Model Railroading > In the beginning there were parts................

It was a bet to make one to go along with my U50's. A couple of  Athearn DD40 shells for the running board, one frame, 2 Kato GP35's (couldn't find just the shells), more than a handfull of detail parts, a medium sized box to put it all in and shake violently-just kidding.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/23 23:02 by SP4360.

---

---

---

A little milling to apply the original slope box bearings, a couple of Plano fan plates,  cannon fans..................
I decided to change the number back to the 1965 number to run with the small fleet of Grey/Scarlet units that will have their original and 1965 numbers. The majority of the fleet is Black Widow and Tiger Stripe of which I can run some rather interesting consists.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/23 22:49 by SP4360.

---

---

---

~

---

---

---

LA Basin power, err bell ringers waiting to go.  Started this little project on 4-21, finished it 6-4. Have a box of detail parts left over, 2 DD shells and a powered frame,  just might be a second one coming out of the Fubar Flats General Shops.

---

---

Nice work.  Relatively fast as well.

A 6wk build? My god- did you remember to feed the cat!
SR

Very nice model! Ready to drag transfers around.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Looks supper nicely done.
Did you replace the old athern motors ?

Jon Fink
Schenectady, NY

Highhood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks supper nicely done.
> Did you replace the old athern motors ?

Guessing the KATO motors were used from the GP35s?

Well have two Alco brass DDs wonder if Athearn DD frames could be used on them? Would be nice to do anyone done that? 

Needs a U50 to keep it company!

Wow, impressive work!

This is fantastic.   Absolutely the best approach to this project.   I took the lazy way out and bought the resin shell from PNWR, and of course have not done anything with it.   My plan is to mount it on an ATH DD drive and rebuild the drive with modern nickel silver 40" wheels and can motors, plus for the tuck side frames I plan to plain down or grind down the outside and laminate Bachmann truck side frames to that.   Mine will be yellow however.   GREAT MODEL SIR!

Very cool and interesting SP model!

First off, thanks to TO member SP6053 for sending me detail pics he shot. They really helped as mine were lost years ago in a fire.
Right now it's a dummy, but the way I made the running board/frame solid, I am planning on powering it in the future. I used powered trucks and the geared wheelsets, as shown when the roller bearings were ground off and replaced with the sloped top bearings. I can easily drill holes for motor mounts and move them closer to the trucks (I used the original mounting holes to screw the body down). There are wires running inside the body cavity along the roof for truck connections and headlight functions. The Kato motors and drive lines will ne used. I have a pair of U50's to run with it along with a number of different second generation power. The combinations will be, lets say interestiing, just like the Taylor Roundhouse used to throw together. I think they and West Colton had contests to see what the wildest combinations they could come up with, and how many bells would be ringing at the end of the day.
Thanks to all for the kudos, it was a fun build, and a lot cheaper than one of those elusive brass ones.

Highhood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looks supper nicely done.
> Did you replace the old athern motors ?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/23 12:02 by SP4360.

I threw a 10lb bag of dry food on the floor, they were fine.

BoilingMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A 6wk build? My god- did you remember to feed the
> cat!
> SR

Well done! Very satisfying when it all comes together. I've been bashing an MEC U18B from various Atlas components. So far, so good.

Hmmmm.... I wonder if we could update that a little and use two Athearn GP60 bodies, the trucks and frame off an old Bachman DDA40X and make something say, a little bit more modern. Something that Stephans Railcar might come up with. 

gandydancer4 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hmmmm.... I wonder if we could update that a
> little and use two Athearn GP60 bodies, the trucks
> and frame off an old Bachman DDA40X and make
> something say, a little bit more modern. Something
> that Stephans Railcar might come up with. 

Send a letter to Athearn. They seem to be more into fantasy crap these days, they might just jump on it. They could match it with the red white and blue centennial. 
This was a great looking kitbash, it will look great with your U50s. What color and brand of paint did you use? It looks good.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/23 14:51 by TomG.

Tom, thanks. I used Tru-Color Paint.  What I really like about it is most, if not all factory painted models from Bowser, Atlas, and Athearn match their colors so if a number needs changing or when 
I add nose lights, a little touch up blends right in. 

TomG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> This was a great looking kitbash, it will look
> great with your U50s. What color and brand of
> paint did you use? It looks good.