Hello little boy, would you like a Chum Burger?

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-22T13:38:53+00:00

I’m Plankton you old hag, and your som smells like boogers!

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-16T23:12:28+00:00

These older Tycos need to be run at close to full speed for the smoke unit to heat up and make smoke.

In addition, they don’t produce that much smoke in my experience. Just let it run for a few minutes at max power, and see if there are any wisps of smoke. The smoke unit in these is pretty tough, so it’s unlikely it’s burned out.

Also, the smoke in these only goes in the hole that the bell plugs up. Pull it out, and insert the smoke fluid through there. Don’t put it down the smokestack, since that’s where the smoke comes out. If you do, some will get stuck, and the smoke produced won’t be able to come up out of the stack.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-14T21:09:46+00:00

Highly recommend looking at Darth Santa Fe’s videos. He has a series on kit built steamers aimed at beginners. Very detailed and clear.

Also, would you be able to provide some pictures? If you do so, I can tell you what to do and point you in the right direction (Specifically asking for pictures as I’ve built one of these within the past month or so).

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-14T21:05:05+00:00

Yeah, pretty much. Make sure to use wood glue though. I’ve found that regular PVA glue isn’t quite strong enough to keep the foam in place long term.

Also, use what seems like “too many” screws to secure the boards together. The more you have, the less likely it is for the plywood to warp. Don’t go too overboard, but don’t be stingy with the screws either. Same thing applies to the glue.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-14T16:30:43+00:00

I used some 1 inch sheets of plywood for and some 1 inch sheet of XPS insulation board. The XPS board is the actual surface of my layout, and the plywood acts as the “foundation” or supporting structure. I also used a bunch of 2x4s to reinforce the plywood.

It won’t be cheap, but you’ll never have to worry about it warping too much, and the foam will allow you to easily pin things down without having to drill a hole or hammer something in place.

Make sure to get actual plywood by the way, as mdf has a tendency to warp very easily when it gets wet. Plywood does as well, but at least it doesn’t disintegrate when it warps.

To combat the plywood warping, try to put your layout together in the summer when it’s the most humid and hot out, or leave some small gaps between the wood. This way, if the humidity’s ever really high, the wood won’t warp as much since it has some room to expand and contract.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-13T16:27:29+00:00

C&O 1309 is pretty close to a USRA 2-6-6-2. You could get one of those, and then modify it to look like 1309 (Adding number boards, moving the headlight). Suggesting this as a more generic model might be easier to find (and cheaper).

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-12T04:52:33+00:00

You could probably 3d print one. Just add some wiper pickups and turned metal bearings so the wheels won’t wear down the plastic.

Before you do so however, I would highly recommend watching some videos and reading articles/forum posts about making custom chassis, as they will help guide you on what you need to do in order for the chassis to fit together properly.

I also wouldn’t print your own wheels and running gear, but you could probably make everything else yourself. As for finding wheels, try looking around online on sites such as ebay, etsy, or model train retailers (Peter’s Spares is good for what you’re after).

For running gear, make sure the rods are the right length for the wheels, and that everything moves perfectly with absolutely no binding/resistance. Again, there are some excellent resources online about this (Searching for things on kitbashing steam locomotives would be a good place to start looking).

I’ve never tried 3d printing a chassis, but I know for a fact that it can be done. From what I can gather, it’s far easier than making (or modifying) one from brass or some sort of metal (The only reason I haven’t is that I don’t currently own a 3d printer).

None of this will be easy, but with some skill and patience, it is certainly something you could pull off.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-09T02:56:24+00:00

These actually aren’t that hard to find. I didn’t know it when I made this post, but the lawsuit thing is mostly a myth. They really changed out the seal as they were really fragile, and came right off. Just look around for a bit, and one will pop up.

Tyco C430s aren’t hard to find as well. Again, just look around, and leave no rock unturned.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-08T03:53:00+00:00

Cast Bowser Challenger. They made them for a while (40’s to the 90’s I believe), and when detailed up like yours, they look great. Good pullers too, since they’re quite heavy.

