I admit I've got a real soft spot for industrial equipment.  When Rod Dangerfield advertised that he was building a 7/8 simplex, and showed photos of his prototype in the 7/8 mailing list, I ordered one right away.  I sent off a deposit, and waited.  A few weeks later, he emailed to say it was almost done, so I sent along the balance of the payment.  About 10 days later, a box arrived.  I eagerly opened it, and took out the lokey.  It was packed very well, but somehow the model had been slightly damaged in shipment.  The radiator is a big heavy casting, and only mounted on the bottom.   Some unscrupulous mail person probably manhandled the box a bit, and the radiator broke off.  No big deal, a bit of 5-minute epoxy and it was good as new.  Rod, however, offered to replace any parts that were broken.  None were.

The model is made of plastic and brass.  The motor is mounted centrally, under the unit, and delrin chains and gears drive both axles.  Power is via 9v batteries, and the on/off and speed control is handled by turning the stack.  Directional control is made by sliding the brake wheel (inside the cab) left or right.  Simple and effective.  The batteries and throttle circuitry are under the engine cowl, which slides off easily.

The model has excellent detail, and is solidly made. The front safety bar is made of bent aluminum, and the windows (which I haven't got around to installing) are clear plastic.  The L&P pins are a z-shaped bent brass rod, with a casting handle on it.  The buffer below the link is brass.  The curtains are some sort of heavy, oily paper, and held on with removable brass wire.

For painting, remove the curtains by taking out the brass wire.  Remove the 2 black rubber radiator hoses, and the front safety bar.  Slide the engine cover off.  I painted mine with Floquil reefer yellow, and used the Mac technique of sprays of rust, roof brown, engine black, and dirt.  Then, I added an overall wash of India ink in alcohol to dull the paint down.

I've run it on my outdoor 1:20 line and on local clubs modules with no derailing problems.  It will pull 4 of my flatcars easily at anything from a crawl, to a scale walk.  Its speed seems perfect for this type of locomotive.

Robert McCown