How many out there have kitbashed or modified engines.

MTH RailKing P-32 to scale GP-9.  Red Caboose 2 rail scale shell kit grafted onto the RailKing chassis with Lionel TMCC boards for sound and control.

Lionel RS-3 rebuild to include scale details specific to the Erie RS-3's used in the NY/NJ area in the late 50's early 60's.

This one.

Here is a williams shell with a hand made brass frame.

Powering a dummy ll nation F3 using P&D and NWSL parts.

Powering a General model NW-2

Andre.

Not major bashing....yet....but it's coming. Completed projects include my WbB Dash that I  changed the fuel tanks and some minor alternations and custom paint and decals.....

I have some in the planning stage that are more of a 'bash' but still need to gather the parts and info.

Sure.  I put a 736 boiler front on my 2046.  And I'm working on adding full valve gear to my 783.

Just steam here, and the pictures were posted some time ago:  Marx #1829 modified

into a Mikado, with Vanderbilt tender, basic Lionel 0-8-0 modified with working,

front coupler, headlight lowered to a "Reading" position on smoke box, Elesco and

flying pumps added, and its square tender modified into a Vanderbilt. A more deluxe

model Lionel 0-8-0 with accompanying factory Vanderbilt and installed front coupler is

due for same Elesco, flying pumps, headlight treatment. and the addition of a pony

truck to convert it into a Consolidation (2-8-0).  If a stray Lionel Vanderbilt tender can be found, a similar fate will befall a WBB ten-wheeler.  This should make a nice "family" of short line locos, although the Marx engine probably won't be run with these, and a more "scale" Mikado will have to be found or fabricated, with the family appearance.

I built a Lionel traditional size Milwaukee Road SD-9 with TMCC by swapping a Milwaukee Road Geep shell onto the frame and mechanism of a Chessie SD-9 with TMCC. The Chessie engine was the only suitable donor engine available at the time, and unfortunately the chassis, fuel tanks, and trucks were blue. So I had to strip the chassis, and believe me, Lionel didn't make that paint to come off easily! Between removing the electronics and stripping the old paint, it was more work than I bargained for, but worth it in the end. The shell was factory painted but I renumbered it to an actual Milwaukee Road SD-9. Apart from that, I've upgraded a number of Premier PS-1 diesels that MTH did not remake with PS-2 in the same road name by buying a newer Rail King Scale engine secondhand, swapping the shells, and putting the leftovers together as a PS-1 engine to sell for whatever it would bring. Did this with a Milwaukee Road H10-44 and a Green Bay & Western RS-27, and in both cases after selling the leftovers my net cost was less than 50 bucks, as opposed to 160 for a kit. And, the shell swap was a lot less work than installing a kit. I also once installed a PS-2 kit in a brass engine. That was a challenge, but it came out quite nicely. Here's the SD-9, with a transfer caboose that I repainted. -

Swapping chassis to get the Dreyfuss I really wanted in O27.  Still need to finish the deal.

All 10 of my engines have been modified, the latest was transforming a Williams brass USRA 2-8-2:

into a Seaboard Air Line class Q3 2-8-2:

The Vanderbilt tender was scratchbuilt, the USRA tender will go on a Weaver/MTH 4-6-0 bash.

It's what I do.  Nobody makes much of what I want so...

My latest is an SDP40F and it has taken years to collect all the different parts and if I screw up a cut I will need to find an [expensive] replacement for something.

Required,

One Overland UP SD60 - Frame and drive

One Overland F40PH - Front and rear pilots and a bunch of details.

Two  K-Line F40PHs - Radiator, dynamic brakes, exhaust and air inlet and cab roof

Two MTH FP45s - ends and sides

Hours and more hours and more hours.

And then back and forth between GP and SD39s and F-units.  Add a dash of Lionel SD70ACe pilot fixing and wheelbase extending and...

But, it is what I did in HO too, until I couldn't see it good enough, which is why I switched to larger scales at all.

My only remaining piece of HO;

1970's shell add windows fitted to a 1956 postwar chassis .

I do quite a bit.  Bashing and modifying locos and rolling stock is among my favorite project types.

