manufacturer. They sent me a new decoder, which arrived on Thursday.
While waiting for the decoder, I'd built a new workbench off one end of my layout. I used this to test the new decoder, again by connecting the layout track to the decoder, then the decoder to the speaker. This one worked like a charm.
This version of the Prairie is DCC-ready, with pickup going to a board via the split chassis. The screws connecting the board to the chassis also carry power to it, which is then sent to the headlight and motor via wires. I removed this board, and initially tried using the original screws to connect the wires to the sides of the chassis. However, the wires kept moving out from under the screws as they were tightened. After a few frustrating minutes, I decided a new approach was in order.
I had some spare brass screws, which fit the mounting holes perfectly. After putting them in, I tinned the top of them, then soldered the decoder's pickup wires to them. With this done, I wired up the rest of the locomotive. The original shell for this model fits rather tightly across the top of the chassis. But with the larger boiler I'd put on it, there was plenty of space for the decoder and all the wires. The wires for the speaker and keepalive were run under the cab floor and up through a gap between the chassis and firebox. They were held up out of sight with some masking tape and painted black.
Following this, I fired up the workbench computer in order to test the loco before performing final assembly. In doing so, I discovered something rather interesting about the design of the power pick-up system on the Prairie. At the bottom of the chassis is a plate which holds the wheels in, and also holds the pick-up wipers for the rear of the driving wheels. These are connected to a pair of wipers which go up and contact the two halves of the chassis. This plate is held in by three screws - one in the middle, and two at the end which also hold the body on.
I attached the plate with the middle screw only, and put it on my test track. Without the body on top, there was nothing to hold the front and rear screws in place. However, the locomotive was unresponsive. When I connected test leads from the test track directly to the sides of the chassis, it worked perfectly. The only spot at which the locomotive seemed to pick up power was on the wheel cleaner, so I suspected that the wheels may have been dirty. As such, I gave them a thorough cleaning. However, this still didn't work.
By this point, I'd confirmed that the locomotive wiring itself (lights, motor, speaker, etc.) was all good, so I decided to proceed with final assembly. After putting it together, I put it on the test track and tried it again. To my surprise, it worked perfectly. I suspect that the lack of response on the earlier test run was due to not having the front screw in. The wipers going up to the chassis are at this end of the plate, as is the pilot deck...which has a thick metal pilot beam casting on the front. Without the front screw, the pilot deck must have been pulling the plate down enough for the wipers to not make contact with the chassis.
With that sorted, I programmed the loco and set it so that the headlight would come on in either direction. At this point, I thought I was finished. However, when I put the locomotive on the track with the caboose, I found that the front coupler was too low - the top of it just touched the bottom of the couplers on the caboose. I double-checked the coupler height on the caboose and found it correct.
In part one of this write-up, I mentioned that I tested the coupler height on the pilot and found it at the correct height first go. Turns out, it wasn't. After checking the photos, I realised my mistake. All of my freight cars have couplers at the correct height, except for one where I'd accidentally used an overset-shank coupler where I should have used a standard shank. It hadn't given me any trouble during operating sessions, so it had gone unnoticed. Unfortunately, this was the one against which I'd checked the pilot coupler.
Given that the pilot coupler was already an underset-shank, the only thing I could do was raise the pilot deck itself. I removed the deck and cut two lengths of 3.2mm square styrene strip. After cleaning the CA off the underside of the deck, I glued the styrene to it, then put the deck back in place. The pilot beam was now at the same height as the rear one. After lowering the footboard at the front, I painted it black and installed the correct coupler. (I also corrected the coupler on the log car.)
I also took this opportunity to install bigger wheels on the front pilot. The original pilot wheels from the Prairie were small for HO scale, and tiny in O scale. I had a spare pilot truck from a Bachmann On30 Forney, and the axle diameter matched that of the Prairie pilot. So with the aid of a NWSL puller, I swapped the axles over. With that done, I reattached the pilot and the loco was actually complete.
Now, I just need to build some hoppers for it to pull.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
You are a gifted Craftsman. Very impressive.......I like it.
Track Fiddler
This project really shined. I have to echo Bear and Track Fiddler's comments that this is an inspiration. The detailed explnantions and step by step pics should give confidence to anyone who is intimidated by the thought of building their own. Once broken down as it is here, it's easier to realize if you can do all these little things, you can also build a loco.