LARRY'S VERSION

I had wanted a Rio Grande Consolidation for some time but I had no idea whether I could build one. When LGB began selling the yellow Lake George & Boulder Mogul at a very low price I decided to give it a try. I took the model apart very carefully just in case, but I realized I could begin the conversion with only a few cuts of a razor saw. Once I was able to locate an extra set of drivers and main rods, I began work.

"STRETCHING" THE FRAME

I cut off the tail end of the chassis, the back wall where the coupler attaches behind the motor block. Then I cut a pair of rectangles from .060 styrene each about 2 3/4 inches long. They would "stretch" the frame and position the new set of drivers. The "stretch" itself was to be 1 1/2 inches, a little longer than the diameter of a driver; the extra length is for overlap front and rear so the pieces will have plenty of surface contact with the LGB frame sections. I notched each "stretch" section where the new axle would go, then attached each to the chassis with CA (superglue). I also cut a "floor" extension to add later. Finally I reattached the back wall of the chassis and reinforced the joint by screwing an L-shaped brass bracket from the back wall to the LGB Mogul's chassis.

I then had a longer frame and a pair of notches for an axle, but no way to position the axle accurately. For that I cut some 1/4-inch square plastic tube into two pieces, each about 3/8-inch long, and used a file to round out the inside of each so the axle would turn freely. I also filed out the notches in the frame extension so the square tubing would be a press fit. I then cut each piece of tubing in half, sandwiched the axle between the two halves of each piece, and pressed them into place. The floor extension I had made earlier screws on to keep the axle and its sleeves immobile.

The extension worked, but it looked a little bare. I found a floor insert from a Model Die Casting ore car in my scrap box. Its rivet detail was a virtually perfect match for the rivet detail on the LGB chassis, so I glued sections of the MDC part onto my frame extension. It made a big difference in appearance. I also wanted to be sure the locomotive would negotiate the curves on my layout. To leave enough axle play, I scribed a line around each of the new drivers and used a disk sander to inlet, flatten, and smooth the area directly behind each wheel. My engine now runs flawlessly through LGB 1500 (5 foot diameter) curves. Next it was time to lengthen the side rods. If you look at a rod carefully, you will notice one half is slightly longer than the other. Cut off the shorter half where it begins to flare into a circle and discard it. Dress off the cut on the longer half and file the round end (where the screw passes through) to half its original thickness. Remove the side rod from the locomotive and file the back side of the rearmost round end to half its initial thickness, too. The two should dovetail. Repeat the procedure for the opposite side and install the new, longer rods on all eight drivers. Note: Do not glue the two rod sections together; the flexibility of the joint allows enough side play for the engine to negotiate the sharper curves. It might be a good idea to keep some 1500 radius track at the workbench to test your tolerances.

"STRETCHING" THE BOILER

I extended the back of the LGB boiler with a piece of 1 1/2-inch diameter PVC pipe from a hardware store. I cut the tube about 1/4-inch longer than the final length I wanted so I could thin the wall on one end and press the end of the LGB boiler into the resulting register. I chucked a Dremel grinding bit into a drill press and formed the register inside the PVC tube by turning the tube against the bit. Once the two pieces fit together, glue them with CA. The unmodified end of the PVC tube simply fits flush against the indentation on the front of the cab, just as the original boiler did.

I removed all the domes, bands, and protrusions from the new boiler. I used styrene strip and Squadron Green plastic putty to fill the grooves where the boiler bands had been. I also filled the holes where the domes had been with styrene and putty.

I made new bands by cutting very thin aluminum on a paper cutter and gluing the strips to the boiler. But first I notched the boiler for the bands by turning it on a makeshift power hand drill lathe. In retrospect it might have been easier to forget the notches for the bands and simply to glue them directly onto the boiler.

Had I known about Trackside Details' replacement domes I doubt I would have gone to the trouble of turning my own on a radial arm saw with a drill chuck on one end. They began as PVC pipe caps. And if I had wanted my locomotive to resemble D&RGW number 278 instead of 268 I could have used the Mogul's original fluted domes.

The rest of the details, except for the air compressors, are from Trackside Details. They include the bell, whistle, pop valves (the two "little whistles" next to the real whistle on the steam dome), generator, marker lights, number plate, builder's plates, and all the backhead details. I built up the compressors from styrene shapes.

