7mm US model dabblings

[Big Train James]

Hi Mickoo,

A great book about a most interesting locomotive. Unfortunately, none of the original six was saved.

Peter

Better not tell these guys that....

Edit: In retrospect, I'm guessing you mean the first units with cowl style bodies, rather than the units as pictured on the cover of the book. Please ignore those snarky undertones in my original post.

 

[Peter]

Better not tell these guys that....

Edit: In retrospect, I'm guessing you mean the first units with cowl style bodies, rather than the units as pictured on the cover of the book. Please ignore those snarky undertones in my original post.

Hi James,

Actually one of the cowl style bodies appears on the cover. It is still in its D&RGW colours.

I do have a copy of the book and am impressed by the work done on the restoration of SP 9010.

The snarky undertones were ignored.

Best regards,

Peter

 

[Big Train James]

Yes, of course it is, I see that now . Sigh, I promised myself going forward that I would stop saying stupid things, especially out loud. I must try harder. My apologies.

Jim

 

[mickoo]

James, you just carry on being yourself, no offence taken and the comment wasn't read as snarky, certainly not by myself, more like British humour

I've been digging info on these engines for years, very hard to come by good information, photos are even harder, especially good quality large screen ones, but they pop up here and there on the net.

They are of course very German and nothing like the US had seen or saw again, not your rough and ready EMD or GE product of the day.

I've been following SP 9010 and read the other day that it needs 19 or so radiators to equip the whole engine, that's very German engineering, in the UK or US we'd fit three or four massive ones, probably not as efficient but certainly more robust.

I'm looking forward to translating the info into models

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I'm looking forward to translating the info into models

The hood unit or both variants

You've probably seen this anyway - Sunset are taking reservations for the O scale cowl unit in 2R or 3R http://www.3rdrail.com/reservation.html#ML4000

 

[mickoo]

The hood unit or both variants

You've probably seen this anyway - Sunset are taking reservations for the O scale cowl unit in 2R or 3R http://www.3rdrail.com/reservation.html#ML4000

Dave, initially the turret cab cowl unit for the D&RGW.

Sunset, No I hadn't, but that won't stop me, they're too rich for my tastes anyway; though if you added up all your development costs and time to build your own then it'd probably come close to that anyway. Developing the nose and turret cab will be the hardest part, especially if you want to make a run of four or five units and have consistent quality/fidelity.

Odd choice for Sunset, who have traditionally been brass through out, to go for a plastic body, though it makes sense as the nose and cab area doesn't really translate well in brass in smaller scales. I think that'll put a few collectors off, but hopefully has lowered the price to make it more available to those with shallower pockets.

Their L-105 looks interesting but it'd be a L-77 I'd be more interested in, but that'll be almost impossible to do commercially as I understand no drawings exist any more, unless you accept some compromises.
Mind, looking at many US O gauge steam engines, the whole chassis is one massive compromise, even in high end brass models.

Besides, I didn't say what scale either

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Besides, I didn't say what scale either

Ah well, build it to accompany your V200. The KMs were tested in Germany/Switzerland before being exported and I believe photos exist showing this.

Odd choice for Sunset, who have traditionally been brass through out, to go for a plastic body

Their O scale SD9 has an ABS body.

 

[mickoo]

Ah well, build it to accompany your V200. The KMs were tested in Germany/Switzerland before being exported and I believe photos exist showing this.



Their O scale SD9 has an ABS body.

Yes there are photos of them being tested in Europe, I thought it was Austria but not sure, it'll be in the book somewhere or on the SP 9010 site.

P48 has a certain appeal but I have a hankering for a nice home rolled 1:32 model I nearly bought a 1:20.3 Connie or three truck shay whilst abroad, for no other reason than with some work they can be made into nice weathered models. I also found a site with some copies of original drawings for K36 and 37.

A D&RGW 3 footer would be nice, but again it's scales and track, there's 0n3 and then there's 1:22.5 where the model is scaled to run on 45mm track, what there isn't is a 1:32 scale model running on bespoke track, but that's an interest bubble for the future.

Looking at Sunsets up coming line, there'll be a lot of ABS bodies in there I suspect.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I thought it was Austria but not sure,

I think you're probably right - either the Semmering or the Arlberg.

 

[mickoo]

Small update on the GEVO.

It's big, even in 1:48; I've checked and rechecked the size with the rule and calculator and it all tallies up. Overall it goes together well enough, as well as can be expected for a first pass test build. Couple of ideas didn't survive contact with the enemy and have been redesigned on the Mk II.

As expected the windscreen didn't fair well, the angles and calculations to make them fold up pieces as part of the main shell failed, luckily there was enough meat on the parts to allow them to enter a PRP (Project Recovery Program) and retain their use, though it meant quite lot of hacking, cut and shutting to get them to fit. I'm not overly convinced about the windscreen size and position, or number boards, the major downfall when winging it from just photos and one or two basic dimensions.

The engineers side has just about been recovered though some edges still need rounding off, as do some on the nose once the cab side overlays are added. The Conductors side has the inner core recovered but the screen overlay is still be processed back at PRP.

I'm also not quite sure the screen rake is right either and the Mk II has been increased slightly, the increased rake will enhance that characteristic lopsided look to the screens, they are in fact perfectly oblong but the rake means that the outer edges do not run parallel with the verticals.

Couple of other small bits to test fit and the remaining windscreen to juggle into place, it'll never be perfect, but good enough to keep as a finished model.

Much as I like Nickel Silver, it's a real witch to photograph!

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Much as I like Nickel Silver, it's a real witch to photograph!

Have you tried using a polarising filter?

Do the cab overlays run from the front of the nose including the step support to the rear of the electrical cabinets?

Pssssst -is this test piece being snuck into Telford for a gander???

 

[mickoo]

Dave, the cab overlays cover the whole side and there's a strengthening strip at the front base which wraps around the foot well to cover the gap there in.

That overlay covers the basic joins, reinforcing strips and is a basic overlay, on top of that comes the detail overlays for control compartments, AC compartments, IGBT stacks and battery compartments and cab side windows, these vary with Railroad, model designation and build batch....not windows as theses are all Mk II, can't recall if any GEVO's retained Mk I cabs, probably not.

I also need to work out when GE returned to the traditional control stand, my impression was that all engines with the CW cab went with the desk top control stand, yet recent GEVO's seem to have returned to the traditional control stand on the left, all be it in a modified and updated cubicle.

The same overlay principle applies to the electrical cubical compartments, a basic overlay and then detail overlays, mostly around the dynamic brake enclosure with there are options for enlarged cubicle, double or triple brake grids and varying roof panels. The current fitting is for a full length cover with three brake panels, typically for a triple brake unit either with standard or enlarged enclosure.

Working out the overlays will be a task in it's self and probably take a while pouring over photos and seeing which Railroads had which model and variation, laying it all out in a big Excel sheet and then deciding where to go from there.

The test piece will be at Telford for you to look at but it won't be on 'general' display on our stand as it's not Finney7 related.

 

[JasonD]

For all you Guildex 2018 visitors here with an interest in N American O-scale, we are getting together for a coffee (well OK, I'll have tea) at 2pm both days in the cafe area.

Maple Leaf/Stars 'n' Stripes small flags on the table.

If you know other American O-scalers who are attending Guildex 2018, but don't do forums please pass this invitation on.
Thanks
Jason

 

[mickoo]

I don't do N, but recently have been tempted to do a layout based loosely on some part of Cajon it has to be said.

 

[JasonD]

Doh!!! Done it again!! Put N instead of Nth or North.... But hang on, mickoo's just winding me up ... hmmm ... works every time! See you on Stand 89 or coffee at 2?
Jason

 

[Brian T]

For all you Guildex 2018 visitors here with an interest in N American O-scale, we are getting together for a coffee (well OK, I'll have tea) at 2pm both days in the cafe area.

Maple Leaf/Stars 'n' Stripes small flags on the table.

If you know other American O-scalers who are attending Guildex 2018, but don't do forums please pass this invitation on.
Thanks
Jason

I`ll see you there Sunday then,with a cuppa tea too!

Brian.

 

[richard carr]

Mick

That looks great, it is definitley like the real thing.

I managed to get a weekend in Illinois the other week and went to Galesburg and Rochelle Railway Park

a few photos here.

Galesburg Aug 2018

Rochelle Railway Park Aug 2018

Both are great places for watching lots and lots of trains.

Richard

 

[mickoo]

Richard, cheers, it's getting there but needs a few tweaks here and there.

Nice photos , Rochelle has always been a hot spot, bit to urban for me but certainly lots of trains, one of those few spots with 100 plus trains a day I think.

One bonus of working away is lieu days accrued, in my case and extra six days to be taken in the next 12 months, which means next years vacation can be extended to four weeks

 

[richard carr]

Mick

Galesburg has well over a 100 trains a day too, split over 2 routes, you can see both of them at the same time at Peck Park but it's not good for Photos.
There are also interconnecting tracks between the 2 routes and a few Amtrack trains too, the photos are of the South West Chief.

It's a fun place for railways, right in the middle of rural America.

Apparently at the moment the economy is doing so well that there is a national shortage of truck drivers, so the liner trains are running like crazy, I saw over 20 in a couple of hours (both directions).

Richard

 

[mickoo]

Richard, not heard of Galesburg, will have to look into that but suspect it's too far east to get to next year, I wan to concentrate a bit more on the westerly areas and begin to head north a little toward San Francisco, maybe Seattle, possibly as far north as Transcon 1.

Back to the GEVO, all bar one or two lifting brackets I've used up all the etch work. Some parts are just tacked into place, such as the extended cover for the dynamic brakes which only pertains to certain UP and BNSF models (I've not decided on a final # for this model) and the module behind the IGBT enclosure, no idea what it does but it needs an overlay wrapped around it to finish it off.

The cab door can be posed open if you bend the hinges, though I'll rethink that as bending them will distort them to perhaps a different design to allow both options, the door frame does have the thin gutter all the way around, very hard to stop it filling with solder when fitting, and maybe more so when painting. The door isn't really thick enough, needs another layer inside for the structural beams, more modern doors appear much thicker than older ones, probably due to new crash regulations. There is an option for a overlay without the window but I used that half etch part to repair something else.

Number boards need a little tweak to make them deeper, 0.3-0.4mm or so and the windscreens need a tweak, moving outward a touch, maybe up a little and the corner radius easing, also need to level up the wiper holes

The NS bespoke brow headlight package didn't fair well, it might be recoverable just to show it's part of the package, I'll re look at it tomorrow.

Quite a few edges need more radius, those'll come when the cab side overlays are added, time to think about those and the cabinet overlays too, not sure I need all the holes back there, it makes folding the shell quite a chore.

I've also just spotted that the anti climber does not have the cut out over the MU socket, later variants have a strengthening plate over here as well and some engines have extra plates that bend down to the pilot plate.

Overall it's achieved what it was supposed to, other than the windscreen the rest of the angles and calculations worked with only minor trimming here and there to make it all fit.