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Description
Back during the annual SE Michigan model train show in 2008, my 14-year-old self had seized an opportunity to purchase my very first N scale locomotive, a very old, $80 used Bachmann ATSF 4-8-4, hoping it could use a few more months of runtime. Upon buying it, I knew very well what to do with it already; reskin it into a prototype of Chicago & Northwestern's H-1 class Baldwin "Rail Cruncher" #3027. Well, it did get a few more good runs in... ...until around 2013, when it's shoddy Bachmann motor just absolutely gave out, and it hasn't properly turned a wheel ever since. Thus, it's brief operating career was curtailed immediately, and was shoved into storage for a few years, and I was quite disheartened, but then again, it was an old, used Bachmann model, so I should've known better.
However, it was all thanks to a smart gentleman named John Tanzillo, who made a very interesting post about merging the shell of a Bachmann unit with the drive unit of one of those Con-Cor/Rail Baron "GS-4" adaptations. And that's what inspired me to dig out the ol' 4-8-4, purchase one of the Con-Cor engines, and give the former a much needed makeover. As you can see here, I've decided to start with painting the smokebox door, and erasing the old yellow texted road number, well, because (I accidentally used some decals for their Diesel engines... ...basically it was the only thing I could find CNW related...) CNW steam obviously did not have yellow text on their cabs (The unstreamlined ones, anyway.) Now all I have to do is pray that the Con-Cor model works, and my first ever N scale engine would be back in service in no time!

Description
Back during the annual SE Michigan model train show in 2008, my 14-year-old self had seized an opportunity to purchase my very first N scale locomotive, a very old, $80 used Bachmann ATSF 4-8-4, hoping it could use a few more months of runtime. Upon buying it, I knew very well what to do with it already; reskin it into a prototype of Chicago & Northwestern's H-1 class Baldwin "Rail Cruncher" #3027. Well, it did get a few more good runs in... ...until around 2013, when it's shoddy Bachmann motor just absolutely gave out, and it hasn't properly turned a wheel ever since. Thus, it's brief operating career was curtailed immediately, and was shoved into storage for a few years, and I was quite disheartened, but then again, it was an old, used Bachmann model, so I should've known better.
However, it was all thanks to a smart gentleman named John Tanzillo, who made a very interesting post about merging the shell of a Bachmann unit with the drive unit of one of those Con-Cor/Rail Baron "GS-4" adaptations. And that's what inspired me to dig out the ol' 4-8-4, purchase one of the Con-Cor engines, and give the former a much needed makeover. As you can see here, I've decided to start with painting the smokebox door, and erasing the old yellow texted road number, well, because (I accidentally used some decals for their Diesel engines... ...basically it was the only thing I could find CNW related...) CNW steam obviously did not have yellow text on their cabs (The unstreamlined ones, anyway.) Now all I have to do is pray that the Con-Cor model works, and my first ever N scale engine would be back in service in no time!