When I first started, I bought a Bachmann Anniversary Edition 10 wheeler (often referred to as the “Annie”). It’s a nice locomotive, but it’s approximately 1:22.5 scale, and I run 1:20, so I decided to modify the Annie and upsize it to 1:20.
In 1913, the Kentwood and Eastern took delivery of a Baldwin 2-6-0, and numbered it 28. The K&E was a 31-mile narrow gauge that served a standard gauge lumber operation and ran between Kentwood and Hackley in eastern Louisiana. The K&E shut down in 1918 and the ET&WNC bought the locomotive.
I decided I’d use if for rough inspiration, rather than try to model it exactly.
I’d keep most of the running gear, but simplify the valve gear. The boiler would be used, but moved back since the pilot wheels would be considearbly shorter. The cab would have to be rebuilt to a larger size.
I traded the Annie tender for one from a Bachmann 2-8-0, as I wanted a different look for that as well.
To the left is the finished locomotive. You can view details of how it was built here:
