The coolest Long Island Metropolitan RS-3 just popped up on Ebay. It's a custom Weaver with all the right details in all the right places. I'd snap it up BUT it's 2-rail. AAArgh !!!

you mean this one?

http://i.ebayimg.com/01/!B,tv6...fSBKssNZoGd!~~_3.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/09/!B,twC...8IBKssODhtuw~~_3.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/19/!B,twH...HKBKssOgW8Eg~~_3.JPG

Oh what's the big deal? So it's a 2 rail shaft Drive. One can easily convert to 3 rail SCale by contacting Weaver models to verify they have the 3 rail wheels with pick up rollers for the old shaft drive loco.

The only issue is these shaft drives [due to their attached pilot to body] will only go 054] or larger curves. IF you can support the curvature and Weaver models still has parts for the shaft drive loco, you can be in business.

I think I am going to have Jeff Sohn paint a C420 in the Blue / Yellow scheme. I have to find a high nose version. If I find two maybe one in Blue Yellow and one in Red White & blue. I already have more Long Island RS-3's than I need

Wow, that is nice, thanks for posting the pics
Ed

BluelineC4,
You might want to try what I'm doing to make a blue metropolitan C-420. I picked up a high nose N&W C-420 dummy. They sell for around $100 new. Next I swapped the shell onto an earlier powered frame. Best to find one with black truck sideframes, pilot, and fuel tank. Mine is converting over to DCS so that's a little more work. One funny thing happened. I put the earlier pilots into some heavy duty stripper and dissolved the darn steps. I didn't realize they were plastic!
The horn will have to be relocated to the side but at least it's the right horn unlike their Dashing Dan version. I'll also make some smoke deflectors out of brass stock.
Also, can anyone recommend the correct colors, preferably acrylic, to use for airbrushing the blue and yellow metropolitan scheme?
-Mike

Mike

I think I am going to look for the N&W C420's They go for alot less and have the high hood. I know SIRT told me there are some differences in the body mountings on some of these because he bought a dummy LIRR from me and also a LV low nose powered We figured the body swap would be easy but it turned out not to be

This will be the second one for me. I already converted an orange and gray C-420 dummy over and had no problem. The screws are different and must stay with each shell. The spring loaded lamp pickups might be different but I didn't use them. The tricky part for me was grinding out some of the inside of the fuel tank to accomodate the round MTH speaker.