This is the "John Bull" locomotive:




And this, of course, is the Lafayette:

Quote from: JLK2707 on June 15, 2019, 04:52:23 AM
Who are John Bull and Lafayette?

Well, "John Bull" is an American term for a British person. The "John Bull" was a British built 0-4-0 locomotive that was shipped to the US in pieces, with no instructions... once assembled, it became a 2-4-0 locomotive named "Stevens" after the president of the Camden and Amboy Railroad in 1833, however, it got the name "John Bull" because the crews kept calling it that, until the name stuck.

The Lafayette was a 4-2-0 "Norris" type of locomotive built by Norris Locomotive Works in 1837 for the B&O railroad (it was their first locomotive to feature a leading truck) and was named after the Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. It was based on the designs of the "George Washington".

Both locomotives, of course, have been offered in sets by Bachmann (and I believe the John Bull was offered as a separate locomotive outside of a train set... I don't believe the Lafayette was ever made outside of a set, though, I'm not 100% on that. They did offer the "King of Prussia" as a single locomotive. The "King of Prussia" was also a 4-2-0 "Norris" engine that was exported to the Germanies at that time)

I have found it interesting, that in the 1830s, we went from exporting locomotives from England, to exporting our own locomotives to England, and the rest of Europe by the decade's end.

Documenting my build wasn't something I even thought of at the time I did it. I know Mo documented his build, but I think it was on one of the facebook model train forums, so I would have to try to find it.

EZ track is the easiest I've ever ballasted...

Here's what you do... you get your Elmer's Glue All, and don't dilute it just yet... and you paint it onto the side of the roadbed (you can use a brush, Popsicle stick, damp sponge brush... whatever is easiest for you) Then for spreading the ballast, get the simplest ballast spreader that Bachmann (or anyone) sells.

This is the one I used:




For my ballast, I mixed Arizona Rock and Mineral "red" ballast, with some well washed "beach sand" (if you use sand from the beach, you need to not only wash out any and all salt, but you also need to take a magnet to it, just in case of iron filings, but then, I suggest using magnets for any "outside dirt" you may use for a layout)

The important thing though, is to apply the "Glue All" in a thin layer on all of your roadbed... it takes just a few seconds to do. And don't bother with any of the fancy ballast spreaders... I have tried them all, and the easiest to use, that gave the best coverage, was the simplest, no frills one.

The ground you see in the photo, BTW, is "Durham's Water Putty". I used that for my "shell", then painted it with a custom mixed "Red Rock" coloured paint from Home Despot, and then, while the paint was wet, applied dried tea leaves (tea from used bags for the finer grit, and used loose leaf for the forest floor, as that looks like HO scale twigs, and forest flooring) and then the path was made by dropping some beach sand, but, while it was still damp, running my "Groovy Wheel Groove" tool, which is basically, two plastic pizza cutters hot glued together, for making wheel ruts in roads:



The rest is static grass... some directly applied, and some where I just put a stripe of Glue All on a piece of aluminum foil, and made grass strips, and tufts.

That gives my finished product, in just a couple of hours:

That's fantastic!

One of the things I did for my Norris, was attach a coupler.





I used an old plastic long shank McHenry coupler, and cut down the shank, removed the tab under the tender, and glued it in. It's stiff, but doesn't seem to be an issue for an engine that small. Though, next time, just for "S&G"s, I may attempt a Kadee whisker coupler with pocket.


I also added a removable cab to the engine, but in all honesty, that cab really didn't thrill me. I was trying to go more for a "Steampunk" look (remember, modeling a movie studio) and it was okay, I suppose... but felt like it was trying to be something else.





I mean, it was okay from certain angles... but it obscured a lot of the detail I was trying to put into it.




Fortunately, I designed it to snap on, and snap off, so if I change my mind, I can always change it.

Take a look at my "Pegasus"... I added weight... from metal weights on the front, and the back head, to metal details, and a metal "pilot" (they were "pilots" before they were "Engineers")

For it to work as DCC and sound, I put weight in every place I could. Even the smoke stack is shaved pewter (who am I kidding? It's lead, from black powder bullets) mixed with "Elmer's Glue All"

It wasn't too hard... just a bit of thinking is all.

They are a lot of fun.

When I got back into Model Railroading, after my 20 year hiatus, the first engines I bought were ALL of them. In sets, of course (which is why I had so much EZ track to build a layout with)

I started with the Pegasus, then the DeWitt Clinton (I have bought THREE of the DeWitt Clinton, and all three did fail me... one, the wheels on the tender kept falling off, and the other two were shorted out upon arrival) The Lafayette, the "King of Prussia", and the engine that got me interested in model railroading back in the 80s, the John Bull. (I could never afford it back in the 80s... but I have it now!)



Part of the joy of my layout, is that it's a movie set, depicting the "Wild West"... so it's amazing what I can get away with on my layout.

I actually have a diesel that pulls my track cleaner cars, for MofW...

Say what you will about these train sets, but, they ARE what got me into Model Railroading. They are what got me interested in Bachmann, and after a 20 year break, they are what got me BACK into model railroading.


People tend to bash on them all the time, but they are amazing little engines, and plastic gears or not (show me a Bachmann that doesn't have plastic gears) they last longer than people putting them on the shelves may think. I mean, how would one know how long they last if they never leave the shelf?

Hell, I have a Pegasus, that I installed DCC and sound in (using a Digitrax 8-bit N scale sound decoder) that has been running like a champ since I bought it two years ago.



I have a friend named "Mo" who recently put DCC into a DeWitt Clinton (simply because everyone told him he couldn't) Next step is DCC and sound (N scale decoders can be easily hidden on the tender, if you shave some detail down, and use some painted medical tape as a "tarp")

The best way to run people out of this hobby, is to criticize them for the trains they are interested in. I, myself, am interested in Early Steam. Bachmann makes the Early Steam I like, and Model Railroaders are the first to tell me how wrong I am for liking what I like.

Sorry for the rant. But these really are decent little engines.







My layout is EZ Track (because I was once told not to build a layout with EZ Track) and most of my buildings are Plasticville.

Model railroading is FUN!

Amazing work!

This gives me confidence to do some of my own B.T.S. kits... Thanks for sharing! You RAWKK!

I think there is only one way to solve this... somebody buy it, and send it to me, and I will be happy to give accurate measurements in both Imperial, as well as metric!

It's a tough job, but, I'm willing to take one for the team here! It's the the nice kinda guy I am!


MWA-HAHAHAHAHA!!!!


(Oh... wait... ignore the maniacal laughter...)

I just got in from Who Con (heading back early tomorrow to put on a panel) and I brought this up there... a LOT of folks LOVE the idea, and would totally buy a Doctor Who themed train set (and they too talked of making a UNIT train)

Yeah... I would be hesitant to buy from a company that has no idea what they are selling. It would be better to find it on eBay.

You wouldn't really need a mirror image one... just reverse it... maybe do a bit of sanding on each end to make it flush.

That bridge is amazing! I have absolutely ZERO place to put it, and I was still considering if I wanted it when I get paid!

I also like their fancy display cases.

Ready to have your mind blown?

It's not their ONLY Halloween train!

And yes, they are On30...

https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/917833_journey-of-doom-express-train-collection.html

https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/917982_kiss-rock-n-roll-electric-train.html

(the USMC trains is HO, and not On30)

Oh, and there is also their commemorative USMC train!

https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/49207_marine-train.html


All are made by Bachmann, according to the Bradford Exchange.