Lanes Trains Diesel Locomotives

In spite of having over half of my cars painted, I still have 40+

locomotives to complete.

Alas, I hope I live long enough to complete them and see them run….

Click on the photos to make them larger

Baldwin BF16 “Sharks”

These are Omnicon urethane BF16 “Sharks” I bought them painted from eBay. They were a kit offered in the early 1990s with NWSL drive components. The decal job could have been better. I pretty much painted over all of the areas that were not decaled, added an all wheel pickup electrical system, made the drive bulletproof, added DCC and lights, and lots of stick on tire weights! They have good pulling power now. They will compliment the River Raisin/Boo Rim http://riverraisinmodels.com PRR A-B-A set I got. I have another Omnicon A-B-A set that I want to finish in the Single Stripe Scheme. I also got a River Raisin B&O A-B set. (Above) I went from 0 to 10 Sharks in March 2006!

River Raisin Models B&O RF16

PRR F7 ABA Set

This is a plastic F7 ABA set made by S Helper Service. I did some detail work to it, including adding the Trainphone Antennas, extra grab irons, nose lift rings, and modified the pilot coupler doors. The “how to” article for this set was featured in the January 2004 Mainline Modeler.

Alco PRR FA2 FB2 Set

These FA2 and FB2 were made by Overland Models in the Mid to late 1980s. They are very nice, from the period that I call Overland’s “Golden Age” where Ajin was producing very nice models for a reasonable price. I have an A B A set of these that need painting. I bought this set on eBay in June 2007 because they were painted for about what I thought they should sell for unpainted. All I had to do was add DCC and I had added another set of diesels to the roster, or so I thought. When I opened the box it was immediately apparent that the seller mangled the antennas as it was put in the model box for shipping. We made good on that issue quickly. I got an assembled wood Phosphate car. But the repairs lead to a month long side project to repair the antennas, make the drive line slip proof, add all wheel electric pickup and sound units. I made rolled ring baffles that mounted the speakers directly under the roof fans. There was some touch up and we are good to go! I also added a 2 wire plug that runs between the units to insure pickup at ALL times not matter how dirty the track may be. The plugs get hidden in the diaphragm between the units. After a good lube job they run amazingly well! I hope all of my Overland units run this well.

May 2008 – As a result of me meeting the seller of these locomotives, he is back in trains bigger then ever. We are VERY good friends now!

(But he is NOT getting this FA set back!) Life works like that sometimes!

PRR Alco RS1

This is a rather rare S Scale locomotive. It is a Locomotive Workshop Alco RS1 that was released in 1973. It came as a kit with the long and short hoods formed, but everything else was flat etched brass sheets that required the builder to form and solder everything. The kit was not for the novice or faint of heart. It has a rather interesting truck gear arrangement that features a movable wheelbase that also equalizes. I bought it pretty much as is from the collection of Larry Sokol. When I first got it, I had plans for a massive rebuild with a new drive and complete detail makeover. After spending a few days with it more recently, I am now not as sure. It would take LOTS of work to make it better. In August 2008 I added an NCE decoder, all wheel pickup and new headlights so I can at least run it. That should due for now.

PRR E8a

This is another Overland engine I bought mostly because it was already painted. I have never seen a single stripe paint job on an S Scale engine. This paint job is OK but could be a little better. I don’t know where the decals came from. I repainted the trucks, fuel tank, added all wheel pick up, real glass windows all around, and made the curved numberboards. I also added a little dusty weathering and DCC. It looks much better now then when I got it.

PRR GP9

This is a plastic American Models GP9 released in about 1990. I have started reworking it for DCC and sound.

PRR NW2

This is a stock out of the box PRR EMD NW2 made by S Helper Service. It has a stunning Soundtraxx EMD Tsunami factory installed.

Check out a video of the NW2 with the Tsunami in action here:

PRR SD9

I have 2 of these PRR SD9. They were made by River Raisin Models in 1994. There were only 18 pieces of this version made. I did not finish these models as I was just getting into DCC at the time. They both have sound units and lots of lights!

Conrail SD40-2

Egads! Conrail! Yes, this was the major project after the PRR GP9 above. This too has LOTS of work to it. Like the GP9, the numberboards and corner markers light up. I added THREE flywheels to the drive. There are 4 constant lighting units crammed in there. This was done in Pre-DCC days of 1991. I did not want to weather it much as that was a new concept for at that time. Unfortunately, you could not accuse Overland of using too much solder on this model. Some of the handrail stanchions and major hood cross braces have come loose.

PRSL Baldwin AS16

This PRSL Baldwin AS16 is a one of a kind scratchbuilt plastic shell. I acquired it as a shell only in a “no holds barred” buy and trade deal about 15 years ago. I reworked a brass GP30 drive purchased from eBay for it. See the Current Projects Page as I have substantially progressed in completing this model.

I would be interested to know if there are any other S Scale

PRSL Modelers out there. Please contact me if you are.

Updated 1-9-09