12-18-2013, 01:50 PM
Lots of questions, eh Matt? It's good to see your enthusiasm for this project, and I'm sure the results will be as impressive as they always are.
For those class light bezels, I'd use brass tubing of an appropriate outside diameter. Use suitably-sized drill bits to gradually ream-out the bore, until the wall of the tubing is of a more prototypical thickness - you needn't go too deep, as the lense formed with fibre optic is fairly shallow, and its rear is conical.
As for the intercooler, I wasn't even aware of its existence when I did the CPR units.
They were done for a customer of the LHS for which I used to do custom painting, and all I was asked to do was eliminate the notches on the hood ends and give them a CP or CPR paint job - I don't even recall if they were Action Red or grey and maroon. 
I must've have done okay, though, as I was told that the customer was extemely pleased with the results.
Even now, I continue to learn new methods and, of course, pay more attention to the prototype which I'm trying to re-create, and I'm sure my current work is an improvement over a lot of what was done in the past. That said, I also know that these skills will slip away as the years pass (it's already begun, I think, based on my progress - or lack thereof - on my Grand Valley 10-Wheelers
).
I'm not a big fan of Delrin handrails, although many the current ones I see at my LHS appear to be very close to scale dimensions. I'm somewhat put off by their translucent appearance and if they've been mishandled or, even worse, mis-packaged, they "take a set" which is difficult to remedy.
I had an an RS-3 which I re-detailed to loosely match one I had seen in a photo - the Atlas loco was a gift, lettered, I think, for D&H or L&N. I wasn't at that time modelling the CNR at all, but figured it would look more appropriate on my free-lanced southern Ontario layout:
![[Image: otherlocos014.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/locomotives/otherlocos014.jpg)
The over-size Delrin handrails bothered me, and I replaced them with ones made from music wire - .015", I think. Use the Atlas ones as patterns to fabricate new ones, modifying them as necessary to match your prototype, then cut out all of the Delrin handrail sections, leaving only the stanchions. Use a pin vise to drill suitably-sized holes in them, then thread them onto the new wire handrails. Plug the holes in the step wells and cab sides using styrene rod, then re-drill to accept the finer wire.
I then mounted the handrails on the loco and aligned the stanchions vertically by-eye. Once everything looked straight, I used an X-Acto #11 blade to apply a minute amount of ca to each joint where the handrail passed through a stanchion - touch the blade to one side, then immediately to the other of each stanchion, and the ca will be drawn completely through the joint. Use a tissue or paper towel to wick away any excess ca before it sets. While ca does not stick to Delrin, it does adhere to the wire handrail and gives at least an interference fit which will help to keep everthing in alignment. I also used ca to affix the wire into the step-well holes, but left those into the cab un-cemented. If you need to remove the body shell, simply pull the wire out of the holes in the cab, and place a piece of paper or cardstock between the cab's side and the ends of the wire - this will protect the paint as the shell is lifted off or replaced. I didn't redo the end handrails on the RS-3, as I thought it not worth the effort.
This RS-1 was done for a friend, and uses a variation of the CNR paint scheme, but is lettered for his own road. It has all of the handrails replaced with music wire, including those on the ends.
![[Image: Andrewslocomotive007.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/locomotives/Andrewslocomotive007.jpg)
![[Image: Somefreshphotos034.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/locomotives/Somefreshphotos034.jpg)
While music wire is more difficult to work with than brass, its springiness makes it much better-suited to handrails, and this property also makes it a good match with the Delrin stanchions.
Quite some time ago, I did a bunch of Atlas SD24s and SD35s with wide cabs - this was shortly after they debuted on CNs GP38-2s and GP40-2s, as I had seen both at Hamilton's Stuart Street yard. Mine were made from sheet styrene, and were based solely on photos I had taken at that time. At that time, there was nothing similar commercially available. The all-weather windows are solid Plexiglass blocks, with the metal areas simply painted-on.
