a phew fotos...

Last post I mentioned that I was starting work on a Southern Ontario Railink locomotive. I have some photos to show the work that I did.



This photo shows the Front Range shell on a modified Athearn GP9 chassis. The Front Range shell would not fit on the frame properly, so this became the first frame I ever had to grind down in order for a shell to fit. And it fits nicely. In this picture, you can see the remnants of some body putty on the nose...this is from my failed attempt at building a CN GP9rm...



What is in this picture are the parts for making the new cab. I have the old Front Range cab at my right, before any modifications were done. I also have the front face of an old Athearn SD40-2 cab, which I cut apart very carefully with my razor saw. Very carefully as in not destroying the cab or cutting off any of my fingers. The red arrow in the picture is pointing at the number boards I used, which came from a Rail Power Products B23-7 kit. Yes, it is odd to use a General Electric part for a General Motors locomotive...but it works.



And here is the result. I cut the light housing from the Front Range short hood and glued it onto the number boards, and then proceeded to drill it out for lighting. It looks almost exactly like the Railink locomotive cab, so I'm happy. Above it is the nose, which I had to shim with styrene strips as I had cut it way too short years ago.

I still need to get more parts to finish the unit, but I think it's beginning to work for me.



1210 is one of my older locomotives, built before I had some of the nice tools and skills I have now. The trucks came from an Athearn SW1500 and look and work much better than the modified Juneco trucks that used to be on this unit. I will be stripping this unit, replacing the cab and handrails, and repainting it to SOR 1359, which was the last remaining SW1200 on their roster. In the foreground you can see the still in progress CN SD40-2W 5245 with the beautiful Railflyer treadplate, pilot plate, and steps. The red on the cab is body putty.

More photos and stuff as progress continues....

Switching gears...

It's been a while. Christmas was good, as I ended up with a new Intermountain pressure hopper decorated for Stelco, and three Athearn 53' Canadian Tire containers. Very nice. Also got Dead Island and Halo: Anniversary Edition, which both have absolutely nothing to do with model trains, but are super cool.

The SD40-2W's are in a holding pattern, since I'm waiting on a lot of parts in order to finish them off. Some are because they haven't been made/released yet, and others are because I haven't gone to the hobby store to get parts to lengthen the frames. Once the parts are released and I have what I'll need to lengthen the frames (epoxy putty, styrene channel, brass strip), the project will continue.

So, I've started looking at other projects. The first is a complete change in direction. I had an old Front Range GP9 with a rebuilt Atlas Alco cab that was going to become a CN GP9rm...but with all the problems I was having with the build, I was about to toss the unit into the unbuilt pile. Then I saw a picture of a Southern Ontario Railink GP9r. Easy enough to change the cab out and change some of the details. Good thing I'm a packrat, as I still had the original Front Range cab. A few cuts here and there with a razor saw, and I had a perfect cab for the unit.

Then, in the same picture, I saw an old ex-CN SW1200rs. I had built one of these using the old Juneco Models retrofit kit. I think the word "retrofit" means "ruin", as I tried using two of these kits and neither of them did the job right. It was sitting in the junk pile waiting to either be sold or put into a scene as a rusting hulk. Anyway, I stole the trucks and motor from another locomotive and will be stripping my locomotive and repainting it so that it looks better. A new Cannon cab will also be used.

And then, I saw in the background...a new GP20d owned by CITX Leasing. I've got an old Bachmann Plus GP30, which has the same wheelbase. It's a good runner (which is strange, since Bachmann gets such a negative rap on the internet) and I have no use at all for a GP30.

So, in all, Southern Ontario Railink will end up with three locomotives I never intended to build because I got bored and searched for locomotive pictures around Hamilton and Brantford.

I also started work on one of the ES44DC units I'm building. No, I'm not buying one of the Intermountain ones. When I can kitbash one for a third of the cost and still have a great looking and great running locomotive, why buy one that I only have to take out of the box?

Once all of these are done, they'll be ready for painting. Which means, I'll need to get an air filter for my air compressor, the paint, the decals, and I'll have to build a spray booth. Lots of work...lots of work.

But what else is there to do in the winter? Watch the Leafs lose?!?!

I'm kidding. Go Leafs Go!