05-02-2014, 08:09 AM
nachoman Wrote:Cool project. One question, does the Revell loco have a rigid frame, or does it actually articulate? If it is rigid, this could be a huge problem. If I was doing this, I would probably replace all the wheelsets except for the drivers. Even though they roll, they may not roll well. You will have to add weight to keep it on the track. Good thing the prototype had it's valve gear disconnected, because I'm sure that would cause a bind of the model and the plastic would wear out quickly. Not sure how the drivers fit into the frame, but any way you could replace the driver axles with steel?
Yes, it articulates. There are several problems with the wheels. They are nominally HO, but not to any standard for tread width or flanges. They will roll, but they're plastic. The tender pedestal and trailing truck wheels look to be about 40 inch diameter, blunt axles. You can scare commercial wheels like this up (NWSL or Jaybee), but it gets expensive for what I'm doing. I'm thinking I want to shove the loco back and forth, and I don't want to go bananas. For what I'd begin to spend on time and effort, even a Rivarossi Big Boy would be a better option. I basically want a souvenir or memento, not something to operate over the long term -- but a Big Boy is problematic for many, many layouts, and I'm not sure I'd go that route other than as a souvenir.
Yes, the frames articulate. Again, I'm not sure that even if I had the tools and talents of guys like Schraddel on this forum that it would be worth replacing axles, etc. It's worth pointing out that a pedestal tender needs major tweaks for operation on a model layout -- there's no cheap and easy way to get to a decent running loco from a Revell! But it's a potential static loco if you have a big enough engine terminal.