OK, here's the scoop... I've always liked the looks of the C&O heavy Mikado with the flying pumps & the Elesco feedwater heater on the smokebox.  Well, the other night, I found out that my NKP actually leased some of those very engines from the C&O to ease a locomotive shortage during WWII.  While this is not my era, it is an excuse for me to run one on my layout.

So here's my thought... AHM did at one time make one of these engines with that very configuration of pumps & the feedwater heater.  Does anyone know if I could take the boiler off of that engine and put it on the mechanism of the newer IHC engine with its much improved mechanism?  That would be a whole lot easier than cutting off detail parts & adding new ones. 

If anyone happens to have both engines, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Thanks!

dlm

Do any of you guys who are really knowledgeable about Plasticville kits know if there were ever any HO Scale Hobo Shacks?  I remember that when we were kids, my cousin bought us O scale Hobo Shacks because she didn't know anything about scale, etc.  But our next door neighbor had HO trains and I kind of remember that he had some of them on his layout.  They looked the same as ours only smaller.  This would have been in the mid 1960s I'm guessing.

I sent someone an email a long time ago who was a member of the Plasticville collectors group and they said that they weren't aware of any HO scaled ones... but I really thought that he (my neighbor) had some.

Anyone know?

Thanks.

dlm

I've been looking at smaller steam locomotives lately and would like to add some to my fleet.  I've been told that some of the newer Bachmann offerings are much better than some of the earlier releases.  Is there any way that I can tell which ones are newer and therfore better? 

Thanks.

dlm