An Update to the Thunder Mesa Mining Co. Locomotive Roster

Ex-Estrella & Sonora Grande RR #2 and #3 have found full time work on the TMMC. These great running, beautifully detailed Porter locomotives were originally built by the late Verne Niner for his On30 layout.

Way back in May of 2014 I first described an engine roster for the TMMC. Quite a few things have changed since then so it's high time for an update. As shown in the top photo, two slots in the roster have now been filled by locomotives acquired from the sadly defunct Estrella & Sonora Grande RR. These little Porters were a labor of love for my friend, the late Verne Niner, and I am thrilled that they have found their way on to the TMMC. No 3, Rattler, has a Keep-Alive capacitor hidden ingeniously below the cab roof, while #2, Estrella, has an auxiliary 4-wheel tender to add additional electrical pick-up. The result is that both of these short wheel-base steamers are excellent runners. Even over less than perfect dirty track, they very seldom ever stall or cut-out. No. 3 was purchased directly from Verne before his untimely passing, while the 2-spot came to me from a third party who had bought the engine from Verne but is now thinning his collection. In the fictional world of Thunder Mesa, these engines were purchased used from the E&SG to replace original locomotives #2 and #3 that were lost in a tragic derailment while pulling a double-header across Calico Canyon High Bridge. The TMMC shops will probably never get around to painting the new locomotives or changing their E&SG livery since I enjoy thinking of Verne every time I run them on the layout.

As for the rest of the roster, I continue my practice of loosely basing locomotives on Disney park prototypes and naming them for past Disney artists and Imagineers whom I admire. The exception is #7, Bud Hurlbut, which is named for the talented mastermind behind Knott's Calico Mine Ride and so many other memorable attractions. As of this writing, there are eight locomotives operating on the TMMC, with at least two more planned or under construction.

No. 1 ~ Marc F. Davis

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Builder: Thunder Mesa Mining Co.
Entered service: 1878
Notes: This unique vertical boiler, single piston steamer was built from the recovered wreckage of a steam launch and the 2-4-0 El Dorado. Placed into service in 1878 to help complete construction of the railroad. Named for the proprietor of the Western River Expedition Company.

Modeling notes: Scratch-built from spare parts on a Bachmann HO cable car power truck. Analog DC power. No sound. Mostly a static model these days, though I might rebuild it in the future on a better chassis with DCC. Click here for more on the Marc F. Davis.

No. 2 ~ Estrella

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-2 w/auxiliary tender
Builder: H.K. Porter Co.
Entered service: 1905
Notes: Purchased used from the Estrella & Sonora Grand RR as a replacement for the original TMMC #2 lost in a wreck on Calico Canyon High Bridge.

Modeling notes: This is a heavily modified Bachmann model built by Verne Niner. The 4-wheel tender was built atop an On30 passenger car truck and provides much needed additional electrical pick-up. Lots of extra weight has also been added. DCC Equipped with Tsunami sound.

No. 3 ~ Rattler

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Builder: H.K. Porter Co.
Entered service: 1905
Notes: Purchased used from the Estrella & Sonora Grand RR as a replacement for the original TMMC #3 lost in a wreck on Calico Canyon High Bridge.

Modeling notes: Another Bachmann Porter modified by Verne Niner. The 3-spot has a Soundtraxx Keep-Alive Capacitor hidden beneath the cab roof. DCC Equipped with Tsunami sound.

No. 4 ~ Earl Vilmer

Wheel arrangement: 4-4-0
Builder: Freelanced
Entered service: 1880
Notes: General duty locomotive named for the first general manager of the TMMC.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 inside frame 4-4-0. Inspired by the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. DCC installed, sound to be added. Earl Vilmer supervised the construction and operation of both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Railroads.

No. 5 ~ Frank Thomas

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-2
Builder: H.K. Porter Co.
Entered service: 1881
Notes: General duty mining locomotive.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-2. Inspired by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. DCC and Tsunami sound on board. Frank Thomas was a legendary Disney animator, one of the Nine Old Men and best friends with Ollie Johnston.

