| CHAPTER 1 TRUCKS, FRAME & FUEL TANK |
There is really not a whole lot to say about the trucks. The conversion to put the Athearn side
frames on the Atlas gear box is pretty straight forward and you can see the instructions on
how to do this by viewing my SIDE FRAME CONVERSION article.
frames on the Atlas gear box is pretty straight forward and you can see the instructions on
how to do this by viewing my SIDE FRAME CONVERSION article.
Here you can see the completed side frames. Pretty much standard detailing. Details West
speed recorder on the front left truck journal. The sanding hoses are Miniatronics 0.5V bulb
wire. A hole was drilled through the clasp and a blind hole drilled into the back of the side
frame to secure the wire. I cleaned up all the flash and any parting lines and after assembly of
all the detail parts and adaptor plates, I grit blast the frames so give them "tooth" for paint. I
am a nut for grit blasting prior to painting. Especially Delrin parts like the gear towers and the
hand rails. That is about it for the side frames.
As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to try and keep the building of this model simple. I wanted to
get it done and move onto my next project. To do this I needed to get away from all the crazy
frame detailing. That is usually the part of model building that bogs me down. I also wanted to
try and not use the mill on this project. As it is though and as I have come to expect. Al the
major manufacturers SUCK! at producing detail friendly frames. Yes, I know I capitalized
SUCK. That is because I want to emphasize it. There is absolutely NO NEED for them to build
these frames the way they do, but that is all I am going to lament about it.
As it turns out, I had to stick the frame in my mill and cut it so I can add one of th simplest
details. The air reservoirs. For as much metal as I had to cut, I may as well gone ahead and
put in all the frame detailing like I did on my EJ&E GP38-2. It would not have taken all that
much more time to make the necessary cuts.
speed recorder on the front left truck journal. The sanding hoses are Miniatronics 0.5V bulb
wire. A hole was drilled through the clasp and a blind hole drilled into the back of the side
frame to secure the wire. I cleaned up all the flash and any parting lines and after assembly of
all the detail parts and adaptor plates, I grit blast the frames so give them "tooth" for paint. I
am a nut for grit blasting prior to painting. Especially Delrin parts like the gear towers and the
hand rails. That is about it for the side frames.
As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to try and keep the building of this model simple. I wanted to
get it done and move onto my next project. To do this I needed to get away from all the crazy
frame detailing. That is usually the part of model building that bogs me down. I also wanted to
try and not use the mill on this project. As it is though and as I have come to expect. Al the
major manufacturers SUCK! at producing detail friendly frames. Yes, I know I capitalized
SUCK. That is because I want to emphasize it. There is absolutely NO NEED for them to build
these frames the way they do, but that is all I am going to lament about it.
As it turns out, I had to stick the frame in my mill and cut it so I can add one of th simplest
details. The air reservoirs. For as much metal as I had to cut, I may as well gone ahead and
put in all the frame detailing like I did on my EJ&E GP38-2. It would not have taken all that
much more time to make the necessary cuts.
Here we have the front left of the frame. You can see the added fuel tank details which are an
assortment of Cannon & Company parts and Details West pipes. The pipe on the far side of
the fuel tank is a cut down Cannon & Co. drain pipe. The top end of it is drilled out. I do not
know what this pipe is for, but I have seen it before on other locomotives. It usually has a small
diameter tube feeding into it. Just in front of the jacking pad I have installed a Details west
brake regulator. I milled the frame down a bit to recess this part further up under the side sill.
You should not see much of this part at all. Usually just the end of the canister hanging below
the sill line. Also, I like to mechanically attach my fuel tanks to the frames. This also helps
though on Atlas units because in order to put Cannon & Co. air reservoirs on, you need to cut
away the inner fuel tank fascia.
Oh boy, DO NOT get me started on the pathetic nature of the Atlas N-Scale up sized to HO
fuel tanks. They are just inexcusable! Whoever was the decision maker on that should be
flogged.
assortment of Cannon & Company parts and Details West pipes. The pipe on the far side of
the fuel tank is a cut down Cannon & Co. drain pipe. The top end of it is drilled out. I do not
know what this pipe is for, but I have seen it before on other locomotives. It usually has a small
diameter tube feeding into it. Just in front of the jacking pad I have installed a Details west
brake regulator. I milled the frame down a bit to recess this part further up under the side sill.
You should not see much of this part at all. Usually just the end of the canister hanging below
the sill line. Also, I like to mechanically attach my fuel tanks to the frames. This also helps
though on Atlas units because in order to put Cannon & Co. air reservoirs on, you need to cut
away the inner fuel tank fascia.
Oh boy, DO NOT get me started on the pathetic nature of the Atlas N-Scale up sized to HO
fuel tanks. They are just inexcusable! Whoever was the decision maker on that should be
flogged.
