I would like to add these doors to all of my F unit roster. It appears that no detail parts manufacturers make these. I recently acquired an Athearn FP 7 that has these doors on it. Does anyone have any info on this? John
John, it seems like I saw decals of these in HO-Scale at some point in the past, but that's about the extent of what I know, and that's not saying much. In this day of rapid prototyping/3D printing, I wonder if it'd be possible to find a vendor that could print up as many as you needed? Best Regards,
Chris, Good idea! Was there someone on this forum that did some 3D printing of some detail parts? Or am I thinking somewhere else? John
Hi John, Ran across this image. Looks like we see cutting torch effects to the nose (burnt paint all around) on this old soldier, both sides. HHHMMM. Maybe a decal is the best way to go huh?
Tom, I recently seen a F 7 in the Great Northern paint scheme with the decals used for the MU doors. I looked good, keep in mind that the decals were black outline on a orange background. On a black background ? You would never see it, unless you would put it on a O/W paint scheme. I think a detail part would be the way to go for either scheme. Thanks, John
Tom, I thought I have seen these doors on your F unit #18 ? but cannot seem to locate it. Could you provide a frontal shot of this unit? Thanks, John
All I did Joe, was to take a piece brass tubing, bend one end of the tube to kinda look like the mu door take a small hammer to the tube over thin paper and stamp a bunch out, then just glued them to the nose. I dont think the shops were very accurate as far as consistency either. The photo I posted earlier wow, look how crooked and off from one another on that unit. If you modeled a loco like that someone might say something LOL. Those doors got beat up a lot I think too. Anyway here is a pic for you.
Pretty good technique by my eye, Tom. I like the fact that it allows for old-school rapid prototyping. John, I know that Kent Hurley in KC 3D printed a section house: Standard Plan: Section House, Cold Climate, 1906 It doesn't look like he's been around the site for a while, but perhaps some of the KC folk are in touch with him, or a Private Message would find its way to his e-mail. Best Regards,
I like the effect of Toms for sure. For what it worth, if I was doing it and wanted several I think I would make one pattern from brass and use it to cut out multiples on maybe .010" sheet styrene. The pattern could even just be an elongated horseshoe shape to make it easy to hold while tracing with xacto knife. I like that picture that shows how crude the 1:1 install was! There is a guy here named Ryan that does 3D print with shape ways. I think his secret code name here is RCH? He is a caboose modeler
In the picture of #21, I believe the crude appearance is not due to the installation in the locomotive originally, but from chipping of the paint at the edges of the opening due to debris and other impacts and the subsequent expansion of the damage due to corrosion lifting. Having spent the past 38 1/2 years in the auto industry, this is something that was somewhat problematic, but 3M came up with a nice solution of a clear applique chip guard.
Good catch, Steve; I completely forgot about Shape Ways. Guess that we can be grateful that 3M didn't innovate too soon so that we modelers would have interesting details to capture. Speaking of 38 1/2 years, is it R-Day yet for you, Keith? Best Regards,
Having actually cut and welded on similar thicknesses of metal, I can see burn effects to here too. But you can clearly see what Keith is referring to as well. This old soldier is pretty rough. One can also see other units in the same time frame that look much better for the wear. Not too many people would want to model a unit like the one above. It would be a challenge to model for sure. I wonder if this unit was pressed into service without a good touch up after the MU installation. Sometimes the touch up doesn't last as good as the original tho. Have fun everyone.
Any idea when the MU doors were added? Do you think the patch in the carbody side is sheetmetal? I have seen old CR units that had plywood. I think this would be neat to add as well.
I cant say when the "A" MU capabilities were added, Maybe Keith or someone else can tell us. From what I have read these were added post delivery, maybe EMD sent people to do it, or the shop forces did it. I just dont know. All I can say is it looks like torch and weld burns to me. I prolly all wrong LOL.
Guys, all of the photos that I can remember seeing, even the oldest, of any of the F units show M/U cable doors. I find it hard to believe that the Frisco would have ordered a freight unit without such an important feature installed even though the early F units were typically ordered in pairs or quads.
Thanks, Tom, I stand corrected. Frisco Diesel Power even states that many but not all of the F units were converted to front-end M/U capability in 1959. It's painfully obvious that most all the pictures I had seen with the doors were taken after the conversion.
