If anybody has ever been in the cab of a Baldwin switcher, the one thing they discover is these things are beasts when it comes to lugging a heavy string of cars. I’ve been in the cab of a Baldwin switcher and I was quite impressed with their ability to earn their keep. Having experienced the Baldwin led me to model one of these. We all now the Reading was no stranger to the Baldwin and we all know that the Reading had a nice roster of Baldwins in its stables. The Reading did start purging these from its roster as EMD’s took over the switching duties, but they did keep a few of these little beasts running to end. 703 was one of a few Baldwins still active up to 1970. From what I’ve seen, the unit was kept close to home in its final years.

I really didn’t need an excuse to model a Baldwin, but being able to ride in these switchers kind of sealed the deal. For one I already had an undec Stewart DS4-4-1000 sitting on my shelf for ever waiting for something to happen. 2nd reason is, I was looking for an easy fill in project (let me re-phrase that, my term easy project). I didn’t want to go all crazy like I usually do and the Baldwin was an easy choice.

I chose 703 for the project because it did run until about 1970. 703 was also one of 9 units that were radio equipped. And to keep it simple, I chose not to model any of the units equipped with MU controls and drop steps. After researching the details of the prototype 703 and gathering photos of 703 and its sisters, it was time to get started.

The frame detail I did was to be simple but to be a major improvement over the stock details. I started by cutting off all air piping to the tanks and remove the cast on fuel filler. I made an adjustment to where the air tanks sit in reference to the fuel tank. On the model, the air tanks sit in the center of the fuel tank. Looking at prototype pictures, you can see the air tanks sit to the rear edge of the fuel tank. I just removed one of the inner baffles on the cast air tank which gave me the freedom to adjust them accordingly. Next I drilled out the ends of the air tanks to accept .022 round brass wire along with parts from a Details west piping kit. I then glued the tanks in place and fitted the piping. The fuel filler was an EMD style from Details West also. I also marked and cut slots into the frame so I could add jack pads. Stewart and I believe Bowser also has omitted this detail. I added these to the frame because they do sit back from the sides the walkway.




Next I took apart the trucks, cleaned them up of any factory lube. I grit blasted the side frames and gear towers and washed them clean of any grit. Reassembled the gear tower and lubed them up. The wires on the contact strips are pressure clipped in place. I cut off the tabs and soldered the wires in place and hand painted the contact stripe with Tamiya XF-85 Rubber tire black. I’ve been using this color to paint all my underframes. It looks like a weathered black.

I always say this but I hate engineering plastic for the side frames of any model. I do wish the manufactures would quit using this plastic. But, I do admit as long as I don’t have to detail the side frames, they do look great when grit blasted. They get different shades of an aged look which limits the need to weather or paint the side frames. I still weather them, but very little. The only thing I added to the side frames was the piping for the brake cylinder. I used .015 wire bent into shape and painted with the Tamiya XF-85. Next I weathered the wheel sets and assembled the trucks once the paint dried on the wheels. I then painted the frame with Tamiya XF-85 and allowed that to dry for a couple of days before attaching the trucks.
Once assembled, I test ran the frame to make sure all was good with assembly. Next I plugged in a DCC module with no sound and test ran that. For now the frame is done and set aside, time for some body work.

My goal with this project was to keep a balance between stock details and upgrade key details and areas to give that pop to the model. Keeping to the Kiss formula (keep it simple stupid), I made the decision of which stock parts to keep and replace. I decided not to cut out grilles and replace them. I would keep all stock handrails even though I dislike them. But there were some details I could not live with. Looking at the hood and walkway, those oversize grab irons had to go and the lack of depth with the sand fillers on the side of the hood needed some help. I also didn’t like the oversized coupler lift bar and the coupler pocket. Replacing these details and adding that “Reading” look would really improve the overall appearance of this model.

Starting with the hood, I drilled out the sand fillers and used a file to clean the rectangle hole up. The sand filler housing is angular in design. The sand filler base is sloped for easy access and the top of the housing is designed the same way. I built an angled box out of styrene to fit the Detail Associates sand filler hatches and glued that to the inside of the hood on each side. I then plugged the holes for the grab irons so I could re-drill them for the scaled BLMA drop grab irons.


