"TENDER TUESDAY"

[doctorwayne]

Here are a few tenders on which I'm currently working.

This one is a shortened Bachmann tender from ex-EG&E Consolidation 24, which was recently transferred to the Grand Valley.
The joint between the two sections here is quite evident, especially with the glossy finish, but I hope that with some rivet decals applied (hence the need for the high gloss) and an in-service paint job with appropriate lettering, she'll look a little more presentable...









Here's the preliminary application of the rivet decals, with more setting solution required...



...and a look inside at the weights added to improve electrical pick-up and tracking...



Loaded with coal, the finished tender will weigh about 6.25oz.

This tender is from a recently purchased brass model of a CNR 10-Wheeler. The previous owner has modified the coal bunker, but I can't find any prototype photos of CNR 10-Wheelers with a similar modification, and especially not for the loco for which the model was originally lettered....





These models were supplied with an optional oil tank which drops right into the existing coal bunker, just like was done with the prototypes, which originally served in western Canada. Many of these locos were later transferred east, and converted back to coal. I managed to remove the modification fairly easily....



...along with the factory-installed box on the tender deck near the water hatch. This box was for chemicals added to the tender water to prevent foaming in the boiler due to the poor quality of water available in some areas of western Canada. The real ones lost the box, too, when they came east.
Here's a photo of a similar loco which I acquired several years ago. It was modified with the coal bunker extension to match its prototype...



...but the new loco's tender, even with the former owner's modifications removed, does not match its prototype. The discrepancy is mostly in the shape of the top edge of the sides at the front. The loco which I'm modelling never got a bunker extension like that on 1383, but it did have a rather high arrangement of vertical boards right at the front of the coal pocket. In prototype photos, it looks almost as if it's a temporary arrangement, and I'd like to duplicate it, which will necessitate modifying the sides as mentioned.

This tender, also from a loco recently acquired, has had its glued-in coal load removed, and will get at least a partially-modelled coal bunker. It's from a CNR Mogul, like the prototype one pictured in Ed's previous post.





This is an older model, belonging to Ed, that I re-worked for him a few years ago...



In addition to new paint and lettering, it got a new can motor to replace the old open-frame one, along with a NWSL gearbox, and all-new drivers, as the original ones had a severe case of zinc-pest in their centres.

However, the prototype CNR Mogul I wish to model has its tender ladder on the opposite side of the rear of the tender, and the coal bunker extension looks different, too. I'll move the ladder for sure, but will have to study the bunker extension further before making any changes.

This one will likely please my good friend Ed, as it's a tender from one of his recently acquired locos. The original owner apparently attempted to modify the top of the sides of the coal pocket in some manner, as cuts made with a cut-off disc extended almost the entire length of that area. I'm guessing that the work started on the fireman's side of the loco, shown here after filling the gap initially with quick-setting epoxy applied with the edge of a #11 blade. This was followed by successive applications of autobody spot putty (much better than the modelling-type putty available - finer grain, fast-drying, and easier to apply and to sand)...



...but when the person doing the work flipped the tender to cut the other side, only then must he have discovered the ladder, which apparently complicated things enough that whatever conversion was underway wasn't completed. This cut was a bit wider and the tender side, where it drops just before the cistern, was pushed-in somewhat, and the repair here is still in progress. I may have to apply some rivet decals to this one, too, as many of the photo-etched rivets have been all but removed by the repeated sanding...



I'll add updates as these jobs continue, but please don't hold your breath for them.

Wayne