Yampa Bob Connie to mike bash

[boomertom]

Bob,

That sounds like an interesting conversion. Would you consider describing what you did.

Tom

[Yampa Bob]

Well, it was a challenge. First you have to completely disassemble the shell and strip everything off the boiler.  Then the boiler has to be extended a total of 15/16", one extension in the second course, another behind the smoke box. 

The holes from the removed domes have to be filled with styrene plates and the domes relocated. The boiler is sanded down smooth, and new course rivets added for spacing intervals. The walkway has to be modified, then all the other details added. 

I built a bolt on chassis extension to mount the trailing truck. The trucks are hard to find, usually taken off a Mountain. The bottom rear of the cast chassis has to be filed off a bit for truck swivel clearance.  Finally, the wiring has to be re-routed through the extension and lengthened to reach the tender.

As far as I know, only one other person has attempted the stretch.  I think the article and picture is somewhere in the photo gallery on Bachmann's site, but I did the work according to Lanny's specifications.

Anyway, when Lanny gets it finished, I will post pictures if anyone is interested, however I don't think there are many modelers these days with motivation to tackle such a conversion.

[pdlethbridge]

great job, Bob. Did you ever stretch an airplane?

[Yampa Bob]

Thanks Paul.
As a matter of fact, yes I have, both models and full scale. Many decades ago, our model airplane club found a junker J-3 Cub and recovered it. Smelling all that dope probably accounts for my current state.  LOL.

I often wonder what we modern day aviators could have taught Wilbur and Orville. 

[pdlethbridge]

how to be model railroaders, of course

[Jim2903]

The only Connie-to-Mike stretch in the photo gallery is for a G scale outside-frame 2-8-0 ...

[RAM]

I would have thought that sand dome and piping would have been ok.  The steam dome must be moved.