I started this project about 2 years ago and finished it about a year ago. I started with an old ModelPower shell and an Athearn F-7 chassis. The wheelbase is off by about 3/16", so I lengthened the fuel tank just bit so that it looked right proportionally. This unit started out as a high cab which I cut down. I replaced the fan grill with one from TigerValley. I also had to repair parts of the roof overhang, that was about it for the body. I built a new fuel tank around the old one and filled it with lead in every nook and cranny. The airtanks were cast in resin from some elongated TigerValley RS-36 tanks. All the airlines are brass wire. The pilots were also rebuilt. The handrails and the cab steps really tested my soldering skills. The fuel tank extendion is also a TigerValley part. I used Archer resin treadplate and rivits. The chassis got a Mashima motor and flywheels and an NCE decoder.


I thought I would share some photos:









here's the rest of the photos:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1">https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1</a><!-- m -->

Very nicely done. a rare breed for sure, but a model that was bypassed by a lot of modelers. I saw some of the Rock Island 415's but never heard or saw one run.
Thanks for posting the link to the pictures. There is a lot of work represented there.
Charlie

Thanks for the cudos! If you go back to the post you'll notice I added a bit more, I was struggling posting my photos, I got it down now.

A very impressive and interesting prototype and model. Thanks for posting all the detail photos during construction.

awesome model

Nice stuff .. do you have any in progress shots.

e-paw Wrote:Nice stuff .. do you have any in progress shots.

Follow the link at the bottom of my post.

An interesting thing about the 415 was we had a very famous ALCO mechanic working on our S-1, in fact he sold it to us. We were searching for a back up and he told us what ever we did, not to buy A 415 because there were some serious mechanical design problems. About a year later he acquired one and tried to sell it to us....

Neat loco!

Wow! Super-Impressive! I think its interesting that you cast your own pilots. I need to do something similar for a GP7 I'm working on. Any advice?

Just as an aside, I.H.C. did a model of an Alco Century 415, I just bought one of the bay-of-E.
(There was also another maker I came across when I was looking for info about it.)
Mine is Southern Pacific 2403; they had 10 of them on their books.

Very impressive late Alco model and excellent craftmanship... COngratulation!

...reminds me why I miss good old industrial designs like Alco, hard to love the new "salt boxes", especially the passenger equipment.

Matt

Not just my profession, but i can see the work some body has done.


Lutz

Very nicely done.

Wayne

Nice job on this model!,I have been considering creating one for myself.Just wished someone like Atlas or Bowser would create one for me.