Mounting the Bachmann 2-6-0 strap style cowcatcher on a 4-4-0

[bcochran]

I have a Eureka & Palisade 4-4-0 and always wanted a strap stye cowcatcher on it.  

I spent a day with the real engine and talked to the owner.

I told him I read that Bachmann gave him a 1:20.3 version of his engine.  He said yes they did but that they have the wrong cowcatcher on it.

 

The only part available on the Bachmann site for the 2017 mogul are the strap style cowchatcher.  

One in black and the other in brown.


So I got a brown one for my engine.

I found a diagram of a strap pilot on line.  It looks like a builder's drawing.  The diagram has two support bars on the sides and two that cross in the center.  

Bachmann's does not have the two side bars but does have the crossed ones.

Bachmann's is a very good copy.



Then how to mount it on my 4-4-0?  



First remove the original cowcatcher.

There are 4 mounting tabs on the strap style cowcatcher.

The rectangular piece above the coupler bar goes against the outside front center of the pilot deck. You need to trim the horizontal tab off leaving a flat vertical piece to mount to the pilot deck.   It should be as thick as the thickness of the front of the pilot deck.

I drilled holes on either side of the coupler bar into the pilot and the mounting piece. I super glued Ozark Miniatures  nut-bolt-washer in the drilled holes. It looks just

like the prototype. This shows you where to mount the underside tabs. There are no mounting lugs on the 4-4-0 pilot, you need to fill the space between the bottom of the pilot and the mounting tabs.

I supper glued a piece of evergreen styrene up against the bottom of the pilot and the inside of the front of the pilot where the tabs showed they should be mounted.

It is as thick as the space between the pilot and the tab, about 3/16 inch.

I drilled small holes in the plastic stock to mount the crossed bars to.  Bachmann gives you 4 small screws for this.

The two outside tabs need a flat piece of about .44 thick plastic glued to where the tabs should be mounted.   I screwed the tabs to the plastic.  This lines up the bottom of the cowcatcher parallel to the ground.  


My strap style cowcatcher is mounted as firm as the original wood one is.  Now I match the Eureka & Palisades 4-4-0.


Also ask questions if this is confusing.
Bob