On30 has historically been a modelers scratch and bash gauge. Inspired by craftsman like Gordon North, Steve Fisher, Jeff Saxton and Laurie Green just to name a few, many modelers continue that legacy. Since the introduction of many more R-T-R  On30 products there seems to be more people who are a little timid about taking the plunge into a full blown bashing project, In an effort to keep the legacy alive here is a little sample of just what one encounters in such a conversion which will hopefully get some of those creative juices flowing

On the left is the cut down frame and the newly made wooden deck. Note that the front coupler pocket (and rear) has been cut from the scrap end beams of the Class “B”. Now is the time to test fit and tweak the running of the mechanism. The boiler was cut down in three places . First the smoke box was shortened. Second the ash pan was cut down  as was the pedestal. The pedestal was filled with epoxy and a screw was used to secure the front of the boiler from the underside of the deck into this harden glue. A hole was made in the deck in front of the pedestal and another in the bottom of the smoke box to run the front light wire.  A new diamond stack was added from BVM. The cab was created from scale lumber and scribed siding. The tank was made from a cut down square tank that I produce. Below.

To begin this process one must have the courage to disassemble a possibly new locomotive.  Both the Climax and the Gilbert were built on a flatcar type frame made of wood in the earlier issues . Later Climax also produced a steel framed version. This bash uses wood .

First I stripped the Bachmann model down to it’s frame and mechanism with the pistons removed. Snap off the trucks but leave the  king posts on. Some wires will need to be cut and reconnected. Remove the motor and remove the trans mission cover .Take out the transverse gears leaving only the ones for the trucks. Now cut the frame down as indicated in the picture. This is best done with a band saw but other methods will work. Carefully cut the coupler pockets from the end beam. Reassemble the frame. I added a drop of  labelle 102 on the top motor bearing to quiet the Bachmann motor. Next make a basic flatcar to fit on top of the Bachmann frame cutting a hole for the engine. 

A fascination with Class “A” climaxes began for me long ago in my HOn30 days and continues now.  What is it about these ugly ducklings? I suppose it’s the “down home” nature of the design and the way that so many were modified over the years to reflect the needs of the owners. One was even converted to diesel. Being a tinker, my fascination stems from the fact that these locos were a tinker’s delight  and are now a bashers heaven. The first On30 version that I made, a T boiler, used MDC  HO  Climax trucks. These performed well but were less than adequate visually.  Then Bachmann provided  a better solution when they issued their model of  the Class “B” version.  Thankfully, Climax used the same trucks in both versions. During the process of  robbing  the  Bachmann model of its wheels I started planning how to make a full conversion using as much of the Bachmann Climax as possible. Requests and suggestions by friends led to research on the similar Gilbert Loco. I found that the same stripped down Class “B” Climax could handily be bashed into a Gilbert  Class  “B”.

 

 Both of my Class “A” Climax locos. The attempt was to have a family feel about these engines. Similar machines with different details. Both have DCC and can crawl with the best of the snails.

The Gilbert “B” can be made the same way as the Climax  with the use of the stock Bachmann cab instead of the custom wooden one of the previous bash. For the tender, one can use the stock Climax tender but I chose to use a modified Bachmann Shay tender because the size was a little more appropriate to the 1 to 1 version. I also added a tool box behind the tender. This model now switches the waterfront on Steve Fisher’s new D.R. RR.

 

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