I’m just wondering how feasible it would be to convert an N scale NKP Berkshire to an Erie Berk. I know there are obvious detail differences, but is it something that can be done? Or, are the differences between the engines too great for this to be possible? Thanks for your input.
It is a matter of how willing you are to accept the inevitable compromises. Sometimes capturing just a few signature elements of a railroad’s common practices can go a long long way to creating a very convincing steam modification. Variances that are painfully obvious when the engine is laid on top of an accurate drawing or photograph have a way of disappearing when the engine is sitting on the layout or pulling a train. Just by way of example I have seen guys modify steam but retain Walschaerts’ valve gear when their prototype had Baker, and you tend not to notice until someone points it out. Put the same engine next to a detailed drawing and you notice it almost at once. That sort of thing.
Some differences end up not mattering much in teh bigger scheme of things. For example, I have a recollection that the drivers on the N scale engine are smaller than the NKP prototype’s 69" – and the Erie’s version had 70" drivers. I actually doubt if many folks would be too troubled by this given the flange size.
To me the quickest give aways for the Nickle Plate is that utterly distinctive sand dome/piping and front end, including the pilot and front of the smoke box. The cabs appear different too. The tender is different. Front end, pilot, front of smoke box, cab and tender are, in theory, things that can be dealt with (although I myself do not have a feel for what “bashable” parts are available in N). All I know is that junker N steam is cheap at swap meets.
To me there is one absolutely central aspect that has to be do-able to make the project a go. Without having the engine at hand I cannot say how easy it would be to carve off the NKP sand dome without creating a gaping hole in the top of the boiler. Nor do I know where to find a dome that is closer to the Erie’s. But unless you can manage tha
I’m unfamiliar with what may be available in N scale, but a quick look at a photo of an Erie Berk shows that changing the front end, including the pilot, along with the sand dome, then adding the Erie diamond herald would probably make a convincing stand-in.
I modified a Bachmann HO scale NKP Berk for a friend simply by changing the sand dome. The replacement is from an old Tyco three-dome tankcar, with most of the details removed. I added filler hatches and handles, plus some grab irons.
Changing the front end is the easiest if you can find replacement parts or modify the ones that come with the loco.
The most difficult task would be changing the pilot, but if you can find a replacement, it’s certainly do-able.
Wayne
Thanks for the input.
I think there’s no way to avoid creating a massive hole in the top of the boiler where the single dome currently resides. That can probably be overcome with a styrene plug and replacemwnt domes, though that would be harder in N than HO because Cal Scale and Precision Scale don’t make all that many N scale castings, that I’m aware of anyway. Ditto the front end (boiler front, headlights, pilot, etc). I hadn’t thought about differences between the Berks’ cabs, but thought there were some differences between their tenders. This may well turn out to be an idea that goes nowhere because of the fact there may be insufficient parts available to do the job right.
Again, thanks for your advice.
A small HO scale steam dome might make a very acceptable N scale sand dome, and there may be other HO parts or common household items which are also useful.
To plug the hole (if there actually is one - the HO scale Berk, if I recall correctly, had only a small one for relocating the steam dome to the forward position) cut a piece of .015" or .020" sheet styrene larger than the opening, then use solvent cement to affix it to the interior of the boiler shell - pre-curve it, if necessary, using a cylindrical object of suitable diameter. Then cut styrene sheet of appropriate thickness to create plugs for the actual hole - use an easily-curveable thickness and build it up in layers, pre-curving each before installation. Unless your plugs are very accurate, you’ll also need to apply putty to fill any gaps between the shell and the plugs, then file and sand to create the necessary contours.
Wayne