I've modified more than a dozen BEEPS, as well as a few BANGS.  Some of my favorites are in the photo below.  Top shelf shows two, including my "Porch Turbine" (a porch being a small veranda).  Next down has a calf unit and then the next down the body for a "22-ton switcher."

I have better photos somewhere but can't find them.  My best BEEP bash is the loco in this photo.  My SHEEP - shay BEEP - its a BEEP with a scratch built steam loco body and a shay drive mechanism (that appears to work - the crankshaft turns and valves operate, etc).  Scratch built logging cars and caboose.

This is a Lionel Mogul body that just did not run that well grafted onto a WBB Baldwin 10-wheeler chassis.  I threw in a single axle truck beneath the cab here for appearance, since the Mogul body was a bit longer than the WBB chassis.  Nice runner.

The Legacy Berk in the photo below had the upper part of its cab removed and a new cab built to be about a foot higher - more correct to the prototype.  

I've repainted a lot of locos I otherwise leave alone.  This was a Legacy N&W J.  Now its a UP J.  No photo but I also repainted/relabeled a Legacy Southern Crescent flat black as a UP loco - don't laugh, it looks good.

Certainly my most ambitious project was this.  I transferred the body of a MTH scale 2900 Northern onto the chassis of a Legacy 3759 Northern, then moved all the Legacy electronics into the MTH tender, using the wireless tether, etc.  The result is my favorite loco - an inch longer and much handsomer than the 3700 series.  Splendid.

A basket case Lionel postwar 2056 found in a box under a vendor's table and restored as Reading T-1 2124, the locomotive that headed the renowned Iron Horse Rambles from 1959 through 1961. No. 2124 is now on display at Steamtown in her freight scheme. Two 1666T tenders were spliced to represent a long, elegant T-1 tender (19,000 GALS/26 TONS). This little beauty won a blue ribbon in the "Fantasy" category of the first TCA Standards Committee Restoration Contest at York a few years ago.

I purchased this Bob Gale Super Classic model of 2124 from Phil Klopp. In the 1970's and 1980's, Robert (Bob) Gale of Horsham, PA, sliced, diced and kitbashed common Lionel locomotives to make everything from switchers to scale GG-l's and Big Boys. Mr. Klopp kept the American Flyer Smoke in Tender (SIT) unit he had installed. I replaced with a Dallee G3 whistle.

I like to take order non-working engines and fix and detail them into locomotives that aren't available or are to expensive for my blood.  One of my favorites is this MPC era GP7 that I added detail parts from P&D Hobby and painted for Precision National.  I even had to create the decals from old photos I found on-line.  How many people can say they have lease junk on their layout.  Someday I'll touch the paint up on the handrails.

Lee:

I love the Porch Turbine. Would love to make one myself, but it might exceed my modeling skills and would certainly exceed my patience! Congratulations on a truly innovative piece of work. 

- SWH

I have made a few engines that you can not purchase.

This is an "SWEEP"  SW switcher cab, GP long hood, K-line MP-15 frame. ERR TMCC added. no sound

Santa Fe GP-7u  with slug,  Slug hood made from "For Sale" signs from Wal-mart. ERR TMCC with sound and the slug is MU'd to the engine and the lights and coupler on the front of the slug work.

And a few freight cars.

 Halliburton cement hopper car

"Big Hook" boom car, made from 2 Lionel cons, Willaims Hwt pass car.

I want to thank those who have shared their Bashes. I apologize for not responding sooner( I don't know how Popsrr dose it without going nuts) but I have been dealing with personal issues, so I have made my comments on one combined post. Lot of great work from simple to complex and can imagine the bashes that did not go well. Changing or upgrading the electronics is the easy part. But isn't this what the hobby is all about. as I am about to complete my second real bash(N&W C630 from low nose to high nose) this is great inspiration and shows the newer members the many great aspects of this hobby. It would be great to see more. Thanks for sharing.

Chuck

MTH RailKing P-32 to scale GP-9.  Red Caboose 2 rail scale shell kit grafted onto the RailKing chassis with Lionel TMCC boards for sound and control. Simple and effective, Ok not so simple

Lionel RS-3 rebuild to include scale details specific to the Erie RS-3's used in the NY/NJ area in the late 50's early 60's. Its always the little detail that make the engines stand out.

