Smudge617
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the long delay in responding.
Thanks, John but unfortunately, mine is a Walthers, I've a few of these bogies myself but unfortunately they won't fit
John's Loco Workbench - More Projects Begin...
- Thread starter jmupton2000
- Start date
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Thanks, John but unfortunately, mine is a Walthers, I've a few of these bogies myself but unfortunately they won't fit
But, Cr@p! There is wood or a table under the cardboard of your layout....Right? Its there to soften the noise?
Foamboard base and wooden shelving beneath that. Pretty quiet even when the noisiest blue box loco goes over it.
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Thanks, John but unfortunately, mine is a Walthers, I've a few of these bogies myself but unfortunately they won't fit
jmupton2000
John M Upton
An awful lot of chassis bits litter the workbench this morning as attempts to get the chassis moving freely gather pace. On closer inspection it was revealed that one truck was intermittently siezed and one driveshaft jammed, both trucks have been replaced with spares from the spare parts box which have the advantage of much better wheel sets on them:
During the delve into the parts pile, a pair of useable motor mounts were discovered which have now been placed beneath the original motor assembly:
Repair work to the cab and long hood end pilot continues:
During the delve into the parts pile, a pair of useable motor mounts were discovered which have now been placed beneath the original motor assembly:
Repair work to the cab and long hood end pilot continues:
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jmupton2000
John M Upton
I am trying to restore the loco using as much of the original parts as possible (hence why the original admittedly power hungry motor has been retained for example) but for the prototype I have in mind for the finished model, the handrails needed surgery.
The standard Athearn Blue Box S12 has handrails the full length of the hood, the prototype I have chosen has just the rails at the radiator end and then a long one attached to the side of the hood itself, so after much bending of old Athearn handrail wire, it is getting there:
This also includes adding the vertical grabs either side of the cab door, this also showing the damage repairs to the cab as well:
Does anyone know where I can get a replacement stack? The one on the Athearn model is the wrong type, I need the round coffee pot type.
The standard Athearn Blue Box S12 has handrails the full length of the hood, the prototype I have chosen has just the rails at the radiator end and then a long one attached to the side of the hood itself, so after much bending of old Athearn handrail wire, it is getting there:
This also includes adding the vertical grabs either side of the cab door, this also showing the damage repairs to the cab as well:
Does anyone know where I can get a replacement stack? The one on the Athearn model is the wrong type, I need the round coffee pot type.
jmupton2000
John M Upton
The S12 body is back from priming and painting, some very nice warm sunny weather meaning excellent painting conditions:
The GP50 is also in its base colour now but still out in the shed drying so a picture will follow later,
Meanwhile, the next non runner spares/repair job has rolled in:
This is how it came, an Atlas S3 (one of the most dependable and reliable models I have ever run, I already have a few!) which arrived wrapped in an old Roundhouse box!! None of the pictures on the ebay listing showed any handrails (I have spares) but as it turned out, they are there in the box too.
Sold as a non runner, the 9V battery test saw it move under its own power all right but reluctantly and I think I have spotted the problem through the cab window:
Some sort of DCC apendage, duly confirmed once the body shell was off:
Took but a few moments to remove...
The brass strip that should be on the top there is obviously absent, fortunately I do have a spare in my parts bin and the soldering iron is being charged up as I type this.
What it will be outshopped as is a question though, I already have Atlas S3's as SP 1025 and 1031, both detailed repaints of the original Atlas factory issue which have served well for almost twenty years and of the batch of ten S3's on SP's books, I have only ever found photographic evidence for those two being in bloody nose livery although it seems Walthers issued their Proto 2000 S3 as 1032 once.
Get it working first, then I can mull the respray options. Kodachrome would be interesting....
The GP50 is also in its base colour now but still out in the shed drying so a picture will follow later,
Meanwhile, the next non runner spares/repair job has rolled in:
This is how it came, an Atlas S3 (one of the most dependable and reliable models I have ever run, I already have a few!) which arrived wrapped in an old Roundhouse box!! None of the pictures on the ebay listing showed any handrails (I have spares) but as it turned out, they are there in the box too.
Sold as a non runner, the 9V battery test saw it move under its own power all right but reluctantly and I think I have spotted the problem through the cab window:
Some sort of DCC apendage, duly confirmed once the body shell was off:
Took but a few moments to remove...
The brass strip that should be on the top there is obviously absent, fortunately I do have a spare in my parts bin and the soldering iron is being charged up as I type this.
What it will be outshopped as is a question though, I already have Atlas S3's as SP 1025 and 1031, both detailed repaints of the original Atlas factory issue which have served well for almost twenty years and of the batch of ten S3's on SP's books, I have only ever found photographic evidence for those two being in bloody nose livery although it seems Walthers issued their Proto 2000 S3 as 1032 once.
Get it working first, then I can mull the respray options. Kodachrome would be interesting....
jmupton2000
John M Upton
The transfers are ruddy fiddly on the S12 but a start on one side at least has been made:
Meanwhile, another ebay bargain has arrived:
Lovely runner, not much wrong with it really despite the description and low price paid. Unfortunately, comparing it to the SP prototype reveals a lot of inaccuracies, that 'porch' over the back cab wall will need to go for a starter, SP never had them!
