BASH   IT ................just  BASH  IT !

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.

	The red parts of this project , a Tomy product , was 1/4" scale  static
	model of the Disney Land ,Japan locomotive. My friend Steve Fisher and I
	given were these by the importer. We put them on MDC 0-6-0 drives and
	for various reasons were less than satisfied with the running ability of the
	final product.  Recently another friend suggested that we look at the
	Bachmann HO  0-6-0 as good power source. Thus we dusted off our
	models and started an upgrade bash.

THE MECHANISM

	Here is a stock Bachmann 0-6-0 on the bottom. modified above that.
	Note the larger cab deck of styrene, larger pilot deck of styrene, to accommodate
	a set of lead trucks. The motor mount piece has been cut down and the light
	selector card has been removed to fit into a narrower boiler. If you are going to use
	the stock saddle tank this modification is not necessary.

For  this project we first had to fit the mechanism, designed for a wide saddle tank,
into a smaller boiler. This required removing the directional light module from the motor which
for this Mogul was not needed. Then the motor mounting bracket needed some surgery.
It looked like this after a little saw  and  Dremel tool work. If you plan to use the Bachmann 0-6-0 mechanism with the stock
saddle tank boiler then this internal modification is not necessary. You may, however, want to change the light bulb arrangement
to accommodate a larger O scale headlight.

	This engine bash, a 2-6-0 saddle tank required no internal modifications other than to rewire the front light and to remove the rear light from the stock mechanism.

Fabricating and installing the lead trucks was one of the more time consuming parts of this build. First I had to find a set of wheel that
would look size appropriate. in discussion with another modeler, I chose Grandt  ore jimmy wheels which I had on hand( a deciding
factor).  One reason for this choice is that the Grandt wheel takes a wire axle that can be run through a piece of brass tube that has
been solder to a small sheet brass tang . Note the pivot point is
forward of the attachment point. The whole assembly attaches to
the forward gear cover plate screw. and pivots over the boiler
screw.