Was looking through the parts bin and saw a 490 shell. It looked like this one, for those who have never seen a 490 before, but the cab was broken, so I thought, "why not make a 0-4-0T out of it?" This is the start of that project, just finished cutting the boiler. Going to have to fabricate a cab, bunker, and mechanism for it, as well as figure out how to add couplers.
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Yours has a good look to it... I can only hope mine turns out well, since I plan to screatchbuild a mechanism for it, rather than track down a Marx one.
my kinda project...great idea.
El Classico, sounds like a fun project, I look forward to seeing the finished locomotive.
I haven't made a Marx locomotive into a saddletanker, but I did trim down a 401 Marx into something that looks a bit more like a switch engine:
...and then there is the Lionel 8200 project. Started with the bare shell, machined a new smokebox door and smokestack out of brass, then added a Marx Riser Gear windup motor so it could run around my clockwork layout. Just for fun, I put the coupler on the front of the locomotive, and installed the windup motor so the engine runs around backward. To my mind, it makes it look like the engine is in the process of switching cars.
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Well, I cut a boiler front for the Dockside. Need to shave the outer rivets off, shaved off the 490 and will finish reducing the letterboard. It look fairly good so far, right?
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be right back...gotta make some popcorn, this is gettin good.
Shaved off those rivets, and the number board. Will need to fill the gaps I noticed between the boiler and the smoke box door, and some gouges I accidentally put in the door.
El Classico posted:Yours has a good look to it... I can only hope mine turns out well, since I plan to screatchbuild a mechanism for it, rather than track down a Marx one.
I'll have to check, but I recently bought a 490 because I needed the front motor mount part (the piece the side rods go through at the steamchest) If the motor works, which I didn't check it before I bought it or since I've had it, you are welcome to it. For that matter, you can have the boiler too if you need more parts for this project.
Shoot me an email if you're interested,
J White
Sent you that email. Probably will salvage a cab and wheels from it.
Well, I will probably have the body and motor offered so kindly by Mr. White to continue the work to the superstructure in the next week or two. Until then, I will probably move to the frame, as I plan to make one of a similar style to the switcher frames used by MDC, and a spur gear can motor made by RadioShack.
Damaged the 490 smoke box door pretty badly. Going to have to start that part over. Grgh
Gosh! You guys are gonna have all the "Marxists" crying in their beers. Actually, I'm not really one of those types and I admire all of your creative work here. Good use of your old beaters and of your imagination.
I have an old snow plow that I made out of a Lionel plastic caboose that had one end's platform roof broken off. That, too, was a fun project.
Paul Fischer
Well, I have good news and bad news:
Good news: Jason's 490 arrived, and can provide the rest of the material I need to finish the dockside.
Bad news: I burned both hands over the weekend, and will have to wait for them to heal before I can resume work on it.
Hands are healing nicely, should have some progress to reporting the next few days yall
Back in town, hands are healed. Cut a new boiler front and a cab for it, going to have to make a bunker and frame later
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Found a bunker, it's gonna be an oil burner. Cut it from parts of a broken Lionel whistle chamber. Will post photos when I'm done glueing the pieces back together.
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Interesting projects. The cheap commonplace broken items are good kitbash material. What do you have to lose?