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I began working on this some years ago and the only real issue is railpower left off the number boards and no one seems to make any that I can find.
I did file openings in the proper position yet I don;t know where I came up with the dimentions they should be the same as a GP7 yet mine are smaller so I can make them larger but I was hoping to locate some that I can fit so I have the rubber simulated gasket that goes around them .
Also since I no longer have the proper trucks I thought I would use one of the 5 Athearn trainmaster powered loco's I have and rob those and they will fit.
I also got the details associates ladders that are on each hood end and if I recall they were were to long or short , I think they were designed for the BB athearn SD9's. I could just use the drop steps most GP's used yet I don't know if any SD had them like that , not that anyone will ever see the thing when it's done other than me. I did a seach on Fallen Flags and all I saw were the ladder type.
Surely Details West, Details Associates, Cal-scale or some other aftermarket detail maker has those gaskets. I know that Cal-Scale makes a nice set of ladders for the SD7/9.
As to the trucks off of Trainmasters, I'm not sure those trucks would fit as they were a totally different design, and may just look too wrong on that chassis. One thing you could do is check with Athearn, and see what two new power trucks would cost. E-bay would be another place to check for a junked SD7/9 to get the trucks off of.
might want to look closer at the FM trucks. either P2k or Athearn BB will work. I think I used Overland's SD ladders. the gaskets were made by either oddball or scale shell decals several years ago. phil
Surely Details West, Details Associates, Cal-scale or some other aftermarket detail maker has those gaskets. I know that Cal-Scale makes a nice set of ladders for the SD7/9.
As to the trucks off of Trainmasters, I'm not sure those trucks would fit as they were a totally different design, and may just look too wrong on that chassis. One thing you could do is check with Athearn, and see what two new power trucks would cost. E-bay would be another place to check for a junked SD7/9 to get the trucks off of.
I just have an older walthers catalog and when I look on-line through the sites that list detail parts DA and DW or C scale I don't find them .
Athern does not sell BB 6 axle trucks anylonger , the only place that lists them is railpower for $27 for the pair and they have not answered my email I sent 5 days ago and their phone goes to fax. I had the trucks yet some fellow I knew needed them bad so not knowing the statis of Athearn I sold them to him 3 pairs .
I have details associates ladders but they are for some reason longer than they need to be and at the time many years ago no one else sold them or the gaskets which I still can't find unless I make them myself possibly I can cut off some off of the athearn F7A's shells I have piled up here, if they are close that is. I had a few athearn GP7 wide body shells and cut the are around the number boards out and squared them up and fit them into another shell and that worked once I cut out the shell I fit the number boards in the cutout just so the gaskets sat above the hood end surface . I realize the FM trucks are all wrong , so far all I do know is they will fit and are the same height at the bolster but they are not at all the same as the proper trucks. And E bay , I couldn't find one thing on that site and what there is the seller wants far to much like they have gold up for bid.
might want to look closer at the FM trucks. either P2k or Athearn BB will work. I think I used Overland's SD ladders. the gaskets were made by either oddball or scale shell decals several years ago. phil
I need number boards that have the gasket stand out from the hood end surface like most makes of loco's do . I have some Athearn cabs here maybe the number boards on the EMD cabs might work. Railpower cast the boards on all but the SD7/9 and even then they were square cornered not rounded. I see alco boards and F7 boards but not first generation EMD boards. P2K is now owned by walthers and I though if memory serves on my first run P2K SD7 units they were made like exact copies of Kato and the only ones I can locate railpower sells but I can't seem to get ahold of them by phone or email in the last 5 days and they only Sd trucks I can find are SD40-2 and they are different mounting wise , don't know if they can be adapted to fit but I know the side frames will I still have a set of those.
I have looked at the FM trucks , certainly they are not correct by any means . What I need to try is just pull one out of one of the 5 TM's I have and see how they look or wait they may be to short and look real odd , it's not like I'm building a specific proto-type but yes if they look real odd then I will pass on that idea.
A fellow member Icheymon was kind enough to send me a pair if SD9 dummy trucks and the best part is they happen to have the old metal sideframes and even use the very same wheel sets and gears as the Athearn trainmaster . Even better as with most dummy trucks both are the same but on these there is a front and rear truck so they have the metal bracket where the trucks fit the frames bolster pin as a left and right so it is possible using one of the 5 trainmasters I have to make these power trucks and the metal sideframes have the exact detail and the SD9 plastic sideframes I have a set of those and they are the same.
