GEC's Orphan Challenge

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Well, I do have an orphan a long way from home, but its finally time to fix that.

Modeling the electrified Northeast Corridor is my future goal, and in New Jersey, it is populated by a huge fleet of "Jersey Arrow" Electric Multiple Units. These units are so subtly iconic, that many NJ Transit street signs feature their distinctive face.

the Jersey Arrows came in three flavors, I, II, and III. Our orphan is the first.

Some History for the Curious-

The Arrow I was a St. Louis Car Company design, 35 of which were ordered by the Penn Central and NJ DOT in 1968 to modernize New Jersey commuter operation on the Northeast Corridor. Until the Arrival of the Arrow I, 300 aging Owl Eyed MP54s were the dominate form of conveyance of commuters to New York City. The new cars, classified as an "MA-1A", were initially promising. The Arrow Is came as single unit EMUs capable of 100 MPH operation, and with a much needed update in passenger accommodations. They were speedy cars, with a very fast acceleration. They were said to have "Pep", and could beat later models (Arrow II and III) in a race from a dead stop, when the Arrow I worked.

Unfortunately, these cars became quickly unreliable. Almost all of them were taken out of service due to fire damage at one point or another, and one car was lost entirely to fire. In the late 1970s, many of the Arrow Is were given a minor rebuilding and overhaul to allow them to couple with the Arrow II and at the time brand new Arrow III, but their fate was sealed. As the Arrow Is reached Age 10, they were replaced by the Arrow IIIs. A handful of the functional units squeaked out their last few miles in the late 70s, possibly early 1980, before being put in storage, most burnt and permanently dead as powered units.

In 1987-1988, many Arrow Is were given new life as "Comet 1B" cars, becoming converted to push-pull cabs and coaches. They would continue such service in New Jersey until the early 2000s, as the were withdrawn from service. Some ended up leased to the Canadian commuter agency AMT. 14 have found their way to Amtrak California, and will be placed on the San Joaquin

Check out this awesome link discussing the Amtraks MASSIVE overhaul of these cars for California service. Its ironic that these cars are older than Amtrak itself, but will now have the newest features. There are good pictures of what they were and what they are now.

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A pair of Arrow Is do their thing.



In this late November 1979 photo, Arrow I 510 (formerly 110) is an example of a rebuilt Arrow I. The difference is subtle, but the evidence is clear. As built, the Arrow Is were not compatible with the Arrow II or Arrow III cars. #510 appears to be tacked onto the end of this Arrow III consist. This is probably one of the last Arrow Is in service, as by this date, the last few Arrow IIIs have already arrived.



The Project-

The plan is to do another cloning project, similar to the GP40FH-2 project I did a few years ago. The GP40FH-2 project was highly instructive. One of the most clear lessons is that one shouldn't skimp on the casting rubber, that the orientation of the master is important, and that I should give the cast time to harden.

The "master" in this case is the orphan, an IHP Jersey Arrow I kit that JWB lent me almost two years ago for this purpose. It has sat for too long, and now it is time to get it done. This will probably ironically orphan my last challenge project (which I could never really begin due to school work). It has been safe in its box and now it is time to get casting.

I have chosen Alumilite to make the molds. I've picked up High Strength 2 and 3. The former is "tough" and stiff, but highly tear resistant. The latter is far more flexible. Alumilite claims that I can get 30-40 casts from this mold. I'm not so sure how true that is, but if I can produce a handful (8 cars ideal, 4 acceptable), I'll be happy.

In theory, if the molds lasted long enough, I could almost model ALL of the Arrow Is (only 35 prototype units!) but that might be excessive! I might make some more spares as Comet 1Bs.

The plan is to use the High-strength 3 to mold the floor (which has lots of detail and undercuts), but as a simple one-piece mold. If I do this right, it will allow all the bubbles to flow away from the master during the molding process, and when I flip it over to cast the mold, the bubbles will rise to the floor, away from the underbody details.

The body itself will be the most difficult. The body has few, but DEEP undercuts, particularly around the "face" of the model. I'm going to shoot for a two piece mold, using high Strength 2 for the "inside" mold, and High Strength 3 for the "outside" mold. In theory, it will allow me to peel the rubber off the mold without tearing (a problem that occurred using Micro-Marks casting rubber on the GP40FH-2 project).

I think I might have to construct a purpose built mold box this time, instead of using an old cardboard box. When I cast the GP40FH-2, I needed a LOT of material to get the whole thing covered in the rubber, and a lot of it had to do with all the space "around" the model. The Arrow I will be even worse for this, since its nearly 1 foot long. I'm not sure if I should use styrene or wood and clamp it all together, but it will probably be something of that nature.

once I get this kit cast,it shouldn't be a big deal to build. The kit is essentially just the floor, shell, interior seats (which i'll probably also cast with whatever casting material is left over), and a "plug" in the floor for if you are building a dummy, or a powered unit. The trucks are also in the kit, but I have my own trucks and don't need to cast these.

Hopefully, the molding process will be smooth and bubble free. because these cars are fluted, filling and smoothing the shell probably will not be as easy as the GP40FH-2 was, so it needs to work well the first time.


Here is the model with the casting rubber, and the Arrow II and III models behind it.