Enjoying building trains…

Whilst in my more recent years I’ve really developed a reputation for crafting cameo layouts my life long love in this wonderful hobby has always been the locomotive…

From childhood I started with Craftsman white metal detailing kits and ended up with Branchlines etched brass chassis with a dose of repainting in the middle. These days of ‘commission modelling for my living’ it can be difficult to connect with this in quite the same way. My passion drives your models, yes, but if I’ve been working a lot on others locomotives be it kits, repainting or what have you, the energy to work on my own can wane a little. The flip side is I’ve learnt to appreciate more of this great craft now taking a great deal of pleasure in structures and layout builds.

That said I’ve really fallen back under the spell of that first love this week, in the arms of a Kaslo Shops MLW RS-23 kit. Four years ago a Kaslo S13 kit marked my rediscovery of Canadian HO scale modelling, a similar prototype but where that S13 was a Canadian National model, this RS-23 is Canadian Pacific. That kit was also in resin, where this example has been ‘digitally remastered’ and is 3D printed. 

I discovered with the S13 that a heavily modified Bachmann Alco switcher chassis would fit neatly under the shell. This time, I’ve cheated and picked up a sound value example in anticipation of the RS-23 arriving from Canada, these can be had for a lot less than £100 second hand and give you a reasonable (although inaccurate for these 251 engined prototypes) sound - especially if paired with a Rail Exclusive sugar cube.

Mind you, the chassis modification is not for the feint hearted! Once you’ve stripped all the components off the metal casting you need to cut the ends off, and then trim each side to the width of the motor. This leaves the ends quite fragile where they meet the fuel tank, but this is re-enforced with the ‘frames’ provided in the kit. Within hours of the kit arriving I had cut mine down though, as seen above. Then follows an hour or so of tinkering to get the ‘frames’ glued at the right height on the chassis so the body sits well vs other stock. Whilst I was happy with it being level in this photo, I later added about 0.8mm to the height before further detailing. I am really pleased with how I was able to modify the truck frames, cutting off the sides of the Bachmann mouldings with a razor saw so I was able to superglue the kits replacements to the brake shoes and centre stretcher.

The speed at which this kit has progressed is proof of that renewed passion for making trains. When a prototype or kit really grab me I can get completely lost in it - hours spent in research, more in assembly - all a welcome balm to real life. You see, I’m old enough to realise that this hobby isn’t just an interest - it is the place I feel safe, it is how I express my emotions, it is, I suppose in a crude sense, a coping mechanism. The energy and creativity channelled through my models and shared with you all is just as personal as reading another’s diary. Recognising this and embracing it has been one of the most powerful lessons of my adult life. I hope that not only my modelling, but also the heart felt writing encourages you to discover your own connection to the craft and to the hobby? Until next time, more soon…

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