Best Of My Children have gone into the world (sniff, sniff) - Bearden Models

[chessie system fan]

That GM&O F3 is no more.  It was stripped and repainted in the early nineties and then painted for Amtrak.  It was then given to me on my sixth birthday as my first N Scale locomotive, along with some passenger cars.  I've still got it all these years later.

[jmlaboda]

I remember many of these beauties and I do appreciate your influence and inspiration in regards to kitbashing locomotives in N-scale!!!  Some models, in a small way, and others, in more grand fashion, have stirred ideas used by others... you definitely can be considered an N-scale "Classic"... long may you live!!!

[cjm413]

That GM&O F3 is no more.  It was stripped and repainted in the early nineties and then painted for Amtrak.  It was then given to me on my sixth birthday as my first N Scale locomotive, along with some passenger cars.  I've still got it all these years later.

ICG often used an Amtrak coach to pinch-hit for one of their ex-GM&O coaches on the Chicago-Joliet, IL "plug" before the new RTA F40PH's and Budd Bilevel coaches arrived

https://farm1.static.flickr.com/663/33023107510_a581350107_b.jpg

[cjm413]

Thanks MEC.

My extended family included some twins.

One challenging kitbash I did was take the metal shell Arnold S2 and kitbashed a plastic shell/sleeve for it.    I had no use for this at all.  But it was the cool factor.   There was nothing like it at the time.

I then sent it to GHQ to get them to cast it.  I knew it would be pricey, but figured I'd sell some to break even and regain my losses.

The guy from GHQ liked my work so much he asked if he could buy it from me so they could sell it.   So I went from this project costing me money to making me money.

My master used an Atlas/Kato RS1 shell with an Atlas/Kato RS11 nose.  It wasn't perfect, but I think turned out pretty good.

I got two castings and painted them up.





Not long after, the guy from GHQ asked my permission if he could modify my master to make a more accurate NW version.   I said, you bought it, it's yours.  Go for it.  He did, and it was wonderful.

So then I made more.   This loco appeared in an article.









Another set of twins that I did not need at all was from the U25B family.   Atlas/Kato had released the U25B in phase 2 variations.  RMC did an article on the U25B showing other phases and so I made a kitbashed shell of the phase 3 version with the split windshield.

Bryan Bussey got Conrad Richter to make castings.  These locos appeared in an article.







The BN unit came home a few years ago after his adopted new parent passed away.    So I sold him again.


There's one more set of twins.

One of the hardest kitbashes I ever did was make a U18B.  Today it would be pretty easy, but back then it was hard.   The walkway especially was hard.

Bryan Bussey got Conrad to make copies.   Over the years, I sold a few undec.   But a few I painted up.  They were some of the finest models I've ever made.

One is shown above as the General Stark painted for Main Central.

The other was commissioned by Garry Riccio, then president of the ACL historical society.  Here's his.  This one was in 2 articles.




And of course, not twins (since no two are alike), but here's some of the latest members of the family to leave.   Ultra rare brass EP-2.   Imported by me from Kumata, redesigned, and (slowly    ) being released one at a time.   As documented here at Railwire.

T-6 would be an interesting project to revisit with the Bachmann S-4

[tehachapifan]

....But I also figured out a way to get Life Like trucks in there! 

Really curious as to how you adapted the LL trucks to this drive. Was it a difficult undertaking aside from making the contact strips?

[bbussey]

No pics of the Oro Dam U25C? 

Some of your children, such as the Soo Line U30C, have found their way home. 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

One of my favorites.  GM&O took a NE caboose and put an international widevision cupola on it.   That's exactly what I did.    A GM&O fan still owns this in Mobile, Ala.

I remember that article!! I actually did the same thing for my freelance road. I need to go find it and post a pic.

[u18b]

No pics of the Oro Dam U25C? 

Some of your children, such as the Soo Line U30C, have found their way home. 

Coming up soon.

And yes, I was going to cover the story of two children that came home.   

[u18b]

Really curious as to how you adapted the LL trucks to this drive. Was it a difficult undertaking aside from making the contact strips?

Man, I wish I could tell you.
That was about 20 years ago.

The trucks are clearly Life Like.

But the frame looks like the old Kato/Con Cor.

I don't remember what I did!

[u18b]

T-6 would be an interesting project to revisit with the Bachmann S-4

Yep.  If I wasn't deep in an EP-2 project.... it would be on my plan to do.

