from the engine shops to in the engine shops
I'm messing with engines. If you look back at the Harlow/ Southside photos you can see the Harlow switch engine #9, a West-side models Westside lumber company #3. It had an outrageous 1890's style stack until this afternoon. It has carried that wildly inappropriate stack for perhaps 10 years.
In this photo, you can see the HON3 FED 4-4-0 I'm working on. It just got a stack identical to the one removed from #9 soldered on. The FED 4-4-0 was imported in the early 70s and it was the last HON3 4-4-0 imported MMI was considering importing some 4-4-0s in ON3 and HOn3 I had reserved two in HON3 and one in on3 (before I got laid off) I had money in the budget for one of the Hon3 locomotives, and the other locomotives would have tied up the expected train budget for a long time.
if you look in the fireman's window of #9, there is a dog scratching it's ear in the fireman's seat. once upon a time, back in the dark ages there was a dog on every single DG, CC, & W RR locomotive, as far as I know, #9 and # 15 are the only locomotives that still have dogs on them.
Bill Nelson
MMI just announced that they did not get enough reservations, and will not be producing the models . With the recession, the prices were down on the FED's and I was able to pick one up for less than half of what a MMI would have cost me. this FED will need a $100 micromotor kit from locodoc, but with that upgrade it will still be $100 cheaper than the MMI's expected cost, which means there is money in the train budget!
Unfortunately I don't have a brass casting of an oil headlight in my bins. I have an early arc headlamp, but that would require a generator, and I don't have one of those either. ai may try to scratchbuild an oil lamp for the 4-4-0. I did find a number plate with a #3 cast in it, so this may become Stateline RR #3. so far I have a Keystone/NWSL shay that is Stateline #2, and a Concor Galloping goose that I scratchbashed a pierce-arrow body for (Concor has since released a goose with a pierce-arrow body), wich si State line motor #5. A PFM 25 ton Shay, and an FED 2-6-0 have yet to be lettered and numbered..
There is another HON3 outfit on Iron mountan, a 3 foot gauge branch of the Marrietta and North Georgia. the theme for the M & N G narrow gauge is outside frames. I have a MDC outside frame consolidation (as of yet yet lettered and numbered, and at the club until I can replace it with the Bachman GE 70 ton diseasil I'm working on regauging ), a (pfm? ) puffing Billy outside framed 2-6-2, which has been outfitted with a cabbage stack to Americanize this Baldwin export locomotive, and a 0-4-4 outside framed Forney of unknown origin.
I still am not sure what stack Heisler #9 is going to get. it came with a straight stack, and has worn a cabbage stack, and a diamond stack, as well as the monstrosity I just removed from it. I have the diamond stack on hand, and it is painted to match, although #9 is well over due for a trip to the paint shops. It was painted over 30 years ago when I modeled in the 40's. my time period has migrated to the late 20's, and this machine should be cleaner, and better maintained.
The bathroom wall is up. and I have figured out where my roof leak is . An hour worth of work will fix it (I love metal roofs); but I'm going to wait untill it is dry to fix it, as that tin toof gets slick when it is wet. Tommorow I work on placing the tub and the windows, and try to figure out how to extend the roof so there is an overhang,
Bill Nelson