# Starting my RGS #20 from an annie



## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Hello everyone!The last project I posted was my articulated fairlie. I finished that in august and until now I have been pretty busy with school work. But I have ordered a Bachmann anniversary edition locomotive for my next project, #20. I have already begun the process of converting the tender to look perfect. The stock annie tender is pretty hopeless but I have completely rebuilt it and added part of another 4-6-0 tender to the bottom of it to make it the proper height. I also added a new ladder on the rear, put appropriate trucks on it, added an air tank, added wooden sideboards, and cut down all the plastic sideboards on the top, thus shortening the length of the coal bin. I still need to add a round water hatch behind the air tank and I still need steps and hand rails. I also still need lettering, I am going to letter the version of the engine after it starred in "A Ticked to Tomahawk" when it was repainted black but still had the clipper ship on the tender. It says Rio Grande Southern in white above the ship.


When I get the locomotive I must do a number of things to it including giving it new cylinders and cross heads as well as lowering the front running boards and many more things. The locomotive was also repainted black after the movie, but it kept a red bell holster and red headlight brackets. I intend to paint it like so. I will keep you all posted with my progress, here are some pictures of the tender.



























I don't have the shell screwed on in this picture so there is kind of a gap there.




Thanks for looking!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good! You're off to another good start! Keep us up-to-date as to your progress with lots of photots!


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## R.W. Marty (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan,
Looks like a great start. What did you use for trucks?
Later
Rick Marty


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice start so far. I'll definitely keep watching as this progresses.


Here's a photo for those unfamiliar with the lettering you intend to model:


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Great work! Looking forward to your progress with this project.


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

The trucks I used on it are a mystery to me. I have no idea what company they came from or anything. I got them off of a boxcar that Greg Posta gave me and he must have put them on it. I used them on this because they are all metal and have opening journal boxes. They are also not as tall as an ordinary truck so they help emphasis the narrow gauge look.


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## cjwalas (Jan 2, 2008)

This is a great start, Dylan! I look forward to seeing every step of this one as it comes to life. Make sure you post lots of photos along the way, please! 
Chris


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Hey everyone sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I have been kinda busy with school. Anyhow I have progressed a lot. YThanks to Greg Posta, I was able to get some number and builder's plates for Berlyn for my 20. They look just right. I have cut the smokebox to the right length, and I also cut the pilot platform and shortened the distance between the pilot truck wheels. The cylinders are from a bachmann connie, they have been glued sturdily onto each side of the annie saddle. I aslo mounted an accucraft pilot to the front and the stack is accucraft.












I cut off the whole sand dome, it was completely wrong, and wrapped the boiler with aluminum. I also extended the running boards with balsa to make them correct.









This is just the bachmann boiler next to the drawing before i cut the smokebox shorter.








This is what it looks like right now, I just have it sitting together like that, I am going to cut the headlight shroud shorter and the whole thing looks a little weird without the running boards, I am still working on them.










Here is a detail of the cylinders and the crosshead that i made out of brass. I painted them with Neolube just like Mr. Chandler and I think it looks good enough. 










And finally here is a picture of the finished tender, I forgot that was the last thing I posted but here it is painted and everything. I made each step out of brass and balsa, this is a pretty bad picture but I added a real coal load, made my own filler cap, sideboards, and soldered together a brake lever for the rear platform.


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## R.W. Marty (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan,
In a word, excellent!
Thanks for sharing your work.
Rick Marty


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## David Fletcher (Jan 2, 2008)

Great Stuff Dylan! 
You've covered all the notable issues to turn an Annie into the #20. 
The #20 was my first kitbash in largescale, back in the early 90s! 

Thanks and keep it going! 
David.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Is that a gum-ball machine "thingie" you're using for the sand dome? Bloody brilliant! 

Later, 

K


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice. I like the aluminum wrap! But what's with this MR. stuff?


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice work!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking great Dylan! Keep 'em com'n!!


