CP 7053 was the very first ALCO switcher I saw. It was still wearing the Tuscan Red and Grey Script scheme when I first saw it, but it wasn't long before it was painted Action Red. I was so breathtaken by the flashy new paint job that I wished I could find a model of an ALCO S-2 in CP Rail. That was back in 1974, and I had no such luck. Twenty-five years later, the dream became reality when I painted this loco. CP 7053 was built in 1947 and originally assigned to Calgary. A few months later it was sent to Vancouver Island for testing during the proposed dieselization of CP's Esqimault and Nanaimo division. Vancouver Island was later dieselized with Baldwin DRS-44-1000 road switchers and 7053 returned to its original assignment. In 1955 a bunch of S-2s in Alberta were replaced by SW-900s, and 7053 eventually ended up in Saskatchewan. At some point the unit was winterized and equipped for transfer and wayfreight service. CP modifications include a front number board, three chime horn, winterization hatch, radiator shutter guards, and a bell behind the exhaust stack. I made the bulky winter hatch out of a piece of Lego, a section of box car roofwalk, and a piece of sheet styrene. If you can't buy certain detail parts, make 'em! All you need is some small tools and a good imagination. One other item of note: CP 7053 rode on AAR type A trucks as I remember it. However, I chose not to change the sideframes because some blockhead will accuse me of modeling an S-4!
Make:
Atlas (Roco)
Detail Parts:
Miniatures
by Eric S14 S-2 kit (includes three chime horn, radio antenna, number
board, and sand fill lids)
Miniatures
by Eric B15 ALCO Bell
M.V. Products
LS 17 Headlight Lenses for Athearn SW-7
Decals:
C-D-S Lettering
HO-259 CP Rail roadswitcher - early narrow stripe scheme, c. 1968
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