Paul Washburn's SMV 2-8-2
Paul Washburn has built a standard-gauge Santa Maria Valley 2-8-2. All photos are copyright © Paul Washburn; used by permission. Click the photos to see a larger version.
It took Paul a little over four months to build, paint, and decorate his model, from scratch. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad (SMV) #100 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1926 and bought new by the McCormick Lumber company operating an eastern Olympic, Washington logging railroad. In 1938 McCormick Lumber went bankrupt and its assets were bought by Pope & Talbot, but the logging industry was moving more toward using road trucks. Santa Maria Valley Railroad bought the locomotive in 1942 from the M.F. Brady Equipment Company, out of Portland, Oregon, because it needed extra motive power during WWII. The engine was retired in 1955 and then sold to White Mountain Scenic RR in 1962. It is currently undergoing restoration at the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, a private railroad in Nevada, which are fully committed to get it operational again. The Santa Maria Valley Railroad, which is still in existence today, is a shortline railroad to connect the Union Pacific main line at Guadalupe, California to regional industries. Total trackage is about 14 miles.
The Tender
Note that we can only show the photos that Paul shared, so this page documents the overall progress, but it is not a tutorial. However, by studying Paul's photos closely, it is possible to figure out how he built his model. The dominant material used is brass stock, sheet, and wire. The vertical wall was made out of a single sheet that was rivet-punched before forming. The horizontal surfaces are then shaped and soldered into position. The flanges at the top are added, next. Paul had no reference photos of the details of the tender at the time the SMV owned the engine, so he used SP standards for a tender as a go-by where necessary.
Shown are the tender's frame, the main coal body, and the separate oil bunker.
The back-up light is a casting that Paul bought. These two photos show the tender completed.
The Cab
Paul takes a sheet of brass, cuts out the openings for the windows and the roof hatch, and then punches rivets in the sheet.
This then forms the roof and side walls of the cab as one unit, to which Paul attaches the remaining details that make up the cab.
The Frame
Paul starts off with two pieces of brass stock that he mills to form the sides of the frame. He then forms and installs the cross braces.
Paul buys his wheels from various suppliers, mostly from Britain, New Zealand, and/or Austrialia. This photo shows where the wheels will be positioned. #100 has 44-inch drivers.
The movable parts are all hand-made by Paul.
The Boiler
The Final Steps
Paint Preparation
Paul grit-blasts the model, to clean the brass, before applying a primer.
These photos show just how small this SMV 2-8-2 was compared to its bigger SP brother.
Painting the Parts
The various sub-assemblies remain removable so that they can be painted individually. Paul used Tamiya acrylics to paint his model. Weathering will be applied later.
The Promo Shots
