Yes - clever! My mind goes straight to a lathe, but that looks like it worked very well. I promised (maybe) a photo of the 57" drivers I just modified. You should have seen what I started with - the tires and rim were overwhelming the spokes! I cut the rims with a square lathe tool, then ground the area between the spokes with a high speed dental bit in a Dremel tool.
Obviously this thing has a long way to go, but it does run. The cab is off a Lobaugh Mike - I always press rivets in my cabs, but am not in the mood yet to make a proper cab for this one. Tender is freelance, but is very similar to the SP "sausage" type, used on all switchers and occasionally on Moguls and Consolidations. Herewith:
