N scale - SAR 1982

[Fidel Naidoo]

Howzit.

It's a little bit amateur hour here, but over the last few months I have been collecting items together, in order to emulate the SAR locos and rolling stock of 1982, when I did a few months as a unit assistant on 5E's and 6E's.

I last did any type of modelling about 30 years back, when fingers were more nimble, and eyes could actually see well enough to thread a needle. ( Maybe N gauge wasn't the best choice. )
Anyhow, hit and miss, I have enough rolling stock to keep me happy modelling for the next few years, so I can only get better. ( There is a lot of room for that. )

The first thing I did was get hold of a Bachmann diesel Bo-Bo, in Santa Fe livery. Just as an experiment, I dressed it up a bit, and painted it, and almost thought of it as 'Class 34'. ( yes, yes, I know it doesn't even have the wheel count, let alone a million other things wrong with. I wanted to know if I would enjoy this. )

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Then a dining car :

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A very weathered baggage car, with guard standing at the open door.

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And, what I really wanted to make :
A pair of 6E's. one is a 6E1, they are both powered ( Lima engines ), they have a driver and assistant in one cab, they have directional lighting on each end, and common pickups, by means of the control cables between them. I made every mistake in the book, and the stripes alone took me 6 weekends to find the best way.

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Next project :

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I can see a Red Devil inside that 4-8-4.........

[Derek Walker]

You must keep an eye open for the Del Prado static models of the 6E and 4E, I believe somebody has managed to convert them to running. They occasionally pop up at Bidorbuy. Good luck in your quest. N Gauge is awesome, but my eyes are too weary to see on that scale. I am going to PM you a website to visit that may help in your searches for goodies.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Fidel,

Well done!

I think they all look great........

The important thing I think (especially in this scale) is not to end up rivet counting. If they look and feel good/right, then indeed they are..................

[Fidel Naidoo]

Kevin, thank you !!

I'm having fun with this, and I'll naturally get better at it.
In a month or two, I'll do another pair of 6E's in blue, and do a comparison.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Look forward to seeing them!

[arnocronje]

Hi Fidel, congrats, it looks very good! No one who has not attempted this before will know what it is really about. I quickly gave up on the Blue 6E I attempted to convert. Do you have a layout that you run these on, or do you only build the models? Regards Stasiemeester

[Fidel Naidoo]

Anyway, several months down the line, I want to post some photos relating to the last picture I posted above - the non-descript grey steam engine, that I was planning on making into the Class 26 Red Devil.

Plenty of work still to do.....

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Nice to see you are still busy.

Keep it up!

[Fidel Naidoo]

I struggled last night to get these other photos on.....

[Fidel Naidoo]

It goes forward ......
My photography skills are far less than my modelling skills, so the model looks worse in photos than real life ...... but, still, whatever...