P48 for Cotton Belt: Roster addition SW1200

[Big Train James]

NWSL 2525-6 is a full wheelset with axle gear (and bushings if required) already installed. The 2528-6 is just the axle gear itself, set of four, no wheels or axles included. A 2525-6 set should look something like this when it arrives:


The Des Plaines detail parts are sold under the branding of O Scale America (OSA prefix in the detail parts listing). If you get into the catalog area of O scale detail parts, the listings are in alpha-numberic order. GLP is Grandt Line Products for instance, of which there are a lot of items. Just scroll through the pages until you get to the OSA section. OSA starts on page 11, OSA1057 would appear on page 12 if it was in stock. As of a month or so ago, they were sold out of the step and grille etch sheet. A phone call confirmed they were out and that they "needed to be run again soon but we're not sure when it will actually happen". The stated price on the packaging for the sheet is $25.00, plus shipping to the UK of course. Part number is OSA1057.

Btw, most of the OSA line of parts (but not the etch it came much later) originated as Custom Finishing parts until the line was bought by Des Plaines. P&D has a lot of the OSA/Custom Finishing parts in stock, although not the etch sheet. They also stock a lot of NWSL wheelsets.

 

[Big Train James]

Apropos of nothing, the etched step and radiator shutters that were used on the previously referenced MRL p48 gp9 were produced by PPD. It seems quite plausible that the artwork may have been sold to Des Plaines.

 

[mickoo]

James, cheers, confirms why I couldn't find it as it's not listed

It appears it's easier for Des Plaines to completely remove items from the list if not in stock, rather than simply write 'out of stock' that's really helpful.

So, self etch it is then

Thanks for the info on the wheels, I take it those shown will also fit the Atlas MP15 trucks with central motor drives?

I'll move this over to my US thread this evening with a small up date on the UP GP9 and leave Dave to party on here with his stuff

MD

 

[Big Train James]

The NWSL wheelsets for the sw7/8 as pictured will NOT work for the mp15dc. Axle spacing is different, resulting in different arrangements of gears (an extra pair of idlers), and axle gear sizes, for the two different gearboxes. The sw axle gear is larger than that of the mp15dc.

NWSL does not offer a drop in for the mp15dc wheelsets. The solution is to have someone (ahem, Jay at Right-O'-Way in my case, facilitated by the miracle convenience of domestic shipping) take your existing wheelsets and fabricate the equivalent of the NWSL sets using Protocraft wheels, new axles, and the axle gears and bushings from the original Atlas wheelsets. I sent four sets of 3-rail wheelsets to Jay, and got four sets of p48 wheelsets in return (I didn't request return of the 3-rail wheels )

NWSL p48 replacement sw wheelset on the left, Atlas hardware/ROW wheels and axles on the right. Note the difference in axle gear diameter.


Atlas sw gearbox on the left, mp15dc gearbox on the right. Both with p48 wheels. Note the additional idler gears on the Blomberg truck. Note the ROW brass gearbox cover on the sw truck, with sideframe mounting adjusted for p48. I plan to use any spares of the mp15dc Blomberg trucks to retrofit to two-motor chinese drive ( ) garbage like the Atlas gp9's or F units.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Did the wheels you ordered (I'm guessing 2525-6) come with the gears on or did you have to order those separately (2528-6)

I ordered the P48 set with the gears 2525-6 ROCO P:48 Red Caboose GP9-Atlas F9 40''/115 Geared Wheels

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

So, self etch it is then

Will you be adding slack adjusters as well to the etch? 32 are required for a GP9 if you are going to have them on the front and rear of the wheel.

 

[mickoo]

I will add the slack adjusters but I don't think I'll be using them on my GP9, I'm trying hard not to get sucked into the uber detail scene or more correctly details that take a lot of work, certainly on these first few engines.

Steps are a quick instant upgrade, slack adjusts whilst very nice are a lot of work but they are something you can go back to later if necessary.

MD

 

[JasonD]

P48: Mike Calvert at Gilmaur has a good supply of 33" P48:wheelsets. His website is undergoing an update, let me know if you don't have his pnone number. He got into P48's equivalent of self-harm with pine branches by acquiring some 3-rail Sunset steam locos. He may have some odds and ends left.

Peartree Engineering has some S7 diameters available as individual wheels (and wheelsets with brass bearings). 7mm diam wheels can be useful for 1:48: 2'8" is (near enough) 36" - pass. cars and 100 ton frtcars and 3'1" for 40" diesels. 7mm is roughly 10% bigger. Of no interest to P48, his screw-on wheelsets that I've used for Ow5 2-railing have 3/16" axles, so will usually accept reclaimed US gears. I talked to Malcolm about special runs (eg: 33") and the number 100 cropped up (er, um... 25 frt cars - easy for crowdP48ing). They're blackened steel wheels so the treads polish up, but they're more expensive than plated brass, eg: InterMountain, wheelsets, so the idea went on the back-burner for me.

Talking of 'crowd-...' things, BTJ have you heard of protesters shouting for Atlas to produce the MP15 trucks as a spare part in qty? Des Plaines had a bunch of RC GP9s last time I went in.
Jason

 

[JasonD]

P48: Mike Calvert at Gilmaur has a good supply of 33" P48:wheelsets. His website is undergoing an update, let me know if you don't have his pnone number. He got into P48's equivalent of self-harm with pine branches by acquiring some 3-rail Sunset steam locos. He may have some odds and ends left.

