Building an On30 GE 23-Ton Box Cab

One of the many excellent articles in the On30 Annual 2018 edition is Robb Thomas' article "Designing a Locomotive Shell to Fit an Existing Mechanism" (pp. 81-85). (If you do not already have this issue of the On30 Annual in your personal library, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy from either your local hobby shop or direct from the White River Productions' Bookstore.)

The premise of the article is to help modelers leverage 3D printing to build items of interest for their model railroad. Mr. Thomas used SketchUp and Shapeways to accomplish this task, and the article illustrates the various steps in the process. If you're interested in using 3D printing for your model train layout, you'll want to read this article.

Also if you're just interested in building a GE 23 ton Box Cab for your railroad (and not doing your own design and 3D printing work), the shell, other parts, and the instructions for building the locomotive are available from Prairie Locomotive Works' Shapeways store. The locomotive is built on top of the Bachmann On30 Closed Street Car mechanism that you provide. If you happen to prefer an electric version of this locomotive, the store also features an alternative Freight Motor version of the shell.