ATSF GP7u

[lajry]

I did see some brass GP7u from Hallmark during my recent trip in Denver and Dallas.
The brass model has been made by "Samhongsa" in Korea. Hallmark was the US importer located in Dallas. The dealer told me Hallmark is out of business for at least 10 years. The model is "somewhat" antique.

Most of the engines were incomplete and the "sound" was horrible at best. However one engine in Dallas looked good and I got it knowing I had to do some (serious?) rework on the drive at home.

Adding a DCC decoder was easy but the test run showed to key problems
- noise all over the engine
- pickup only on two wheels per truck. The engine stuck passing DCC booster border lines

The motor is not that bad but the trucks are made of "iron" and have only pickup on one side. Replacing the trucks is not easy because the mounting is very different and the hight of the mount and the motor drive shaft differs greatly from todays standards. That looked very complicated...

I got a much easier way to do it.
Take a standard P2K ATSF GP7/9 and replace only the short/long hood and the cab. The brass parts are glued in place. The complete drive is untouched. Only the weight had to be removed because the brass hoods are to narrow. However the brass parts added sufficient weight for my small layout. Minor adjustments in the P2K shell around the cab are easy to do.

The new parts need weathering and lamps are on order to be installed. The Hallmark engines had only front lamps.

It is a real hybrid of brass and plastic now. That does not worry me. I wanted a GP7u ready for work on the layout and got it

Reinhard
Here's an image of the real ATSF 2074: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2409786">http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2409786</a><!-- m -->
Just need to find a way to add a blanked over dynamic brake grid.
Or find one w/o them here:http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoList.aspx?mid=57

[faraway]

... Here's an image of the real ATSF 2074....

Andy, you are quoting a posting from some years ago. That engine got modified several times in the meantime.

There are three GP7u in this thread
1. A hybride made of brass shell bought during my US trip in Denver and P2K drive (you quoted from that discussion)
2. My first homegrown with the round cab (had no clue how to do the angled cab) and dynamic breaks (had no clue how to remove them nicely)
3. The current engine on my work bench with angled cab and removed dynamic breaks.

No 1 and 2 are numbered for ATSF without ditch lights etc. I intend to do the third one for the years 2000+ with BNSF lettering and ditch lights. Road number 1356 should fit and has been in Pico Rivera and Commerce in 2003 and 2004.

[lajry]

There were quite a few GP7&9us working Hobart Yard during my stint there '99-'00. Didn't have a digital camera much less a cell phone that could take pix . Will try to find my prints & scan them.

[faraway]

There were quite a few GP7&9us working Hobart Yard during my stint there '99-'00. Didn't have a digital camera much less a cell phone that could take pix . Will try to find my prints & scan them.

Andi,
You may save the effort to scan the prints but the BNSF road numbers, cab shape and if with or without dynamic break blister and front light location in nose or cab would be great.
Reason is that the road number of #3 is not finally fixed I am thinking if I should rework #2 to have an angled cab too.

[faraway]

Did the basic paint job today. The blue roof is brush painted with Polly Scale ATSF blue. The cab, the short hood and the yellow end of the long hood is done with a yellow rattle can.
To get a rattle can in ATSF yellow is an easy process. Get your car and visit the rattle can departments in all home improvement stores in your vicinity. Take a sample cab with you and return to the store with the best matching color when the tank in your is half empty. Ignore the price of the can. It is the gas and the time that counts



That's it until we will return from vacation mid June. It would be nice to refrain from any provoking videos until by return from Egypt. It was bad timing last time :o

[lajry]

As luck would have it, found only one "grab" shot of BNSF 1300 at Hobart Yard. 1300 started out as GP7 ATSF 2703 1/52 then became GP7u 2009 6/81. Also found one 0f BNSF 1600 at Barstow Yard. The 1600 used to be NP 202 then BN 1702.

   
   

[faraway]

Just put (not glued) the things together for a short check. I hope the dull coat will level the satin Proto part and the gloss new part later.
Ok, that's it for a while. Will report back in mid June.

[Tyson Rayles]

Hard to look at a nose that long on a Geep! Nice job though.

[faraway]

The two GP7u are almost complete.
The GP7 had no bridges at the end of the engines to go from engine to the other if they are MU'ed together. Therefor they are missing at the end handrail sets of P2K.
What is the formal name of those end bridges I can use to find them in the details parts at the Walthers online store or do you know a source for them?

[Catt]

Reinhard,those bridges you are referring to are called drop steps.I think Detail associates makes them or did.

[doctorwayne]

Good-looking locomotives, Reinhard.

Catt is correct: Detail Associates offers drop steps in several different styles - they are non-operable, but can be assembled in the "up" or "down" position. I think they could be made operable with a little work, though.

Wayne

[faraway]

Thank you both very much

[lajry]

Reinhard
Here's what the All Time-Time Diesel Roster has to say about your 3821:

2879:1 GP7 EMD Nov53 18896 del BSZ paint, rnd cab, sg, rmvd sg [date], rpnt to BYW2 paint aft 26Aug72, rblt/rnum to GP7u 2247:2 Apr73, round cab,
rnum 1311:2 Jan77 rnum/rpnt to BNSF 3821 H1 paint 5Jun98

ATSF 1310-1329 GP7 power delivered with high short hoods and rounded cabs; 1310 class equipped with slug m.u. connections at rebuild. And looks like all repainted H1 3820-3838 in late '90s. So are you still going to leave yours in blue/yellow Warbonnet?

[faraway]

Reinhard
Here's what the All Time-Time Diesel Roster has to say about your 3821:

2879:1 GP7 EMD Nov53 18896 del BSZ paint, rnd cab, sg, rmvd sg [date], rpnt to BYW2 paint aft 26Aug72, rblt/rnum to GP7u 2247:2 Apr73, round cab,
rnum 1311:2 Jan77 rnum/rpnt to BNSF 3821 H1 paint 5Jun98

ATSF 1310-1329 GP7 power delivered with high short hoods and rounded cabs; 1310 class equipped with slug m.u. connections at rebuild. And looks like all repainted H1 3820-3838 in late '90s. So are you still going to leave yours in blue/yellow Warbonnet?

One of the reasons why I rebuild the 3821 into the 1355 with a new cab :o
The few surviving BNSF round cab have been used as slug mothers (different road numbers than the normal GP7u with 13xx) and some of them got the pink baby dress too. Remember it was my first conversion of a GP7 into a GP7u at that time and I did not know how to do an angled cab. I was happy to chop the first nose.
After I did the 1356 successful with an angled cab the 3821 needed a rebuild into 1355 with an angled cab badly.

ps. I do still not fully understand what Topeka did in detail on the angled cab invented and designed in Cleburne for the CF7 and build in Cleburne for the CF7 and GP7u. A question in Trainorders is still pending without response.

[Herc Driver]

Really wonderful work Reinhard...my compliments. The detailing is amazing and a treat to see.