04-27-2014, 02:21 PM
Help save the U34CH 3372!
U-boats are pretty fascinating, and this one is almost functional. Its also the last of its kind. I might be biased because its one of my favorite locomotives.
The U34CH was one of the first passenger locomotives to use Head-End Power, instead of steam. They ran on the Erie Lackawanna's diesel-powered commuter trains from Hoboken Terminal from 1971 to the early 1990s.
I already picked up a T-shirt, and I hope they can pull the engine to Boontoon. I'd be very excited to see it this September!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://urhs.org/blog/2013/12/help-restore-u34ch-3372/">http://urhs.org/blog/2013/12/help-restore-u34ch-3372/</a><!-- m -->
I have a model 3371, but I need to add the distinctive details.
Model Railroad Blues
It seems like every few months I run into a "slog" when it comes to this hobby. I have plenty of projects, and plenty of opportunities to further them but I some how feel inhibited. Many of the other projects I would like to work on require more research. In particular, many of my passenger car core kits lack underbody details or even the proper trucks! These answers don't appear to be easy to come by, though fortunately I have some guidance with my Amtrak car Plan Book.
Other projects need paint, and the warm weather will be good for that. Still, finding the "right" paint and doing a good paint job still seem to be difficult for me.
I guess I miss the momentum. I make posts here pretty frequently, but most of it is just me mentioning new things I've picked up. New things are nice, but they aren't really an accomplishment or anything fulfilling.
Eventually, my rivet-counting mind eventually finds problems that sucks the fun out of it, such as my new Conrail U25B, which I was really excited about until I started paying attention to pictures of #2582.
In fact, some projects are not doing well at all, the most depressing of which lately has been my catenary systems, where my Reading Module lost tension for reasons I don't understand (all solder joints were as tight and strong as ever), and the steel wire on my layout's catenary finally had it, and rusted beyond repair in some places. Though i have LOTS of wire, it seems none of it is good enough (my steel wire will rust, and the "coiled" phosphor bronze isn't working out.).
I guess I just need to take it easy and work on the "easy" projects.
Passenger car tune-up
For my passenger cars that are mostly operational, I've been equipping them with kadee couplers, and other adjustments/improvements. Its not super exciting, but its good to have reliable passenger cars. All of my CDOT cars, and most of my Amtrak cars are now fully functional and reliable. I have a few NJ Transit cars that needed work, and I have three Amtrak cars that need to be tested.
The trickiest one was my AC&F "coffee shop lounge", or Amtrak's diner car #8150. for some reason this car actually sat lower than other cars, with the roof and couplers hanging low. The car had a hard time staying coupled and was clearly out of standard. I made some shims and this seemed to solve the problem, though the couplers are still on the low end.
On the CDOT cars, I experimented with graphite powder to let them roll better, which seems to be partially successful. the cab car does not roll as well, but it might have more to do with the graphite not being worked into the inside bearing truck well.
I have three new Amtrak cars that will be part of various trains I plan to model, such as the Silver Meteor. These include an additional Budd 24-8 Slumbercoach, an AC&F 44 Seat coach, and Budd Parlor car, all in Amtrak Phase I.
Dissapointment leads to some interesting things- my new U25B locomotive
My new Conrail U25B #2582 came in earlier this week, which was fun, since its nice to get an engine that requires zero work and is already 100% functional. It is a "newer" Bowser executive line with an NCE decoder installed. It runs very smooth, and so I know i'll be using it in the future.
The only disappointment is that the model doesn't look like an existing U25B. As it turns out, GE's first road switcher changed quite a bit over its production run, and a "solid" appearance for GE's U-boat line didn't appear until the mid production of the U28B (we'll get to that in a second).
My model is Half early production, half late production. Normally, this is the sort of thing I'd pay attention to, but I hadn't noticed the issue until i compared photographs to the model after I got it. My hope is that most people have way less of an eye for these things that I do, because the model is still attractive.
Still, I do enjoy researching this sort of thing. Its amazing how much variety there is out there! I had to stop myself from typing up a mini-history of the locomotive.
Fixing the U28B
Speaking of U-boats (seems to be my theme of the day), one of mine that has been sitting for a while is my U28B. #2822 was one of two NYC U28Bs, the only locomotives of the type in the northeast. These particular U28Bs were also special in that they were the "first" U28Bs made with the classic "U-boat" profile. Early U28Bs looked like U25Bs, which are fairly unique. 2822 (and 2823) kept their NYC numbers through the Penn Central and Conrail mergers, being retired in 1983.
For some reason, Proto 2000 saw fit to steal defeat from the jaws of victory. Their Penn Central version had PRR style road numbers, and their Conrail version of the same prototype had a nose-light for no apparent reason. This has always bugged me but I picked the model up at a time where I wasn't as familiar with the engines as I am now.
Still, I'm happy to have it. I blew out both headlights early on (d'oh! I could have had an extra LED!) when I tried to add DCC to it several years ago, and so 2822 had been sitting ever since.
Lately though it has been bugging me to have a good model just sit because of a few burnt-out LEDs and a nose light.
I decided to fix the "nose" problem. I masked off the details on the nose, and then scraped the nose light off the model, carved and polished the contour of the nose, and then filled the headlight holes. If i was wise, I would have left the lens castings in place and filled the edges. Instead, i just packed it full of modeler's puddy. Some Polly-scale Conrail Blue paint was close enough to the finish that some weathering should cover it up.
It might need some further polishing and another layer of puddy since the ghosts of the headlights are still there, but it looks pretty good so far.
I had long hesitated to do this modification for worry that I would ruin the model unnecessarily.
I will add new LEDs when I get another decoder for the engine.