No. 6 ~ Ollie Johnston

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-2
Builder: H.K. Porter Co.
Entered service: 1881
Notes: General duty mining locomotive.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-2. Inspired by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. DCC and Tsunami sound on board. Ollie Johnston was a legendary Disney animator, train enthusiast, one of the Nine Old Men and best friends with Frank Thomas.

No. 7 ~ Bud Hurlbut

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Builder: H.K. Porter Co.
Entered service: 1883
Notes: General duty mining locomotive named for the discoverer of the Calico Mine.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-0. Inspired by Knott's Calico Mine Train. DCC and Tsunami sound on board. Bud Hurlbut was a pioneering theme park designer best remembered for creating the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Train attractions at Knott's Berry Farm.

No. 9 ~ Admiral Fowler

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-2
Builder: H.K. Porter Co.
Entered service: 1885
Notes: General duty mining locomotive.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-2. DCC and Tsunami sound on board. This Porter is named in honor of Admiral Joe Fowler, The man Walt Disney put in charge of Disneyland's construction, and who stayed on as general manager of the park for its first decade. More on this locomotive here.

Where's No. 8?

Good question! Currently, #8 is still in the planning stages and will either be another 4-4-0 or a tiny 2-4-0 or 2-4-2. The only thing I'm certain of is that it will be named for Ward Kimball, Disney's mad genius animator and unparalleled train enthusiast. It's worth noting that the "Ward" might be the only TMMC locomotive that also has a namesake in the parks, engine #5 at Disneyland. My version will be different, but one simply can't do a tribute to Disney railroading without Ward Kimball. (I hear you Disney train nerds out there! Don't worry, Roger Broggie will get his due too.)

Walt Disney and Ward Kimball with Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad engines #1 and #2.

There will also likely be an engine #10. It will probably be named in honor of pioneering Disney Imagineer, Claude Coats. In the mythology of Thunder Mesa, Coats is the intrepid explorer who first discovered Rainbow Caverns. In real life, he was the amazing artist who figured out how to do the incredible blacklight water effects on Rainbow Caverns at Disneyland. The famous quote from Walt where he says, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible," comes from a meeting with Claude Coats in the early days of Imagineering. They were trying to tell their boss that the colorful water effects he wanted for the caverns couldn't be done. Coats did the impossible and made it happen.

Ok, friends, I think that should about wrap it up for this time. I haven't updated the blog here as often as I would have liked too in the past few months since life and work keep getting in the way of my train time. A great big "thank you" to those who continue to follow along. More frequent, regular updates can often be found on the Thunder Mesa Facebook Page. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

Video Log: Revised Track Plan with Changes at Calico and Thunder Mesa

Here's Thunder Mesa's revised track plan showing all the changes that have been made. The town of Calico now plays an important role as one end of the railroad in operations. The addition of a reverse loop and short passing siding there now make it possible to operate the layout in a point-to-point fashion. The former village of San Lorenzo has now been incorporated into Thunder Mesa as the "Old Spanish" section of town. This change freed up the far right corner for a turntable and more accessible engine service area. 

The improved track arrangement at Calico forced my plans for an On18 mini-layout to be shelved (again), but the On18 line does make an appearance as a point-to-point mining tram feeder between Big Thunder Mine and the ore bins at Calico. Lastly, the Lone Rock diorama now finds a permanent home on the layout. It's a non-operating scenic feature, but its position against the backdrop offers great sight-lines when looking across the aisle (now called "Coyote Canyon") from the McKennon Arch area.

April 2016 Video Log

Howdy Folks! So much has been happening out here in Thunder Mesa Country that it's hard to know where to begin. The right of way has been changed, towns have been moved, combined or added, and entire areas have been reimagined. On top of all that, a lot of real progress has been made bringing these changes to life with new scenery work and modeling at Horse Thief Canyon and the town of Thunder Mesa well underway. The best way to get caught up on things is with a new video log. After that, I'll delve more deeply into the details below.

Engine #9, the Admiral Fowler

Featured in the new video log is the TMMC's latest locomotive: #9, the Admiral Fowler. Like several of the other Thunder Mesa locomotives, it's an 0-4-2 Porter from Bachmann. I've dressed it up with a fancy cap stack and some custom decals from Stan Cedarleaf.

The "Niner" rounds the bend at Dinosaur Gap. The gold capped stack was made from some HO parts in my scrap box.

Continuing the Thunder Mesa tradition of naming locomotives after Disney Imagineers, animators and others who played a big role in Disneyland's development, the new Porter is named in honor of Admiral Joe Fowler. This was the man Walt Disney put in charge of Disneyland's construction, and who stayed on as general manager of the park for its first decade.

The Admiral Fowler has an unusual crew. The engineer is none other than local legend Chuckwalla Slim, and the fireman is his trusty dog, Sparky. Both figures were painted by my friend, the late Verne Niner, and the locomotive bears the number 9 in his honor. The TMMC has yet to acquire a  #8.

Cattle Cars

The new track plan calls for some larger stock pens at Thunder Mesa and that means I'll need some livestock cars. The TMMC doesn't own any itself, but it does interchange with the parent Santa Fe, Denver & Carolwood and that line does run some cattle cars. To represent some of that interchange traffic, I've repainted and weathered a couple of old Bachmann cars for now.

Livestock car #59 belongs to the Mescal Lines Ry. Disney Imagineer and well known model railroad author John Olson built his HOn3 Mescal Lines in the early 1980s, and my TMMC owes a very large creative debt to that landmark model railroad. 

Car 201 is lettered for the TMMC's parent road, the Santa Fe, Denver & Carolwood. The SFD&C is roughly based upon the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad so it seemed appropriate that their cattle cars should bear the same numbering as the original Retlaw 2 cars at Disneyland.

Out with the On18 "mini-layout" and in With a Reverse Loop at Calico

The plans for Calico have probably changed more than anything else on the layout. Earlier this year I decided to nix the idea for a mini On18 Calico layout in favor of a reverse loop and a mainline stop at the town of Calico itself. I concluded that the space could be much better used for a second town to act as the far end of the line from Thunder Mesa. This decision also meant that the steep grade up to Big Thunder Mine would have to go, and that the village of San Lorenzo could be incorporated into Thunder Mesa town as Verne Niner had once suggested. But don't despair On18 fans! If you take a close look at the plan above, you'll see that the old Big Thunder high-line will now be an On18 mining tram bringing ore to the bins at Calico.

Quick thumbnail sketch for the grade changes at Calico.

Out with the old...

...And in with the new. 

The reverse loop is controlled by an MRC DCC auto reverse module hidden below decks.

San Lorenzo Merges With Thunder Mesa Town

Before his untimely passing late last year, Verne Niner and I discussed several different options for integrating his award winning San Lorenzo diorama into the layout. One thing he had suggested was making San Lorenzo the "Old Spanish" section of town. I immediately liked that idea since it implied a long and rich history for the town. It's something you see a lot in the older towns of the Desert Southwest, where Native American, Spanish, and Anglo cultures all come together and overlap. Still, I was hesitant to alter Verne's beautiful diorama until I came up with the new operating scheme placing Calico at one end of the line and Thunder Mesa at the other. Now there was no reason (or room) for a third town on the layout and I found myself thinking back to our early conversations. The decision made, I carefully disassembled the diorama, cataloging everything in pictures, and managed to save every last detail except for the bead-board foam base. In their new placement, the adobe structures have a somewhat different orientation, but their positions from left to right are the same. Several of the structures also have new foundations at differing heights to better compliment Thunder Mesa's boomtown aesthetic. Adding lighting to the structures was always on my to-do list and this move seemed a logical time to also move forward with that project.

The San Lorenzo structures in their new locations as the Old Spanish section of Thunder Mesa. Disneyphiles may also notice that this arrangement mimics the orientation of Rainbow Ridge to the early California flavored area of Zocalo Park at Disneyland (former location of Mineral Hall and Casa de Fritos). This is no accident and the fountain area here is now called "Zocalo Plaza."

LED lighting has been added to the jail.

The Mercantile has also received LED lighting, along with some new signage and a wooden front porch.

One more thing that remains intact from the original diorama is the Pricom Dreamplayer sound system. The mission bells ring, chickens cluck, horses whinny, and the angry banditos still threaten the pig bathing in the fountain. It's a wonderful scene, and I think fondly of Verne every time I look at it.

