Does anyone out there know if there are plans to produce a HO plastic version of a M1 Berkshire “Big Emma” steamer, the coal drag locomotive L&N used in the eastern Ky coal mines? Thanks,Jerry.
How close dimensionally were the Emmas to the Van Sweringen Berkshires? Both Proto 2000 and Rivarossi have produced Van Sweringen Berks. That might be a good starting point for an L&N Emma.
The dimensions are not way off, but you would need box pop drivers and almost every other details handbuilt including the tender. Not an easy project. Westside did a model of the M1 about thirty years ago and they are on Ebay occasionally.
M-1s really don’t look anything like the AMC Berks.
If you’re looking for only one example of an M-1, your best bet is to save your pennies for brass. If you’re trying to assemble a fleet of them on a budget, you COULD start with an AMC Berk as a starting point for a kitbash, but it’d be a lot of work: basically everything above the drivers will have to be changed, mostly in a drastic way.