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Missabe Locos
This is a quick review of some of the DM&IR locomotives in service on my
layout. Click the thumbnail picture to see a larger version.
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Alco DL600b #50 – This is a Broadway Limited QSI-equipped
model with very little alteration. I think the body color is WAY too
brown, and I may yet repaint this and its sister in a better maroon.
My alterations include the change-out of the 3-chime horn with a Utah
Pacific 5-chime horn, and all-weather cab windows. I painted the windows
Testors Aluminum, but I think it is too “silver”. I may try a light
gray.
By the way, changing the horn to a 5-chime did NOT change the sound to
5-chime. What’s with that, QSI?!? |
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E1 Class 2-10-2 #514 – This is a Bachmann USRA steamer. I was
honored to assist Bachmann in the production of this model, but
production constraints prevented them from including everything we had
hoped for.
I already have two other Bachmann 2-10-2’s, so when I found another one
“cheap” on eBay, I decided to make this one a little different. The real
514 had most of the “stock” features of the Bachmann model, but it had a
sloped-front “sport” cab.
The Missabe shop forces apparently just angled the front in, so I
followed suit by VERY CAREFULLY cutting a wedge out of the cab side,
doing my best to keep the cab front intact. Then I lightly bent the cab
front along the new slope, and liquid cemented it in place, holding it
with clamps until dry.
I also added a few details. I removed the bell, and added a brass
casting bell in a small platform ahead of, and to the left of the stack.
I added the front sandbox that sits on the pilot deck – made from
styrene, the two high-mounted air intake filters – made from wire and
wire insulation, a generator brass casting, and a muffler – made from a
plastic casting sprue and wire.
The gray Missabe boiler color is subjective. Like any paint, lighting
conditions, soot, weather, cleaning and camera film color shift all
contribute to causing a wide variety of grays. I mix my own gray for
Missabe boilers. My goal was to capture some of the color of the sky
apparent in a relatively clean boiler. I used 10 parts Model Masters
German Military Grun (green, I suppose) with 1 part MM Primer Gray.
To paint this engine, I masked off the smokebox front and running
boards, and shot gray on the smokebox wrapper to match the rest of the
boiler, painted out the silver on the cylinders, and painted the side
rods and wheel rims silver. I added MRHS decals for Missabe Steamers for
the engine and class numbers. I over coated the decals, then shot Grimy
Black as “soot” over the top of the engine, heavy near the stack and
trailing off to the back.
On the tender, I masked off everything but the tender deck, and shot it
in Grimy Black, to get the non-skid look of the deck paint. |
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Class F 4-6-0 # 21 – Another Bachmann model, again “close” to
the Missabe prototype, but with the wrong running gear – the external
valve gear is incorrect for the Missabe, but I left it in place. I made
no alteration to the engine.
I masked off as much as possible around the boiler, and shot my
special-mix Missabe boiler gray on only the boiler sides. I shot Grimy
Black over the top, and decaled it using the MRHS Steam decal set. |
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Class K 2-8-0 #1215 – The last Bachmann model, again
unaltered except for the tender. I did pop off the headlight from around
the clear plastic rod that transmits light from a light bulb permanently
hidden somewhere inside the boiler (couldn’t get it apart). I slid a
Precision Scale Missabe-style brass casting headlight over the light
rod.
The tender on the Missabe Class K engines is VERY short, so I chopped
the daylights out of this one. After taking out so much “body”, I had to
move the trucks closer to the ends of the body so they didn’t interfere
with each other. I made up a new coal bunker, tool box, and headlight
support. I had a spare plastic non-Missabe headlight, which I glued on
several weeks before the Precision Scale Missabe headlights arrived.
Painted and decaled as described on the others. |
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Class M1 2-8-8-2 #203 – This is an old AHM Y6b that I worked
over many years ago – early 1980’s as I recall. The mechanism is almost
intact, but the frame was severely narrowed, and the boiler and cab are
completely scratch built. A small can motor now powers the engine. The
tender is a chopped down AHM tender from their IHB 0-8-0.
The painting and decal work are old, but I did apply some of my new
custom gray to the sides of the boiler. I have to update the cab to
reflect DM&IR, as this is still in DM&N lettering. |
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Class N4 2-8-2 #1313 – Lucky number 1313, from Broadway with
QSI sound. This loco required more than a little effort. I had to remove
the boiler and separate the halves to shave off the incorrect placement
of the running boards. I added new styrene running boards, added a brass
casting of a twin cross-compound air pump set, muffler, generator and
auxiliary steam dome.
The cab on this class of locomotive had a pushed-forward front, and
related angled front windows/doors. I build new angled window sections,
and spliced in the cab front at the top of the boiler to fit between the
angled window sections. I scraped off all the detail on the existing cab
roof, then made a paper template for the new roof to cover the cab
extension. Using the paper template, I cut a new cab roof out of .020
styrene, and curled it around a round dowel to prepare it for the old
roof curve. I then glued it to the old roof. I used rubber bands and
clamps to hold it down. It was difficult to keep down.
Described next is a project 4-6-2 from Athearn. I swapped the trailing
truck on the Athearn 4-6-2 for the trailing truck on this BLI engine, as
each has the style used by the Missabe on the other.
