All, Has anyone out there modified the (newer) Bachman DDA40X's front plow to not be part of the front truck? If so, how hard or easy of a project was it? Thanks in advance! Chris
Chris, I read your question once and then re-read it again and again. I think you are asking if the front anti-climber and plow can be cut away from the truck and welded to the body shell of the unit? If so...let me share with you my experience. On my DD40X (yes, I went and bought not one but several) the front leading truck and the anti-climber on the front of the diesel are one and the same. In other words the coupler is truck mounted and the front plow or anti-climber are one and the same. They move with the truck and not the body of the locomotive. I wanted to body mount the front coupler. So, I looked for a way to make the cab end or front of the DD40X solid. Said another way, the anti-climber solid to avoid seeing the front of it swing to the left or right as per the curves direction. Or/ moving around like an articulated steam engine. I took one of my older DD40's and tried it. I cut the front end off and reconnected it to the body frame. Looked good. I was pleased with the appearance. However, the results were poor or less then I had hoped for. On my layout the minimum curve is a 15" radius curve. What I noted to my dismay, is the overhang is extreme and doesn't look very pretty. I tried hiding it in a consist of diesels. Just like UP did. The results...well...it will pull the motor/diesel ahead of it, in consist, off the tracks. Even though I model curves on my layout wider then most N scale layouts, it wasn't pretty, didn't look and/or work very well. I hope that helps.
I would first examine closely how the front truck assembly is put together and whether the plow pilot and coupler mount can be cut off without affecting the integrity of the truck. Then with the pilot assembly check if there is going to be sufficient room for the front truck to swivel fully. If there is then a small shim of styrene on the bottom of the body will be needed to get the pilot and coupler low enough when it is body mounted.
No! I sure don't. Back when I did this I hadn't heard of a digital camera with the ability to download to my computer. I had to pay for the film and processing. I can assure you... It didn't look bad but before it was going to work on my N scale layout I had to push the curves out to greater then a 15 inch minimum radius. I tried using a longer knuckle coupler with a wider swing but the distance between the locomotives, while coupled, was a bit unrealistic. Spider man might make it across the gap but no railroader was going to jump that.
As I earlier stated the project is doable but one better still have some wide curves or run this loco in the lead because this long loco will have some issues on tight curves with a body mount .