Pete Piszczek explains:

"I wanted to do something different when I modeled A&EC #501. A one off locomotive with a fairly short-lived paint scheme was the perfect choice. The A&EC was also native to these parts, and not too many folks had one...

The Korean War provided the necessary increase in traffic to purchase #501, but just barely. The real locomotive was equipped with journal bearings, had no MU ability, cut down fuel tank- no extra options to keep the price down. On the USA Trains Geep, I made a number of changes to better match the prototype. The roller bearings were sanded down, and new journal bearing covers added. The fuel tank was cut down, frame holes filled, steam generator removed, and all the extra stuff on the pilots taken off. The model was painted with acrylics, and decaled with home made decals printed on an Alps printer with Microscale decal paper. To get better opacity, I used two layers of decals on the white lettering.

The whole project was started and completed within five weeks just prior to the 1st SMRF meet in Cary."