NS&T 20

NS&T 20 heads eastbound from the Welland Avenue car barns in St. Catharines.
This freight motor was built in 1914. The NS&T was its sixth owner.

I’m waiting for decals to arrive for the “three sisters” – NS&T 8, 15, and 19 – but that’s not preventing me from making progress on S scale freight motors for the Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway. I’ve spent the past week building another William Flatt brass kit – this time, a classic GE 55 Ton steeple cab, which I am detailing as NS&T 20.

My fourth freight motor is rapidly taking shape – and still wet from its post-soldering cleanup.

As the above photo shows, I’ve made a lot of progress in about a week. In addition to fabricating the frame, I’ve assembled and detailed the cab and both end hoods. I’ve also built a sub-frame to attach the power trucks and hold this unit’s DCC package.

I’m basically down to ends, handrails, and a few miscellaneous details. Then I can do final clean up and send this one to the paint shop.

Now that I’ve built a few brass freight motors, the process is getting easier – and faster!

Published by Trevor

Lifelong model railway enthusiast and retired amateur shepherd who trained a border collie to work sheep. Professional writer and editor, with some podcasting and Internet TV presenting work thrown in for good measure.