Starting with the traction freight engine

Last year, I obtained a beheaded MTH PCC streetcar. It was complete, with only one detail missing; the plastic hood. Since, the C&LE box trailer needs a matching box motor and the gentleman of the Seashore Trolley museum was so friendly to send me the technical drawings of the 648 C&LE freight engine, I decided to try and convert the MTH PCC streetcar into this freight engine. One of the clear differences between the two is the larger truck to truck distance in the latter, so I had make a new under-plate to build the engine on. I decided to work with 1 mm (1/25th inch) Aluminium sheet. With the help of a precision saw and a drill I took the first step in making this box motor. In order to make the under-plate a bit more rigid, I will attach some brass L-profiles to the sides. This will help with fixing the new hood to this underplate and make it more sturdy. Well, there is still quiet a lot to do, but the first step is taken. Yesterday, I checked the electrical functions of the engine and fortunately they are all still working correctly.

Decapped MTH PCC Streetcar

A decapped MTH PCC streetcar was available locally for a sweet price. Since, this is unusual for MTH engines in Europe, I could not resist. The former owner wanted the cap only, to make his own Dutch 2-rail PCC streetcar. I tested the beheaded streetcar and all functions performed as they should do (bing bing and a lot of street car drivers small talk). Perhaps the battery is a bit low, so I will replace it with a freshly charged 9V Nimh. What to do with it? Hmmm. I still have the All Nation trailer box car kit, so it could be an idea to make an interurban traction engine out of it. A C&LE Red devil would be nice, with the only mishap that it did not pull trailers. Well, I will spend some time on finding an nice looking interurban engine that is suited.

A few weeks ago a nice looking Weaver NYRX reefer arrived here. Unfortunately the 702 coupler was broken. The reefer could move freely in the Weaver box and probably during rough handling it smashed into the sides and broke its coupler. The seller said that it sends me a replacement coupler, well probably by boat mail, so I glued the coupler for the time being.

Additionally, I finished painting my first railroad house. At first it was intended as a cover for some electrics, I think it worked out great. And it is good to have something finished again.