Green Steam

I had big plans for my Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0.  Ever since I had purchased it, it was going to be my branch line steamer, hauling a classic mixed train.  But that's the fantasy...the reality is, it never worked right.  I should have exchanged it right after I got it, back when Bachmann was still making it.  Instead, it sat in its box for years before I decided to have a crack at fixing it.  The newer model they've released apparently doesn't have the flaws mine has, though it does not have all the beautiful, separately applied details. 

So when it didn't work I turned to a second option.  A friend had given to me three steamers; vintage models by Aristo-Craft back when they made HO.  These were "New One" models from Japan, thirty years older than the Spectrum engine.  I was disappointed but not surprised when the pretty little 2-8-0 had the same flaw: the drivers were pressed onto the geared axle slightly less than perpendicular.  That means the engine will have a lope; a wobble; a hitch in its getalong.

With both of these options off the table (and considerable time spent fiddling with them to try and make them better) I calmly decided I was going to do the right thing and purchase a reliable, dependable locomotive.  I had watched throughout the Christmas season as a USRA 2-8-2 chugged around the tree hauling a string of hoppers.  This stalwart steamer was made in Slovenia by Mehano for IHC. 

I got on eBay and found that apparently I wasn't the only person looking for great performance at a reasonable price.  But after a while I was able to land a deal on a 2-6-0, an ideal locomotive for hauling a freight or mixed train down a branch.  Sure, the detail wasn't as nice as my Bachmann Spectrum, but it runs (well!) and is a great platform for detailing.  If John Pryke considered it worthy of conversion into a New Haven K-1-B Mogul*, I figured I'd be able to do something with this little green steamer.

Upcoming blog posts will be progress updates on this project.

*see Model Railroader, August 2008, pg. 66