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Thanks everyone, glad you like! Kevin the sand dome is actually made out of the top of a shampoo bottle. I always like to scan walmart a coupler times to see if there are any naturally occurring parts in there. I find it far cheaper, easier, and faster than ordering parts from parts suppliers.


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## Dave Ottney (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan, great job so far. Your commentary is also notable. Can't wait to see more progress. 
Dave


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Hey everyone! I have been working on my engine and here are some photos...

Yesterday I decided to take her out for a spin 









Unfortunately I was not paying attention and there was a wreck.









This did not slow me down much, I just had to repair the coupler on the tender.









And also the left rod on the locomotive. 










Then today I made quite a bit of progress. I almost finished the cab. I had to extend it about an inch in the back which I did with a piece of styrene and then I covered the whole roof in metal tape like Jerry used on his rotary. Next I did the window framing, glass, and wind visors. I also made my own roof vent out of aluminum, now all I have to do for the cab is the conduit on top and lettering. 










Up close


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Hey everyone! I got some updates to share with you all. Since my last post I have modified the Bachmann generator, added conduit and curtains to the cab, finished the sand dome, and rebuilt the annie headlight. 

Here is the odd looking sand dome, pretty much done.









This isn't the greatest image, but you can see the conduit on the roof. The shades and curtains are made from fine cloth that I cut to fit, then rubbed in coal dust to give them the correct look.









I decided to use the generator the engine came with, it isn't perfect but it will do. I made new, longer supports for it out of brass strap, and I gave it a new exhaust pipe that is shorter.










The headlight I had on the engine before was Accucraft, but those are too expensive so I modified the Bachmann one. I cut the right shapes for the 3D number boards out of aluminum, and folded them to fit over the flat ones. I then cut a proper support for the headlight out of brass, and folded it.










Here is the finished headlight after paint, still needs some touch ups but it will look just fine.









Thanks for looking


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## R.W. Marty (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan,
Looking very good.
That is great work on the headlight & bracket.
Rick Marty


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan,

Lookin' good! Check this one out.

http://www.discoverlivesteam.com/fo.../index.htm

I found this for sale on the Narrow Gauge Discussion Group. About the same price as a NEW car!


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Yes that is pretty expensive, lots of fun though I bet.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Dylan, you are talented beyond your years. What a great project! I have one question: has the cab, assuming it's off the Annie, been enlarged? It looks right. Can't wait for the next installment.


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Looking great Dylan









Having a wreck is just like the real RGS


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Haha yes the RGS did seem to have their share of misfortune over the years. And to answer Joe's question, it is a wooden style cab off a different annie, and the only thing I did to make it bigger was to lengthen the roof in the back by about and inch.


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Hey everyone, almost done with my engine! All I need to do now is letter it, weather it, I need a battery for its Phoenix Sound System, and I need to add some stuff to the running gear. I also need to add piping to the air tank on the tender and a rerailer. Here are some pictures...


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

That really looks sharp, Dylan! 

Later, 

K


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Looking good Dylan. Looks out you guys he is going to out do the masters here.







Later RJD


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Definitely looking sharp there Dylan! Quite a lovely sight! Are you going to go with Stan's decals? The reason I ask is that I don't recall there being any commercial decals for RGS#20 in 1:22.5 and your bash deserves the best!


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice work Dylan. Lots of innovative techniques in there. Please keep us updated.

vr


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## David Fletcher (Jan 2, 2008)

Absolutely magnificient Dylan - I reckon the best #20 conversion of the Big Hauler yet, and boy have there been a lot of attempts by others in the last 20 years! Looks terrific. 

David.


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Dylanfreeski123 on 17 Jan 2010 04:29 PM 
Hey everyone! I have been working on my engine and here are some photos...

Yesterday I decided to take her out for a spin 









Unfortunately I was not paying attention and there was a wreck.