Towards the rear of the headlight, there is a vent pipe that sticks out. I used a small rivet from Tichy Trains to represent that. I then located and drilled the hole for the Custom Finishing single chime horn just in front of the cab. I glued all grab irons in place. Using the stock railing along the hood, I clipped off what was supposed to be lift rings. I trimmed up Details Associates switcher side mount lift rings to fit them in place of the original rings. Also added was a number plate for the lower right of the fan housing screen. I made this using .010 styrene. Next I added a new radiator screen plate on top of the hood. I used Plano scratch builder walk way for the grille. I cut it to size and glued that on top of the cast screen.


Lastly, I glued in place the exhaust stack. I made a stack lid using a class light cover from BLMA. These are brass etchings which work real nice for the illusion of a lid. Body is done next is the cab.

My main objective with cab was to bring out the details that make it a Reading engine. Obliviously a Reading diesel needs those drip strips. I use brass .010 x .018 and bend the desired angle according to the prototype. Not all drip strips are the same throughout the diesel roster. Next since this unit had an antenna, I used a brass lift ring from Athabasca scale models as a mount and a brass firecracker from Details West. I soldered the two together. Next I drilled a hole in the front wall under the roof of the cab and test fit the set up. I glued this on last prior to painting. Next I built the all-weather window set up and glued that in place. To see how to do this, see my S1 build which explains the construction. Naturally the glass is left off until after painting and weathering. Next I removed the molded on door handles and bent new ones with .012 brass rod. I drilled holes for the windshield wipers also. The last thing I did was to take the walkway battery plates and cut the mounting pins off and sanded the bottoms of these plates until I got to a thickness of about .018. These are too thick and it makes a difference in appearance on top of those battery boxes. I then glue these in place.







The cab is now complete, moving on to the walkway.

My final process for this build was to reduce the width of the coupler pocket making it semi-scale. A semi-scale pocket is just wide enough for a Kadee whisker couple to fit in through the front. It also increases the tension of the whisker coupler maintain center, and it looks allot better. This process will be covered in the SW1200m clinic. Also to learn how I made couple extensions like you see in the pics refer to the S1 clinic.

Next I made the coupler lift bars using .012 brass rod. This is also explained in the S1 project, please reference that article. The next detail to add was the grab irons on the face of the pilot both front and rear. Lastly, I needed to add a main reservoir air hose. On most early diesel engines, you will see the main air pipe exits the right side of the pilot. An extension was made to cross the line over to the left of the pilot and under the coupler. I made mine using Cal Scale brass steam locomotive pilot air hose set 190-319. I carefully bent these to form the line according to the pictures. These tend to be brittle, so make the bends count and do pick up an extra pack just in case.

With everything complete it was time to paint. Everyone has an opinion on what RDG green should look like. It’s almost the same as LV guys arguing about the Cornell Red paint color. I always say, paint what you see and think about the age of the model and date and quality of the picture you’re trying to copy. That determines your paint of choice. Like Cornell Red, RDG green faded differently throughout its life cycle.

So painting the model comes down to your choice of brand and how you wish to age the paint. One of the other painting features I did for this model was to paint the interior and modify it slightly to represent a Baldwin interior. Before full assembly after painting, I routed two SMD warm lights to each end of the model. I don’t like that lighting that came with the Stewart models. I attached the all-weather window and the wind visors with Tacky glue. I made a radiator cover using the empty section of a receipt from a store. It’s a very thin paper they use almost like tracing paper but more solid in color. I made mine with the aid of .015 brass rod assist with rolling the cover, rod should be longer than the paper. I cut the paper to width and length of the radiator, add a little white glue to the edge of the paper and set the rod on top and allow to dry long enough to let you roll up the cover. Complete one rotation around the rod, take some slightly thinned white glue and apply very thin coat to the paper and roll it up. Let this set for about 15 minutes and grab the roll and apply a light pressure twist to wrinkle the cloth trying to make it look natural. It’s best to reference some pics for ideas. Also brush some of the glue to the outside of the paper to seal it up and help aid with some wrinkles. Just play around with it until you’re satisfied. When you’re done let it sit for about 10 minutes or so and then gently twist and pull out the rod and allow the cloth to dry overnight. Glue it on the model after you weather it up a bit; create some straps and you’re done.

Final assembly and mounting the couplers is next, since I modified the coupler pocket, I just can’t attach a coupler box to the frame. I shortened a Kadee box until the holes lined up with the frame. I glued the top plate of the Kadee box to the frame, left it to set up before sliding the coupler through the front pilot and attaching the second half of the box and securing it to the frame. Project is now complete.

Nice, a stack cap that look right. Thank you for sharing your modeling.