Here's my latest, converted a Lionel Southern 4-8-2 Mountain to a Seaboard Air Line Class M2 Mountain.
From this:
To this:
In addition to building a new brass Vanderbilt tender (using 2" diameter brass bar rail tubing), I also moved the bell, domes, and made new running boards for the boiler. Repainted using some automotive spray paint I got at Pep Boys and Champ decals.
The rest of my steamers are BPRC, so this one got the same treatment:
That's the on/off switch and charging jack, the receiver is inside the piece of yellow (heat shrink) you see tucked behind the board. The 9.6v 2000Mah NiMh battery is inside the tenders water tank, accessed by popping off the rear of the tank if need be. The coal load is a piece of foam rubber:
This is my only Lionel steam engine (I had an old Scout I gave to my grandson) and is quickly becoming my favorite. Best slow speed steamer I have, even beating out my Williams brass 4-8-4 N&W 611.
I need to add sand dome piping and 2 tool boxes to the tender. I was surprised the brass tender is lighter than the heavy diecast original Lionel tender.
