Spreckels Sugar I and II

Spreckels Sugar No. II, as it appeared in the 1960s, switching cars on the Buena Vista Branch

I decided to mix things up, fast forward about fifty years, and build a few diesels for the railroad. The base of each engine started as the Bachmann GE-44ton.

Spreckels Sugar I, 1947

Spreckels Sugar No. 1 was primarily modeled through repainting and the addition of some detail parts

Spreckels Sugar 1 was, more or less, just a repaint. I moved the horn, and made some other minor changes. I decided to paint it to match the picture I have from 1947. I tried to duplicate the warning stripes on the body through decals, but they were too thin. I ended up doubling up the decals to create wider stripes. Doing this meant that I had to do each one individually. I didn't worry about the thickness on the sides of the shell. I didn't have a color image available from this time period, so I just guessed at the coloring. 

Spreckels Sugar II, c. 1970

It wasn't until I was finished that I realized the cab windows should have all been the same height

I didn't realize it until I started, but No. 1 and No. 2 do not have the same body. In order to create a better version of Spreckels Sugar No. 2, I had to extend the walkways around the shell, add additional body hatches, and remove the molded-on front grill. Because of the changes to the walk way, including the addition of steps from a Bachmann Old Time passenger coach, I needed to scratch build the handrails out of brass wire.  I also added grille decals from Archer, scratch built signal flags, added scale couplers, and added sun screens and windshield wipers. Rather than mess with decals for the stripes, I painted them this time. The results are... ok. The nose stripes are off, mine are orange where they should be white.

I like how the flags turned out, though they are supposed to be blowing the same direction

Spreckels Sugar No. 2 took first place (diesels) at the 2019 Pacific Southwest Regional convention held in Mesa, AZ, in September. Unfortunately, it fell short of the merit award (the weathering, window height, and size of the headlights all affected the point total.)

Products Used:
Engines: Bachmann N Scale GE 44-ton
Figures: Misc. Bachmann and Preiser (both repainted)
Windshield Wipers and Sun Shades: Gold Medal Models Diesel Locomotive Detailing Set #1607
Handrails (No. 2): Tichy Train Group Phosphor Bronze Wire .010"
Louver Decals: Archer Fine Transfers: Misc. Louvers
Paint: Testors Gloss Orange #1127TT; Model Master International Orange #FS12197; Rust-Oleum Flat White Paint + Primer
Decals - Striping (No. 1): Microscale Pacific Electric Locomotives Electric & Diesel Stripes w Gear Ration Data #60-1349
Decals - Lettering: Bedlam Creations Custom Decals
Misc. Scratchbuilt Parts (No. 2): Rooftop details, exhaust details, passenger car steps (Bachmann Old Time passenger car)