The tenders in this class had some variety, but most, including the one
that followed the 1313 around, had sloped sides, presumably to protect
the coal load from the weather as much as possible. There was also a
doghouse on this tender. I guessed at the sloped sides, and had to carve
off some of the existing coal bunker to allow the sides to slope in. I
copied the doghouse in sheet styrene from the doghouse on the Bachmann
2-10-2. I added a Missabe-style tender light, but the real 1313 kept its
original non-Missabe headlight.
Painting, decals and weathering are the same as described previously. |
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Class P 4-6-2 #400 – An Athearn Pacific that also had its
boiler disassembled to modify the running boards. The lone
cross-compound air pump was replaced by a brass casting of two single
air pumps. I cut off the existing sand dome by cutting down into the
boiler to preserve the sand dome. I put a wrap of styrene over the
boiler hole, but extending the wrap enough to take some of the stepped
slope out of the boiler profile.
I filed the sand dome down so the thickness of the plastic shell was
removed. The sand dome should sit normally on the boiler when done
correctly. I moved it closer to the cab like its prototype.
As mentioned in the 2-8-2 recap, I swapped trailing trucks.
I added the pilot deck crossover platform, new bell, muffler, injectors,
turret, headlight, and sanding pipes.
On the tender, I found an old oversized brake cylinder in plastic, and
added it as the coal pusher. I added a tool box from styrene, a
back-up light and piping.
Painting, decals and weathering are the same as described previously. |
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RDC #1 – This stock Life Like Proto 1000 RDC-3 model received
a forward new bell and horn. I painted the running gear flat black., and
applied MRHS decals for the nose stripe and the black side lettering. I
carefully masked off the roof grills and shot a little grimy black on it
to show engine soot. |
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S5 0-8-0 #86 – This LifeLike P2K loco has sound. I rearranged
the running boards, and added the brass casting of the twin
cross-compound air pumps, and some of the associated piping above the
running board. It would be nice of the cab were bigger like the
Missabe’s.
I did not change the front headlight yet. The P2K headlight is wrong,
and in the wrong place, but the internal clear plastic to transmit light
is cast into the headlight, and this one is heavily glued into the
smokebox front. I chose to leave it for now. If I can get a new smokebox
front from Walthers, I may change the headlight. |
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SD9 #155 – Another LifeLike P2K product. This series of
prototype SD9s had 2 48-inch cooling fans on the radiator deck, one
hidden under a winterization hatch.
The model came with 4 28-inch fans. I removed all the details from the
top radiator deck, and made a new radiator deck out of .010 styrene, then
added a winterization hatch and one 48-inch fan. I added the Missabe-style
5-chime horn, front hi-mount bell and all-weather cab windows.
All Missabe SD9s and SD18s except 129 and 130 had single fuel tanks, and a weight (a stack
of steel plates) applied under the frame where the lead tank would
have been. The weight had a tool box attached on the fireman’s side, and
a spare coupler knuckle rack attached to the engineer’s side.
I cut the existing tanks casting in half, and replaced the rear half.
This leaves the LifeLike frame casting showing where the front tank had
been. I had special castings made by Keystone Locomotive Works that
emulated the tool box and knuckle
rack. I glued these casings onto the exposed frame using silicone.
The Missabe has moved its train air brake hoses up higher on its cars
and locos to make coupling air hoses easier and safer for trainmen. This
engine doesn’t have these yet, but on the other SD9’s, I drilled out for
two hi-mount air brake hoses on either side of the walkway just under
the front and rear pilot decks to emulate the Missabe’s hi-mount air
brake hoses. I applied Kadee air hose castings to the holes. I ran out
of Kadee air hoses, and am awaiting a delivery. |
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MOW Snow Thrower #W53 – This is a Walthers snow thrower. I
always loved these things, and so, even though the Missabe never owned
one (and perhaps wished they did from time to time), I found an opening
in the MOW series, and inserted my fictitious one. |
Oliver Iron Mining Locos
As part of the US Steel conglomerate, the Oliver played an integral part in the
movement of ore on the Missabe.. Here’s a recap of my small fleet operating in
and around the Missabe’s north-end operations.
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OIM #920 – An Atlas Alco S2, painted and decaled as shown
using Microscale OIM decals. |
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OIM #922 – A Steward VO1000, painted and decaled as shown
using Microscale OIM decals. |
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OIM #927 – An Atlas FM H15-44, painted and decaled as shown
using Microscale OIM decals and a special older OIM decal I had custom
made. The Oliver never owned an FM H15-44, but here again was a case
where I liked the engine too much. The H15-44 came out in the late
1940’s, so I picked a number of 927 which fell between two Oliver orders
for diesels in the correct time frame. The real 927 was the last of a
batch of Alco S2’s. |
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OIM #928 – A Stewart DS-44-1000, painted and decaled as shown
using Microscale OIM decals. |
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OIM #1101 – An Atlas RS2, painted and decaled as shown using
Microscale OIM decals. |
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OIM #1204 A&B – A pair of Athearn S12s, painted and decaled
as shown using Microscale OIM decals. The B unit is just an A with its
cab removed, and a new rear end built from styrene. The rear handrails
were custom bent, as the stock ones didn’t match the Oliver prototype. |
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