New Rockwork, boardwalks and Retaining Walls

With the San Lorenzo structures becoming part of Thunder Mesa, it seemed like a good time to tackle some of the scenery work around town too. The new rockwork that forms a backdrop for the town was built and finished with the same techniques I've been describing in the step-by-step build of Horse Thief Canyon. With the rock and paint work done, I've since moved on to building all of the retaining walls, board sidewalks, and steps through town.

The rockwork behind town was built up with carved layers of extruded polystyrene foam. The layers were then blended together with spackling compound and Sculptamold.

Once the sculpt is complete, the rocks are painted with latex and acrylic paints. Here I'm applying a wash of diluted black to darken the cracks and crevices.

After final paint and with a backdrop in place the scene starts to come together. This new promontory above town is called Castle Rock. Just below that is Injun Joe's Cave, where, as legend has it, lost Spanish gold is still waiting to be discovered.

Here's an overhead view of the new board sidewalks and retaining walls built in town.

And a view from the depot platform. The timber retaining walls help to separate the depot scene from the town beyond.  One by one, each of the paper and cardstock mock-ups in town are being replaced by fully detailed models. It would be much more difficult to plan a scene like this without them. The Marshal's Office will likely be my next structure project.

A quiet night in Thunder Mesa Town. Soon, ground cover, weeds, and other details will be added to further enhance this scene.

Engine Service Area

With the San Lorenzo structures moved to the other side of the tracks, that freed up their former location for an expanded engine service area with much improved access. The centerpiece of this scene will be one of the excellent turntables from Kitwood Hill Models. I'll be building the 9" gallows turntable here, and when completed it will allow the layout to operated in a point-to-point scheme between Thunder Mesa and the reverse loop at Calico.

The new engine service area and an inset of the Kitwood Hills Model turntable. Can't wait to get started on this terrific kit!

Horse Thief Canyon

Meanwhile, progress also continues a-pace at Horse Thief Canyon. I'll continue to update the build of this scenic slot canyon in its own step-by-step series.

Horse Thief Canyon - nearly 75' deep below track level. The mainline will cross here on a classic deck-truss bridge.

Effects Control Panel

Each section of the layout will eventually have its own small panel for controlling lights, sound effects, music, and animation. The first such panel is now complete for the Thunder Mesa section.

This small panel was built into the layout fascia on the Thunder Mesa section. The panel face was created in Photoshop, printed on cardstock and laminated with a matte finish clear acrylic. This was then affixed to 1/8" thick masonite. The functions are controlled by simple SPST on/off switches, and a green LED indicates power. All of the effects on Thunder Mesa run on a 9 volt DC system.

Frontierland Music Loop

Every land at a Disney park has its very own soundtrack, usually a one hour music loop that helps to reinforce the land's theme and further immerse guests in the experience. I've always enjoyed the music played in Frontierland and thought it would be a kick to add it to the railroad. I put together my own extended loop that also includes music from the Big Thunder queue and Big Thunder Ranch (now gone!). The music is provided by an inexpensive MP3 player and piped in through speakers hidden under the layout.

What's Next

The first 3 months of 2016 have been a very busy time on the railroad but with each project completed I see three more that still need doing. Coming soon will be new structures for Thunder Mesa Town, ore bins for the On18 line in Calico, a build of my Kitwood Hill Models 9" gallows turntable (can't wait to get started on that one!), some new scenery and effects for Rainbow Caverns, a backdrop to install, and Horse Thief Canyon to finish. All that and more should keep me busy through the end of the year.

A look ahead at the future through the magic of Photoshop. This is the view standing in Coyote Canyon and looking toward Big Thunder Mine and Rainbow Caverns. Horse Thief Canyon is at left and Dinosaur Gap is on the right. The Indian Pueblos will be right about where the thunder storm is on the backdrop. I've also imagined some black drop curtains down below the fascia to give things a more finished look.

Though work on the layout has been steady, I haven't had the time to update this blog as often as in the past. Going forward, look for more long posts like this one to come out every few weeks or so, and for more frequent posts (sometimes several a day!), head on over to Facebook and follow the Thunder Mesa page there. As always, questions and comments are welcome below. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

Building an On18 Locomotive: Part I

Calico Gold Company #2, the Walter Knott, fresh from the paint shop and on its way to the CGC facilities for final outfitting. Building this little On18 mine locomotive is the subject of today's post.

