Conrail Ballast Express C32-8 kitbash Project

[u18b]

The radiators have two etched parts attached to the plastic sub assembly if I remember correctly. I have a few B40-8 radiator sections in my parts supply that could replace it.

I'm going to experiment with some Atlas C40-8 trucks and an SD40 chassis. I'll get back to you with my findings.

@daniel_leavitt2000
I haven't had a chance to do the write up yet, but the chassis frames need extensive milling.

 

The Sd40 frames are too fat and too tall- at least halfway back.

[u18b]

I did not have high expectations of the Scale Trains shell.
And sure enough… it was as bad as I feared in dealing with a shell where everything is glued together and the manufacturer does not make undec shells.

In this shot, every joint is glued.



I successfully removed the handrails on the long hood.    And that’s about it.   All of the rest of the handrails had to be destroyed.   If I was only making this for myself, I might have left the end rails on the pilots.  The etched windshield wipers broke off in their holes.  I’ll have to drill them out later.

Much of this pile of details will be trash.  Some of it can be reused.




Then came breaking the shell away from the walkway.    That was also a challenge.  Unfortunately, I had forgotten my son’s advice from a few weeks ago to place the shell in the freezer before trying to crack the joints (hopefully I’ll remember “next time”).

But I got the walkway off with only a little damage to the joints and tabs- but the shell and walkway were fine.

One of the biggest challenges was breaking the cab free of the walkway.




That’s because the white cab interior posts have been glued.   
I’m telling you, everything is glued.





The body is free from the walkway.



Thankfully, the interior is not glued to the shell itself.



You can see lots of residual glue.



Maybe my trials and tribulations will help someone else.   

[u18b]

On the radiator section...

The grid is a separately applied detail.




On the inside of the shell you can see the center mounting pins, but you cannot see the pins in the "wings" on the outside edge.



From this view, you can see that Scale Trains makes the top and side of the radiators one piece.




However, Atlas makes the sides of the radiator wing part of the body.




I'm thinking the blue grid could be removed and cleaned up.
Then a hole cut and new radiators from Atlas inserted.

For comparison, here are the Atlas options.






Won't know how hard it will be until time to do it.

Obviously, this is only an issue for casting a shell.

[u18b]

Another tid-bit.

The window glass is mounted from the OUTSIDE.

Not sure I like this.

[u18b]

On the chassis,

When I slide the shell onto the chassis, it is clear the motor covering must go.  As well as the shell mounting bumps.
(highlighted in black)



And when I test fit the fuel tank, I must remove some of the material around the tank on the chassis.
Not only does the wide area need to be removed, but a bit behind the trucks.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I did some work yesterday on the trucks:
Atlas C40-8 trucks are not compatible with the SD40 or U30/C30 trucks. Side frames are not interchangeable. So only the U30/C30 and SD40 side frames will work.

Over 20 years ago when I was working on my C30-7A fleet-bash, I also ran into this. At the time, C30 parts were not available and I wanted extra side frames in case one broke. I ended up making a new side frame from a flexcoil base with frames from a Bachmann C40-8 glued on like Ron originally mentioned. I even made a casting of this master. It is not up to the standards we need here, but it works as a proof of concept.

Ron, if we are casting your master, keep the cab interior on the hood. We need separation between interior and exterior of the shell, so this will save a step.

The walkway is a much bigger issue. I'm not sure the best approach for casting this. I would probably try gluing it to the hood, filling in any internal cavities with clay and casting it as one unit in a 2 piece mold. The cab looks straightforward and would be fairly easy in a 2 part mold.

[u18b]

On to milling.

Aaron brought over his new milling machine and it helped some... though we're still learning best bits and best practices.

Having milled the area that encases the motor, I was now finally able to slide the C39 shell onto the chassis.... and was stopped short.  The shell roof was hitting the top of the chassis.



So I studied the inside of the shell.
First, I clearly saw that the underside of the exhaust sticks down quite a bit (purple). 
I milled  the frame and it still was not enough.  Now I concluded the prime mover section roof was also too low (red).
So I milled some more.   I finally got results and determined that the radiator section had plenty of room (green) as well as the central air intake (blue)... though the forward section is tight.



It's not pretty.... but it works.
You can see that for the exhaust, I milled down about to the numbers in the frame. 
For the center roof, I milled down to about the edge of the mounting tips of the plastic motor saddle.

[u18b]

I also tried the fuel tank and it fits fine.
I had to try it without the trucks because I still need to cut a 3 foot section out of it.



Now, how did I determine where to mill?

I lined up the shell with the chassis.    The centering line is the jacking pads goes right over the center axle on the truck (purple line).
The exhaust is at about the red lines, and the central roof is everywhere rear of the yellow line.

[u18b]

I should mention one problem.

The EMD SD40 frame obstructs the tall spring holder on the GE trucks.




So I removed all of them front and back.





OK, I think the chassis is finished for now.
Getting closer to shortening the body shell.

[u18b]

And one last loose end.

After milling,I lowered the shell until the walkway underside touched the brass pick-up strip support (yellow).




But when I placed the loco on the track, the pilots were just touching the rails.
This I removed too much metal.
But that's OK, because I now have a little bit of room for wires when I add DCC (possibly sound).

For now, The walkway needs to be away from that support.   Later I'll have to shim the walkway to get the couplers at the right height.

[u18b]

I think the next steps will be

Alcohol bath to strip the paint.
Cut and splice 3 feet out of the fuel tank so I can work on the chassis with the tank in place.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Very nice! The SD40 frame is short enough to make room for a massive speaker enclosure. Cell phone companies have included tiny plastic balls inside their speaker enclosures for the last few years. Apparently, loudness is a function of the inside surface area of an enclosure, with the balls adding massive surface area for the volume. This is why 4-5mm thick phones can sound so loud while staying fairly balanced. I would love to try something like that in a sound project.

Do you think the handrails would have been easier to remove if the shell was sitting in alcohol for a while? I usually beath the shell before removing parts if it is glued.

[u18b]

Very nice! The SD40 frame is short enough to make room for a massive speaker enclosure. Cell phone companies have included tiny plastic balls inside their speaker enclosures for the last few years. Apparently, loudness is a function of the inside surface area of an enclosure, with the balls adding massive surface area for the volume. This is why 4-5mm thick phones can sound so loud while staying fairly balanced. I would love to try something like that in a sound project.

Do you think the handrails would have been easier to remove if the shell was sitting in alcohol for a while? I usually beath the shell before removing parts if it is glued.

Don't know.

If I had to guess, the glue looks like very thing CA (superglue).  Not sure alcohol would touch it.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Don't know.

If I had to guess, the glue looks like very thing CA (superglue).  Not sure alcohol would touch it.

If it was glued after painting, there is a good chance the alcohol can get underneath it and pop free.

[robert3985]

If it was glued after painting, there is a good chance the alcohol can get underneath it and pop free.

Although I haven't personally looked at or evaluated what ST uses, I'm gonna guess it's more akin to Canopy Cement.  CA doesn't stick very well to engineering plastics, whereas Canopy Cement sticks to just about everything.  Sooo...soaking for a while in an IPA bath (or warm slightly soapy water) might be worth a try on future projects to see if that eases small parts removal.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore