my ESPEE MODELERS ARCHIVE

California's Railroad to the U.S. 1861 - 1996

Cotton Belt S-10

Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 (608-NA)

This information courtesy David Thompson

In regard to the new HO Scale Stewart models:

Turning a VO-1000 into a 608NA

Okay, here's what you'll need: a whole VO-1000 #4702 (to get the right cab); a 'Phase 3' VO-660 hood, and a DS 4-4-1000 hood. What we're going to do is transplant the back end of the VO-660 hood onto the VO-1000.

Starting with the VO-1000, slice off the entire hood flush with the back of the roof door hatches and discard. Next, cut away *only* the hood door pair with the louvers in them and the door behind that. Be careful not to cut into the ridge above the doors. Whether or not to cut away the gap between the removed door pair and the one ahead of it is up to you, but you'll need to do the opposite on the VO-660 shell later. Next, cut away the equivalent doors on the right side and discard. Now, your VO-1000 hood should be left with three door pairs, plus a section with a 3+1 louver combination and the roof hatches hanging behind that.

On the VO-660 hood, slice off the entire hood at the rear of the second door pair set (remembering that if you removed the gap between the door sets on the VO-1000 shell you need to leave it here, and vice versa) and set aside the front part for later. Next, cut down just ahead of the rear of the roof hatches down to the ridge above the doors, then forward. Discard this piece. At this point, you should have the rear of the VO-660 hood with some louvered hood doors sticking out ahead on both sides. Test fit this with the VO-1000 hood and do any necessary sanding or trimming to get a flush fit.

Now the fun bits: you need to cut out and remove the small side numberboards and louvers on both sides (don't cut into the roof curve), and replace with the equivalent area from that VO-660 shell piece. Slice off the radiator flush with the front of the expansion tank (the shoulders by the headlight) and replace with the equivalent piece from the DS 4-4-1000 shell. Your final task is to do what Stewart *should* have done for the #4702: addressing the walkway trim. The rounded areas by the stepwells need to be cut out square and replaced with an angled trim piece matching the treatment on the DS 4-4-1000 walkway. (You can't simply use the DS 4-4-1000 walkway because it's not long enough and the pilot faces are wrong for the 8-cylinder DS).

Baldwin DS 4-4-1000 - Original Owners
(scroll down to the bottom for phase descriptions)

Models:

• N Scale
  • ?

• HO Scale
  • Stewart

• S Scale
  • ?

• O Scale
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Model References: