7mm US model dabblings

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Interesting comment abut the policing in the colonies, Mick (with due respect to our transatlantic chums!)

When I was in Canada I just told them I was English. They shrugged and went way.

Brian
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Brian,

A whole different set of paranoia in the US !

I got 'spoken' too six times on my last visit;

A concerned old lady who'd seen me parked at the side of the line for several hours, 'Taft'.
A concerned lady from a care centre (alcoholics and drug dependents) across the road who was more concerned about me casing the joint. They'd had a previous patient/member who set fire to the centres front door and then threw himself under a train outside of their door step as a protest that they hadn't helped him resolve his substance abuse....I kid you not! 'Bushnell'.
A concerned store attendant, 'Wildwood'
The CSX transport police, 'Taft'.
A Sun Rail construction official, 'Taft'.
And finally, a full road side interview by the county Sheriff, 'Taft'.

To be fair by the end of three weeks most of the local train crews, staff and law enforcement at Taft knew who I was and you sure as hell get to meet a lot of people just standing or sitting in a parked car by the rail side.

They do have foamers, but most tend to congregate at know spots or old depots converted to viewing areas, Dade City, Plant City, Vitis etc, what they are not used to are people away from these locations taking photos from different angles. Foamers tend to congregate in number, set up a barbie and just drink and eat at the line side at specific locations, solo foamers are a rare breed in the US from what I can gather.
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Mickoo,

when you are 'Stateside' could you hire a GoPro fitted drone - and away you go - simples:thumbs::cool:

cheers

Mike
I do have a quadcopter, as yet not completed or flight tested but I think the US boarder patrol would go purple in the face when they saw that in my suitcase, who in their right mind brings something like that into the country on vacation :rolleyes: It's just not worth the aggravation LOL.
 

Big Train James

Western Thunderer
Next time you are here start by visiting the the local law enforcement office and explain who you are, what you are doing, and leave your vehicle description and plate number. Then when people call in they are already familiar with your info and won't be nearly as interested as all the mystery and suspense has already been killed off. Plus they will usually appreciate you making their jobs easier.
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Jim,

Your right, the sheriff at Taft advised pretty much the same, once my details were in the system and law enforcement officer could look it up as they drove by.

Afraid it's a negative on the diversion out West :( Too many other things to do and fit in with the family, shame really, but hey, that's married life ;)
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Hi guys,
I'm hoping one of the regulars on this thread might be able to help. Owing to a crisis of scale, I think I'll need to get some 42" AAR cast steel loco wheels turned up in 7mm scale, rather than 0.25"scale. Have any of you guys found drawings of the sections/dishing of these wheels as fitted to sd40-2s, ahem, sorry, Class 59...?
Steph
 
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Big Train James

Western Thunderer
I always thought sd40-2's rode on 40" wheels but none the less I may have some info at home with AAR wheel profiles. I don't believe there's any difference in profile for different diameter wheels. Let me check and I'll report later with results if somebody doesn't beat me to it.
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Jim,
Thank you - I appreciate it. To be honest, I'm not at all certain of the wheel size as I'm looking for info on the UK Class 59. I had believed up to this point that the major mechanical components were shared, which they may not be. It's certainly no help when Wikipedia is currently quoting a 45" wheel, which can't be right at all!

Dave,
The wheels need to be in 7mm finescale, for a 59. I did have a think that NWSL might do some wheels larger than 42", but unfortunately not!

Cheers,
Steph
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
EMD Class 66
IMG_2432.jpg

IMG_7447a.JPG

EMD GP60
IMG_8879.JPG

Doesn't look the same profile to me?

GE ES44AH
IMG_8027.JPG

Looks a closer match.

I suspect the SD40 won't match either, yet SD70ACe probably will as it's part of the newer generation of locos.
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Dave,
What's your source for that? I've had a look in a couple of books that have said 42", the kit says 40"...

Mick,
Fair point, but I'm not sure that what I can see isn't just a difference in tyre thickness (turning?). I'll investigate the standardsteel link Dave posted when I'm a bit more awake tomorrow and see how it all helps.

Cheers,

Steph
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Steph,

Negating the tyre thickness check out the radius of the fillet between the rim and main wheel disc, on the class 66 and ES44AH is large radius smooth radius that starts at the rim edge (internal) on the GP60 there's a ledge/shelf before the fillet radius starts and the radius is much tighter.

In fact on the ES44AH I'd say the fillet radius is even larger/broader than that of the class 66, if we have one parked in a 'discreet' place tomorrow I'll try and take some basic rough measurements.
 

Big Train James

Western Thunderer
I seem to be missing some of my links that I had before.:mad: And looking around in my two copies of Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia, I failed to find what I expected there as well. However, I did sort of re-find some of the sites I had once bookmarked. Along with the one Dave included above:

Amsted Rail / Griffin Wheels
AAR

Amsted irritates me as they've bought up a great many of the component manufacturers here. And they seem very protective about technical data. So it is difficult to find info now for many car and loco parts.:rant:

As to profiles, there are really only two that I have ever seen evidence of. The ones indicated in the AAR specifications linked above are the more common type, for both loco and car wheels. The wheel tread profile will remain the same for any size wheel really. It's just the web that gets elongated a bit for the larger diameter wheels.

While the bogie frames on the Class 59 appear to be EMD HTC-1 sideframes (it's stamped right on the side of the ones I saw on Brian Daniel's flickr site), that doesn't necessarily preclude them using 42" diameter wheels in the same sideframes. Larger diameters are preferred now as they theoretically increase the surface area in contact with the rail and therefor increase factors of adhesion.

I think what Mick might be noting on the gp60 wheel is shown in the link to this wheel. It's the second wheel profile I have seen used. There is a reverse curve in the dishing of the wheel. I don't think it is shown in the AAR spec above.

One warning I like to give everybody is if you are looking for diesel data, I would avoid a site called the Diesel Shop. They have a loco data section that looks promising but in fact has an awful lot of incorrect information. It always comes up on google searches but I ignore it now as I don't trust it at all to be accurate.

Doing all this on the fly and need to head back out. Hope some of this helps you along. I also have a pretty accurate wheel profile, developed from the AAR publication among others, drawn in CAD if that would be of any assistance to you. Ask away if you have any other questions and I'll respond as quickly as possible. I may be a bit delayed as we have our Labor Day holiday tomorrow so I'll still be busy with my girl.

Regards,
Jim
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Regarding wheel diameter, standard is 42" reading the paperwork, but I've also got a niggle that some were fitted (59/0?) with 40" which gave them higher tractive effort and reduced their top speed, mainly because their intended work was stone, coal and oil which is all limited to 60mph anyway, will dig a bit deeper later.
 

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
Steph said:
a difference in tyre thickness

When I was checking the wheels out for my boxcars they were either 1, 2, or multi-wear treads. This is also indicated on the car ends as the enlargements below from both Mickoo and Jim's photos show posted on my P48 thread.

As I understand 1W (wear) as implied means the wheels were discarded after use; 2W means they are re-profiled once before discarding and multi wear means they are re-profiled more than twice before being discarded.

I don't know whether this is the case with diesel wheels. Perhaps Jim or another forum member can elucidate.

In Mickoo's photo it's obvious.
IMG_8073a.JPG

In Jim's photo it's the line beginning with CH
Jim enlargement 023-post.jpg
 
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