Doorstop four axle Diesels

[bob turner]

Yes, I often use the washers when the insulation doesn't protrude enough. Not wild about lost wax bolsters, but Bob Smith in the end was making everything lost wax. The bolster has minimum strength right at the kingpin.

When a doorstop sideframe starts to splay (due to a weak bolster) the top of the insulated wheel will hit the sideframe. I have to run at night with the lights off to spot it.

[sarge]

Yep, and that weakness just gets exacerbated by that great American propensity to ballast them up with tens of pounds of weight those bolsters were never designed to support.

Puts me in mind of the old O scale saw about California deciding lead was a health hazard so they very cleverly got rid of it by exporting it through Jerry White's workshop. GRIN!

[bob turner]

It Runs!



Jim may post a video to prove it.

[sarge]

Huzzah!

What sort of drive in it, or did you already say and I missed it?

[R.K. Maroon]

The Baldwin FM H20-44 that Bob modified did not come with trucks or a drive, and I don't have any spares of that particular setup, which features a vertical motor driving one axle through a worm and a metal chain to the second axle:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zkmc9dyuw0gjg1dd45ity/Baldwin-PRR-FM-H20-44-06.JPG?rlkey=kqlok4itu248rp34o81fvt928


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/b60visdhv3a4no7cs8kqm/Baldwin-PRR-FM-H20-44-04.JPG?rlkey=ynhicozjoap3zc3q2ozu0qon4

I had a set of mystery sideframes (with bolsters) that would work with an All Nation drive setup. Here is the underside before the truck-to-truck driveshaft was installed:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rivy4d9afjeqgdze19ki7/Baldwin-FM-H20-44-Chassis-04.jpg?rlkey=r3xnfozq3f1956giwt2i6wcpf

Notice the unit has a Delrin chain drive tower. I found out later that both sprockets were split. I have the parts and arbor-press setup to change them but, in the interest of time, I simply substituted a geared tower. I added an NOS CLW open-frame motor and driveshafts and gave it a test run:


https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/l1gliyw6fe0x4n3la8xm4/Chassis-Test-Run.jpg?rlkey=h9f0hk04q3b2fqpfx1v481p6a

The motor is all the way to the front, as the hood is bumped out there and the motor didn't fit under the hood otherwise. I wasn't sure the Toyota vacuum hose connection would work, but it seems OK so far. Video later.

Jim

[R.K. Maroon]

Here is a brief video of the customized Baldwin Models FM H20-44 test runs:

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zkeoky26krnv73oxthzg4/Modified-Baldwin-FM-H20-44-Test-Runs.mp4?rlkey=cjmstzmru2fvfut2aowy04wjy

If that doesn't work, try this one:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zkeoky26krnv73oxthzg4/Modified-Baldwin-FM-H20-44-Test-Runs.mp4?rlkey=cjmstzmru2fvfut2aowy04wjy&dl=0

The model is running without its fuel tank, as the channel through the tank is not wide enough for the driveshaft between the trucks. The tank, which is a solid casting, is on the mill right now. It takes a while to hog-out a bronze casting with a benchtop mill.

Jim

[sleepmac]

Jim, runs nice!

Dan Weinhold

[bob turner]

Well, bump from nine months ago!

I just re-finished one of my doorstop FT-A units - I wanted orange. Tried Krylon Pumpkin, but it ate whatever I had sprayed on before, so a trip to the bead blaster was in order. The regulator is now inaccessible, so it took about four seconds at 125 psi and I was ready for primer. White, then Krylon, and it looked washed out.

My hangar neighbor had some Rustoleum 2x orange. I think it is called "real orange" but not sure. I will be getting a can next time to Loew's, since Amazon only has it in six can batches. Perfect for Western Pacific, and probably really close for Great Northern. Not worth a photo yet, since I have a few blemishes and am still considering the two tone silver version, but I am kind of jazzed on finding a good looking orange. I think my pair of F3s are just a little too "red" for WP, but I won't be re-doing them for a while.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

My hangar neighbor had some Rustoleum 2x orange. I think it is called "real orange" but not sure.

There is a Rustoleum Burnt Sienna that is actually a decent orange. I have a can that's Matte finish that I have used on interurban cars. Some of the colors are either very hard to locate, or as you noted they come in 6 packs.

[SWrailroader]

Bob and Rufus,
Thank you for the spray can advice. Very useful info.
I have had good luck with Duplicolor lacquers from autoparts stores. The black and silver go on very well.
Rob

[bob turner]

Yeah - Duplicolor is the only common brand that remains usable long after first use - Rusto and Krylon seem to clog up beyond use at the one month point.

