Dear CV
Although I've done a few kitbashes on steam, I am primarily an operator on my own pike and want every loco to operate rock solidly. I have very limited electrical skill so I try to keep any electrical or mechanical changes to a minimum. That said, I made the connection between the loco and tender by a combination of Kato Mike drawbar to make the connection to the loco and Bachmann tender drawbar to connect to the tender. This gave me the right length and a reliable way to conect the loco to anything. On the Kato Mike, the trailing truck is actually attached to the drawbar by a small "t-bar" as well as being attached to the loco. On my 2-8-4, I actually attached the trailing truck to the drawbar only using that "T-bar" and not to the locomotive. Originally I used a Bachmann Specturm J-class trailing truck from my parts box but the wheelbase was not right. (The B&A and B&M berks had distinctive trailers with very long wheelbase) I made a trailer with very close to B&M 2-8-4 proportions by chopping and reconnecting two Kato Mike trailers back to back. I used bearing boxes and other gadgets from my parts box to come close to the overall shape of the B&M trailer frame, etc. It's not perfect but is about right and snaps into place on the loco-tender drawbar. A better solution would be to print a new trailer or get it fabricated but this is a simple solution that works well and does not affect performance and puling power of the loco.
