The new ‘Model Railroader’ has an advertisement for the Life-Like 0-8-0 with sound. I have one of these earlier units where I installed DCC sound, after adding tender electrical pickups. It runs quite well without resetting the sound.
My question is: what would be involved with converting this to a 2-8-0?
I model the Delaware & Hudson in the 30s and 40s when the Consolidation was supreme. Outside of brass, I know of no loco that really comes close to the D & H’s Consolidations so I have contented myself with Bachmann Spectrum locos.
It would be nice to have a different version; that’s what I thought of when I noticed all that room ahead of the first driver of the Like-Like 0-8-0. I wondered how hard it would be to add a single axle leading truck. Anybody have any thoughts on this?
Some locos are ready to convert, just by adding the lead truck to the loco you have. I converted a couple 0-8-0’s to 2-8-0 and 2-8-2 just by adding the lead and training trucks, and hardware, from the same manufacturer’s other loco.
Some of the manufacturers use the same loco, and just add trucks to make different configurations. Not sure about the Lifelike, but it may be this way?
Rotor
The P2K model is a USRA 0-8-0. Like most switchers, it has very small drivers - in the 50+" range. Most large 2-8-0’s would have something like 63" drivers. Adding the pilot truck should be an easy project.
Jim
On that particular locomotive, just add the front wheelset. The small drivers should allow you to use lead wheels in the 28 inch diameter range without looking real ugly and they might fit better in the space. There were consols with small drivers. Just find some pictures of the Baltimore and Susquehana consolidations, 51 inch drivers all the way. Small drivers on Consolidation locomotives were not all that uncommon, especially the early editions that worked rough terrain. Go for it. If you do not like the results you are out nothing, just take the lead wheels off and you are back to square one.
Tom
Id move the headlight dwn from ontop to the center of the boiler as well
The big problem is the second sand dome towards the rear of the locomotive. It’s a USRA switcher feature. Road consolidations tend to only have one sand dome.
You’d be better off starting with an IHC 2-8-0. It already has the pilot truck and has 60" drivers instead of the LL’s 50" ones. That way you only have to remove the second sand dome.
BTW, the IHC consolidation is a good start for a NYC G-6. The biggest changes is removing the dome and lengthing the cab forward.
Eric
Distant memory is that the IHC 0-8-0 boiler is actually the old Tyco “Chattanooga Choo Choo” boiler, which has surprisingly decent detail. The larger drivers would make for a more probable 2-8-0.
Some roads, and I am thinking here of the B&O, actually did make 0-8-0s out of old 2-8-0s by reversing the kind of conversion you are thinking about. But the engines look funny, sort of off balance
Dave Nelson