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Kernut Porter
This critter began as an article on building the Marion Mine Tram in On18. I simply upsized the drawings to 1:24 and substituted
the N-scale mechanism for an On30 Bachmann Porter drive. I wrapped the cylinders with styrene to give them a little more
heft. The cab was built from 1/32" aircraft ply. The saddle tank was scratch'd from styrene. The backhead and details
were loosely interpreted from other small porters. The sand dome was made from parts by Northeast Narrow Gauge. The figure
is another modified SLM engineer. This miniscule 15" gauge Porter is of the coulda-shoulda-woulda variety of building.
It runs as smooth as ball bearings rolling on glass and pulls like a draft horse. I have tested it with six ounces of cars
on a 12% grade without it breaking a sweat.
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An American Swamp Rat
A friend of mine, Steve Bennett of Black Dog Mining Co. U.K., built a similar unit from a Smokey Bottum Lumber Critter Kit.
I really like the Ford 30-something era look to the grille and hood, I needed one of these! I decided the one I would build
would be a little more "continental" in appearance. The unit has a stack, American style link and pin couplers
from Ozark Miniatures, a detailed operators area and an SLM driver. It is powered by a SPUD and runs well for its size.
I call it my lawn tractor for the rails.
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A Jeffrey Self-Contained Battery Powered Truck
This litle gem was stripped from the pages of the July/August 2003 issue of Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette. Tim Stolle's
drawing gave me the shove I needed to get started. The locomotive is powered by a model power 2-axle locomotive. The body
was built from styrene, brass and NBW castings. the deck was fashioned from stained popsicle sticks. The controls were built
from glass beads and bits of wire. The body iwas filled with lead to aid in the unit adhering to the railhead. It pulls
fairly well for such a small critter. These drivetrains work best when the wheels are polished and when they have been broken-in
properly. The operator is another SLM figure.
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