In 1956, most coal trains were powered by the 2-10-0 I-1sa locomotives with one on the point and two more about 100 cars back pushing on the rear. About three years ago I had the opportunity to acquire one of the I-1's scratch built by John Bortz. I know that there are at least two that he built in existence and I'm fortunate to own one of them. I'm not sure of the history of this particular unit, but I know that one of his I-1's won best in show at an NMRA convention in the 1980's. This engine is numbered 4618. It was built using a SSLS mechanism, but everything was scratch built using brass sheet and tube throughout. It weighs nearly 3-pounds and has a large can motor (back then SSLS drives all used Pittman open frame motors) and I must say that it's one of the finest running S scale steam engines that I've every owned - a real testament to John's skills. The video is from the shakedown run after I installed DCC with sound. The only modification that I made was doing the late-era Pennsy headlight generator/headlight swap. I wanted a late model I-1 so while I had the boiler disassembled, I did that modification. She's a real beauty! Anybody know where the other Bortz I-1's reside?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment