Alco Engine Bash

TrainClown

Member
Hi there.

I was an auction at the local train club last year and I bought a box of junk. Best buys are always junk boxes. I bought this one in particular because it had an old broken 0-4-0 engine in it. It looked real old, but for a long time, until I took these photos, I had no idea how old it was. Only thing I could find printed on it was that it was made in Italy.

So a month after I got my deal on the junk box, I bought myself a starter type train set to get me up and running as I had no track or transformer and no proven rolling stock, so I bought that Iron Horse train set from Life Like. Was a good buy and I am pleased with the set. The 0-4-0 runs smooth enough.

But then...............wait!

The shells of the 2 engines, the Life Like and the Italian Job, look almost identical! Most of the casting details are the same. Only some of the pipes and stuff have been re-tooled, but to all intense and purposes, these 2 engines are brothers. But the shells are not interchangeable, the Life Like has a can motor and the Italian Job has a pancake motor.

So I decided to remodel the Italian Job to make it look different. It was missing the front of the boiler and hummed real bad on a test. Took it apart for cleaning and lubrication and now it is the fastest engine in my fleet. Runs good and smooth now.

The startling thing I discovered while taking photographs of the Italian Job, was that it is an Alco engine made in 1930. Or so said the ID plate. Never heard of Alco before.
 

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TrainClown

Member
Strange to think that the die for this engine has been around for so long. Not much has changed in 74 years, on the outside anyway.

This is what my Life Like looks like as it comes down a grade.
life_like_on_grade.jpg


Here is a pic of the 2 engines stacked up so you can see what is the same and what is different. Italian Job on top. And keep in mind that I changed the cab. I got a bigger cab out of another junk box I got at a train show.
 

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TrainClown

Member
The Alco has a detailed engine compartment. Something the LifeLike lacks. When I took off the old cab I made a mold of the engine controles so I could add it to other bash jobs in the future. I like the detail.

This is how the controles look inside there new cab.
 

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TrainClown

Member
This is the new front end of the boiler. I made it from 2 buttons. I made the smoke stack out of a tooth paste tube, and the lamp out of an old plastic building from one of the junk boxes. I cut the Lens out of an old F7 cab for the light, but it isn't in for this pic. The bell is new too.
 

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TrainClown

Member
So here is the difference now. Once painted and weathered they will no longer look like brothers. But, I will know, and now, so do you. :D
 

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TrainClown

Member
Here is the tender I put together for the Alco. I got the body in a junk box and made the frame out of an old flat car, also out of the junk box. The white styrene will be covered with fire wood. Ya got to love those wood fired locos.
 

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TrainClown

Member
One more for fun. This is how my fleet is shaping up. More on the other engines to be posted soon.

How about that old Alco? Anyone remember them?

Have fun bashin'. :thumb:

TrainClown :wave:
 

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F

Fred_M

I remember the ads in old MR and MRC mags, most were brass? and all were out of my price range at the time. All's she needs is a big set of deer racks on her and she would be complete. :) I'll see if I can dig up an ad and scan it for you later. Fred
 
F

Fred_M

Here's an ad from the Oct 1977 MR for Alco. Fred
 

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F

Fred_M

Here's an ad for a 0-6-0 from oct 76. Notice it cost $165 dollars then! Fred
 

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Gary Pfeil

Active Member
Dan's got it right, the model wasn't imported by Alco models, the manufacturer, probably Rivarossi, just included the Alco name and date in their mold. Neither is probably correct for the loco as things like that weren't common then. Prety sure the model is from the 60's. Alco, Lima and Baldwin were the 3 major steam builders and I bet Rivarossi just picked one. Could be wrong about that, maybe they did put some effort into being correct, but it seems unlikely.
 
F

Fred_M

Here's another ad from june 1974 MR for Alco Models loco. I'll keep my eyes peeled for their 0-4-0 and if I find it I will scan it for you. I use to have their catalog but it go burnt 20+ years ago. If I run across an ad for the 0-4-0 I will scan it for you. Just my best guess. Fred
 

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TrainClown

Member
Thanks for the info guys.

Those are real cool Fred. To bad we can't order from those adds and pay those prises. ;)

TrainClown :)
 
P

philip

TC,........ I think

You have a Pocher from Italy. Rivarossi owns the pocher stuff now I think? The molds have lost all the cool details over the years. Sad but true:cry:Rivarossi claims they were founded in 46.........? maybe Pocher............ not Rivarossi.

Just a guess Man!:)
 

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