Improving The Venerable Tyco Rogers 4-6-0

Sometimes, you need a fun project. Recently, YouTube has been feeding me videos from younger modellers dabbling with old 19^th century locomotives in HO, mainly Bachmann, Roundhouse and Tyco/Mantua. Many people love to replicate the Sierra Railway #3 due to its fame from Back to the Future II and one of them, a fan of video games Red Dead Redemption as been quite active lately and I got bitten again by the old time railroad bug.

Sierra Railway #3 drawn by Gary Caviglia

As many know, the Tyco 4-6-0 is based on the real Sierra Railway #3 but scaled at about 1/72 instead of 1/87 due to large motors used back then. The tooling is a little bit old, but the chassis is smooth and sturdy, with brass bearings for the wheels. It’s also a modular locomotive in the sense you can replace parts and dismantle it as you wish, making it the quintessential kitbash fodder.

SR #3 in its original appearace (credit: Wikipedia)

However, I’ve never been a big fan of SR #3 in its “modern” appearance. The weird Southern Pacific steel cab on a 19^th century classic locomotive is kind of inelegant and breaks the illusion for me even if prototypical. Poor Sierra #3 got involved in an accident in 1918 that crushed it original wooden cab. So I naturally wondered if the locomotive could be turned back into something from the early 1880s. Gladly enough, we still have picture of her in its original appearance. So, what if some 3D printed replacement parts could be made to make it more interesting and beautiful. A conversion kit that would be easy to implement and require very little kitbashing.

Down the rabbit hole in SketchUp with a Brooks loco

So I went on the web and looked at locomotives that had a similar boiler shape, wheel arrangement and domes location. Sure, the original SR #3 was a good contender. Replacing only a few key features would greatly improve its appearance when it was still brand new and lettered for Prescott & Arizona Central. This option helps us to keep the original boiler and tender which is quite interesting. It’s only a cosmetic make over and can be quite effective. However, I was curious if something more generic could be done.

Burlington, Cedar Rapid & Northern 92 was a close match

The search went on and I discovered several Rhodes Island and Brooks Locomotive Works 4-6-0s of the same era that had a more ornate appearance and a more classic cab. Several of these locomotives were build for different railways and I feel the cab proportions looks better than the original Sierra one which was more vertical. However, it comes with the caveat that the tender must be replaced with a Bachmann or Athearn/Roundhouse one to get the correct dimensions.

BCR&N's Brooks 4-6-0 provided measurement

I’ve made all the parts for the Brooks version. The conversion includes a stack, a wooden pilot, two cylinder covers, a set of wheel splashers, new domes, a cab, a bell, injectors and a pair of Brooks builder plates. I would also like to create proper era arch bar trucks.

Doesn't take much to completely change a familiar appearance

I haven’t yet created the Rogers parts, but they would likely includes a new cab, new domes with a whistle, a new stack, a pair of splash covers, Rogers brass plates for the cylinders, a wooden pilot and a backhead. I would also consider a new air pump to replace the ugly molded on parts.

I think that finer details parts on a sturdy Tyco frame with a good modern motor and state of the art paint job and decals could really make this old vintage model shines. I can see many more possibilities with that little locomotive. With many people having access to 3D printing nowadays, what would have been a very complicated project can be turned into an enjoyable ride.