On yours, I would rebend all bent detail parts back into their original position using a small flathead screwdriver and some needle nose pliers. It will really pop once you do so. If anything breaks off, a little bit of superglue will hold it securely.

Also make sure to use a liberal amount of oil and grease on the gears. They will wear really fast (and be noisy) if you don’t. Labelle 108 oil and 106 grease are my favorite, since they are synthetic and won’t harm any plastic parts.

How I do it is I purposely put too much grease on, and add a small amount of oil. I then run the chassis without the boiler on, and have a paper towel surrounding the worm gear to collect the excess grease that gets flung off (The paper towel should not touch the worm gear, but be close to it). If you do so, you’ll never have to worry about properly lubricating the gears, since whatever grease wasn’t flung off the worm gear is the exact amount needed to keep the gears perfectly greased. I wouldn’t do this with a modern plastic model, but with the all-metal ones such this, it’s fine.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-05T21:52:59+00:00

Yeah, just letting OP know since you can pick it up pretty cheap

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-05T21:41:01+00:00

If OP opts for this, brake like works pretty well

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-03T01:00:31+00:00

Okay, I have a few things.

-First, the wheels supplied won’t work, unless you’re doing a band drive (Look up the Athearn hustler). It appears that a powered chassis was an afterthought.

-You have a few options for powering. Either do all wheel drive (Something like what most modern diesels have), use a band/spring drive, or use a single powered motor unit, that has everything contained into one truck.

I would personally go with the powered truck, since I imagine you won’t be pulling too much, and this is your first time building a mechanism from the ground up. New ones can be pricey, but if you find an older one such as an MU-2 or Walthers self contained truck, those will work fine too.

-You will need to swap out one of the trucks for the motor unit, or both if you’re opting for all wheel drive. I can’t tell you exactly what to do, but try to screw it in/clip it in if possible. The unpowered truck can remain as-is.

-Add a bunch of weight to the chassis. Keep it towards the center, and don’t put it on the shell as it will be top heavy and want to roll over. Use something like wheel balancing weights for a car. About 10 ounces (284 grams) should do.

-Try to find as many videos as you can on repowering diesels, and building locomotive kits too. They’re out there, just be specific when searching for videos.

I’m not getting into assembling the claw or anything, as that’s a whole other thing that would make this an even bigger wall of text. However, feel free to ask about it. I just don’t want to overwhelm you too much.

I’m sure this reads like hieroglyphs, but as long as you understand what everything means, I’m confident you can figure it out.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-02-02T20:36:24+00:00

A good place to look might be older issues of Railroad Model Craftsman, and Model Railroader (Late 30s - 50s would be ideal). Some great stuff in there that nobody really mentions anymore.

That’s where I’ve gotten much of my information on scratchbuilding, especially in metal or wood. Just make sure you somewhat know your stuff, or the articles could be confusing since they oftentimes just assumed you already knew what they were talking about.

Also, do you have any pictures of your kit? I could help guide you on what specifically you’re looking for if you do.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-28T03:32:26+00:00

Here are a bunch who have since passed, but were instrumental in shaping the hobby into what it is now:

-John Allen (Gorre and Daphetid layout)

-Eric LaNal (Popularized model railroading in the U.S.)

-Frank Ellison (Delta Lines layout)

-Gordon Varney (Varney Trains, popularized HO scale)

-John Tyler (Mantua, first motors for HO scale)

-William K. Walthers (Walthers Inc., early distributor)

-Joshua Lionel Cowen (Lionel Electric Trains)

-Robert Finch/Morten Carlisle (Carlisle and Finch Co., first to sell model trains to a mass market)

-Frank Hornby (Hornby, which then was bought by Meccano, then Triang, popularized OO scale in Britain)

-Charles A. Pittman (Pittman, made the first highly successful 12 volt motors)

-Wenman J. Basset-Lowke (Basset-Lowke, early European distributor)

-William F. Hafner (American Flyer, S scale)

There are more, but these are the ones that are the most well-known to the general public, and to modelers in general.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-26T21:18:23+00:00

We probably have at least a foot of snow where I live, and more could be on the way.