As always, pictures will come soon.
U-boats are pretty fascinating, and this one is almost functional. Its also the last of its kind. I might be biased because its one of my favorite locomotives.
The U34CH was one of the first passenger locomotives to use Head-End Power, instead of steam. They ran on the Erie Lackawanna's diesel-powered commuter trains from Hoboken Terminal from 1971 to the early 1990s.
I already picked up a T-shirt, and I hope they can pull the engine to Boontoon. I'd be very excited to see it this September!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://urhs.org/blog/2013/12/help-restore-u34ch-3372/">http://urhs.org/blog/2013/12/help-restore-u34ch-3372/</a><!-- m -->
I have a model 3371, but I need to add the distinctive details.
Model Railroad Blues
It seems like every few months I run into a "slog" when it comes to this hobby. I have plenty of projects, and plenty of opportunities to further them but I some how feel inhibited. Many of the other projects I would like to work on require more research. In particular, many of my passenger car core kits lack underbody details or even the proper trucks! These answers don't appear to be easy to come by, though fortunately I have some guidance with my Amtrak car Plan Book.
Other projects need paint, and the warm weather will be good for that. Still, finding the "right" paint and doing a good paint job still seem to be difficult for me.
I guess I miss the momentum. I make posts here pretty frequently, but most of it is just me mentioning new things I've picked up. New things are nice, but they aren't really an accomplishment or anything fulfilling.
Eventually, my rivet-counting mind eventually finds problems that sucks the fun out of it, such as my new Conrail U25B, which I was really excited about until I started paying attention to pictures of #2582.
In fact, some projects are not doing well at all, the most depressing of which lately has been my catenary systems, where my Reading Module lost tension for reasons I don't understand (all solder joints were as tight and strong as ever), and the steel wire on my layout's catenary finally had it, and rusted beyond repair in some places. Though i have LOTS of wire, it seems none of it is good enough (my steel wire will rust, and the "coiled" phosphor bronze isn't working out.).
I guess I just need to take it easy and work on the "easy" projects.
Passenger car tune-up
For my passenger cars that are mostly operational, I've been equipping them with kadee couplers, and other adjustments/improvements. Its not super exciting, but its good to have reliable passenger cars. All of my CDOT cars, and most of my Amtrak cars are now fully functional and reliable. I have a few NJ Transit cars that needed work, and I have three Amtrak cars that need to be tested.
The trickiest one was my AC&F "coffee shop lounge", or Amtrak's diner car #8150. for some reason this car actually sat lower than other cars, with the roof and couplers hanging low. The car had a hard time staying coupled and was clearly out of standard. I made some shims and this seemed to solve the problem, though the couplers are still on the low end.
On the CDOT cars, I experimented with graphite powder to let them roll better, which seems to be partially successful. the cab car does not roll as well, but it might have more to do with the graphite not being worked into the inside bearing truck well.
I have three new Amtrak cars that will be part of various trains I plan to model, such as the Silver Meteor. These include an additional Budd 24-8 Slumbercoach, an AC&F 44 Seat coach, and Budd Parlor car, all in Amtrak Phase I.
Dissapointment leads to some interesting things- my new U25B locomotive
My new Conrail U25B #2582 came in earlier this week, which was fun, since its nice to get an engine that requires zero work and is already 100% functional. It is a "newer" Bowser executive line with an NCE decoder installed. It runs very smooth, and so I know i'll be using it in the future.
The only disappointment is that the model doesn't look like an existing U25B. As it turns out, GE's first road switcher changed quite a bit over its production run, and a "solid" appearance for GE's U-boat line didn't appear until the mid production of the U28B (we'll get to that in a second).
My model is Half early production, half late production. Normally, this is the sort of thing I'd pay attention to, but I hadn't noticed the issue until i compared photographs to the model after I got it. My hope is that most people have way less of an eye for these things that I do, because the model is still attractive.
Still, I do enjoy researching this sort of thing. Its amazing how much variety there is out there! I had to stop myself from typing up a mini-history of the locomotive.
Fixing the U28B
Speaking of U-boats (seems to be my theme of the day), one of mine that has been sitting for a while is my U28B. #2822 was one of two NYC U28Bs, the only locomotives of the type in the northeast. These particular U28Bs were also special in that they were the "first" U28Bs made with the classic "U-boat" profile. Early U28Bs looked like U25Bs, which are fairly unique. 2822 (and 2823) kept their NYC numbers through the Penn Central and Conrail mergers, being retired in 1983.
For some reason, Proto 2000 saw fit to steal defeat from the jaws of victory. Their Penn Central version had PRR style road numbers, and their Conrail version of the same prototype had a nose-light for no apparent reason. This has always bugged me but I picked the model up at a time where I wasn't as familiar with the engines as I am now.
Still, I'm happy to have it. I blew out both headlights early on (d'oh! I could have had an extra LED!) when I tried to add DCC to it several years ago, and so 2822 had been sitting ever since.
Lately though it has been bugging me to have a good model just sit because of a few burnt-out LEDs and a nose light.
I decided to fix the "nose" problem. I masked off the details on the nose, and then scraped the nose light off the model, carved and polished the contour of the nose, and then filled the headlight holes. If i was wise, I would have left the lens castings in place and filled the edges. Instead, i just packed it full of modeler's puddy. Some Polly-scale Conrail Blue paint was close enough to the finish that some weathering should cover it up.
It might need some further polishing and another layer of puddy since the ghosts of the headlights are still there, but it looks pretty good so far.
I had long hesitated to do this modification for worry that I would ruin the model unnecessarily.
I will add new LEDs when I get another decoder for the engine.
As always, pictures will come soon.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.