Santa Fe SF30C

[SantaFe5811]

As the model railroad Gods have blessed us modern ATSF fans with nearly every model we need, the SF30C is one I am very keen on having on the layout!

I have seen the odd unit for sale on Ebay that others have kitbashed and sold, I would be willing to pay $200+ for one of these.

However, if it comes to a point where I need to kitbash my own SF30C, a few questions I have;

What would make a better host shell? U36C or C30-7? Although the U36C was the donor in real life, I have seen other forums people suggest C30-7's. I am struggling to find an unpainted U36C shell.

The vents at the rear of the unit are no sweat, nor is the 'bathtub' exhaust stack (rip it from a Dash9) or the buldge near the radiator.

The nose is the issue. As I live in Australia, 90% of visitors to my layout don't know where the ATSF ran, let alone what a SF30C is! So if the nose isn't perfect, I won't be fussed. Would a Dash8-40B style nose whacked on a C30/U36 pass?

Interesting to hear your thoughts.

Thanks gang!

 

[cajon]

Kaslo makes a resin kit: http://www.qstation.net/SF30C_Model/
Also try to find Eric Goodman & Gregg Fuhriman on QStation.org. If they haven't built one they know who has.

 

[Southwest Chief]

Kaslo makes a resin kit: http://www.qstation.net/SF30C_Model/

"May make" a resin kit. It's still a possible model as I don't believe they've made any yet.

 

[cajon]

Here's a thought try emailing them to find out the current status. Seems like their site would have said it was canceled now if that were the case.

 

[PEIR]

Kaslo now has the drawings and is getting ready to make the tooling for the shell. The Dash 8 nose is to long and possibly be on the wide side for a SF30C cab. Hi-tech Details makes U-boat and later Dash 7 exhaust stacks. There are a few undec U36C's on Ebay right now if you are still interested.

 

[nephthyr]

I know what you mean, on the one hand the Santa Fe rebuilds are so interesting and one of the many things I love about the ATSF, I'm nuts for the CF7 and yet these rebuilds can be such a pain for modelers, especially those of us that aren't into kit-bashing / scratchbuilding.

Best of luck, and let us know how it turns out (with some photos)!