Seeing old things new again

Sometimes when you move you old stuff around into a different context, something new pops out. Like staring at one of those pictures of two silhouette profiles facing each other and then seeing it resolve into a vase. Usually I run my Finch 20 with freight cars, and my Lionel repainted day coaches with a Lionel #6 or Finch 34. Instead I happened to put them on the elevated line to clear the lower tracks for another train. Then I noticed something:





The #20 with day coaches looked really familiar. In fact, it looked an aweful lot like an early New York Elevated Railway train, which were run with Forney 0-4-2's before the cars were converted to electric operation.

(from http://www.ironhorse129.com/rollingstock/CandS/dsp-passenger/nyelrail1.htm).

The 20 isn't a Forney, and its too big for the cars, but for a toy it could pass for an elevated train. The earlier Finch 20 would work better because it didn't have cowcatchers. I don't think you find many cows on elevated rights of way. Now I am all hot and bothered to get 3 crappy day coaches to turn into elevated railway cars. From the looks of things, I just need to add some extra railing detail, fool with the windows a bit, lose the steps, move the trucks out, and add marker lights. I'd prefer to work with repros, but what are you going to do?
-Alex