Model Railroading > My Frisco Roster-a piece at a time

Behold, an exact replica of a locomotive that never existed.  Frisco had 7 Mallets from way back in the early 1900s that were 2-8-8-2s.  They were kind of an ugly duckling ne'er do well class and were retired in the '30s.  My Dad had fired on some of them early in his career and said they were awful, especially in the winter because they leaked everywhere.  They were numbered 2001-2007.
I had always wanted to build one, but never found just the right stuff or ambition to do it.  Then I found a derelict Sierra 2-6-6-2 on ebay at a good price and concocted this.  Had a good bit of fun with this one on Frisco.org with a story about my Dad telling me there WAS a No. 2000.
As you can tell, almost all of the detail has been changed to make it resemble a Frisco engine.  I had a HMK 1306 tender left over from my 1350 build.
It has a Tsunami decoder and can motor, but the gear train noise is incredible.  I need to do something with that one of these days.  It's neat to hear the two engines go in and out of sync in the Tsunami.

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Can we call 2000  "the brute"?

Mini Brute

That one begs to be weathered.
Nice mallet.

OK Don, this loco is my favorite one so far. I spotted those Sierra lines before I read your blurb. I've often wondered what one could do with one of them in more of a main line context, and you have provided the answer. I wish that I had the time to attempt the conversion myself.

Regarding sound, and given that your loco is a compound, wouldn't it be great if a decoder manufacurer produced a true compund decoder, that switches from the staccato simple articulated chuff to the deep, slobbery wheeze of a drowning 2-10-2?

Another question: Just how many Frisco steamers have gone through your shops, anyway?

EO

Just a wild guess, but I'd say that 40+/- engine have come out of the shops.  Some of them for others most of them for me.
I recently parted with 11 of them, sold to another road.