After years in the "Projects to be done" bin, I have finally started my loco-bash of trying to build a believable Lackawanna 4-6-4 on the Kato JNR 4-6-4 mechanism. A few things prompted me to reopen this case and dig in. 1 The purchase of an early Con-Cor/Kato hudson to mount my Late Con-Cor/China DL&W Hudson shell to. 2 The purchase of a Loco-bashed 4-8-4 Pocono on a CC/Kato GN S-2 chassis, from Scott Lupia. 3 An article in a recent "Classic Trains" about the DL&W hudson. 4 and the recent overhaul/reorginization of my hobby desk. (it needed to be messy again! ) A few of the planets aligned and I started hacking, scrapeing, and filing. I also noticed that there are a good number of people here that have done some great stuff and they might be interested in this type of project. After a few weeks of work, I have successfully mated cylinders from a (I think) con-cor Berkshire, trailing truck from the CC hudson and the shell from the Berk and the hudson onto the Kato Chassis, And it runs! I wanted to use the Kato, because as many of you know it is a Monsta Pulla. I have pulled 89 MT 2bay Hoppers with it. At a recent show It took the Pocono and my CC/Kato Hudson to pull 99 cars smoothly around our N-Trak Layout. I still have some work to do, but I would like to have it done in time for the next show, in two weeks. I've been working slowly every evening for a few hours. Here is the progress so far..... Here is what I hope to match up to, a very prototypical, excellent job, Scott did on this Pocono
Hey, Scotty does all my custom work now that I can't.He just did 2 GP-40's in NJT that are just perfect !!!!!!! For my birthday last week,my mom bought a Kato Mike that he did in D,L,&W.His (Scott) work is 2nd to none.
Mike, You got that right, Scott's work is top notch. This last year when he was selling off his N-Scale DL&W stuff on ebay, I couldn't afford to buy all that I wanted, so I figured I would just go for the BIG GUN. I missed out on his Camelback and his E8s. I can only aspire to be that good
Greg, We may never see another sell off like that.I believe that he's back in "N",this time to stay.He kept his E-8's.He sold off all his F units. I was able to get an F-3 "grey ghost". I spoke to him just now,maybe he'll show up here,finally.
x600, thanks, the Lackawanna is too often overlooked. I believe Scott Lupia changed to doing the NYS&W in N. Frank
Frank, He was going to "0"gauge.That's what caused the selloff. I spent over $600.00 on stuff he was selling.Once he came to his senses,I gave him back some stuff. He'll never stop modelling the DL&W.His grandfather retired from there.
Mike, you finally got me here. I am registered an everything. Greg, that Hudson looks great. I always wanted to do a DL&W Hudson but never found a mechanism I liked. I loathed the idea of using the Concor mechanism with those plastic drive rods. The Jnr mechanism is the way to go here. For the record, I did switch to N-scale NYSW. I had a layout based on the west end of the NYSW. I tore that down and started modeling in 3-rail O-scale. That is where I am now. I see a shift back to N-scale in the future when I buy a house. I find myself wandering into the late 60's early 70's era of the EL now. My DL&W and fifties era N-scale stuff will be sold off eventually. Greg, again, nice Hudson. You are the guy to tackle that project. Scott Lupia
HEY, SCOTT! Glad you could make it onboard. Welcome! Just joined up myself, found alot of great modelers here. Just not enough Lackawanna! Thanks for the vote of confidence on the Hudson, It won't be a perfect match, but it will look alot better than the CC. And look alot better double headed with the Pocono. Which by the way, Has made a hit here among the n-scalers here in the northwest. (Some GN fans think it was wrong to cut into an S2, but I told them it was the best starting point!) She's doing well and earning her keep. She started a little jerky, but after a good whell cleaning and a few laps around the layout she was struttin' her stuff in fine fashion. She pulled about 50-60 cars for about a half hour then I started to play. The old CC/Kato Hudson Matched up well speed wise and I was able to run 99 cars for a few hours. The F/P hudson looked Crappy next to her which propted this project. I still owe you a picture at GO tower, but here's one for now
Greg: I really like that shot you posted of the doubleheader. The scenery around the train is great. Plenty of pasture with the winding road. One of my favorite scenes on my old railroad was a grade crossing in the middle of nowhere. Keep that Hudson project going. I figured the wheels might be a little dirty. I couldn't remember if I had cleaned them last time I ran it or not. Guess I didn't. Looks good on your layout. Scott
Welcome, Scott! X600, that is one awesome corner module. OT, perhaps, but a little more info on the module and the layout it is hooked to would be very interesting to me. Oustanding work, both of you
Welcome to Trainboard sk Steve Hey Bobby,how are you feeling & is the fire still at a safe distance from you?
Thanks, Long Train, I was getting ready to update the Hudson Project post, when I do I'll post some more of my corner. For now the link in my signature will show you a little about Mt Rainier N-Scale. We Have a new web master so things might change soon.
Fires are mostly away from me, and moving further away. We had a lightning strike set Mummy Mountain on fire smack in the middle of the valley, out near the train park. They got that one knocked down before it got away from them. The big fire is the Cave Creek complex - two lightning caused burns that merged. It is now at 60,000 acres consumed. Monsoon storms continue. The rain dropped on old fires is a plus, but the lightning has started others. Health is good. Thanks to all for their notes of encouragment, faith and concern. All were greatly appreciated. We now return you to your thread, which is already in progress.......
Another GMY Fan?? BTW to update the topic... I finally got the MT pilot mounted and all the unneeded details scraped off. A little more sanding and filing and I should be ready to add details. [ June 28, 2005, 12:33 AM: Message edited by: x600 ]
Greg: That is really looking like a DL&W Hudson. The mass is there and the sand dome really caps it. Nice job. Scott
Thanks ,Scott, It's close, I had to settle on this shell as the starting point even though the running board and air tanks are not right. The CC hudson running boards were better but the cab would have taken too much hacking. I'm Thinking of putting the Side shroud along the running board to clean it up a little.....
