I've posted the photos on weekend photo fun but thought I should post here as well where it belongs. This was a lot of work but worth it. I couldn't be happier with it. When I first saw this engine in the Lionel catalog I got excited at first but quickly realized it was a real photo and the actual engine would probably not look as good, and I was right. I was disappointed but its what I expected since Lionel does not do fixed pilot versions of their engines like MTH. MTH does not have a fixed pilot version either for this engine and they did the DD40X which I don't like as much as the DD35A with the low hood, so I decided to buy the Lionel engines and fix them the way I want them. Beside the Lionel DD35A engine sounds are much better and it operates better at slow speeds. I could listen to the engine rev up and down all day.
The only problem with the Lionel was that they wobbled due to eccentric wheels and inconsistent traction tire thickness. I was able to replace the bad wheels and find better traction tires to solve the problem but it took some effort.
Let me know if you have any question.
www.toytrainsontracks.com DVD special
Glued plastic to the top of pilot and used the dremel and file to trim edges flush
Filled the middle with a solid piece of plastic then cut out rectangular hole for coupler.
Notice how the paint is gone. you must file the plastic perfectly flush or a buldge will show after you paint.
Used music wire for the railings. It is flexible yet very stiff and rugged. I then painted gray and white.
At first I was not going to do the other side. But most of the prototype added stair to this side. I had to cut the deck and reuse the face (with red stripe) to finish the face. I tried to paint the other angle with a red stripe but failed so I just skipped.
Drilled hole for beacon. Its hard to look at.
and used this kit from Hobbylinc.com and wired to internal battery through switch mounted under roof panel. I found a signal on the board but needed to build another circuit to interface. I may do that later, for now its manual turn on and off using the battery.
I used a thin slice of white tubing, bored it out some and made ring for the base of the light.
Used brass tubing to add the piping on the side like you see in the protoytype
Added separate piping to add detail to trucks
Had to grind the mounts to allow the trucks to slide in. These trucks stick out way too much. Fortunately there was lots of room to move the in. I also tap the wheels a little closer. They can't go too much or they will not make the turns.
Here you can see one side is slid in so you can see how much room there was. They moved in almost the thickness of the trucks.
Before
After
Looks great Rich. The black wash really brings out the detail in those truck side frames.
