Hi guys,
I began this project last winter at the other place but traffic over there seems to have largely died off, so I thought I’d share an update here. I only model in the winter, so progress has been slow. Still, I hope to have this done by the end of January so I can move on to the next one.
My goal is to end up with a model of this - it was the last standard gauge steam locomotive operated by the Rio Grande:
I began with an Aristo 2-8-0 I bought on eBay in September of 2017. As of today I am this far:
Its tender was largely completed last winter:
My son has been most helpful (and most patient!) in creating 3D printed parts for me on Shapeways. 3D parts include the Pyle headlights, sand dome, stack, generator, smokebox front, and the air compressor. He works in Chama, so he’s conveniently located to measure and draw up the various parts. The nice thing about printed parts is that once they’ve been drawn up, they can be printed in any scale. You can see these and other parts here:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/highcountryhobbies
The whistle, bell, injector check valves and smokebox inspection ports are 3D printed by Mihai Dumitru:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/railway-mechanics?section=1%3A32+Scale%2C+Gauge+%231&s=0
Lettering is custom dry transfers - I do the artwork and a place in Vancouver makes them for me. Never been a decal person, myself. The air brake hoses and valves are by Burl Rice. I built the brakeman’s cupola on the tender from Rio Grande plans.
Cheers,
Matt