HO scale M&StL #304 Mogul
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HO scale M&StL #304 Mogul |
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The project started by removing the hand rails, number boards, generator, headlight, bell, and air pump. The handrails are the only item in this list that were re-used. The the first modification is to remove the walkways and fill in the walkway openings on the boiler with various thicknesses of styrene glued in place with a thicker ca glue. The bottom of the boiler that has the walkways attached was glued to the top half of the boiler to eliminate visible joints. The weights in the smokebox and front of the boiler are not removable after this step so you may want to drill a hole through the weights for headlamp wiring. I charged ahead and glued the smokebox front on before thinking of this so you will see in a later picture how I worked around this lack of foresight. Nearly all of the piping was removed from the boiler with a square ended x-acto blade. I left the bands on the boiler and the conduit that leads to the headlamp. Next everything was sanded with 400 then 600 grit sandpaper being careful not to remove any of the rivets. I was able to get to most areas by cutting thin strips or folding the small pieces of sandpaper. If the cab is going to get moved forward then the accessory dome needs to be removed at this time too. |
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By carefully looking at the equipment diagram and prototype photo the new walkway placement and lengths were determined. Then new walkway supports were made from styrene and fitted the supports under the boiler with ca. The new air reservoir was made from a piece of 1/4" diameter styrene tubing with styrene ends glued on. The ends got sanded to match the diameter of the tubing and then thin strips of styrene were wrapped around the tank for mounting bands. Mounting the air pumps was a matter of trial and error with various pieces of styrene strip and lots of ca. The pump casting is heavy and needs a very solid support in order to take the abuse of handling since it's in the place where nearly everyone grabs a locomotive to pick it up. |
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I did the boiler piping before doing any cab modifications and ended up breaking most of it off while getting the cab situated. The reason I did the cab later is because moving the cab forward looked like more work that I felt capable of doing. This is where the struggle between the perfectionist and the "good enough" attitudes gets confronted. Joe Binish convinced me that if I didn't move the cab now I wouldn't be happy later. It would have been very easy to throw everything back in the box and do something easier but with the proverbial fear and trepidation the cab project was undertaken. |
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On the IHC model the cab slides vertically into a slot cast in the boiler. One of the reasons to make the model this way is to eliminate a visible gap where the boiler and cab intersect. Moving the cab forward meant that this handy slot can't be used and that the front of the cab needs to be carefully shaved away to fit snugly around the boiler. Since the cab needed to be longer and higher to get the look of the prototype I made a new cab floor and rear wall. The original mounting tabs in the rear of the cab were removed to make way for the new cab floor. The front of the modified cab is held in place by a snug fit around the boiler. Small bolts run up through the walkway into the new floor of the cab near the rear corners. After the floor and rear of the cab are done and everything fits, it's time to install the rooftop details and then some new windows. The first spark deflector I made wasn't tall enough so I used it as a support for the taller one. This also significantly strengthens the taller deflector. They were both made from thin strips of styrene that were curved by pulling them through my fingernails numerous times until they fit the curve of the cab. The fit is important because the deflector is hard to hold in place while getting the ca to grab in the position you need it to. Who needs big globs of glue all over the cab roof? I sanded the ends to shape once the glue was set up so I could center the deflector from side to side. The windows are 1/2 of a 16 pane double hung window that was sanded on its face so the window frame isn't so deep. When the windows are cut and sanded so the sides are smooth and square then the they can be used to measure the new opening in the side of the cab. Go slow removing material from the cab and try to get an opening that is a perfect friction fit to the windows. I put the windows in first and ended up breaking the thin stiles between some of the panes while working on the rest of the cab. Add arm rests and sun shades after the windows are glued in place and you have sanded the sides of the cab down. I sanded about 98% of the rivet detail off the cab sides. This will look like the mostly smooth sides of the original. A little waviness around the edges of the cab sides gives a prototypical look to the sheet metal. |
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Removing the original headlight left a big hole in the smokebox front that was filled with a piece of sprue that was sanded to a slight taper so it would make a tight fit. Once the ca was set the end of the plug was carefully sanded to match the raised contour of the middle of the smokebox door. I have had trouble with the front of the smokebox staying put on some of my other steamers so after adding the headlight, number board, handrails and marker lights I glued the front onto the boiler. If you plan on having an operating headlamp it would be a good idea to drill a hole through the weights for the wires now. This is a good time to do all of the piping on the boiler. Brass pipes were soldered to the castings for the injectors and sanding valves. Small brackets were made from styrene for the injector pipe. I first tried to use glue to join the pipes and castings but the result wasn't acceptable. My solder joints ended up looking like an infected knee or elbow so they were filed to match the diameter of the brass castings. The series of pipes running under the running boards is to cool the compressed air before it gets to the air reservoir. the pipes were done in 3 pieces with the joints meeting inside the pipe bracket castings. These pipes are ca glued and not soldered together and seem very solid. |
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More construction details will follow at a later date. |
3/25/02 I was convinced that things just wouldn't look right without moving the cab forward by Joe Binish. He was right. I was afraid to tackle this but it worked out fine. I had to relocate the accessory dome lower the cab floor, extend the bottom and rear of the cab a bit, add a new back wall to the cab. modify the weight and add new mounting screws under the rear corners of the cab. In the process I broke some of the solder joints on the injector piping but the repairs are much better. I used a Kadee #58 with the rear swivel hole cut off and mounted it in the new PFM pilot. To get it in there I drilled a new hole in the coupler shank and in the draft gear box and made what amounts to a link and pin connection. It is as close to the prototype as I think can be done and it works.
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