Still working on my ‘gruesome twosome’ Penn Central E7 and E8 units. Both units, have had their circuitry swapped over (the Mars setup was moved to the E8 chassis)…and all detail parts have been removed. Which brings me to my questions… Did the PRR E8s have dual steam generators? The model I’m using (ironically, an NYC unit LOL) only has a single stack, but it appears that the unit I’m building (PC 4300) has two. Also needing done, is I’ll have to replace the freight pilot, with a passenger one. I’ve already looked at the pilot from Cal Scale…but the shape isn’t quite right. Plus, I can’t get it to line up against the P2k frame because of the cast-on lugs! Anyone know of a better option?
Thought I’d throw along this tip as well–many PC E units had their porthole windows removed. #4300 is no exception–all 8 were removed at some point. To do this, I popped out the ‘glass,’ then used a chisel blade to shave off the molded-on trim. Filling in the resulting hole was easy–use the original window glass and some putty. You don’t have to be precise–I’ve seen photos of units where you can still see the window outline!