Got the motor out of the spectrum shell and did another mock up. The I-10 boiler was a little too snug over the metal core, but there are spacers inside the shell that are easy to shave down for better fit.

The main issue with re-applying the smoke box will be grinding off that little shelf at the bottom front of the weight.

After a lot of research i found that Cal Scale has the correct Raggonet power reverse for the M1.

You can do it! Keep up the good work. The hard part is done. The first boiler cut! Now you have nothing to lose and everything to gain including experience!!!

Making some headway. Got the protrusions on the weight cut off, and the smokebox carved out so it will sit over the cylinder pipes of the spectrum chassis. I was Going to try and use the pilot off the old Bachmann (w/o the ladders), but am now leaning toward keeping the spectrum one, and add some detail to it, mainly because it has the coupler done already. Going to order a new trailing truck from Bachmann.

Mr. Bill and I talked back and fourth on this for a while, discussed options on how to do the boiler build, and came up with a pretty simple idea. Now, having the Wiswesser "O" scale drawing to work with made life easier, and combining two Bachmann I-10 shells work progressed. The first batch of photos show the initial stages. There is approximately a scale 6'6" addition to the smoke box from the donor boiler. There was 9" removed from between the sand and steam dome of permanent boiler. When I cut the firebox I left 2'9" on the permanent boiler, then used a full firebox from the donor and grafted together. I used simple ABS glue found in the plumbing dept of any hardware store. An important note, I left the detail intact strictly for re-alignment. Enjoy!!!

Bill

A few more details, I shaved some metal off each side of the frame, opened up a groove for future wiring, and as the micrometer shows .802 makes for a nice easy slip fit of the shell. The glue I used to attach each piece, and some careful cuts yield a superb job!

Bill