Thanks for sharing

Train Collector

Local flavor. How hard was it to recreate the graphics?

Thanks for sharing

AG

I saw your post earlier on the GP9 and thought it was great with a lot of attention to detail. The General NW-2 building your own frame beyond my skills but great. would love to see the finished product.

AMCDave

Williams makes solid engines, Even small changes can result in a better looking engine. Looks good.  

 Balshis

Taking time to make improvements on our engines is what makes this hobby great?

colorado hirailer

I have seen your posts, Lot of work and pride but well worth the effort. Nothing better than creating what you want.

Southwest Hiawatha

The SD9 great. It's too bad the manufactures will make a engine in one scale but not in another. My SF C628 started out as a parts source for my project of converting my weaver N&W from a low nose to a high nose. The shell was in excellent condition and could not bring myself to cut it. So I found another weaver C628 to cut up and combined parts to make a powered unit. Now I am having a hard time deciding to sell it.  

sinclair

I thought there was a Semi scale Dreyfuss made by MTH or Lionel? Did you have any issues fitting the shell to the frame?

Flash

As you can see from the posts I am sure upgrades to the electronics is where it all started.

Bob

Transforming a Williams brass USRA 2-8-2 into a into a Seaboard Air Line class Q3 2-8-2 is great. I share the pic with a friend of mine who is into Seaboard and he loved it.

rdunniii

It's what I do.  Nobody makes much of what I want so... best statement yet.

nyclines

Simple and it works

Lee

I don't know what to say. I been following your posts since becoming a member and have enjoyed your story lines ,your imagination and you work.. I love the Veranda Beep Bash. The Shay beep bash is great. I just hope the if RMT hijacks your Beep Bash's they give you credit. A steam beep would be a seller.

ReadingFan

(A basket case Lionel postwar 2056 found in a box under a vendor's table and restored as Reading T-1 2124, the locomotive that headed the renowned Iron Horse Rambles from 1959 through 1961. No. 2124 is now on display at Steamtown in her freight scheme. Two 1666T tenders were spliced to represent a long, elegant T-1 tender (19,000 GALS/26 TONS). This little beauty won a blue ribbon in the "Fantasy" category of the first TCA Standards Committee Restoration Contest at York a few years ago.)

Great work  but if this is based on a real engine, Why the fantasy category?

jlm1973

I like to take order non-working engines and fix and detail them into locomotives that aren't available or are to expensive for my blood.

The pride of making your own or take a dead engine and bring it back to life while on a budget

CBS072

I like the sweep. Is this based on a real engine?

Yeah; do it all the time. Mostly steam. No photos; I should do that, I keep saying.

Proud of some of them; all, I guess.

There have been several semi-scale Dreyfusses.  MTH has never released one with the disk wheels.  But they did do the Empire State Express with disk wheels.  So it was mostly a shell swap.  But the ESE locomotive I got had already been stripped of all but the motor, so I had to swap the smoke unit and light from my frame to the new one.  It only took a couple of hours to do, and most of that was stripping everything out of the old frame because I'm going to put the ESE shell on it for my 1yr old son to push around.

With deference to Lee and Suzukovich, if RMT did choose to make a LEEP, logging

loco, one with fewer moving parts and cheaper to engineer and make, might be

the Climax or the Heisler.  I don't think that would be a LEEP of faith, or an

offering that would molder on dealer shelves.

Can't call it a bash but I modified the tether on my Imperial Railking Big Boy to use the "B" unit tether and plug straight in to the back of the Locomotive VS the 90° plug.

Now it looks like the tube for the coal auger. (Might be a bit small dia.)

This required cutting a slot in the front of the Die Cast tender shell at the proper height to allow the tether to slide side to side  on tighter corners.

It can no longer do O-31 curves but I don't care, the boiler and cab swing was ugly on tight curves anyway.

Now I just need to add the drop plate.

Jim:

The RailRunner engine is a K-Line as well as the Bombardier cars that go with it. It was their commuter train. The graphics were done be a firm in the Detroit area and Harry Heike did the rest.

This has to be one of the most colorful passenger service trains out there and I love it. We are far away from Albuquerque but like this train all the same.