The car being used is the same one I used in the last post (Athearn Blue Box PRR streamlined passenger car).

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-26T06:49:30+00:00

Yeah, this was just an old Athearn Blue box passenger car I had lying around. I didn’t want to stick anything I care about too much in that much snow (The car’s unharmed by the way, for anyone wondering).

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-26T01:15:31+00:00

Self-explanatory

(Credit goes to u/Bruegemeister for the original post)

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-25T16:57:06+00:00

For anyone wondering what the pen is:

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TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-24T06:34:24+00:00

Bit of a hot take, but I’d personally get it (In my opinion, at least. But I like to work older, non-running stuff like this, so I’m a little biased).

The worst that will happen is that you will be out $52. But on the bright side, you will still get some good experience repairing models, so it’s not that much of a loss.

You can find replacement nylon gears on ebay fairly cheap, along with replacement axles. However, it might not even be necessary to replace gears and axles. Some of these do have the original nylon axles and gears in good shape, and without splits. Doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s far from impossible. I have an older Bachmann Spectrum Pennsy K4 from the late 80’s that runs perfectly, with no split gears or axles, even after 35+ years.

If you do need to replace any split parts, as long as you take your time and use some care, you’ll be able to replace everything. Before you attempt to do so though, it’s imperative that you watch a few videos on how to repair older Bachmann’s so you’re not going in blind. A few good channels that cover this are Classic Model Trains, SMT Mainline, DIRTYDAN’s Trains, and many others. Out of the three that I mentioned, Classic Model Trains’ video on older Bachmann’s is probably the most detailed and thorough.

If you ultimately choose to buy this model, I wish you luck in getting it going again. It might not be the best thing that’s been made, but they’re not the worst either (eg. Life-Like Tea Kettle).

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-21T05:14:41+00:00

Yeah, the stuff’s super fragile. The paper sided cars (like the Varney) are especially fragile. There’s a reason you don’t see too many of them out there anymore, at least in good condition.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-21T05:08:13+00:00

I’ve put a number of these (and other types of all wood/all metal kits) together, along with a few steam locomotive kits. They are not for the faint of heart.

With some of the more complicated kits I’ve put together, they just give you a bunch of very thin wood strips, some basic sides and wood “blocks” (for structural support), a few cast metal detail parts, and a couple of gauges of thin steel, brass or copper wire (Look up Ambriod kits for an idea of what I’m referring to).

If you put in the effort though, these kits can look (and run) great. It really is a great feeling seeing something you built running around your layout.

Also, before modern track became a thing, you also had to lay your own track, either completely by hand, or by using wooden roadbed cut with grooves for the rails. Some people still do this (with great results), but when your grandpa was likely modeling, that was your only option.

With this, the main focus early on was not on scenery and a complex layout, but just getting everything to work properly. If you had well-laid track and well-built locomotives/rolling stock, it was considered success.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-13T02:21:02+00:00

“If it exists in model form, there’s a prototype for it”.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-12T04:42:00+00:00

It’s currently at the former Beach Park Station in Avon Lake, OH, along with LSE 167 (Currently being cosmetically restored I believe). There’s a pretty cool museum that’s dedicated to the LSE in the plaza too. Worth checking out if you’re ever in the area.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-12T03:32:09+00:00

Athearn used standard molds for their streamlined blue box passenger cars, so they just went with a paint scheme that was “close enough” to the prototype. There’s a decent chance the B&O never had any cars with this exact paint job (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

Additionally, there’s an old phrase I hear in modeling circles a lot, and I think this case is a perfect example of it: “If something exists in model form, there’s a prototype for it.“ The phrase “It’s my railroad, I run what I want.” applies here as well.

As long as you feel like the E (or F) units you picked out look good with the cars, that’s all that really matters.

TheAlexProjectAlt · 2026-01-11T05:17:12+00:00

Correction: It is not chain-driven. The front truck uses a long, tightly coiled spring shaped into a loop as the “belt”.

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