# What modification or enhancement to an engine or rolling stock are you most proud of?



## ogaugeguy (Feb 3, 2012)

:thumbsup:The thread title says it all. Please share your best accomplishment with us. Post photos of it. Feel free to include more than one mod or enhancement if it's difficult to narrow your choice to just one. _This is the thread to brag about and show what you've done and motivate us._


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

My Super-Chuffer.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Not O scale but I did this about 40 years ago. Its an MB Austin HO SP S12 made in the 50's. Brass engines were pretty crude back then. All of the castings were stripped off and replaced with Cal Scale and Kemtron castings, some of the best back then. A new oil deck was fabricated as the PO had converted it to coal. It features real glass mounted inside the muntins, not a solid sheet from behind. Also constant reversing diode lighting. This before DCC so its still conventional. 










I have done smaller projects in O scale not involving replacing or adding as much as was done on this engine. 

Pete


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> My Super-Chuffer.


That was very cool! The smoke thing has definately improved since I was a kid.
Was that on your layout John?


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

Norton said:


> Not O scale but I did this about 40 years ago. Its an MB Austin HO SP S12 made in the 50's. Brass engines were pretty crude back then. All of the castings were stripped off and replaced with Cal Scale and Kemtron castings, some of the best back then. A new oil deck was fabricated as the PO had converted it to coal. It features real glass mounted inside the muntins, not a solid sheet from behind. Also constant reversing diode lighting. This before DCC so its still conventional.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sweet! Really looks awsome!!!:smilie_daumenpos:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Genetk44 said:


> That was very cool! The smoke thing has definitely improved since I was a kid.
> Was that on your layout John?


That's the NPOG club layout. That's an upgrade I did for someone using my Super-Chuffer and an MTH smoke unit. Of course I've equipped most of my TMCC steamers with the Super-Chuffer as well, and I'm working on the ones that are still not converted.


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

Good Start. This looks like it's going to be a good thread. John your Super-Chuffer looks real cool. I've seen it before but it still is amazing. Pete, I don't care what the scale is. That is a neat looking engine.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Here are rolling stock upgrades. The first is a very simple Hobo addition to my ice reefer car. These guys have been riding my rails for many years and I'm sure have some great stories to tell.









Next is a TTX upgrade I did when Lee has his first contest.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Nice Wood.

But who taught you how to chain machines?
You never throw the chains where you have them! 
Besides scratching the paint during transportation you might wreck some of their parts.
You're fired! 

Be cool if they made some little chain binders huh?


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Big Ed, that's a very good point and your absolutely correct. I looked at some pics of Cats bring transported and there were no chains. I took a short cut. Leave it to a tanker yanker to see the mistake...


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## Guest (May 12, 2016)

Wonderful photo, Norton.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Wood said:


> Big Ed, that's a very good point and your absolutely correct. I looked at some pics of Cats bring transported and there were no chains. I took a short cut. Leave it to a tanker yanker to see the mistake...


Many moons ago I used to haul RR equipment, on a lowboy flatbed trailer. Overwidth, overlength and overweight. 
I had another flatbed trailer for RR rail, ties and timbers. Made up heavy duty sides to fill the flatbed with tie plates, kegs of spikes, frogs, switch points and whatever else.

We specialized in buying up all the old smaller gauge rail and switches and frogs. We fixed them up and I sold them to scenic railroads across the country.

If you look at a real payloader you will see hookups (eyelets) welded on the machine where the chains would go. Most real machines have something for the chains. Most likely the bucket would get chained, that gets all beat up when you use it anyway.

Now if you had used straps it might be OK. 
But chains used for big machines are stronger.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I can't decide between these two.

The top is a Lionchief steamer with a custom body: the original loco body is completely inside of and enclosed by the scale size body I built around/on top of it: you can't see a bit of it. This new body that is about two inches longer and half an inch higher and the cab is all new two. The nine-axle tender was made from various bits and pieces, not sure what. It is a fantasy loco - an Adriatic (there were never any adriatics, other than tank engines, in the US), that looks great, runs well and pulls very well, and fits in among scale locos in a natural way 'cause it has scale proportions, etc. It is on the layout and run more than any other loco. This required a lot of work but it was all easy, step by step, and clear from the beginning I could do it (I had done too not quite as complete conversion to scale proportions before).

Bottom is a hybrid, and one of the more risky ventures I took. It is an early MTH PS1 ATSF 2900 Northern body that had had a PS1 board that had given up the ghost. I ran it for a while, then replaced its entire chassis and running gear, and electronics of course, with those from a Legacy ATSF 3751 Northern (the two classes had the same driver size and wheelbase, replacing the pilots etc. and moving all the stuff in the Legacy tender to the MTH tender. It runs well and will run a lot on the layout until my two new PS3 ATSF 2900s arrive. I went into the project not knowing if I could make it work and it was difficult only in getting all the details to work well.


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

Great stuff!

For me, it's my Polar Express observation car. Here are photos of a stock observation(Passenger Train Collector's car) next to my modified and snow frosted car...