The only thing I need to do I make an electrical contact with the other side of the truck frame which I can do with a small brass screw and a wire lead. Which I may do on both sides . I did make power trucks for one dummy trainmaster long ago from a dummy but the trainmaster trucks had a metal tab for the pivot to bolster as well as a half tab on the other side of the truck frame. frame so I was easy to drill a small hole into the half tab and use a brass screw for a connect. You know how BB athearns have the one metal part across the top of the power truck for the pivot pin and on the other side or half of the truck they have the tall bent metal tab for the flat contact clip that makes contact with the top of the motor to each truck and then the high power headlamp bulb . it's the tall tab that is not on the SD9 dummy trucks yet there are places to drill a small hole and tap it for a brass screw. So thanks to Icheymon, I have what I need now.
The only issue is the number boards , no one sells the gasket or the boards but I do have the front section of a P2K GP 18 short hood that has the proper number boards so I can use them on one end or make some that are real close for both ends . I have the details associates ladders but they are these thin brass parts that need to be assembled but I think I can do that. I did install the class lights but I used the ones that are the SD7 type part number 229-1018 , I don't have the instruction sheet and they were made to convert an Athearn SD9 to an SD7 I have to look at some SD& photo's to see if ZI placed them right , they look to close to the center or to far from the side if the front hood end but are the proper height. The SD9 used class lights like used on a GP7 or GP18 and similar units. They are called acess doors rather than class lights yet have a class light in them. If I screwed up I can remove them and move them or use the GP style 229-1017.
I checked the railpower SD7 shell and it's going to be a real close fit . On this shell they did not round over the top of the hood end quite enough so in order to get the DA ladders to fit I could not round them over more . I used the DA access door /class lights and head lamp and fit them just under the roof round over conture and they seem to be in the proper position and once I make the numberboards a bit wider and taller so they look right that ladder will fit but it will be real close . The rear where the radiator grills stick out past the sides the ladders will just make it and I'm doing a Mil road SD7 with just one fuel tank so this allows for that feature. I can only find one fair photo of the rear of the Mil SD7 and looked at a few PRR SD9's as well as other roads that used them and it appears like the rear number boards are not quite as close to the hood end front center flat area on the Mil SD7 it's difficult to tell so at best I can only come close RPP shells were not the most accuate shell to begin with . The most difficult part are the number boards because what I did was mark them and cut them out so they could be lite up all I can do not is either fill them in and try to do this a different way how I don't know because no one makes these number boards but they should be the same size and shape as the ones on the P2K GP18 short hood section I have here. It's mainly the size and that little gasket that always sticks out just a bit around the number board glass. I thought of perhaps using plastic just a bit undersize and then gluing a very thin plastic strip around them and then sand that to the gasket then file out the board openings I already have then fit and glue these in but that seems like a lot of tiny work to do. The only other option is to just file them to the proper size and live without the gaskets.
The top is the number boards I cut compared to the ones in a P2K GP18 .
The next is the front .
Then the rear
and the roof with what I did long ago.
I know they are blured but my camera does not take great close ups or it's me most likely the roof I took far enough away and it came out fine.
I was trying to show what I am trying to do . you can see I hope the size the number boards should be on the black GP18 and I measured the DA ladders and they are just a tad under 12/32" and the space between the long hood walkway and the botton of the long hood area or rear of the unit to the radiator bottom is 13/32" so I have 1/32" to play with which is not much but enough that the ladders will just fit and allow 1/64" above the walkway and under the rear long hood radiator bottom bulge.
Basically I need to make the number boards a bit longer and wider and with less of a rounded corner and then there is a grab that goes just above the numberboard and just under the access door /class light above it but the grab does reach the full length of the number boards and looking at a proto-type Mil road SD7 the top of my number boards are in the proper place as are the class lights so it's going to be a close fit but can be done. One problem is the SD7 class lights were made for a Athearn SD9 to make it into a SD7 and since the Athearn SD9 has a hood that is over a scale foot wider than the RPP shell the class light should be centered with the numberboard and ladder and there is no way I can move it enough to the center to do that so I guess I need the SD9 DA class lights and get these off.