![[Image: Film3-4enlargement.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Scanned%20foe-toes/Film3-4enlargement.jpg)
Or how about a CN C-425? It was done for my son, who was, at that time, somewhat interested in trains. It's pretty-much "stock", except for a few added details and the paint job, the latter of which is one of my all-time favourite prototype schemes:
![[Image: 2007-01-10486.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/locomotives/2007-01-10486.jpg)
Oh, and by the way, I have that December 1974 issue of RMC, and will scan the plans and e-mail them to you once this is posted.
Wayne
For those class light bezels, I'd use brass tubing of an appropriate outside diameter. Use suitably-sized drill bits to gradually ream-out the bore, until the wall of the tubing is of a more prototypical thickness - you needn't go too deep, as the lense formed with fibre optic is fairly shallow, and its rear is conical.
As for the intercooler, I wasn't even aware of its existence when I did the CPR units.
They were done for a customer of the LHS for which I used to do custom painting, and all I was asked to do was eliminate the notches on the hood ends and give them a CP or CPR paint job - I don't even recall if they were Action Red or grey and maroon. I must've have done okay, though, as I was told that the customer was extemely pleased with the results. Even now, I continue to learn new methods and, of course, pay more attention to the prototype which I'm trying to re-create, and I'm sure my current work is an improvement over a lot of what was done in the past. That said, I also know that these skills will slip away as the years pass (it's already begun, I think, based on my progress - or lack thereof - on my Grand Valley 10-Wheelers
).I'm not a big fan of Delrin handrails, although many the current ones I see at my LHS appear to be very close to scale dimensions. I'm somewhat put off by their translucent appearance and if they've been mishandled or, even worse, mis-packaged, they "take a set" which is difficult to remedy.
I had an an RS-3 which I re-detailed to loosely match one I had seen in a photo - the Atlas loco was a gift, lettered, I think, for D&H or L&N. I wasn't at that time modelling the CNR at all, but figured it would look more appropriate on my free-lanced southern Ontario layout:
The over-size Delrin handrails bothered me, and I replaced them with ones made from music wire - .015", I think. Use the Atlas ones as patterns to fabricate new ones, modifying them as necessary to match your prototype, then cut out all of the Delrin handrail sections, leaving only the stanchions. Use a pin vise to drill suitably-sized holes in them, then thread them onto the new wire handrails. Plug the holes in the step wells and cab sides using styrene rod, then re-drill to accept the finer wire.
I then mounted the handrails on the loco and aligned the stanchions vertically by-eye. Once everything looked straight, I used an X-Acto #11 blade to apply a minute amount of ca to each joint where the handrail passed through a stanchion - touch the blade to one side, then immediately to the other of each stanchion, and the ca will be drawn completely through the joint. Use a tissue or paper towel to wick away any excess ca before it sets. While ca does not stick to Delrin, it does adhere to the wire handrail and gives at least an interference fit which will help to keep everthing in alignment. I also used ca to affix the wire into the step-well holes, but left those into the cab un-cemented. If you need to remove the body shell, simply pull the wire out of the holes in the cab, and place a piece of paper or cardstock between the cab's side and the ends of the wire - this will protect the paint as the shell is lifted off or replaced. I didn't redo the end handrails on the RS-3, as I thought it not worth the effort.
This RS-1 was done for a friend, and uses a variation of the CNR paint scheme, but is lettered for his own road. It has all of the handrails replaced with music wire, including those on the ends.
While music wire is more difficult to work with than brass, its springiness makes it much better-suited to handrails, and this property also makes it a good match with the Delrin stanchions.
Quite some time ago, I did a bunch of Atlas SD24s and SD35s with wide cabs - this was shortly after they debuted on CNs GP38-2s and GP40-2s, as I had seen both at Hamilton's Stuart Street yard. Mine were made from sheet styrene, and were based solely on photos I had taken at that time. At that time, there was nothing similar commercially available. The all-weather windows are solid Plexiglass blocks, with the metal areas simply painted-on.
Or how about a CN C-425? It was done for my son, who was, at that time, somewhat interested in trains. It's pretty-much "stock", except for a few added details and the paint job, the latter of which is one of my all-time favourite prototype schemes:
Oh, and by the way, I have that December 1974 issue of RMC, and will scan the plans and e-mail them to you once this is posted.
Wayne