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That is a very nice job Keith, looks just like the movie.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

Some awesome work here! I'm pretty proud of my fan smoke unit upgrade to an early 90's lionel J. GRJ helped a ton in figuring everything out with this and the difference is night and day. It was also my first modification to an engine, and my first success, and is probably one of the reasons I'm still mucking with stuff today


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

Thanks John!


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## Guest (May 13, 2016)

Keith's Polar Express Mods are the "Gold Standard" of modifications.
His innovations have brought many new Model Railroaders (Myself included) into this and prior Forums. His work is so thorough and well executed that Lionel didn't even bother changing his design when they added the Lionel Polar Express "Letters to Santa" Mail Car to their PE offerings. I've done my best to copy his designs as well, but, unlike Lionel, I always give him credit for it.

Below is my best Mod: The donor car was a Black P.R.R. Jordan Spreader.

Emile

View attachment 181393


View attachment 181401


View attachment 181409


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## ogaugeguy (Feb 3, 2012)

Emile, both your PRR and Keith's PE color matches are superb. Keith has previously revealed his formula for creating the Polar Express blue he used but his mixture can't be used because the Floquil colors he mixed to match it are no longer available. Krylon Satin Burgundy in a rattle can is a close match for PE red but what did you use to match the PE/PRR blue? Was it from a rattle can or an air brush? Whose paint and what colors and ratios did you use to match the blue?
Thanks for the heads up


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## Guest (May 13, 2016)

Ogaugeguy,
Yes, I remember this well. I made a huge mistake the first time around on this one. My mistake was not realizing that Polar Express Blue is NOT the same color as Polar Railroad Blue. PRR Blue is noticeably lighter. Of course, I didn’t notice that until I hooked up the Snow Plow to the Polar Railroad GP7 for the first time. Fortunately I hadn’t applied the decals, and it was a pretty simple recoat with the correct paint. I found that Model Masters 4847 US NAVYBLUE GRAY M 485 was a very good, if not perfect match. 

Emile


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## Guest (May 13, 2016)

Keith, your conversion of the PR scale Observation car is one of the best adaptations in the hobby, ever!!!!!!!! I am so proud to have one on our layout.

View attachment 181737


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## Guest (May 13, 2016)

Emile, your conversion of the plow is one of the best in the hobby. Just love it!!!!!!


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## Guest (May 13, 2016)

I guess the conversion of a K-line Bombardier set to the Rail Runner. I figured it would not be done in O-Gauge, so if I wanted it, I would have to initiate such a project. Came out nicely.

View attachment 181745


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## ogaugeguy (Feb 3, 2012)

:stroke: Thank you for the reply, Emile. Is the Model Masters color you mentioned a close match for the Polar Railroad or the Polar Express? I need the best match to the Polar Express blue.


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

Thanks guys!

Great items everyone!

Emile, you are too kind. Your Jordan Spreader is awesome and a perfect compliment to the GP7. I still want to do one...just haven't had time yet.

Brian, I just love that RailRunner. The real deal is the coolest on the rails and so is yours in O gauge.


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## J. S. Bach (Sep 20, 2015)

MOVL said:


> Great stuff!
> 
> For me, it's my Polar Express observation car. Here are photos of a stock observation(Passenger Train Collector's car) next to my modified and snow frosted car...
> 
> ...


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## Dano (Aug 26, 2012)

John, your puffer is a peach, I only wish I could run with smoke in here.hwell:


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## Guest (May 13, 2016)

ogaugeguy said:


> :stroke: Thank you for the reply, Emile. Is the Model Masters color you mentioned a close match for the Polar Railroad or the Polar Express? I need the best match to the Polar Express blue.


It was a match for the Polar Railroad. When I accidentally painted it in the Polar Express color the first time, I used Keith's formula and Floquil paint. 

Emile


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## Guest (May 14, 2016)

PTC,
Your Rail Runner is beautiful! It looks like it's flying even while sitting still. Is there any video of it in action? I imagine that to see that livery moving down the tracks has got to be a Show Stopper!

BCC


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

These are photos of a scrap metal load that includes items I made, including a large saw blade, band saw blade, leaf spring, duct section, and muffler. It also includes other items that might be found in a scrap load. For the cable, I used pieces of stranded silver wire that I soaked in a mixture if vinegar and salt water, and the metal window frame is from a piece of screen. The rusted water line is my favorite; it is from a heavily rusted steel rod. I drilled holes partway into each end, sprayed flat black for the illusion of a hollow pipe, and the hole through the side is a perfect representation of a ruptured water main. 
The wall or roof panels are from a steel downspout on our maintenance garage that was rusting away, and just begging to be re-purposed. 
The load is in an old Atlas gondola made in Austria. At some point, I want to heavily weather it to include bulged and torn sides. I have been observing photos of several of the masters, and at some point will venture into the world of weathering.
I recently picked up a Weaver war emergency gondola, and want to do some type of appropriate for that. This hobby is full of endless possibilities, and an equal number of talented craftsmen who are not afraid to experiment and push the limits. Great work everyone. Innovation and new ideas help keep the hobby fresh. 
Don


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

We really have some talented modelers on this forum. Great job everyone. :thumbsup:


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

I put MTH roller bearing trucks on 6456 hoppers. 
It adds about 1/8” to the height and it seems a bit goofy to put $20 trucks on a $10 car. 
It doesn’t hold a candle to some of the modifications here, but it sure does improve the tracking of these ubiquitous hoppers.


