For B&M Steam Fans

[jbcz]

All

This is another simple locobash to create an iconic B&M loco from pieces in the junkbox, etc.  I've always wanted a B&M P4 pacific but didn't really have a way to get one so I thought I would try something with a Minitrix "roundhouse queen" K4.  I was not expecting much but in the end it is a decent runner without any changes to the mechanism.  It's not perfect as it's an old motor and the old gearing but not bad.   I improved electrical pickup by weighting the pony truck and using a USRA long tender for all wheel tender pickup - no skips or stutters.

I made the loco as follows.  I took a Kato Mike boiler and two smoke boxes and cut them to the appropriate length to get decent spacing for the domes.  The sand dome is a little too far forward but I did not want to chop the boiler too much because the boiler and walk assemblies are a bit complex.  I joined the boiler front to the bottom of a Minitrix boiler front to properly locate the shell over the front of the mechanism.  I used a Bachmann 4-8-4 cow catcher/front with compressers for the front.  I used a Bachmenn 4-8-4 cab that I had already cut down for a B&M 4-8-2 that I have posted previously.  I made railings and added a couple of stanchions from the parts box and I used a Bachmann 4-8-4 smokestack for the large smokestack.

For the coal tender I used a Bachmann USRA long tender for good pickup and because it's close to the proper length.  The I cut streamlining off a Bachmann N&W J- class tender for the tender streamlining.  A little chopping on the USRA tender did the trick to mount the new sides.  The tender is a close match except for the trucks.  No easy solution there so I went with the standard Bachmann trucks.

So, the attached photo shows the result, the B&M P4 3713 like it looked for the farewell to steam trip in 1956.  This is another locobash that folks like me with minimal skills can do successfully and it involves stuff from the junkbox.

 

[brokemoto]

Nice work.

Did the compressor shields on the pilot deck come from the B-mann 4-8-4?  I need to get something similar if ever I get around to making the alterations to the
Kato 2-8-2 so that it will look more like a post 1920 P&LE H-9.

Just out of curiosity:   Why the TRIX 4-6-2 chassis over either the RR or the B-mann K-4?  The RR is not the greatest, mind you, but I find that it does run a little better than does the TRIX.   

As did you, I found that putting an all wheels live tender onto the TRIX K-4 does render a markèd improvement in performance.  I had to use a TRIX K-4 chassis for a N&W E-3, because the K-4 shell was the best thing to cut down and fuse a B-6 cab that was out there.  I swapped out a tender from an LL Y-3.  The N&W bought these things used from the Penn and supposedly without tenders.  At one point, some of them had tenders that looked much like the one on the LL Y-3.   

Those twelve live wheels really make a difference.  I have debated either doing the same to a B-mann K-4 or trying to put my current "looks much like an E-3" shell onto the B-mann, but, as I rarely run the E-3 any more, I have found myself somewhat less than willing to shell out the scratch for a B-mann.

[jbcz]

Actually, I just used the Minitrix because "it was there" and free.  It was essentialy in my junk box as were most of the other parts and I did the work over the winter on a lark.  I did not expect it to work out so well.  When the loco matched the B&M plans so well I bought the Bachmann tender to improve electrical pickup.  The compressor shields were from a Bachmann ATSF 4-8-4 as were the smoke stack and cab.  I also used the compressors on my locobash of a B&M 2-8-4 out of another Kato Mike.  I actually have a Model Power Pacific that is a nice runner and I had RR Pacifics but I could never get them to pull well.  The Minitrix runs OK and can pull tree stumps which is quite surprising.

[mmagliaro]

That looks pretty darn good.  The joining and splicing of the Kato shell with two smokeboxes is really clean.  I'd never know you stretched the boiler at all.   I know zip about B&M steam, so I looked at some data on the P4.  Since it had 80" drivers, the Trix was a good choice.  The Rivarossi had 68" drivers, and while the Bachmann would have had nicer, it costs hundreds of dollars and this was supposed to be a kitbash from "parts on hand".

If you are at all interested, I think the cast metal sideframes from the GHQ NP W-3 kit would be a close match to what you need for the tender trucks.  You could flat-file the sides of the Bachmann truck frames, and glue on the W-3 kit sideframes to get the look of the B&M engine.  You can get the sideframes from Republic Loco Works for a few dollars.

And yes!  The Trix K4 (and the B6 0-6-0) improve by leaps and bounds by putting an all-wheel-pickup tender behind them.

[jbcz]

Good idea on the tender trucks.  I was thinking of doing the same with Microtrains express trucks that I never used as they are close too.  What scares me is goofing up the axles/bearings but that should not be a big del with either solution.

[mmagliaro]

Good idea on the tender trucks.  I was thinking of doing the same with Microtrains express trucks that I never used as they are close too.  What scares me is goofing up the axles/bearings but that should not be a big del with either solution.

With the GHQ parts, especially, you won't have any worries about the bearings or axles.  Just flat file the sides as thin as you can get them until the outer tips of the metal cone dimples (from the inside contact plates, where the axles ride) start to show, and glue on the new sideframes.  It's the same procedure that GHQ prescribes to put their sideframes onto existing trucks when you build their kits.  I like to use Walthers Goo for this because nothing else really sticks to Delrin.  After a day or so, the Goo sets up really well and the sideframes will stay put.

[jbcz]

When I first posted how I built a B&M T1 from a Kato Mikado, I received the comment that there was a 3d printed 4 wheel trailing truck available.  I got a couple and experimented on how to use it for my T1a.  I had to modify the truck frame to allow it to be placed closer to the drivers to make the total wheelbase closer to the prototype.  That worked fine.  I was able to connect the trailer to the Kato drawbar to create a modification that tracks perfectly.  Since I had done this work, I also modified the Bachmann USRA medium tender to increase the size of the coal bunker to match the T1 by replacing it with pieces from a NW J1 tender.  By the time I was done, I created a model that is really close to the prototype in dimensions, i.e., inches to a couple of feet everywhere.  In the hands of a more ambitious modeler, the Mikado boiler assembly could be modified easily to make the air tanks and reverse more accurate.  The reality is that it would be easy but I just did not want to rip the boiler apart on the completed loco to do so since the model was so close.  Bottom line is that you can make a really credible B&M T1 from these models relatively easily for little money about $80 with the Kato surplus boiler and mechanism and a couple of Bachmann tenders and parts from the junk box.  It matches the dimensions of the BLI model, Model Railroader plans, and B&M blueprints quite well.

[peteski]

Nice job!  In N scale B&M steam locos are few and far between.