eBay sales related to the Morlok auction seem to have slowed down but toward the end this great little 2-6-2 came up for sale which I was very pleased to win for a very reasonable price. I knew exactly what it was because it was in a list of models that Ed had tagged as being overscale for HO. Thus, his description:

International Model Products (IMP)

This firm produced many HO gauge locos in the 1950s that were oversized for HO scale.

Milwaukee 2-6-2 loco and tender. This engine and tender are exactly 00 scale, based on comparison to plans in MR. Mine is converted to 00, by widening the locomotive wheels on the axles, and replacing the HO tender trucks with Schorr 00 arch bar trucks.

The engine today is exactly as described. One bad thing happened over the years though; the drivers deteriorated over on the insulated side. It looks like swelling and humidity did the job, causing the rim of every driver to crack. Which is a bit of a bummer as I grew up in a town with a very similar ATSF 2-6-2 in the park, engine 1015, this type of locomotive would really suit my layout.

So while I don’t model the Milwaukee, Ed was correct that the IMP model was one that we could use in OO with a bit of work.

Ed had more on this in an article in the December, 2004 issue of The OO Road. I have other projects in line first, but at some point I would really love to get this vintage brass model running on new drivers.