Candian Pacific S-2 Switcher





CPR S-2 7097 crosses the newly installed bridge en route to White River Jct ...  photos by Don Janes

  

 A New CPR S-2 For The Green Mountain Division...by Don Janes

     The Canadian Pacific Ry. had a strong presence through New England and Vermont in particular during my era the 1950s. Sinc I model New England and have a few CPR locomotives already I decided to add a CP S-2 to my roster.  To help complete dieselization on the Wells River line the CPR ordered three Alco S-2 switchers from ALCO in Schenectady, NY.  Purchased in Aug. 1949, these were the last three S-2 units built for CP and the only Alco S-2's owned by CP to be assigned to the USA.  They were numbered 7096, 7097 and 7098.

   I recently purchased a Bachmann Alco S-2 switcher with Soundtaxx sound from Micro Mark during their Cyber Monday sale at what I considered a great price.  Since they don't make an undecorated model I decided on a B&O model figuring it had the least amount of lettering to remove when it came time to repaint it CPR.   







This is a photo of the unit as it looked when I purchased it...Bachmann ad photo

         Having stripped and painted a couple of other Bachmann engines I knew that 99% Rubbing Alcohol was a good paint stripper  for these shells so I submerged the plastic cab and body into a container of rubbing alcohol for several hours.  A little scrubbing with an old toothbrush took off all the factory paint.  Unfortunately, while taking all the handrails off I broke one of the side handrail sections and one cab step railing.  As I have done in the past, I decided to use brass Smokey Valley handrail stanchions and end brackets.  I had to form all new handrails from .015 phosphor bronze wire.  Since the Bachmann models don't come with grab irons on the side and end I decided to use Detail Associates drop grabs and NBW castings for these locations.
     Once all the handrails and stanchions were done I washed the model in warm soapy water to clean any grease and oil of the shell prior to painting.
 


This is the stripped shell with the brass handrails and stanchions soldered together and set in place.

 


One thing I really like about this model is the LED's used for the loghts.  They are attached to the chassis so there are no wires to deal with when taking the model apart.  They have a very pleasing intensity and look very natural when turned on.  The light goes bright in the direction of travel and can be dimmed with Function 7. 

 

      The shell was given a primer coat of Floquil SP Lettering Grey.  Once that was dry I airbrushed the body with CN Lines CPR Diesel Loco Grey.  This paint is produced by Scalecoat.  After the gray was dry I masked the shell and painted the body,cab and side handrails with CN Lines CPR Maroon.  The black on the frame and chassis was painted with a 50/50 mixture of Flouil Grimy and Engine Black with some Glaze added to give a sheen for decalling.  I let the paint dry thoroughly before adding the decals.  Fortunately I had a set of Accucal Decals for CPR hood units on hand so that is what I used on my model.  Since these are out of production they may be hard to find but Micro Scale has a similar set (87-92) that can be used.   Once all the decals were on I gave the engine a finish coat of Floquil Flat Finish to seal everything.




The completed body, cab, handrails and trucks.

 



 


 

 


These four shots show the finished model with all the details added.

 

After all the paint and decals were dry I added all the details and re- assembled the model.  I still need to add class lights to the front of the engine but I did not have any on hand so they are on order and will be added once I get them.
       



This new Bachmann S-2 with Soundtraxx Tsunami sound is a real winner.

I have added a parts list for anyone who might want to do a similar model.



Parts List

-Smokey Valley 111- Alco Switcher end brackets

-Smokey Valley 132- Alco switcher handrail stanchions

-Precision Scale 39072- step lights

-Precision Scale 3150- brass air hoses

-Det. Ass't. 2202- drop grab irons

-Det. Ass't. 2203- NBW castings

-Det. Ass't. 2206- wire eye bolts

-Cal Scale 190-280- brass class lights

-A-Line 29201- short windshield wipers

-KD 158- short shank cat whisker couplers

-.0125 phosphor bronze wire from Tichy

-.015 phosphor bronze wire from Tichy

-Resin re-rail frogs

-Accu Cals 5829H CPR hood unit decals

-CN Lines 110-21 CPR Diesel Loco Grey

-CN Lines 110-22 CPR Maroon

-Floquil Reefer Yellow for grab irons and handrails

-Floquil Grimy Black and Engine Black

-Floquil SP Lettering Grey for primer