And that's how you build a Franken-Morse! Seriously, it is quite likely that successive FM loco versions re-used parts from prior versions that had worked well. And who knows, maybe they even supplied spare parts from future loco versions to repair older ones. This would especially be true if both versions of the loco were simultaneously in production.
In what seems to be standard F-M procedure, the H-12-44 has several pilot/step variations, none of which quite match up to any of the equally-variable H-16-44s. Scratchbuilding seems like the best way forward for the pilot. Although right now that's on hold while I muster up the courage to cut the Rapido coupler mounts off of the trucks!
And so it is, that externally visible parts were the most often changed. The bean-counters want to re-use things, while everyone else wants something new.
Today I tackled the daunting task of removing the truck-mounted couplers. The hardest part of this job turned out to be getting the trucks apart; the plastic frame did NOT want to let go of the metal tower. Once I’d persuaded it off with a screwdriver and set aside all the internal pieces, it took 5 minutes with a razor saw to cut off the coupler mount and about half of the metal pin that holds the coupler spring. The pin also clips the truck together at that end, so make sure to leave part of it! With the Rapidos out of the way I was able to put the loco on the track with a MTL coupler gauge and figure out how much material I need to add to the pilot. I made some shims, but until my new drill and tap set arrives I can't actually attach the couplers. In the meantime I'm working on the cab, filling the signal light holes (which are too close together), sanding the roof to a slightly more curved profile, and adding correct angled sand hatches. So far I haven't found a reference photo that really clearly shows where on the cab roof I should mount the horn, so I'm putting that off too.
Right on schedule, the Big Screwup. While removing the fuel tank to make some modifications, I managed to break 3 of the 4 clips that hold the tank to the chassis. Without those clips the tank won't stay on, and without the tank there's nothing holding the circuit board for power pickup in place. Anyone have a spare?
Love these little locos, up here in Western Washington there was a bunch of them running log trains in the woods for Weyerhauser. There's one in Snoqualmie, Wa that's been restored, and they have an ex-NP one getting restored as well.
If nothing closer turns up, I'll absolutely pony up the international shipping costs. The Kiutz Tax can be high sometimes
I only worked for them for 5 years, long enough to get my pin as it turned out. They are really doing a lot of cool things!! especially in the US. I've worked in the Defence industry for quite a number of years.
Gotta keep progress up while I search for a fuel tank, so I cut some new cab glass. The original glass was recessed way too far into the shell, making the window frames look oversized. The new glass sits flush with the outside of the shell. And no, I'm not recreating Minitrix's opaque windows, I just put some tape over the clear styrene while I work so I don't scuff it up I also installed and filled the pilots, added an assortment of grab irons, and started measuring out the dimensions for handrails and pilot steps. I'm not sure what I'm going to use to stick the handrails together; I used CA glue and regular solder on my 70-tonner, and I wasn't too thrilled with either one...
don't feel bad about the fuel tank...I just broke the truck frame on mine...also, I emailed Randgust about handrails...
I hadn't considered that, but it might just work. The trick has been finding something that's sturdy without creating too much of a conspicuous 'blob' at the joint. This is a bad week to be an H-12-44. If I find a donor chassis for a fuel tank I can send a truck frame your way. I probably won't need another two of those (knock on wood)!
If by regular solder you mean electrical solder then yeah there is no durability there. You'd need to use silver solder chips(same things jewelers use for repair) and a means of heating to get to the higher melting temps of about 740C. A jewelers torch with a super fine flame pattern would be ideal but expensive so unless you were going to get a lot of use out of it the investment may be too much. If you use .015" brass rod then that combined with the silver solder would give you a fairly rugged end product that also gives a realistic finish. Also flux paste for jewelry repair is a must as it helps you set and keep the solder piece in place when you apply heat. Cut the chip down to a size you need for the joint, apply the paste then place the chip on the joint in the paste and heat. It's been a looong time since I've done jewelry repair so not sure what the latest and greatest is. I'd think though that a map gas setup would be sufficient if you can find a proper torch to operate off that type of gas. The other option is styrene rods. I use a small tin of boiling water and use that to heat just the sections of the rods where I need bends and using metal rods with the radiuses I want as shaping bucks while the styrene is heated. It's a little tricky to master as you'd want to avoid heating sections of the rod that need to remain straight and have an end result that satisfies you. If you have a steady hand you could even use a soldering iron and just get close enough but never contact the styrene to heat it enough to take and hold a bend. I've rebuilt a lot of railings on model ships that way but it is going to be more fragile then the handrails that typically come with a locomotive but more rugged than electrical soldered brass joints. Open flame heating at least for me is riskier which is why I use heated water. It's too easy to overheat and distort the profile of the rod especially with the finer diameter styrene rods needed to have a fairly realistic looking end product. The pic below is a 1/72 scale model where most all the railings in view had to be rebuilt. If you have a good eye you can tell which are kit parts as they are slightly thicker but the entire conning tower is all me. I used .030" styrene rod which is a little bigger than you'd probably want to use. .015" plastruct rod may be the ticket for n scale railings. It will be easier to shape though so there is that.
I'd looked into a silver solder setup for my 70T, but the initial startup cost would blow my hobby budget for quite a while! For my 70T I ended up using a tiny amount of electrical solder to hold the wire in place, and CA glue for reinforcement. I might try that approach again, but with epoxy as the reinforcing glue. If that fails, I can always fall back to styrene!
I spent a day on handrails a year ago if I remember right... .... not the quality of what Freddy posted (great work) but I think with messing around a little longer I could do better. I did both solder and CA attempts using the .010" guitar string. I put up a page on my site of the two attempts ( HERE ). Not sure if that helps or not. Hopefully will see more options here as you work on this. I thought I had one of these that didn't run but just went and looked and can't find it. That doesn't mean it isn't there. If I find it I'll try to remember to come back and post. The one above I did put a decoder in one ( HERE ) and filed the wheels down on ( HERE ). I kind of got attached to it even though UP didn't have any the best I can find. Sumner
Those are still some good looking handrails! A nasty cold gave me a good excuse to stay home and play with trains today. After scouring my scrap box for some metal strips, I gave up and mounted the pilot steps with styrene. It's not as sturdy, but it did let me emboss the bolts onto the supports. Once the cement has fully cured I will reinforce them from behind; some narrow styrene triangles should be nearly invisible from normal angles. If I want to get really tricky I can even use some of the clear styrene leftover from the cab windows. I also received the tubing I ordered for the headlights. Some careful drilling and the tube is a snug fit in the shell. Even more careful drilling, and I had a little styrene plug that will hold the two fiber optic sealed beam headlights. I added three tiny specks of wire to the nose door for hinges, then knocked one off while fiddling with the headlight. Win some, lose some, I guess. The photo doesn't show it, but I also FINALLY found a good image of the prototype's horn placement, and drilled a hole for that. Pretty much the only things left are the bell, SP light show, and handrails.