02/17/07
| Chicago & Illinois Midland SD38-2 |
I'll dispense with the formalities of trying to explain the history of the Chicago & Illinois Midland Railroad. If you want a brief summary, please go visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_and_Illinois_Midland_Railway and also http://www.railarchive.net/cimbook/index.html. Both of these sites give a pretty good
run down on the history of the C&IM.
According to the DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE ROSTERS web site, C&IM took delivery of their six SD38-2's in May of 1974. These units were builder numbers
74605-1 thru -6 and numbered 70 - 75. Thanks to the good people who have documented these units on film, I was able to do a pretty good study of the details
pertaining to them and the changes that took place up to 1980 which is about the max era that I will model to. After the mid 80's, there were two change that
took place. One was the strobe light. It was changed to a rotating "gum ball" type light. The other was changing the brake ratchet brake pump to a brake wheel.
The model I am building is what you see pictured above and through my research, this is what the unit would have looked like in the late '70's and after the FRA
rules took effect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_and_Illinois_Midland_Railway and also http://www.railarchive.net/cimbook/index.html. Both of these sites give a pretty good
run down on the history of the C&IM.
According to the DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE ROSTERS web site, C&IM took delivery of their six SD38-2's in May of 1974. These units were builder numbers
74605-1 thru -6 and numbered 70 - 75. Thanks to the good people who have documented these units on film, I was able to do a pretty good study of the details
pertaining to them and the changes that took place up to 1980 which is about the max era that I will model to. After the mid 80's, there were two change that
took place. One was the strobe light. It was changed to a rotating "gum ball" type light. The other was changing the brake ratchet brake pump to a brake wheel.
The model I am building is what you see pictured above and through my research, this is what the unit would have looked like in the late '70's and after the FRA
rules took effect.
The above photo is as delivered. You will note a few differences between this photo and unit #72 above. On unit #73, there is a full pilot beam with foot boards.
There is a pilot grab iron and it has a type I coupler lift bar. There is a gap in the pilot under the coupler pocket. There are no safety contrasting colors on the
step edges and the cab roof has only two detail features. A horn and a firecracker antenna. A detail that was retained throughout its C&IM career is the vent on
the side of the cab which you can see just below and forward of the cab window. After the FRA mandated safety rules were passed, the foot boards were
removed and a flat plate was put across the bottom of the pilot. This plate closed up the gap under the coupler pocket. The pilot grab iron was removed and
handles were welded to the coupler lift bar to facilitate operation of the coupler lift bar from behind the pilot. The step edges got a contrasting color added to
them and a strobe light was added to the back of the cab roof. This strobe light is a thorn in my side because I do not know how high it stands off the roof. A
fellow C&IM modeler, Ken Ford, estimated that from the cab roof to the base of the strobe light to be 3/32". That seems reasonable to me. As a side note, unit
#70 retained it pilot beam, but foot boards were removed.
My goal is to model a typical late '70's C&IM coal train. Two SD38-2's split by an SD18 or possibly an SD9. My first model will be Unit #72. I like how it looks in the
above photo. I like the two speed recorders on the front axle. I am sure one is a wheel slip indicator. The weathering is heavy down low and subtle up top. I
have been doing a lot of research on weathering techniques and am anxious to apply them to this model. I am going to try a different approach to this article
with each page being for a specific part of the model, not just blend it all together. I hope you enjoy this article and can come away with some new ideas to try.
There is a pilot grab iron and it has a type I coupler lift bar. There is a gap in the pilot under the coupler pocket. There are no safety contrasting colors on the
step edges and the cab roof has only two detail features. A horn and a firecracker antenna. A detail that was retained throughout its C&IM career is the vent on
the side of the cab which you can see just below and forward of the cab window. After the FRA mandated safety rules were passed, the foot boards were
removed and a flat plate was put across the bottom of the pilot. This plate closed up the gap under the coupler pocket. The pilot grab iron was removed and
handles were welded to the coupler lift bar to facilitate operation of the coupler lift bar from behind the pilot. The step edges got a contrasting color added to
them and a strobe light was added to the back of the cab roof. This strobe light is a thorn in my side because I do not know how high it stands off the roof. A
fellow C&IM modeler, Ken Ford, estimated that from the cab roof to the base of the strobe light to be 3/32". That seems reasonable to me. As a side note, unit
#70 retained it pilot beam, but foot boards were removed.
My goal is to model a typical late '70's C&IM coal train. Two SD38-2's split by an SD18 or possibly an SD9. My first model will be Unit #72. I like how it looks in the
above photo. I like the two speed recorders on the front axle. I am sure one is a wheel slip indicator. The weathering is heavy down low and subtle up top. I
have been doing a lot of research on weathering techniques and am anxious to apply them to this model. I am going to try a different approach to this article
with each page being for a specific part of the model, not just blend it all together. I hope you enjoy this article and can come away with some new ideas to try.
| COMPLETED MODEL TRUCKS FRAME FRAME STRUCTURE PILOTS & STEPS HAND RAILS & DECK NOSE, SUB-BASE & CAB LONG HOOD |
From Warren Calloway's collection, used with
permission.
permission.
Photo used with Warren Calloway's permission.