[u18b]

XTRA RS11.  In my early days of train interest, I was in my 20's living in Pensacola, FL.   If I was in the area, I would run by the CSX yard- usually with camera in hand.  One day I saw a red loco in a lashup and I did not have my camera!  So I modelled this from memory.   A year or two later I saw a photo of the XTRA RS11 in a magazine and saw that I did a reasonable job.  At that time, I didn't even know that XTRA was a shipping company, nor that CSX had a controlling interest in it.

Here's what I saw in the yard that day-  http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3395407
This model appeared in an article.



L&N FA-2.  This is another old re-powering job.  I took an old Arnold metal shell FA-2 and placed it on a modern Atlas chassis.  Needless to say, it was a heavy loco and good puller.  I see the headlight appears to be lit, so I think I even put a decoder in it.



CSX U30C.  Another one I hated to sell.  Detailed and custom painted Kato U30C.  Made about the time when CSX first started using the stealth scheme.



Kitbashed Shay.   At the time I made this kitbash, I had no idea how rare Shays would become (so now I wish I still had it).  I kitbashed an Atlas Shay to make it look like a 36 ton lighter Shay.  Also had DCC in there.  Appeared in an article.  I really liked this one.



U33C kitbash from a Kato U30C.  I'm still amazed that after all these years Kato has not made a U33C/U36C.   This appeared in an article.



SD45 SCL.  One of my early repowering projects.  This one is similar to the EMD Lease.  Atlas RSD4/5 stretched with Bachmenn sideframe adapted to it.



SD20-2 Kitbash.  Chessie de-turbocharged some SD35s, updated them to DASH-2 standards and called them SD20-2s.  I kitbashed this from a lot of Atlas and Kato parts.  The mechanism is a stretched RS1.
These prototype locos did hump service in Cincinnati for years (Queensgate Yard?).
This one appeared in two articles.



Illinois Central SD28.  I like rare and unusual stuff.  So when I saw that there were only a couple of SD28s ever made, I wanted one.  Appeared in an article.



SD18 Chessie.  Another unusual locomotive is the SD18- the last of the SD7-SD9 line.   I think this was about when I started hating painting Chessie locos.  It's a hard scheme! 



SD18 C&O.  Another SD18.  This is how they came frrom the factory.   I these two SD18s have never appeared in an article.  I have it mostly done.   I really need to finish it!



Only a few more children left!

[John]

This might be a Con-Cor cab

[u18b]

No.  I looked it up on Spookshow.net.

It's a Model Power.
It was painted Chessie by Locomotives I think.

[u18b]

GP40 Chessie double number.  This is an Atlas GP40.  Nothing really earth-shattering about this one.  I took an stock Atlas Chessie GP40 and scratched the number off of it.  Redecalled after.   What struck me about the prototype is that when the CSX merger happened, there was a rush to renumber locos- mostly Chessie.  This one got new numbers on the sides, but still had the old number boards.  Appeared in a GP40 article.



GP39.  One of my very first kitbashes.  Not 100% accurate, but I simply turbocharged a Kato GP38-2 and took the DASH-2 features off.



GP30.  I made this right after Kato released the SD40.  This is an ancient Atlas shell (I think).  I then updated it with modern tooling.  The fans and turbcharged exhaust are from a Kato SD40 shell- and so they look good.  The mechanism is a Atlas GP35.  So I made this before there was a good stock GP30.   All the changes made this a great loco- except for the overscale handrails.   This appeared in a casting article.



FA-1 phase 1 GM&O.   This was one of my first kitbashes.  I took an old Roco FA-1 and back-dated it to a phase 1 for GM&O (note the accent on grill between cab door and number 3.  Also has a much smaller headlight as well as a special roof numberboard.  All powered by a good RS3 chassis.  This loco and a kitbashed FB-1 appeared on the cover of N-Scale twice- but not with my photo.  Photo was by Pete Thomas.



U25C L&N  former Oro Dam.   This was a challenging kitbash.  Spliced from several U25B shells.  And placed on a stretched RS1 chassis.  This loco began life as an Oro Dam unit.  After the dam was built, L&N acquired it- which is what I modeled.  I liked this one, but had to let go of it.  Probably needed money for bills.  Anyway, it was purchased by Bryan Bussey who still has it.  He stripped it and kitbashed it AGAIN into a different phase for Conrail.  This child appeared in an article- before Bryan got ahold of it.   



Well, that's all of my stuff that I have made and no longer own that I can remember and that I have photos of.  Amazingly, it's about 60 locos and cars.

I'll post a little bit more in two more categories.
Locos I made and have no photographic record.
Locos that came back home.

[cjm413]

Yep.  If I wasn't deep in an EP-2 project.... it would be on my plan to do.

MEC 404 could arguably count as both a U18B and U25B kitbash...

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=768260