Molds, track and loco

A number of chaps have expressed interest in the way I'm setting-up a narrow-gauge railway for my Colonial campaign. I thought I'd share some pictures of the beginnings. 

These are the molds I made for the track and locomotive driving wheels, with four of the six wheels cast. As you can see from the top-right mold the track normally has ballast and terrain either side when fully-molded. In this instance I want to make a short bridge or culvert which won't need the effects so I cast only the rails and sleepers/ties.   

The casting's smokestack was too short for a narrow-gauge locomotive so I cut off the flare at the top and extended the stack with a length of brass tube and a bead. The footplate and the beginnings of the rear coal box are made of basswood, plastic card and L-section strut.  

The driver is a Eureka VSF miniature. Footplate space is limited but two crew figures will fit without the 'slotta' bases. I'm debating whether to make a removable canopy for the footplate which some prototypes had.

The underside of the casting is rougher than I'd like, but it'll still work for the drive wheel mounting. In future I won't fill the mold so high, and will build the mounting from plastic strut instead. I'll drill the centers of the wheels and pin them in place for added strength. The drive rods will be [-section plastic strut. Rolling stock is farther down the road. More pictures as the project develops.