my first loco on 5"-gauge was built in plywood. Prototype was a German Gmeinder light railway loco first, which got later "americanized" with a wooden cab.
A few years later, I build a new shell, based on an 1/4-scale model train boxcab loco. Material was plywood again. Meanwhile, the loco got sold, but is still in use.
![Image](https://waldbahner.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Maggie_3.jpg)
![Image](https://waldbahner.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Boxcab_10.jpg)
![Image](https://waldbahner.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/DSCF21541.jpg)
There's some build-report on my blog.
https://waldbahner.de/en/2009/10/bclrr- ... -boxcab-3/
Gerd