Guys who cut things up and put them back together like they want 'em - my kind of RR'ers.
I would like to offer a peek at one of my favorite projects; it's a shade off the Lionel beam, but little Alco FA's are hard to resist.
I don't care for dummies a lot, so I moved one of the power trucks to the dummy in this Williams Erie AA set. I installed ERR Cruise Commander and Alco sounds in one unit, so both are powered, I put a "tether" (no plug) and a drawbar between the units - it is essentially 1 locomotive, but, as they are sub-scale size it's no harder than handling an articulated steamer.
My "story" is that Alco made some meter-gauge downsized cab units for export, some were never paid for so Alco standard-gauged them and sold them to US short lines and switching roads, as they were mechanically Alco S-2 switchers under the streamlined bodies. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I love the Erie paint scheme, but I have covered the "ERIE"; the lettering is a work in progress.
The semi-permanent tether and drawbar; 6 wires - 2 for Electrocoupler control, 2 for headlight control and 2 for power to the motor in 2032B from 2032A.
BTW, while this was a bit above "the cheap seats" mentioned above, it also wasn't deadly-expensive, either. The locos I got on sale a while back, for example. They run slow and smooth - or fast and zippy, if that's your thing - and sound like Alcos.