Before I start building benchwork and laying track on my On18 Calico Gold Company layout, I wanted a relatively simple On18 locomotive to pull some trains with. After doing a little research, I decided on a vertical boiler design that starts with a 3D printed shell from Tebee Models at Shapeways.com, atop a smooth running and reliable Kato 11-103 drive unit. This is my first real build in On18 and my first time using 3D printed parts. Despite the learning curve, the little steamer is coming together quickly.

The two axel Kato 11-103 drive unit is 2.125" long by 0.6875" wide. I'm using my N scale Pagosa & Southern switching layout as a test track.

The 3D printed shell from Tebee Models is made from polyamide nylon, what Shapeways calls their "White, Strong and Flexible Plastic." It is white and strong, but comes unfinished with a rough, sandpaper like texture. It fits perfectly over the Kato mechanism.

My first modification to the shell was to add a new stack. I cut off the top of the cap-stack on the printed body and replaced it with a taller HO diamond stack and some plastic tubing from my scrap-box. Here the new stack has been painted with grey primer. It's a snug press-fit over the original stack.

I'm not planning on adding a decoder to this tiny model so I filled the hollow spaces of the boiler and water tank with about 1.5 oz of BBs for additional weight. I mixed up some 2-part epoxy resin and carefully poured it over the BBs to cement them in place. I wanted to do this before painting the shell so any spills could be more easily cleaned up or covered. I let the epoxy cure overnight before going on to the next step.

The next challenge was to smooth out the rough 3D printed surface and make it look more like metal. Conventional wisdom says this should be done with primer and repeated sanding but I was concerned that too much sanding would wear away the details. Acetone vapor smoothing has been recommended for 3D printed parts but that only works for ABS plastics and not for polyamide nylons. I found a technique online for using several coats of plastic primer to smooth the surface so I decided to give that a try.

First I cleaned the shell thoroughly with a wash of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Next, I took the model outside for painting using Krylon Satin Finish Plastic Primer. Several coats are necessary because the surface is so porous. A second heavy coat was applied 20 minutes after the first. Then a third coat was applied 30 minutes after that. A fourth coat was applied an hour later and a fifth coat about 5 hours later. After drying for 24 hours, the shell had taken on a smoother, cast iron appearance.

More or less satisfied with the smoother surface, I masked off the black areas an sprayed the tank and bunker with satin finish Hunt Club Green. This is the "official" green for all CGC equipment.

Diving back into the scrap-box I was able to find the shell of an old MDC HO Consolidation and cut the smoke-box out from the backhead with a razor-saw. Then I wrapped some 220 grit sandpaper around the barrel of a marker and sanded a curve into the back of the piece so it would snug up to the boiler. The next step was making a new throttle from a paperclip and drilling a #61 hole above the firebox to receive it. The paperclip/throttle was ACC'd into place and the assembly painted flat black.

While I still had the flat black paint out, I masked off the green water tank and bunker and gave everything else a coat of the flat black to dull it down.

Looking at some photos online of similar historic locomotives made me want to add some brass bands to the boiler. These were cut about 4 scale inches wide from very thin sheet brass. I taped them down at the ends and sprayed one side with 3M 45 All Purpose Adhesive. After letting this set up for several minutes to get tacky, the bands were then applied to the boiler like tape, with just a small drop of ACC to keep the ends from curling up.

With the brass bands in place, the firebox and throttle assembly were glued to the boiler with thick ACC.

After looking long and hard at the model, I came to the conclusion that the stack was too tall. As a fellow modeler pointed out (thanks AJ!), a mine loco working in low clearance tunnels would likely have a shorter stack. So I went back and cut a scale 12 inches from the height and I'm pleased with the less cartoony look. I was also curious to see how well decals would adhere to the "smoothed" 3D printed surface so I went ahead and applied Walter's numbers and nameplate. A couple drops of Micro-Sol really helped the decals snug down onto the surface.