I fabricated the running boards from Evergreen tread pattern styrene and plain strip. The strip frames the edges of the running boards. To position the running boards, I drilled holes in the boiler, cemented Plastruct styrene rod with metal reinforcement to corresponding spots underneath the running boards, and glued the pegs into the holes. The result looks fine but it is fragile. Were I to do it over I would use brass for the running boards and pegs.

ALTERING THE TENDER

I spent a lot of time modifying the LGB tender better to resemble that of number 268. The biggest project was extending the lip around the deck. I built it from a combination of .060 and .010 styrene with the smallest 90-degree angle stock I could find for the beading. I sanded and puttied it until it had the appearance I wanted.

The lip flares out to join the original LGB piece just above the "T" on "WESTERN". I used a heat gun very carefully to match the tender's original flare and to curve the ends of the lip at the front of the tender. I extended the original riveting with escutcheon pins. The air tank is plastic tube, sheet, and strip with escutcheon pin riveting. The ladder is from a Model Die Casting caboose. I glued it on upside down so the 90-degree tabs would sit on the deck. I created the curved extensions on the other end with styrene tubing.

PAINT

My model represents number 268 as it looked in the 1950s with the famous yellow, black, and silver "bumblebee" paint scheme. First I primed the boiler, cab, and tender with Krylon Gray Primer. For the domes, tender, and cab I used Scalecoat D&RGW Orange with a few drops of Scalecoat Reefer Yellow to lighten it. That was a very close match for the original LGB color. The idea was to paint only the parts I modified and leave everything else alone. The boiler is Scalecoat EngineBlack.

When all the paint had dried for several days it was time to apply decals. I used a 1:24 scale set Microscale had designed for the Delton C-16. The silver bands around the domes are from the same aluminum strip I used for the boiler bands. After a couple of days, when the decals were thoroughly dry, I lightly oversprayed the entire model with a mixture of 50-percent Testor's Dullcote and 50-percent Testor's Glosscote for a satin finish.

My concept in building and painting the engine was to make it look as though it had just come out of an LGB box. It has no weathering and does look almost as though LGB could have produced it.

JIM'S VERSION

I'll spare you the description of how I stretched the boiler and frame of my Consolidation because I did essentially what Larry did. My model differs from Larry's and Dean's in what I will call "outline". Mine represents a Colorado & Southern locomotive, specifically Number 68. So I will mention only the details I added.

The most obvious are the Ridgway spark arrestor and the plow. I built up my plow from sheet styrene even though Dean Lowe is my friend and I think his all metal plow is excellent and rugged. That's the problem. It's too rugged. It was so hard to cut a slot in it for a front coupler I decided to use a material I found easier to work with. The spark arrestor is from Shortline Car & Foundry. I modified the part that fits onto the stack because my arrestor failed to seat properly.

I used brass strip and rod for the running boards because it is much stronger than plastic. I drilled out two pairs of Ozark Miniatures marker lamps (one set in front, another on the tender) and added working bulbs. Also on the tender, the new hardware on the toolbox came from a dollhouse miniatures shop.

Every other part I added came from Trackside Details. The list includes domes, air tanks, bell, whistle, pop valves, headlight, headlight bracket, generator, and air pump. I also used their builder's plates, handrail stanchions, coupler release lever stanchions, number board, and tender water release valves.

If you look carefully you may notice I replaced the boiler's cast-on piping with brass rod and fittings from Trackside Details.

I had so much fun with the conversion I bought two more Moguls and plan to model another pair of C&S 2-8-0s.

DEAN'S VERSION

Over the years I have acquired a lot of Rio Grande rolling stock. For a while I used Delton's Rio Grande C-16 Consolidation to pull the cars. As nice as it may be, the Delton 2-8-0 is 1:24 scale--too small for my 1:22.5 scale LGB and USA Trains freight cars.

Last summer I went to Durango to ride and photograph a special train. The ex-Rio Grande K-28 and K-36 2-8-2 locomotives I saw made me realize my own Rio Grande train needed something bigger than a Mogul. Then, in the Fall, my friend, Jim Ferry, transformed an LGB "yellow Mogul" into a beautiful Colorado & Southern Consolidation. When I saw Jim's locomotive I realized it was the answer to my search for an inexpensive Rio Grande-type 2-8-0. Luckily Jim needed some machine work for a very sophisticated rotary snowplow project. We made a deal. I would do the machining; Jim would "stretch" my mogul. As Larry Grant has described above, Jim stretched the frame with plastic sheet and the boiler with acrylic tubing.

