My New Alco C-855

[Jamesn320]

Finlay, after several years.  I have an Alco C-855 in N Scale.

I've turned this.....



Into this.



The sandboxes are separate parts to make it easier to paint.



And then there is loads of brass!



Even windscreen wipers.



It still needs painting and the rest of the brass fitting properly but does look good!




As usual there is lots more on my blog and a link if you fancy getting one, or two! The chassis was fun, it has 3D printed stainless steel in it.

Hopefully I will get it painted soon and I will post up some picks.  The C-855B is also on its way .

-James

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh man. Like watching the future...

[C855B]

Nope. Not interested in the least. 

 

[Philip H]

Nope. Not interested in the least. 

 

Don't stop benchwork to do six or eight of these, ok? 

Nicely done, however - though the lack of front porchs is odd looking . . . .

[jmlaboda - RIP]

The C-855B is also on its way .

The first time I ever saw anything about these beasts that ALCO made was back in '69 in a little hobby shop in Lancaster, Ca.  The shop, located next to a pool hall my father frequented from time to time, had a brass model of a C855B and it was the most beautiful model I had ever seen.  Funny that I would think about that model just looking at yours... so many years ago yet something I still remember.  Oh, while I am remembering so far back, Minnesota Fats was at the pool hall that day and my father played him... Dad won!!!  This likely is the reason I remember the model.  It sold several months later right around the time my father passed away...

Looking forward to seeing how these models turn out!!!

[C855B]

Jerry, that had to have been the shop on Avenue I just west of 10th St. The bigger shop in town carried more N scale, but owner Bob Baldorf never messed with brass IIRC.

[JMaurer1]

I was watching a TV show on 3D printing and they were showing how they now were printing plastic and metal at the same time. In the example they were printing a plastic drone but with the electrical 'wiring' inside the plastic. In the end, they snapped in the motors and controller circuit board and flew the thing just off the printer. They were also implying that in the future we will all have 3D printers at home and you just buy the plan off the internet and print it out...no shipping, no delay (other than the printing time). How cool would that be with being able to just print the engine and snap the motor and DCC into it then start running...after paint of course, but then again, it IS a printer. Just have the road name printed on like MT does for some of their cars now.

[bobthebear]

Don't stop benchwork to do six or eight of these, ok? 

Nicely done, however - though the lack of front porchs is odd looking . . . .

What there is of a front porch is on the front truck and as it's black, you can't see it easily.
There were no railings at all on the front.

[PiperguyUMD]

So you 3D printed the frame in stainless steel!?  I'd like to see some pics of that too!

[Jamesn320]

The chassis started as a standard Con-Cor U50.



Then these bits are printed in stainless steel and inserted.





The chassis had to be lengthened right in the center to keep the motor behind the fuel tank sides.  Like this.





There is a full write up on my blog about how to do it if anybody is interested.

-James

[basementcalling]

More hotness. A best of candidate.

[Lemosteam]

More hotness. A best of candidate.

+1

[randgust]

I'll vote outstanding over here too, as an advocate of this approach (etched brass with RP).   As the printing process improves, this will likely be even a better approach - as things like handrails and grabs don't RP well at all and at least with current materials, are way, way too fragile.

I got a Shapeways forklift and snapped the fork off just trying to get it out of the package.   Dropped the 'featherweight' 25-tonner shell (empty) about 4" over top of the workbench and the end sill step went flying.   FUD is just so, so brittle, particularly after Bestine.   Just because you can print that small doesn't mean you don't have to consider structural integrity.

The only suggestion I can add after looking at your etch sheet is that I included drilling templates on mine for the handrails, as most people find that one of the most difficult things to do accurately.

As I mentioned over on TB, I like to remind fans and critics alike that unlike printing in RP, doing brass right requires a batch run and also an investment in material, so support the guys that are doing this - they've had to put some real money into it.

[Xmtrman]

The only suggestion I can add after looking at your etch sheet is that I included drilling templates on mine for the handrails, as most people find that one of the most difficult things to do accurately.

If you'll have a close look at the pictures on his blog, you see that James has "printed in" drilling guides in the shell itself.

From his blog:
"Because just about all the brass Additions have mounting holes or slots they should be very easy to install...even the windscreen wipers have mounting holes."

He's done one heck of a job on this. I already have three U50 "donors" waiting for the B unit so I can get a complete A-B-A set of these brutes.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Jerry, that had to have been the shop on Avenue I just west of 10th St. The bigger shop in town carried more N scale, but owner Bob Baldorf never messed with brass IIRC.

I've been to the one you are talking about and even bought some things from him during my short return to Lancaster.  Always liked his shop.

The one I was speaking of was on Division St. just south of the intersection of Division and Lancaster Blvd.  When I returned to Lancaster in '79 this shop was gone.