got a little challenge from a fellow customizer Dan Burgess, to put a Marx motor in a Lionel 1688 and put a creative paint scheme on it. Dan generously provided a 1688E shell and a matching tender. I found a Marx motor from the bay with smoke unit and traction tire to put in it. Tuned up the motor and added new brushes plus a rebuilt smoke unit with a Lionel 27ohm element. Dan is an extremely talented customizer so only something totally cool will do to impress him! I removed the silver ring from the smoke stack and filled in the hole with jb weld steel stik, then drilled a new hole back just a bit to accommodate the smoke unit. I made front motor supports and used some steel stik to fill in the gaps and smooth out the lines. I used the front & rear trucks from a Lionel 2-4-2 and mounted them to the 1688. For the rear motor mount, I used a collapse plate from an E7 truck and jbweld steel stick to attach it to the shell. I cut new grooves in the motor plates to get it the right height. Also used a collapse plate to make a rear mount for the trailing truck and steel stik to attach it to the frame. I'll get a paint scheme picked out, then sand and smooth everything out and get it painted.
12 сен 2024
