Back a few years ago (here) I posted photos sent to me of a Scale-Craft 0-6-0 boiler that had been combined with a modified 4-6-0 frame to make a nice 2-6-0. I’ve always liked the look of a big Mogul, and had it in my mind to build one someday.

Then a couple years ago a S-C 4-6-0 modified into a 2-6-0 came in and I had extra 0-6-0 boilers, so it was just a matter of time. With the cooler weather it was a good time to start the project.

Which was the roots of one prior post, on the smokebox of this model. I have two loose examples of the part, both of which had stamped markings on them. More on that here.

In any case, with this post I realize I should start a series on building this model. As I began with the boiler modifications, I found another curiosity.

It is a good thing actually. I wanted to take apart the boiler, to remove and then extend the smokebox. I used my torch — the one I use for musical instrument work! — and it would not touch the solder at all. Clearly it was brazed or silver soldered, at a high temperature, no easy task. But the correct method for doing this, bravo to Scale-Craft. Because this actually simplifies my process. I just needed to cut the original smokebox and fit up the extension. Because of the brazing or silver solder on the existing superstructure as manufactured it will be a breeze to soft solder it all together — as I have no worry of the current joint falling apart.

I cut the front of the original smokebox off with a jewelers saw, marking the line to cut with tape as seen in the photo below.

The smokestack needs to be centered over the steam chests. Compared to the model I linked up at the beginning of this article, this frame is not quite as shortened so the final engine will be a bit beefier looking. I’m excited by the proportions of this model. My next steps are cleaning up the boiler, torch soldering on the extension, and pondering all the detail options. But the best part is I know it will run nicely on my small layout, a big motivation to keep the project going forward.

Update

The main update is I realized that the frame seen in the photos, it was not going to work the way they shortened it in relation to how I extended the boiler. They should have moved the steam chests rearward in relation to the drivers. Instead, they just hacked off the front of the frame.

The photo below shows the boiler right after I soldered it. You wire it in place and then use a torch to solder it.

The extended boiler came out fine, it’s all cleaned up now and ready to go on to next steps. But, if I modify this frame properly, the boiler will be too long to make into a 2-6-0. Instead, I’m going to shift the project to make a 4-6-0 or maybe a 4-4-2. Not what I planned, but at the least it will look a great deal different than (and potentially better than) the typical Scale-Craft 4-6-0. More on that project as time goes forward.

Continue to part II