It’s a big model!  I powered up a section of track and made sure it worked OK.

It ran nicely, and can go quite slow.

But, it really didn’t fit my era.  It’s a bit more modern than I liked, so I decided to do some research and see what I could find.

One of the early diesels was this one from ALCO built in 1926. It was a 60 ton “Oil-Electric”.

It’s standard gauge, but I like the basic shape and details.

Since I’m not modeling an exact model, it’s time for some modifications. The Bachmann model comes with some nice see-through grills on the front end of each motor cover and I wanted to use them.

Foley Brothers lumber company had this 100 ton “oil-electric”.

The radiators at the top may be a bit easier to model.

I made a computer mockup on top of a photograph of my model, and added some of my own modifications, including the grill on the side.

I ordered some plastic from Plastruct and started measuring for battery and RC.

 I’ll put some detail in the cab, as the windows will let a lot of light in.

Above is a shot of an early cab.   I’ll probably take some inspiration from it, but will not include all of the detail.

Another picture, is shown to the right. 

This gives me some idea of the height of the controls.