Modified Williams 44-ton diesel switcher

This modification included adding a second powered truck to a Williams "44-ton" diesel switcher.  I removed the speaker and sound board and placed them in a work caboose. Also added LED headlights and series wired the motors. Painted the bell.

The body was also modified by opening the side "window".

What a nice thread!  Here is my contribution - Williams boiler, scratch drivers and mechanism, side rods cast from my patterns, wood block tender, Lobaugh tender trucks. Runs great.

A MTH GP20 turned into a GP18.

Removed Turbo stack. Add twin exhaust stacks, Cut in low nose light, sanded grab irons flat and added grab irons. Added roof top bell. Add oscillating headlight housing front and rear. All parts from Red Caboose parts trees for their GP7 kits. (LED headlights have since been recessed with headlight lense)

Paint and decals.

The rear unit is a stock MTH GP9 PS1 

Dan

Took a couple Lionel cheap switchers & I eventually tethered them together. They work great through switches, run like rockets, but still don't pull much.  That's OK. I had fun with them. I weathered #935.  (A/C Line stands a fictitious railroad and the name comes from the "Allegheny & Connoquenessing" which are two waterways near me.)

Suzukovich the "SWEEP" is made after the Santa Fe engine #1460.  The "BLEEP" #1460 was built from a Ballwin switcher, Santa Fe replaced the long hood, engine and wheel trucks with EMD parts.  Google "Santa Fe #1460".

I custom painted this A Class...

Below, are a pair of Williams by Bachmann E7s.  The unit on the let is stock.  The unit on the right received a pilot upgrade.  It has a P&D Hobby F3 pilot and pilot door to match the prototype.  The pilot door is removable, to reveal a Kadee coupler...

This is a current project.  I am turning an Aerotrain into an military train, armed with several guns...

Beautiful job Keith.

This was my little engine modification project.

I have done several electronics upgrades.  Bi-directional lighting is relatively simple and adds a lot to an engine.  Probably one of the most extensive upgrades was a set of Weaver E-8's several years ago.

I've done several modifications, including fixing pilots, adding Kadee couplers and adding full length handrails to Atlas and MTH diesels. On some I also add appropriate detail parts and make other modifications.

This FP 45 received that treatment. I also moved the headlight to the nose, plated over the MARS light housing, and modified the fuel tank to a more scale appearance:



This SD40-2 received fixed pilots and a number of detail enhancements appropriate for the Santa Fe:



These Dash 8s are an example of more pilot-fixing projects:

I have done several myself. Currently it's installing the MRC AC sounder in many of my dummy units along with lighting the non powered units and full cab interiors as well. 

 1984 Williams Brass shark

• repainted
• Brass details inc. trainphone, reverse lights
• on a current Williams shark chassis.
• Led Lighting
• A-B-B configuration

K-line MP15 modified

• added air filter box in front of cab
• added protruding sandbox with brass PSC sand filler hatches
• brass grab rails
• replaced stamped front/rear handrails w/Williams scale front & rear wire handrails
• Full cab interior
• Brass Ajin modified [Centered air tanks]GP fuel tank
• added MU air/cables to the truck ends

K-line F40 with added electronics:

• replaced bulbs w/Blue LED strobes
• directional lighting
• directional LED red Marker lights

Lionel Polar Express Set:

• added LEd Drumhead from dan's drumhead
• Added LED lighted Rear mars light

modified EARLY Williams f7:

• Cal scale Trainphone antenna
• Brass Lift rings/nose rings
• PSC Brass fuel tanks
• directional led Marker lights
• Full P&D cab interior
• All Nation stainless steel grills
• brass grab rails
• Brass Multi-chime horn
• Brass fan grills & exhaust stacks & sand filler hatches
• angled roller pick-ups
• correct DLGE paint scheme

Lionel [basket case] NW2:

• repainted PRR
• painted marker lights

cab interior of K-line MP15

Turned this PRR unit into a SF unit. It had to be lowered to match the height of it's leader. Added Kadee couplers, working diaphragms, the correct length end stirrup steps, and it still runs on 072 curves with a closed gap.

Fixed the pilot on the E6 A unit, and added a Kadee to the rear to close that big gap.