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## Guest (May 16, 2016)

Great Mod Lehigh74! I've spent some time in Easton, PA and Lafayette College in the past few years and I've become a big Lehigh Valley fan (Freight and Black Diamond). Unfortunately, all the best LV was made by Weaver so it's going to get harder and harder to find good LV rolling stock etc. Awesome Mods like yours are going to be the best was to build some really great Consists. Great idea. Thanks for sharing it here. :appl::appl::appl:

Emile


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

When I got back into 3 rail it was about the Post War trains that I had or wished I had as kid, mostly the latter as I only had a single train set. I found out very early that mint stuff was going to cost a fortune so I bought trains that were beat up and I could fix, which I like to do anyway.
I have done quite a few repaints but the hardest were these 027 streamliners due to their heat stamp lettering. After stripping them all they were painted silver then all of the recessed letters were masked off and paint applied to the recesses. Very tedious and I have vowed to never try that again.


















Here are a few other repaints.

The 2046 has the original valve gear and side rods but replated with tin.









A bit more straightforward. Cab numbers are original as are the hood lettering on the Santa Fe. Masked off before painting with liquid masker.



















Pete


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Pete, Beautiful work..... The 2046 is so nice and I have the 2432-36 Streamlined series that could use your touch. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Thank You. I started on some 2432's but decided to try the dry transfer route. I had to fill in the heat stamp recesses and then found the transfers were old and didn't stick long enough to seal them. I may try some decals in the future but they are on the back burner now.

Pete


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Thanks Emile. LVRR is one of my favorites. MTH has made a good bit of LV stuff including some nice die cast hoppers.
If you are in the ABE area when there is a meet at Allentown or Hamburg, there is a good chance you will find some LV rolling stock.
These 6456 hoppers tended to derail too often so they sat under the platform. I saw a good price on the trucks so now I have a coal drag.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Those are some nice restorations Norton. They look like they are brand new.


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## Guest (May 17, 2016)

Lehigh74 said:


> ...If you are in the ABE area when there is a meet at Allentown or Hamburg, there is a good chance you will find some LV rolling stock.


That's a great tip! Thanks. I'll be adding those Meets to my schedule.


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## Guest (May 17, 2016)

The only modifications I've done since returning to O in October 2014 have been to a couple of building interiors. I added a simple interior to the station.









The only modification is the man in the elevated switch tower.









I plan to do more detailed interiors when I build a new layout after our upcoming move. Building interiors are one of the details I get the most enjoyment out of.


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## HarborBelt1970 (Sep 24, 2015)

The only thing that I have ever done that could fit the title of this thread is already the subject of another one: 

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=79705

While I'll add a postscript about that thread below, before the project described in it the one thing I had done to really modify/enhance an O gauge engine had to do with my obsession about light features, in particular Mars lights.

I have a number of 3rd Rail engines that came equipped with what was then the standard 3rd Rail Mars lighting circuit. This was simply a flashing cool white LED that was activated when the engine was running forward. I replaced that with an _*Ngineering*_ Mars light simulator board, which is wired to the can motor inputs so as to be activated when the engine starts to move. (This board is really intended for DC/HO application but coupled with Ngineering's DC power supply board will work with O scale engines. Indeed, I understand that 3rd Rail has now adopted the simulator board for their newer engines.)

First a few stills to show the difference:









Of course a still can't show the lighting effect in action so here's a short video of it:



Postscript: See below - In this and the above stills have adopted what I think is Lee Willis' method of putting his comments in the photo file itself rather than as separate text:


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## Don F (Dec 5, 2015)

Here are some photos with coal loads. The blue load is made from the dye that was used in the Huber Colliery, home of Blue Coal.
A friend gave me a coffee can full for whenever I get an order for Blue Coal loads. There are thousands of these Lehigh Valley hoppers. They came in red, gray and black. They were made into the MPC era, and may still be made by Lionel.
Don


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## bluecomet400 (Sep 13, 2015)

There's some amazing talent here, and I admire and have great respect for all of it:appl:

For me, the enhancement I'm most proud of is.......
nothing--absolutely nothing. I'm a purist and wouldn't think of modifying my tinplate other than replacing worn parts in-kind. One of the things I enjoy most about collecting and operating tinplate is keeping these clunkers going just as they were when they were made.


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

J. S. Bach said:


> Now, if I could only persuade you to do that to one of my scale Walthers observations. I remembered your conversion a week or so ago but did not remember who or where I saw it. Very nice work.


Thank you! I'd sure love to do that for you, but my time for modding has become highly limited.


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

Pete, your 2046 is a great looker. I dig your 624 as well. Nice!


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## MOVL (Aug 23, 2015)

HarborBelt, excellent upgrade with the MARS light. HUGE improvement!


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