At this point, the Walter Knott is starting to look less like a collection of parts and more like an elegant early steamer. There are still many details to add: steam pipes, gauges, a headlight, bells and whistles, and link and pin couplers among other things. I also need to decide on whether to add a cab or not. There is much more still to be done but it will have to wait until more parts arrive. That's going to wrap it up for this time. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

Engine Roster for the Thunder Mesa Mining Co.

A reader recently asked a question on Facebook about the locomotive names and numbering on Thunder Mesa and it made me realize that I have never really published a complete engine roster for the railroad. The roster has changed and evolved a bit over time and will no doubt continue to do so as new equipment comes available and the railroad continues to grow. For the most part, I name locomotives after the Disney animators or Imagineers that I most admire, or other pioneers in the world of theme park railroads such as Bud Hurlbut. Currently, there are five locomotives running on the layout with at least two more planned or under construction.

No. 1

No. 1  - Marc F. Davis

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Builder: Thunder Mesa Mining Co.
Entered service: 1878
Notes: This unique vertical boiler, single piston steamer was built from the recovered wreckage of a steam launch and the 2-4-0 El Dorado. Placed into service in 1878 to help complete construction of the railroad. Named for the proprietor of the Western River Expedition Company.

Modeling notes: Scratch-built from spare parts on a Bachmann HO cable car power truck. Analog DC power. No sound. Click here for more on the Marc F. Davis.

No. 2

No. 2  - Claude Coats

Wheel arrangement: 2-4-0
Builder: H.K. Porter, Inc.
Entered service: 1879
Notes: Light duty mining locomotive named for the discoverer of Rainbow Caverns.

Modeling notes: Planned but not yet built. Inspired by Disneyland's Nature's Wonderland locomotives, the #2 will more than likely be built using a Bachmann 0-4-0 Porter with DCC and sound. Claude Coats was the brilliant Disney Imagineer who developed the lighting and water effects for Rainbow Caverns.

No. 3

No. 3  - Sam McKim

Wheel arrangement: 4-4-0
Builder: Freelanced
Entered service: 1879
Notes: General duty locomotive named for the first surveyor and cartographer of Thunder Mesa Country.

Modeling notes: Under construction. Inspired by the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, #3 is a diminutive 4-4-0 that uses a Bachmann HO Richmond 4-4-0 as a starting point. Sam McKim was a first generation Imagineer and Disney artist who created the early souvenir maps of Disneyland among many other things.

No. 4

No. 4  - Earl Vilmer

Wheel arrangement: 4-4-0
Builder: Freelanced
Entered service: 1880
Notes: General duty locomotive named for the first general manager of the TMMC.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 inside frame 4-4-0. Inspired by the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. DCC installed, sound to be added. Earl Vilmer supervised the construction and operation of both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Railroads.

No. 5

No. 5  - Frank Thomas

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-2
Builder: H.K. Porter, Inc.
Entered service: 1881
Notes: General duty mining locomotive.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-2. Needs paint and decals. Inspired by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. DCC and Tsunami sound on board. Frank Thomas was a legendary Disney animator, one of the Nine Old Men and best friends with Ollie Johnston. 

No. 6

No. 6  - Ollie Johnston

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-2
Builder: H.K. Porter, Inc.
Entered service: 1881
Notes: General duty mining locomotive.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-2. Inspired by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. DCC installed.  Ollie Johnston was a legendary Disney animator, train enthusiast, one of the Nine Old Men and best friends with Frank Thomas.

No. 7

No. 7  - Bud Hurlbut

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0
Builder: H.K. Porter, Inc.
Entered service: 1883
Notes: General duty mining locomotive named for the discoverer of the Calico Mine.

Modeling notes: Bachmann On30 0-4-0. Needs paint and decals. Inspired by Knott's Calico Mine Train. DCC and Tsunami sound on board.  Bud Hurlbut was a pioneering theme park designer best remembered for creating the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Train attractions at Knott's Berry Farm.

That's where the roster stands as of this writing. Will there be more? Probably. Even though the TMMC already has more locomotives than a mining railroad of its size would likely ever need, this modeler simply can't resist the temptation of a shiny new engine every now and again. Besides, there's not a single geared locomotive yet and I've always been a fan of geared steam! Stay tuned. Adios for now!