Lanes Trains S Scale Norfolk & Western RS11 397

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Ever since I finished my Norfolk & Western High Hood GP35 which is black I have wanted a loco that was Pevlar Blue as something different. One of the few locos made in S that could have been blue is the RS11.

This is Overland Models OMI1776. It appeared for sale on eBay from TRAINZ in June 2025 just as shown below. I watched it for a few weeks seeing if someone else would buy it. It seems that someone bought it just to steal the trucks for something else which was pretty amazing. Other than that it looked to be perfectly complete. But a few days later I noticed all end grab irons were missing for some unknown reason they were removed. I have BTS castings that will fix that but 4 grabs are longer than the rest. That will all be tedious to fix.

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This is the stock Overland RS11 drive. The odd thing about it is Overland used these tall gear towers. There are no gears above the gear axle for the drive shaft coupling.

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Frames R US

Some pun intended….. There are 2 ways I could get this running again. I could use American Models trucks and make the truck brackets. Or I have a supply of Overland F Unit redrive kits which are the same as the above RS11 parts except the driveshafts exit at the top of the gearboxes. If I keep the motor down low that is asking the driveshafts to do a lot of bending. I do not have the correct Overland Alco sideframes. I will be using a Southwind Models kit made for detailing American Models locos for both options. Those sideframes screw right in place on older American Models trucks. There was not a lot of room to screw 3D printed American Models truck brackets to the Overland frame. They would have to be brass and soldered on.

After all consideration I decided to try the least permanent direction first. Once I chomp big holes for the American Models trucks in the original Overland frame that is forever. So I took off in a Solidworks direction first designing a cobble together of the American Models brackets and Overland frame.

This is the original Overland frame. I removed the fuel tank that was soldered on because I am reusing it.

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This is a Solidworks screenshot and the 3D print that was 14 hours to make and turned out really well. The best part about the 3d printing is being able to make minor adjustments in the truck bracket to make the coupler height correct. You can also add a base mount for the motor so the motor shaft and truck shafts line up perfectly. Now that I am back in 3D printing this is a part I really like doing.

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A Third Option

After printing a frame and seeing how it all fit in the shell there was a third option I did not see at first was using an American Models RS3 frame. I had a spare frame so why not? The truck wheelbase centers from the Overland frame to the American Models frame were only .040 different. The length was the same. I had to do some milling to remove the boss for the fuel tank. It had to be narrowed almost 1/2” as well. This is the American Models RS3 frame.

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Big Green Machine

Even though I am a machinist that can spend lots of hours at work standing at a milling machine that gets BORING I like using MY milling machine for making my train projects. The mill was really running these photos.

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My decision to use American Models parts was for a few reasons. Adapting the Southwind Alco sideframes to the Overland truck axles would have been a LOT of work. The sideframes were made to fit American Models trucks. I had to chop at the cab a bit. A slot was needed through the center of the cab for the truck. I lost the control stand and the cab short hood wall which does not matter to me. You can barely see the truck in the cab windows. It is more in the short hood. The 3D printed frame fit perfectly but still had some flex. I was concerned that it would not be able to support the Overland fuel tank that is filled with lead. But the thing that totally sealed the deal on using American Models parts is the other locos I have this RS11 could run with are American Models. It will automatically run well with them. While a lot of work because the loco did not have the original Overland trucks the modifications needed were pretty simple. And the coupler height is absolutely perfect!

Revised 7-4-25