Weekend Update 5/24/20

[peteski]

     In the early sixties UP wanted 5,000 HP diesels, that started a horsepower war among the major manufacturers. EMD built the DD35, GE the U50, and in a last gasp for survival Alco one upped them with an A-B-A set of 5,500 hp C855s. They might have saved Alco except that they were wired wrong and the first time they took a revenue freight out and hit transition all their electrical cabinets blew up. They had to be towed back to the yard, and what was left of Alco went to Canada.

     I'm an SP modeler and only took on the UP as a secondary road because of the spectacular DDA40X. That led to U50s, DD35s and while on cruise in 84' I scratchbuilt an A-B set of C855s, but they were crude by todays standards and I made a lot of mistakes. George Johnson has been campaigning for a set since 91'. When Atlas came out with a quality C628/630 it became a reachable goal.
 
     Then James' Train Parts released 3D printed shells which I thought would save me most of the work. It didn't, the print rendering was bad enough I spent over a month filling and sanding to the point they were usable. I also didn't care for his method of stretching the chassis, nor how he held the shells on which required a super wide fuel tank. So, I milled the chassis, cast my own fuel tank, and fabricated a way to hold the shell on without the fuel tank doing it. That required a new radiator grill on top, which was fine with me as his wasn't right. I didn't care for his flimsey etched brass handrails on so large a model, so I made mine from steel.

     Here they are with their competitors awaiting their next assignment.

  Thanks for the info.  Sounds  like you invested hundreds of hours to make them.  Very nice!

[peteski]

Thanks guys!
I dusted in some powders today.


As for the rafters, they are actually a cream color. 

As you can see, the roof is light (in this picture), but it looked different over the years and varied photo to photo.

Looks good Josh!  Just one more thing (in Lt. Colombo's voice): I would paint the exposed tops of the wall (in this photo) either roof color, or brick color. The visible plywood looks odd. After all, most people will be viewing this  model from the photo's perspective.

[chicken45]

Looks good Josh!  Just one more thing (in Lt. Colombo's voice): I would paint the exposed tops of the wall (in this photo) either roof color, or brick color. The visible plywood looks odd. After all, most people will be viewing this  model from the photo's perspective.

Not to worry, @peteski! There are actually parts that cover all that up.  Just needed to glue the roof down first. 

[JanesCustomTrain]

     A friend of mine remarks, you all need a close up?

I'm not a fan of shapeways, even less after their latest price increase but I have to pull my hat. Absolutely stunning what you have achieved with these models. I admire your determination, very well done !

Jane

[wm3798]

Bean poles and corn stalks.  The Old Town Trestle is ready for paint.


Plus abutments and a few more details.
Lee

[wm3798]

That'll do for now.


Photographer's Curve has a new setting.



Lee

[Skeebo]

Jane,
      I couldn't agree more about Shapeways. I've seen their shells earlier and they were not up to my standards. When they offered them at a higher quality I took the chance to save myself some time, I didn't. It took two months of soaking to get them clean. Then the shells looked uncured in spots, I left them in sunlight for a week and finally tested them with primer. Then it took 3 months with Tamiya filler primer, coating and sanding until the rendering was tolerable. These were my first Shapeways shells and my LAST! I no longer need them as a friend bought a 3D printer and we both have the software to use it.

[C855B]

     A friend of mine remarks, you all need a close up?

Stunning. Much envy and appreciation here.

I have been struggling with my trio for four years now, with the same issues, trying to make silk purses out of these Shapeways sow's ears. Frankly, I keep buying the bodies over and over (on my second 'B' and probably fourth 'A') replacing my screwups, or, in the case of two 'A' units, James'. I'm about to buy yet another 'A' to verify alleged improvements in the process.

I'm curious about your issues with the chassis mods, that's probably the one thing that has worked as intended, at least for me. The biggest annoyance to me with the chassis is incorrect pilots, or, rather, the kits expecting that the U50 pilots are "good enough" when they are most definitely not. Same goes for the DD35 shells, although I have one that is close to done, which is, of course, sitting on my bench waiting for the round-tuit to draw-up correct pilots and sill steps so I can do both shells.

I see a U50C in your postings; which I assume is also the Shapeways shell. Any comment on that? Or how-to? What chassis is under it? How did you solve the truck problem?

