Another project I finally got to was getting this vintage Schorr 2-8-0 operational again. It had been detailed very nicely by James Trout, but had suffered in storage.

To the underlying model first, these were imported from Japan in 1956. An overview of Schorr models may be found here, and there is much more detail on the line in my book.

Trout put some effort into making this a great display model. Turning to the tender first, the details are a bit fragile but look at the poling pole and rerailer hanging on this side, with a nice chain and another rerailer on the other. The coal load is fascinating too, as what he did was cut the coal load out of a Scale-Craft tender and fit it to the space nicely. As it is metal it adds a little weight and is a neat piece of craftsmanship.

Speaking of craftsmanship, Trout also changed details on the end of the tender and installed a very unusual coupler. These are also on the NW-2 model I described here, they are completely operable (using a chain from the cut lever) and are marked on the shank as being made of Sterling silver. I have no idea the maker but they were not cheap items. He used them on locomotive models, and I have three more of these in my supplies that perhaps I find another suitable model for someday. They are OO size and will manually couple with Kadee and any standard vintage dummy coupler.

Looking at the locomotive further, you can hardly tell for all the tarnish, but he polished the brass boiler bands, the cylinder heads, and more. This must have looked so nice when it was completed! But time has been hard on the model.

My main goal was to put new universals on the tender drive and get it running. If you were curious what the motor looks like, this is it. As with the boxcab in the previous post I used AHM SW-1 universals to better connect the motor to drive (I used the same setup on the Schorr 2-8-0 seen in the book as well). I oiled everything, cleaned up the wheels, and it will run but not real well to be honest. But also it looks like a weathered old locomotive that belongs on a scrap line at this point too. I will ponder my options, but for now the model is stabilized and a neat example of the craftsmanship of James Trout.