I've seen freight yards where there is always a wrecked locomotive with its' front end all smashed in. I've got an old locomotive that is dead and would be a good candidate for this project. Has anyone ever done something like this? I would think that you would start off by heating the front hood with a heat gun and then making cuts in the plastic and then bending them in different directions.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Bruce
Photos of wrecked prototype locos would be the best place to start - preferably several shots, from different angles, of the same loco.
Sometimes the damage pattern can be downright strange. I once saw a D51 class 2-8-2 that didn't seem too badly damaged, but the cab roof looked as if it had been karate-chopped. A bridge had gone down under it, leaving it in a V configuration between two masonry piers. Fortunately the head-end crew hit chest-deep water when they bailed, so the worst they got was a good soaking (in mid-summer.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
You can model a wrecked locomotive if you like. But these will usually be sold to the scrappers fairly quickly. What you will see in assorted repair shops around the railroad is a "donor locomotive, with all sorts of parts removed from it. Sometimes these things are put back together again with all new parts most often they are sold for scrap and they let a local dealer come and haul off the remains on a truck.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
On September 15th, 2012, a CP train (No. 276) collided with a painters truck in Wisconsin. I believe all souls were fine. The locomotive (SD40-2 #6411 painted in Iowa, Chicago & Eastern colors) had damaged/bent font handrails, damaged couplers, bent and distorted snow plow and torn and missing MU hoses (among other sorts of damages). What made the locomotive even more interesting was that it was COVERED in paint splotches as though someone shot at it with a large paintball gun! Well not a wreck in the "destroyed" sense of the word, it would be something that would still be able to operate on your layout as it was able to move to the repair shops under it's own power.
As others have said, another option for a more derelict looking rail sitter would be a canabalized locomotive, stripped of various parts, panels, windows, hoses etc. By making it a "dummy" you could move it about your layout as you saw fit.
Happy Modeling!
Don.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train and not fly."
The most severe case i've encountered was a SP rebuilt SD40 that featured a caved in firemans cab side, missing long hood doors, severe damage to the nose and rear of long hood, missing cab glass and dished in fuel tank, what amazed me it was under power as the trailing unit of a three unit helper set! Later I did some research and discovered it had been the victim of a roll over as the result of a derailment, I to this day I continue to be amazed the ICC/FRA appearently never discovered its condition.
Dave
Likely didn't meet the reporting threshold.
West Coast S The most severe case i've encountered was a SP rebuilt SD40 that featured a caved in firemans cab side, missing long hood doors, severe damage to the nose and rear of long hood, missing cab glass and dished in fuel tank, what amazed me it was under power as the trailing unit of a three unit helper set! Later I did some research and discovered it had been the victim of a roll over as the result of a derailment, I to this day I continue to be amazed the ICC/FRA appearently never discovered its condition. Dave
tomikawaTTPhotos of wrecked prototype locos would be the best place to start - preferably several shots, from different angles, of the same loco.
a google image search
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Randy Stahl Likely didn't meet the reporting threshold.West Coast S The most severe case i've encountered was a SP rebuilt SD40 that featured a caved in firemans cab side, missing long hood doors, severe damage to the nose and rear of long hood, missing cab glass and dished in fuel tank, what amazed me it was under power as the trailing unit of a three unit helper set! Later I did some research and discovered it had been the victim of a roll over as the result of a derailment, I to this day I continue to be amazed the ICC/FRA appearently never discovered its condition. Dave I've seen hundreds of wrecked locomotives, usually we keep them around until we get a chance to strip them for usable parts, sometimes it takes a few years while the locomotive is cannibalized for other locomotives. Sometimes the locomotive is mortgaged and cannot be cut up until the bank figured out what its worth.
That make sense, this was toward the end of its existence when such damage resulted in eventual scrapping but for a severe power shortage it probably would have been immediently written off.
gregc a google image search
Something like this, got wacked in the back and now being striped for parts.
PV Rich
Posting links like this is extremely bad for my "work progress" today.
Oh well.. it's Friday.
You could do a wreck like pvrich shows, not overly beat-up and being stripped for useable parts, but it's not likely that heating your loco to deform it will look too convincing for a really-wrecked loco.Instead, pick something suitable from that posted link, then decide what part(s) of the donor loco can be used (perhaps the walkways of a hood unit which might look convincing as a bent frame if heated and distorted carefully.However, before slicing-up your loco, buy a roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil and use it to make impressions of the model's hoods, cab, pilots, etc. You'll probably need to make several separate pieces, and perhaps re-assemble these components using ca. By carefully combining parts of the original model with the aluminum parts, you should be able to duplicate a crushed, crumpled, and flattened locomotive. I'd suggest painting it before inflicting the damage, but only to a degree appropriate for the amount of damage you intend to inflict. Once the damage has been done, you can weather it with suitable rust, caked-on dirt and grass, and/or scorch marks from fire.
While the photos below don't show a wrecked locomotive, they do depict a low-speed grade crossing accident, with the wrecked vehicle rendered in foil.
Here's the victim, a Jordan Model T pick-up with a load of crated chickens. It will stall on the crossing, but unbeknownst to the two brothers headed for the market, the front end of the driveshaft has dropped, too, and is jammed against the inside of the rail. Their efforts to push the vehicle clear will prove fruitless, but they'll at least have enough sense to step back just before the loco's pilot makes contact:
...and the scene seconds after the impact. At least a couple of chickens survived, but the crew has not yet alighted from the cab:
Most of the train's crew works to clear the wreckage, although the rear brakeman, out of sight, is gathering up several of the deceased chickens for lunch later or perhaps the pot at home.
At the next station, a telegraph notified the appropriate people and a work gang was sent out to pick up the remains. Here it sits in a gondola behind the shop:
Here's a better photo of the pick-up, taken on an earlier occasion:
Wayne
doctorwayne Most of the train's crew works to clear the wreckage, although the rear brakeman, out of sight, is gathering up several of the deceased chickens for lunch later or perhaps the pot at home.
Wayne,
Really nice modeling and great photos. I keep learning more from this forum than from all the books I read. Lots of great talent here.
Thanks for your kind words, Rich. The photos are from an illustrated short story on another forum.