This did not slow me down much, I just had to repair the coupler on the tender.









And also the left rod on the locomotive. 










Then today I made quite a bit of progress. I almost finished the cab. I had to extend it about an inch in the back which I did with a piece of styrene and then I covered the whole roof in metal tape like Jerry used on his rotary. Next I did the window framing, glass, and wind visors. I also made my own roof vent out of aluminum, now all I have to do for the cab is the conduit on top and lettering. 










Up close







Dylan Please tell me you didn't have the mice in there and they weren't harmed right?????????????? Hah LOL Regal p.s. if they did survive how are they doing????? Nice work anyways LOL Regal


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

You might find this useful. Did it a while back. 

http://www.smegworld.org.uk/spaf/t19/t19.htm 


Ended up like this


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Dylan,

I'm not sure if this was mentioned before, but what scale will your #20 be? 1:22.5? 1:20.3?


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

I'm not quite sure if I did a specific scale, the plans were printed out at 1:22.5 and it matches them pretty closely, but AutoCAD messes the size up a bit sometimes. By the way Rod, very nice but I am curios, where did you get the crosshead and guides?


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks yours is looking good. 

There is a link up there Dylan The cross head and sliders were laser cut stainless steel. I used them for my C-21 and few others also. all gone now I'm afraid. 

The bit you might find most interesting is here, it is a list af all the changes with pictures and also a zip for the cab pdf. *[url]http://www.smegworld.org.uk/spaf/t19/t19-key.htm* [/url]

Here's some artwork for the builders plate that might help. 










The rest is at *[url]http://www.smegworld.org.uk...m[/url] 

PS if you are doing hinge detail on the cab, hinges should be on the left of both doors, it often gets missed.*


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Oh, I forgot, the pdfs for the cross head and slides is in the cab zip too.


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Thanks you did a great job, I just wish I had spent more time on the crossheads and guides, mine aren't quite right. 









As you can see the crosshead is just riding on the lower part of the guild. It should be in between the two guides like it is on yours.


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Never mind, it's the over all appearence that will count, it's early days and I am sure you'll get there. 

best 

Rod


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan,
If it's bugging you that much, you might consider going back and correcting it. You've got the talent and I don't think it would be that hard...


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

You know, I suppose you are right, I could just cut new ones and replace them.


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

If you decide to do that, then like I said there is a scale PDF of the crosshead and slides included in the zip file on that howto page.


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

If you lowered the top guide bar a bit, and made the crosshead a little taller so that it meets the guide, you would achieve the look you want without a lot of extra work. Certainly, somebody who is capable of building such an impressive model should have no trouble making that little modification. Just a note - I could be wrong, but I don't think the bolts should be in line with the guide bar, since the crosshead is not very useful if bolted to the guide. I would have to look at photos to confirm, but I think they would be either between or below the guides. Not a criticism, just a (hopefully helpful) comment. 

Great work!


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

From the link above.











R


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Thanks everyone for your input. I have constructed a new one on the left side out of styrene this time. I did take into consideration that the crosshead would not be bolted to the guild and fixed that on the new one as well. After I get the lubricator things and valve gear on I will post pics.


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## coyote97 (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi there! 

Yesssss! That crosshead looks much better! Was worth changing it. 
Your work shows that the bachmann tenwheeler isnt a badlooking loco. With some effort, u can change it to a real tresure-box. Its an elegant loco! 

U hit that quite good, i think, and i hope that mechanics will last, so u have many years of fun with that model! 

btw: funny that in English the crosshead is a direct translation to German: "Kreuzkopf"-"Crosshead" 
Maybe because the first engines all came from England? 
But the part itself should have been known of the marine steamers....so, i have no clue who "invented" this expression. Would be interesting, because "head"....yes, thats ok. But "cross" ???? 


Greetings 
Really a great work! 

Frank


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Erm, Coyote, thats not Dylans, thats mine. Read it again mate.