This is just a right hand side view of the frame front. The milled pocket just in front of the jack
pad was a mistake. I got confused when I turned the frame upside down to mill the pocket for
the brake regulator.
pad was a mistake. I got confused when I turned the frame upside down to mill the pocket for
the brake regulator.
This is the right rear of the frame. Here you can see I added all the necessary drain blocks
and pipes. The fuel tank end sheets are 0.010" styrene. After installation, I sanded them
thinner using a fingernail sanding stick. You will notice on the left side of the fuel tank drain
block I have added an additional block made from 0.030" x 0.030" styrene. The end is drilled
out and I have added an NBW detail with the treaded end cut off so it is a flat head bolt. I have
yet to find a locomotive that does not have this extra block welded in place. The bottom of the
block is flush with the bottom of the Cannon & Co. drain block. I have also added a small
section of Details West traction motor cables. They just disappear behind the air reservoir so I
did not need to add a long section of them.
and pipes. The fuel tank end sheets are 0.010" styrene. After installation, I sanded them
thinner using a fingernail sanding stick. You will notice on the left side of the fuel tank drain
block I have added an additional block made from 0.030" x 0.030" styrene. The end is drilled
out and I have added an NBW detail with the treaded end cut off so it is a flat head bolt. I have
yet to find a locomotive that does not have this extra block welded in place. The bottom of the
block is flush with the bottom of the Cannon & Co. drain block. I have also added a small
section of Details West traction motor cables. They just disappear behind the air reservoir so I
did not need to add a long section of them.
Here is another rear view of the frame except from the left side. As you can see, I got confused
when I cut the pocket for the brake regulator.
when I cut the pocket for the brake regulator.
Since everything above the walk way is going to be built from sheet styrene and Cannon & Co.
parts, I needed to make another cut in the frame. On the right side, I had to take off material at
the front and rear of the battery box weight.
NOTE: The Atlas battery boxes are longer than the Cannon & Co. battery box. The length is at
the front of the box and you will see it when you attach the cab sub base to the deck. You will
see it in the hood construction part of this article.
parts, I needed to make another cut in the frame. On the right side, I had to take off material at
the front and rear of the battery box weight.
NOTE: The Atlas battery boxes are longer than the Cannon & Co. battery box. The length is at
the front of the box and you will see it when you attach the cab sub base to the deck. You will
see it in the hood construction part of this article.
Since I wanted to just get this model built, one of the compromises I made was to not fully
rebuild the fuel tank. I only cut enough fascia off to allow details o be added. Here you can see
I added a Cannon & Co. fuel filler. I also added some Details West traction motor cables to
help fill in some of the detail. You will also notice in this photo how much I had to cut off the
frame in order to get the air reservoirs in.
In the photo above, you see some text that says "HERE and HERE". I am pointing this out
because I milled about 0.030" off the edges of the frame where the flywheel clearance cavity
is. You can see the silver looking edge. This was done to both sides. The reason for this will
be obvious in CHAPTER 2, but I will give an explanation of it here. The Atlas hood is 0.040"
thick. When I build my hood sides, I use 0.020" styrene for a backing sheet and then the
pieces you layout on this sheet are also 0.020". What usually happens when I build a hood
and assemble it, the bottom of the hood that sets against the deck bows in. In order to make
sure my hoods stand straight up, I glue a series of long tabs to the inside edge of the walk
way. I like to place as many of them as I can. This also facilitates in making sure I can glue the
hood to the walk way very securely. I needed to get some clearance on the frame to allow
these tabs to fit in. That is why I milled this area.
rebuild the fuel tank. I only cut enough fascia off to allow details o be added. Here you can see
I added a Cannon & Co. fuel filler. I also added some Details West traction motor cables to
help fill in some of the detail. You will also notice in this photo how much I had to cut off the
frame in order to get the air reservoirs in.
In the photo above, you see some text that says "HERE and HERE". I am pointing this out
because I milled about 0.030" off the edges of the frame where the flywheel clearance cavity
is. You can see the silver looking edge. This was done to both sides. The reason for this will
be obvious in CHAPTER 2, but I will give an explanation of it here. The Atlas hood is 0.040"
thick. When I build my hood sides, I use 0.020" styrene for a backing sheet and then the
pieces you layout on this sheet are also 0.020". What usually happens when I build a hood
and assemble it, the bottom of the hood that sets against the deck bows in. In order to make
sure my hoods stand straight up, I glue a series of long tabs to the inside edge of the walk
way. I like to place as many of them as I can. This also facilitates in making sure I can glue the
hood to the walk way very securely. I needed to get some clearance on the frame to allow
these tabs to fit in. That is why I milled this area.
HERE
and HERE
This is the left side and again you can see how much I had to remove from the frame for the
air reservoirs. The fuel filler is from Cannon & Co. and the breather pipes are from Details
West.
air reservoirs. The fuel filler is from Cannon & Co. and the breather pipes are from Details
West.