... I no longer need them as a friend bought a 3D printer and we both have the software to use it.

While Shapeways quality pretty much sucks, the value is in the artwork. I'm not about to redraw "a better" C855 set just so I can have it for my own 3D printer, 'cause I won't live long enough to see it done. While I haven't approached James about the CAD, I have a hunch I know what the answer will be.

[NtheBasement]

Is that deck bridge made from hacked Kato thru trusses?  Looks great, as do the piers.

[Philip H]

Finished up a fun little project:



More details here:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=49612.msg666373#msg666373

[Ed Kapuscinski]

True, but how is that worse?  It wasn't fitting together correctly out of the box.  I'd have filed it.  Or asked to borrow DKS's micro table saw.

DFF

It'd throw everything else off, like the roof, etc...

The problem is that the kit wasn't designed to have the corners mitered, which it probably should have been.

[Skeebo]

Mike,
 
     It is I that should be thanking you, your generous posting of the mistakes you've made have doubtlessly saved me a shell or two. As to any improvements at Shapeways, I have an A-B set of the earlier quality and comparing them to George's better quality A-B-A in pictures, its negligable. The only real place you can really tell the difference is in the exhaust stacks. Until Shapeways gets a much better printer or starts printing at an angle, you're not going to see a better product. As I said, these were my first Shapeways shells, and my LAST.

     I'm glad the James' chassis stretch has worked for you. I've been stretching chassis since 84' and have my own methods, which enabled me to remove max material around the fuel tank area so I could cut off James' fuel tanks and put my own indented well under the walkways, as in the real model. I knew at first glance I couldn't live with his fuel tank. But alas, to talk about everything I've done to these would take an long separate thread to describe.

     I made two U50C's back in 91' when I was getting out of the Navy. It is unfortunately based on the Bachmann U36B shell, were I to do it today I would use Kato shells, may be some day? In the month the Navy was processing me out, I had nothing to do, it was the most productive 30 days of my modeling life. I finished 10 locomotives that month including the two U50C's and the DD35 and the DD35A in the background of the one picture, plus other SP and ATSF units. As I said, never again Shapeways. The U50C's were on stretched Minitrix U28C chassis with scratch built turbine side frames. I recently upgraded them to stretched Kato U30C chassis. The old Minitrix was a good runner at the time, but by todays standards is horrid. Plus the flanges are too big for Atlas code 55.

     The DD35 was a Don Erdmann model, (I have one in SP also), They too were on Minitrix chassis, but now on stretched RSC2s. I simply switched the shells over to the upgraded chassis, but as I have molds for both in Kato quality now, I plan down the road to put new shells on the chassis.

     As for the bridge, it is indeed kit bashed from multiple Kato bridges with long I beams on top. At the ends of the two long deck warrens are four Precision Masters deck trusses, three at one end, one at the other. A lot of folks like the caved in tunnel and burnt down wood trestle in the canyon below, an earlier route that was abandoned long ago.

    Well, gotta run, Jim
     

[C855B]

Thanks, Jim. Now that you've noted it, you're absolutely right about the fuel tank. That extra bit of (a lot of) work makes a big difference in the overall look, rebalancing the proportions. Inspired by your success proving it can be done, if I wasn't knee-deep in layout progress at the moment I'd clean off move stuff around on the bench to clear space to resume the project.

James @Jamesn320 is a member here, but hasn't posted in a while. I see he was last on this past January. James, if you're listening, do us a favor and maybe spend a little more design time below the sill on your models. Shapeways' process limitations aside, the basic shells are good starting points, but as Jim and I have experienced, finish time for a quality model is hampered by omissions and inaccuracies we have to fix on the under-sill details.

[NtheBasement]

Finished my N scale Peco turntable motorization project.





Video:

[johnb]

I only have to wire up the freight station and engine house track, I have SPST switches for these, so I can store locos on them and still operate the layout. The soon to be laid staging track will be wired. I have also painted all of the track, up next is ground cover. I am really thinking about using Arizona Rock dirts and ballast in the yard, I have only used Woodland Scenics ballast, and it is a pain to work with when you glue it down.

I have also painted the tracks with Krylon camouflage brown, and I have drawn up the SPINS for Playa Desnuda. I plane to use these as a control panel and a diagram panel.