Meanwhile, another ebay bargain has arrived:
Lovely runner, not much wrong with it really despite the description and low price paid. Unfortunately, comparing it to the SP prototype reveals a lot of inaccuracies, that 'porch' over the back cab wall will need to go for a starter, SP never had them!
jmupton2000
John M Upton
...and despite my atrocious soldering skills, the S3 chassis is now a runner again.
If you wanted to, you could number the S3 as 1027. That was Model Railroader magazine's street number in their address for many decades, and they regularly received photos of equipment sporting that number. Since MRR technically no longer their own company, and haven't been at that address for some time, it would be a subtle nod to history.
jmupton2000
John M Upton
Interestingly, I cannot find any photos of S3 number 1027 so a little imagination could be applied...
The real 1027 was wrecked in 1965, and was traded in to EMD.
jmupton2000
John M Upton
I had a feeling creative moment last night so duly found an outline drawing for the S3 and then fired up MS Paint (yes, it still exists!!!) to see what an SP S3 would look in Daylight colours like 7399 and 7342 which I have already done (and did exist of course!)
Not sure if the bonnet/hood top should be black/very dark grey or orange?
Not sure if the bonnet/hood top should be black/very dark grey or orange?
From a crew visibility standpoint, probably make the top of the hood black, to minimize reflections into the cab. I'd probably make the top of the cab orange instead of black to cut down on heat in the cab from the sun.
jmupton2000
John M Upton
jmupton2000
John M Upton
The main S3 body shell parts and the chassis have now been primed after appropriate Espee details were added using a couple of photos of an S4 of the time as a inspiration:
Looking again at the Daylight livery carried by SD44R 7399 and SD40R 7342 (both of which I have modelled in this thread) I have come up with a revised adaptation of it for 1027, so here is Version III:
... all be it minus the lettering at the moment.
Looking again at the Daylight livery carried by SD44R 7399 and SD40R 7342 (both of which I have modelled in this thread) I have come up with a revised adaptation of it for 1027, so here is Version III:
... all be it minus the lettering at the moment.
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riogrande5761
Well-Known Member
You'd be surprised at what SP fans like!
TheXModelRailroader
RANK AMATEURS OF THE MODEL RAILROAD FORM FOUNDER
" Your color's nice, James. Pity about your face, though!" Troublesome Trucks.
jmupton2000
John M Upton
Well, my house move which was "Oh, we are probably looking at Three or four weeks yet..." suddenly became "Any chance you can move on Tuesday?" so everything had to be packed up PDQ!!
Fortunately I had the mind to make sure that the S3 was taken separately so it is now back on the new workbench.
Can't find my soldering kit anywhere, or my stock of detailing parts, all packed away somewhere but the chassis is now reassembled:
Still trying to decide what colour for the radiator grilles though.
Fortunately I had the mind to make sure that the S3 was taken separately so it is now back on the new workbench.
Can't find my soldering kit anywhere, or my stock of detailing parts, all packed away somewhere but the chassis is now reassembled:
Still trying to decide what colour for the radiator grilles though.
jmupton2000
John M Upton
After weeks of getting everything sorted out after the house move, the workbench is back in full operation.
A new shelf based layout has begun to be put together, already populated by some familiar motive power:
On the workbench, the soldering iron was finally located which means the SP S3 1027 in its neverwazza scheme now has a working chassis:
The body parts are pretty much done too, one of the number boards on the hood being the only casualty of the move:
Meanwhile, another ebay bargain that seemingly nobody wanted has arrived:
An Atlas S2 in Seaboard colours, a custom job that was way better when it arrived then I was expecting, someone really did an excellent job on it, detailing parts, nose end grabs, the lot.
The paint job isn't quite right, the Seaboard lettering is wrong basically but other than that and needing some attention to the dusty dirty wheels, it is a an absolute cracker.
A new shelf based layout has begun to be put together, already populated by some familiar motive power:
On the workbench, the soldering iron was finally located which means the SP S3 1027 in its neverwazza scheme now has a working chassis:
The body parts are pretty much done too, one of the number boards on the hood being the only casualty of the move:
Meanwhile, another ebay bargain that seemingly nobody wanted has arrived:
An Atlas S2 in Seaboard colours, a custom job that was way better when it arrived then I was expecting, someone really did an excellent job on it, detailing parts, nose end grabs, the lot.
The paint job isn't quite right, the Seaboard lettering is wrong basically but other than that and needing some attention to the dusty dirty wheels, it is a an absolute cracker.
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TheXModelRailroader
RANK AMATEURS OF THE MODEL RAILROAD FORM FOUNDER
Your models are looking great!
But, Cr@p! There is wood or a table under the cardboard of your layout....Right? Its there to soften the noise?
jmupton2000
John M Upton
Foamboard base and wooden shelving beneath that. Pretty quiet even when the noisiest blue box loco goes over it.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)