I’ve written a feature for Railroad Model Craftsman magazine about modelling an HO scale Southern Pacific SW1. This is my contribution to operating sessions on the SP Clovis Branch layout being built by my friend Pierre Oliver.
I was attracted to this model because of its two trolley poles – used to activate level crossing protection on SP’s Pacific Electric subsidiary.
For this project, I found a pre-painted Walthers model, from their first run back in the early 1990s. I replaced the wheels and rebuilt the drive train between the gear towers with a more modern (and smaller) motor. I then wedged a LokSound decoder, PowerPack (electronic flywheel) module, and two speakers into the locomotive, and gave it LED lighting.
There were numerous cosmetic changes, too: I opened up the top and front grilles, adding photo etched replacement parts. I also added photo etched parts to the cab, including sunshades and wipers. In addition, I scratch built several parts for this model including the trolley pole bases, hooks and retrievers, and the spark arrestor on the hood. I also added some missing lettering.
You can read more about the prototype – and the model – in the June, 2019 issue of RMC.
