WS BB with Sofue drive and Lee's weathering

[up148]

Got a new loco in the roundhouse. Westside BB with Sofue drive and Lee Turner weathering. I've been looking for a PSC Crown BB for more than a year, but they are not to be found. This will certainly do, although it needs more detail and waiting for Marty M to get back from vacation to purchase one of the old PSC BB detail kits from him.

As usual, Lee's weathering makes all the difference in the world to me and without it I would not have purchased this model.

[De Bruin]

Nice model and that weathering is superb! Seems quite detailed already though, what do you wish to add to it? Can we get a shot of the tender?

[up148]

Not really sure what I'll do, but want the option to add some cab interior detail and maybe some open sand hatch covers, but whatever I do, I have to make sure I don't damage Lee's weathering.

I'll get some tender photos today.

[bob turner]

It is a nice model. I saved the last photo - Lee is an artist with the camera as well as the airbrush. Glad to see that more than one person saw your post!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Not really sure what I'll do, but want the option to add some cab interior detail and maybe some open sand hatch covers, but whatever I do, I have to make sure I don't damage Lee's weathering.

How much cab interior detail is present now?

I'll get some tender photos today.

Great!

[up148]

Sorry, got held up on tender photos. Really not much there, but some nice coal and spilled water work. The top down photo looks like ice mixed in with the water spill, so the it must be cold.

[De Bruin]

Wow, worth the wait, that's a beautiful tender too. What a great locomotive, if I owned one that looked like this I want to build a suitably gargantuan period matched produce block with the some stock cars to go with and the appropriate tail car.
.....Basically looping my layout's outer main to where the caboose is a few inches in front of the locomotive pilot.
Must be nice to model uber-big power like this, what minimum radius do these require?

[Chris Webster]

Got a new loco in the roundhouse.

Just how big is your roundhouse? The model and weathering look awesome.

The top down photo looks like ice mixed in with the water spill, so the it must be cold.

I like that detail.

Jimmy Booth weathered a Rio Grande K-36 right down to cinders building up on its walkways: Closeup of Cinders. That's another cool detail since if you walk around the Chama yard at the end of the afternoon you'll can see that buildup on the K36s being serviced. I guess it's hard for them to out run the falling cinders since they top out at about 15 mph.

[up148]

My roundhouse is really display shelves as I have no layout at this time, so a large loop might be about the extent of it some day.

As for minimum radius, I have no idea, this is my 1st KTM built BB, but I would assume it's around 72", it's really just two 4-8-4's coupled together as they will operate on 72" or less...............although the BB might have a lot of hangover.

I love weathering and the K-36 is outstanding. Jimmy does great work.

[E7]

This and a buck will get you coffee, but 72 inches was always the minimum radius "they" tossed out for the lowest number radii (radium????) that just about any model could navigate. That said, I would guess if you can get a 4-12-2 Union Pacific type around your tightest curve you are sh*tting in tall cotton. This also assumes you are not lopping off stuff like tail beams, have all blind drivers, or doing other things that would offend Mr. Turner's sensibilities. There will always be they who try and get 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bucket, and get PO'd when things get messy. So don't any of you do a track plan of the "CNJ Bronx Terminal" and come blubbering to me when your BB won't navigate those 2 "loops", and don't give me any grief about my loop track plan not being prototypical. Hopefully I have offended just about everyone with this diatribe, and maybe even made you giggle.

[sleepmac]

Yes E7, your posting made me laugh!

Dan Weinhold

[E7]

Dan, That was the intention!

Rich

[E7]

:..............although the BB might have a lot of hangover.

I think the reality of things might be that the overhang is the MAIN problem since the wheels are pretty much confined to the rails.

Jimmy does great work.

Though I've never had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy, I suspect he may be one of the nicer folks in "O".
Never seen a photo of him where he was not smiling!

[up148]

I just remembered. When I was a member of the KC O Module group, we had 68" and 72" radius curves on the corner modules and stock MG/USH BB's and Challengers had no problem and I don't remember the boiler overhang being objectionable.

I remember reading an article somewhere, that with some careful filing (not butchering) someone had a USH BB that went around 60" radius, although it did look a little toy like, but that was the fellows largest radius curves on his layout.

[E7]

I think the main place that overhang sometimes jumped up to bite people (and the loco) was CURVED tunnel entrances and exits.