Peartree Engineering has some S7 diameters available as individual wheels (and wheelsets with brass bearings). 7mm diam wheels can be useful for 1:48: 2'8" is (near enough) 36" - pass. cars and 100 ton frtcars and 3'1" for 40" diesels. 7mm is roughly 10% bigger. Of no interest to P48, his screw-on wheelsets that I've used for Ow5 2-railing have 3/16" axles, so will usually accept reclaimed US gears. I talked to Malcolm about special runs (eg: 33") and the number 100 cropped up (er, um... 25 frt cars - easy for crowdP48ing). They're blackened steel wheels so the treads polish up, but they're more expensive than plated brass, eg: InterMountain, wheelsets, so the idea went on the back-burner for me.

Talking of 'crowd-...' things, BTJ have you heard of protesters shouting for Atlas to produce the MP15 trucks as a spare part in qty? Des Plaines had a bunch of RC GP9s last time I went in.
Jason

 

[Big Train James]

Talking of 'crowd-...' things, BTJ have you heard of protesters shouting for Atlas to produce the MP15 trucks as a spare part in qty? Des Plaines had a bunch of RC GP9s last time I went in.
Jason

Nope. Either I'm the only person who has ever thought of it, or I'm the only person who cares.

I think most people would just be happy if Atlas produced anything in a timely manner. The latest run of mp15dc's has been announced and delayed for at least a year now, maybe more. I hope that Atlas will have spare parts if they ever complete another run. In the meantime, scavenging parted out trucks or beater mp15's is the only way to get your hands on them.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The ex T&NO GP9 now has an identity , #3314 to be finished in 1980s SP livery.

Here are some photos of the work so far and some comparisons with the SSW GP9. The main differences being the louvers, sill, cab vents, grab irons and of course the light packages. There's still more work to do on the body and the chassis and trucks are yet to be modified for P48.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

A set of NSWL P48 wheels arrived this morning for my Atlas SSW Dash 8-40B. Here are some photographs showing both the original Atlas and NSWL wheels for comparison.

And euuugggh ! that gap to accommodate pizza cutters. I'm currently working on moving the truck frames inwards to close the aforesaid gap.

Left, original Atlas 2-rail wheel set and right, the NSWL P48 wheel set.


NSWL P48 wheelsets.

Oblique view of wheels. Left, Atlas and right, NSWL

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I've finally moved the truck side frames inwards on both trucks for the Dash 8-40B. Here are a pair of photos showing the before and after . The result being the locomotive has the top heavy look of the prototype.

Before


After


Truck comparison.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Some more work done on the Dash 8-40B........this time to remove the unsightly gap where the frames have been omitted to accommodate the 3 rail lump.

Before....


I started by filling either side of the recess for the bottom motor retaining plate with styrene where the frame it to be built.

The new frames were cut from styrene and the excess sides of bottom retaining plate were cut away and the mounting pieces retained. Both are secured in the chassis with ca.

I then made up two new motor top mounting plates from aluminium (I would have used brass but did not have any to hand).


Thus far I have only completed one end however there is a vast visual improvement.

 

[Steph Dale]

Cool - that's very much the approach I was going to use on my SD35 so it's nice to see it works so well!

Steph

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Underframes now completed at both ends. I put everything back together to see how it looked.

It'll all be disassembled again for the detailing to begin in earnest........

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Pliers and wire......

Been adding some plumbing to the Dash 8-40B chassis.......





.....and a start made on the trucks.


The truck sideframes are being shorn of the moulded brake gear which will be replaced with new brake shoes and new slack adjusters fashioned from brass. I made up the sand hose brackets from square brass tube which were drilled and tapped for 1mm screws. The hoses temporarily attached to the sanding and air pipes are microbore silicone tubing.



Just need to complete the remaining three truck frames..... and the rest of the chassis pipework

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Spent the last couple of days messing about with the decoder and speaker installation.... and sound.

There are two speakers in the loco using both speaker channels on the Loksound L decoder. The speakers are a Tang Bang T1-1925s in the fuel tank and a T1-1931s in the body.

As for the decoder I dispensed with the Atlas circuit board, smoke unit, wiring looms and lights (which will be replaced by LEDs). For the Loksound L I drilled and tapped four 2.5 mm holes and mounted the decoder adaptor plate on four stand offs, all held in with machine screws. I also soldered miniature SIL sockets onto the adaptor plate to make it easier to remove wiring looms if necessary






And finally some fillum.... shot on my smartphone. Sounds better in the flesh so to speak and this loco will be at Telford.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=270007783505529

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Not much to show for a couple of hours work yesterday evening. Just starting to fabricate a new plow (plough) for the Dash 8-40B from brass.

Getting the curve right was the trickiest part but there's still plenty more to do.

Here it's just held on with blu-tack to see the effect.

 

[soo4513]

Just to add to the dash 8 theme the Gilmaur dash 8-40CW is almost ready for release. This is a big etched brass kit designed to use Weaver drive parts. Cast trucks will be available as well.

If you are interested in one drop me a pm and I'll add you to the expression of interest list. Price to be confirmed and they are due to ship later this year or early next

I am currently building the latest pilot model hope to post some progress photos later in the week as well as confirming the price

Colin