After reading an article that suggested one should begin with the tender when superdetailing. The idea sounded fascinating and soon I had notched the tender's bottom to make room for the Kemtron tender steps which were epoxied at each corner. When these were done I added a brass strip horizontally at the rear end to cover my traces. By then it seemed like a good idea to add a tender ladder. Then bending a piece of sheet brass into a U, I epoxied it to the tender deck and had a raised bunker.
A year or so later I thought a pole to push those cars in tight places would look prototypical and, knowing the trackage on my layout, the Albion Pawtuxet & Galilee, a rerailer would also be suitable. Kemtron products again provided the solution. Some Scale Structures, Ltd. coal-handling tools, Letraset old-time lettering, a Weston engineer and Preiser fireman completed the remodeling.
The loco and tender were painted with Floquil grimy black from a spray can and brushed-on caboose red. Since the engine is supposed to work around the limestone crusher in Albion, I gave it a heavy coating of dust. The important point about this modification is that because I left alone the motor and gearing, the headlight, and the handrails, it was very easy to accomplish in these simple stages.
A number of photographs of the tender's details appeared in my 1978 photo-article "Details Make a Difference."