But this orange is stunning - a ringer for the WP Pumpkin. Worth a trip to Loew's.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Rusto and Krylon seem to clog up beyond use at the one month point.

I don't seem to have that problem but rarely; perhaps it's a storage conditions variable?

Loew's is interesting but the nearest one to me is surprisingly distant; checking online to see if what you are looking for it actually in the store is useful. However, I have had excellent experiences with ordering and almost always free delivery.

[bob turner]

Bump - the FT is now in Pumpkin and black, awaiting the little silver band below the portholes and decals (thanks, Rob). I had one comment on the ungainly gap between front truck and pilot on the FT that is not present on the F3/7 series. The FT-B accentuates this gap, with uneven spacing of trucks with respect to carbody ends. Not sure why EMD chose to do that, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.

Not at all sure what it is about orange that gets me going - I like reds, oranges, and yellows, and combinations. My airplanes are mostly either red or yellow, or in one case both. I am really happy with this Rustoleum orange, even though the $8 can will probably clog long before I use all the paint.

Likes and dislikes are very personal - for instance, we are trying to get an auto to replace our damaged pickup. Had I known what a problem this was going to be I would have kept the truck and whatever $ the insurer would give me to not "total" it, and I would have fixed it. But now we are looking at cars - and I find them all absolutely ugly. There is not one modern automobile that "gets" me - they even screwed up the Corvette! They are hideous, with front grillework that can best be described as voraceously intimidating.

Back to trains - there was a time when I would not have considered the FT, preferring the F7 with black widow paint and stainless grillework along the side openings. I still have zero interest in the E3/6, and almost zero interest in the E8/9. That leaves only the E7, of which I have more than my share, all sand cast.

And steam? For a long time I considered PRR steam not attractive, with the worst being the T1 and S2, followed by maybe those curved cab windows on the Q2 and 2-10-4. Now I am a marginal SPF, with K4s, a Decapod, a Mountain, and yes a T1 and S2 in the collection, not to mention all the Saginaw and CLW models laying around.

So, tastes change - I doubt I will ever appreciate modern auto styling, but I have changed a bit. Here and there. Maybe.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

But now we are looking at cars - and I find them all absolutely ugly.

It is not only the appearance (bland, boring, and cookie-cutter at best) but that just about every function is tied into and controlled by some computer system. I do however like the appearance of the neighbors Maserati,

When I had to get the current replacement vehicle I had a check list of 5-6 requirements. That whittled the field down to 6 cars, 2 of which were not even available to look at when at a dealership, and 1 of which was from a company that I found abhorrent. Another would not let me take the proposed price out of showroom. 4 down. 1 of the last 2 was at a dealership that was really cooperative and that car was the 1 that had a CD player in it, and it was blue. Done.

Back to trains - painting is on hold here until the rains depart and we get a day where the sun makes a lengthy appearance. Building more cars....and looking for reasonably priced wood clapboard.

[R.K. Maroon]

I had one comment on the ungainly gap between front truck and pilot on the FT that is not present on the F3/7 series. The FT-B accentuates this gap, with uneven spacing of trucks with respect to carbody ends. Not sure why EMD chose to do that, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.

It only bothers me when FT models do not have the correct truck spacing. The front truck of the A unit and the rear truck of the B-unit are spaced away from the ends when compared to the later F-units. At the time of the FTs introduction, EMD had not developed a compact draft-gear unit. The trucks were spaced back to accommodate the length of the draft-gear unit they had. The rear truck of the A and the front truck of the B don't have the extra spacing, as they were linked together with a drawbar, a consequence of the baseline FT being sold as an AB set. This drawing, which is credited to Jacques Belanger, shows the correct truck spacing:



The Santa Fe foresaw the need for flexibility and requested that couplers be provided at both ends of all units. As the AT&SF was a large customer, EMD got to right to work. The first ABBA sets delivered to the Santa Fe had the drawbars, but before long EMD had the needed compact draft gear unit. As far as I know, the truck spacing stayed the same all the way through FT production. This would make sense to me, as the equipment layout and structural and wheel loading considerations had already been worked out for the spacing as it was.

As to models, most of the doorstop FTBs in my project pile arrived with incorrect truck spacing. Example #1 is an Adams and Son. The rear is to the right:



Example #2, also an Adams and Son, is better, but still not correct. Again, the rear is to the right:



Note that the roof is on backwards. Bob offered to fix this. I was hesitant at first, as I considered touching up the paint job and calling it a day. But fate eventually intervened (long story), so into the dip tank it went and then off to Bob's Torcher Chamber. It's part of a complete, serialized ABBA set, which now working its way up the project queue.

I have more examples of B-units with the wrong truck spacing, including a non-Adams and Son unit, but I think the poor dead horse is tired of the beatings.
Jim