As you will see, the 2-8-0 project is definitely one I could never have managed without "a little help from my friends". Jim was the first to help with this project. Another good friend, LGB's Ron Gibson, found me a set of used Mogul drivers and main rods (the ones connecting the drivers to one another). The longer eight-driver wheelbase with its flanged wheels might have trouble negotiating even LGB's largest radius 1600 curves; I modified the driver axle to allow maximum side play by narrowing the center hub on each wheel. Then I pressed the axle back into the wheels and through the frame extension, making sure I properly quartered the crank pins.

The new main rods had to be longer and needed four holes. I made each by dovetailing two shorter rods as Larry has already explained.

THE SUPERSTRUCTURE

With the major mechanical modifications complete, I began work on the superstructure. I soldered together a pair of longer running boards from 3/32- x 3/4-inch brass strip and 1/8-inch round brass supports. I glued the supports into corresponding holes I drilled in the boiler.

The boiler details come from yet another friend, Pete Thorp, the owner of Trackside Details. They include brass domes, stack, air compressors (the vertical cylinders on the right side of the boiler), bell, and whistle. Also the pop valves, headlight and mount, generator, ash cleanout (the disc on the side of the silver smokebox), boiler washouts (the metal "doughnuts" on the side of the boiler), and the number plate. The number plate has raised numbers I borrowed from a round Delton plate. I changed the pilot by adding a USA Trains coupler and Trackside Details steps. I made a pair of longer handrails from .072-inch diameter brass rod and end knobs I pirated from the Delton C-16. I cut the step on the smokebox from .040 styrene and a piece of .046-inch diameter brass rod.

Then I attacked the cab. I cut open the roof hatch and the door on the fireman's (left) side. I added air pipes from 1/16-inch diameter aluminum welding rod and Trackside Details pipe fittings. Since the yellow Mogul lacks the illuminated firebox of the Colorado & Southern version, I installed one from Hillside Railways. Finally, I reinstalled the backhead but waited until after painting to screw the cab assembly back onto the engine.

THE TENDER

The Mogul's tender seemed close to the right size, so I concentrated on details. I removed the tool boxes and air tank. I glued a new, larger, Delrin air tank from Trackside Details to the tender deck. I soldered together a ladder from .025- x 1/8-inch brass and glued it in place. I removed the "wings" from the front of the tender, sanded everything smooth, and added a free-standing brakewheel and water shut-off valves (the little handles on either side of the front of the tender deck). I also glued a Trackside Details re-railing frog to each side of the tender frame.

I like sound, so I followed the instructions and installed a P.H. Hobbies sound system inside the tender. I had "borrowed" a lump of real Durango coal on my trip. I hammered part of it into "scale" lumps and glued the load in place. I replaced the hook and loop coupler with another from USA Trains and then it was time to paint.

PAINT, WEATHERING, AND FINAL DETAILS

I airbrushed both the engine and tender with Floquil Engine Black and, a few minutes later, with Testor's Glosscote. I brush painted the inside of the cab with Floquil Dark Green and brush painted the smokebox, stack, and running board trim with Floquil Old Silver.

Next I attached a pair of Trackside Details D&RGW radial marker lamps to the smokebox and an Ozark Miniatures brake hose to both the pilot deck and the back of the tender. Cab curtains seem to add a lot of character and detail to locomotives. I made mine from a scrap of old bed sheet. I made cab window awnings from the same material.

Then the crowning touch: Another friend, the owner of the Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena, California, Fred Hill, heard about the project. He gave me a set of 1:22.5 scale Rio Grande decals he had made up for a brass locomotive a few years ago. I applied them, let them dry for a day or two, and lightly airbrushed the model with Testor's Dullcote. That kills the decal shine by obscuring the film and blends the decal into the paint.

I also weathered the model with an airbrush. A very light overspray of dilute Floquil Grimy Black further blended together the various colors and added character. At that point, the Consolidation was done. A final thought: I have considered machining the flanges off the two center drivers so the engine will better negotiate sharp curves. After all, the real Rio Grande Consolidations had "blind" center drivers. But, so far, my model has had no trouble with LGB 1600 radius curves and turnouts. Why fix it if it ain't broke?