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## coyote97 (Apr 5, 2009)

ahm...oooops!


***shame on me***

I confess, was a quick-reading, just overflew the last postings...hehe...sometimes it goes wrong.

Sorry.

But it doesnt change the fact that this crosshead looks good! ***grin***


Frank


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Haha okay I will post pics of my crosshead in a few


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Dylan are the MICE ok!!!!! Hah LOL Regal


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Oh that was a long time ago. I donated the lot of them to my 7th grade science teacher, I'm sure they are doing quite well!!!


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Okay I made new crossheads out of styrene this time. They are more accurate and slide better on the guides than the old ones. 
Here is a picture of the new and improved running gear...


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

looking good Dylan


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

Wow! Not only does it look just like #20, but it looks nothing like an Annie. Too many Annie bashes end up looking like Annie bashes, but this - this looks like like RGS 20!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Sweet!


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Thanks everyone, just received the lettering and when I get the finishing touches done and it gets weathered, I shall post final pictures!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Are you done yet Dylan?


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

I am not. I still have to letter the headlight number boards, and it is dumping snow here and will be for the remainder of the weekend, so I will be lucky if I get a chance to weather it, perhaps I can do it in the garage.


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Okay I'm done!



























The weathering consists of dull-cote, alcohol and ink, and then I sprayed some finely powdered graphite on the top of the smokebox, boiler and cab. I also added a spark arrestor that my dad made like 12 years ago for one of his engines. It has great character to it now, looks perfect for the RGS. I also replaced the front coupler lift bar with a thinner piece of wire, and replaced the bracket things for it with brass ones from Trackside.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Well done Dylan! Well done indeed!!


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

That turned out fantastic. Now, gotta work on some proper rolling stock for it. The RGS never had double-door steel box cars.  (Sorry, couldn't resist!) Seriously, you've got another one to be quite proud of! What's next? 

Later, 

K


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Awesome!


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Well I am working on getting a radio in the tender, and I have a Phoenix Sound system for it as well. That boxcar is just a universal receiver car. I do have a terribly damaged, balsa RGS short caboose, it was my first scratchbuild but it's not too bad if I can repair it. I also have some green D&RGW ng coaches that should look nice with that engine. I am not sure what my next project is, I am trying to save up for a laptop at the moment, but I think I am going to stick with RGS. It is best to stick with one railroad, at least for now.


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## trw1089 (Jan 27, 2008)

Well done Dylan 

As one who has bashed one too (see pic below), I know the amount of work in it, and you've gone further than I did by doing the crossheads etc. Keep going with the kit bashing, I reckon its one of the most satisfying things you can do, taking a razor saw to a brand new loco! 

Here's one that I prepared earlier... 










Cheers 
Tony


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

That is very nice, what did you use for the little ring around the top of the steam dome? I gave up on trying to find a suitable shape.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Very nice! Well done!


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## trw1089 (Jan 27, 2008)

Hi Dylan

The cap around the steam dome came from a plastic cotton reel that was around the right diameter which I then cut down to size and hollowed out. Luckily my wife hasn't needed to use that colour cotton for a while, otherwise I'd be in trouble!

Cheers
Tony


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

How interesting


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan, 

I just stubled across this and was very pleased to see your work. 

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see an adolesent taking the time to create something as great as this. Reminds me of how things were when I grew up, before video games and face book.


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## Dylanfreeski123 (Apr 13, 2008)

Thanks a lot, video games and facebook are pretty awesome but this is fun every once in a while too, and thanks to everyone for your support during this project.


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## Dave Ottney (Jan 2, 2008)

Dylan, 
Excellent modeling job. 
Dave


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Great job Dylan! There are lots of great young people out there, we just don't hear enough about them. Dylan is obviously one of them. It is great to see young people interested in the hobby. I have a ten year old grandson who is my little train buddy. He loves building things and I hope I can keep him interested. The young generation is awsome!!!


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