FP40H advice

kevsmith Feb 13, 2013

  1. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    As the Freudenreich FP40H is way out of my price league and really rare and I've no whisper of anybody bringing a RTR one out I reckon I'm going to have to sratchbuild one. However as you can imagine I'm not exactly swimming in info on this side of the pond.

    So far I haven't turned up a drawing and would be grateful if someone's got one if they could scan it in and send it to me. Looking at my battered old Diesel spotters guide I see the truck centres at 33 ft and the overall length at 56ft. AZLs GP38 should scale out at 34 ft centres and 59 ft overall which is close enough I reckon

    It really is one of the simplest boxes you could hope for

    [​IMG]

    No compound curves , which is nice, and I was able to take a lot of detail of the real things on my journies to Santa Barbara and Goleta, I considered RPD but so far its all ghosts and mirrors to me so I'll probably stick to the old ways and take a rubber mould off the prototype and cast some in 'Old School Resin'

    Any help would be most appreciated and I'll be able to retire the Marklin F7s then!

    Cheers
    KEV
     
  2. shamoo737

    shamoo737 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Kev, you can order the shell of the F40PH from FR. I think its like 65 Euros. The other option is to find the old metal cast F40. I have never seen it, but Jim in Ohio has one. Looking at your pictures, I am hoping for a Superliner in Z. Have you thought about kitbahing the Surfliners into Superliners. That would be a nice conversion.
     
  3. shamoo737

    shamoo737 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    By the way, the F40 shell fits perfectly into a GP35 chassis.
     
  4. markm

    markm TrainBoard Supporter

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    Apr '87 issue of MR has an article with dimensions.

    Mark
     
  5. ZFRANK

    ZFRANK TrainBoard Member

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    hi Kev,

    GP 9/35 chassis,Evergreen styrene and diamond files... The drawing from model railroader is very clear. Building the Ski train FP40 is boiling in my head quite some time...


    Good to know FR sells seperate shels...
     
  6. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Looks like I'll have to slide to the back of the loft to find that issue, Most of my magazines are pretty well buried. Had a look on Harolds website and the FP40 shell wasn't obvious but I'll get in touch with him anyway.

    After posting this I felt a bit inspired and found some footage I shot of the beasts back in 1998 over the period of a few days around Goleta and Santa Barbara. Used to borrow my dads mountain bike and cycle down there every morning and wait for the 'gee up' from the scanner.

    [video=youtube;ppc_i-2Wks0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppc_i-2Wks0&feature=share&list=UUI6p-eLL5zX3K226z27Josg[/video]

    cheers

    KEV
     
  7. markm

    markm TrainBoard Supporter

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    KEV,
    You might want to invest in the MR DVD set. I don't want to sound like an ad, but I found after collecting 30yrs of MR, everytime I went looking for an issue, I'd spend all Sunday afternoon looking for it. Now it took only a few minutes to look up your loco and find a dozen articles. I will warn you, the software doesn't print out grahics as well as I'd like and the search engine can be a challenge to use, but if you ask your right question, I've found something for just about anything you can think of.

    Mark
     
  8. Rio Grande

    Rio Grande TrainBoard Member

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    Would be great if someone could do it for Shapeways. I doubt, that Freudenreich will sell his shells.
    Mattias
     
  9. minzemaennchen

    minzemaennchen TrainBoard Member

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    If Harald is not selling his shell only I could design a kit from photo etched parts, quiet simple geometry to fit a stock GP9/GP35 chassis. Providing there is enough interest in this project.
    Mattias, forget Shapeways, if you can accept their surface quality you might be better of with a piece of timber and a file to make a F40PH shell...
     
  10. shamoo737

    shamoo737 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Gerd, how many Surperliner order would it take for you to get one into production. :D
     
  11. JamesTraction

    JamesTraction TrainBoard Supporter

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    Gerd, Oh yeah! Please? Several, since they got several paint schemes for the different eras.
    John, I'm with you on that too. The Surfliners are great, but the Superliners are also needed.


    Kev,
    I'll looking forward to you build. You do a great job with brass bits and it's great you show your process.:cool:
    JamesTraction
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 17, 2013
  12. minzemaennchen

    minzemaennchen TrainBoard Member

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    I will have a look, but first I have to get some MP15 finished...
     
  13. Mike Skibbe

    Mike Skibbe TrainBoard Member

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    Did someone say Superliners?

    [​IMG]

    This was etched in brass by mistake, but I just received a test etching in nickel silver and it looks good. I'm trying to figure out the best way to pre-form the body. I could etch just the sides for overlay onto the AXL Surfliners, but am trying to avoid that costly solution. I think a resin underframe and ends, with etched sides and roof, will make a nice looking car.

    My problem is I'll need a P42 for 2007 instead of F40PH's!
     
  14. ztrack

    ztrack TrainBoard Supporter Advertiser

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    Okay here is your bit of Z history today. Did you know FR's F40 was not the first F40 in Z scale? In the late 1980s, a spin cast metal shell of an F40 was offered. It was crude with soft detail on the body and a bit of warpage, but it weighed a ton and pulled like no one business. If I remember correctly, this was designed to run on a Marklin F7 chassis. Not many were made. The few I saw finished were painted for Amtrak and ran if front of Marklin's Amtrak cars.

    Rob
     
  15. jim29t

    jim29t TrainBoard Member

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    My FP40 is painted in Amtrak livery. It is crude but unique in it's day.
     
  16. minzemaennchen

    minzemaennchen TrainBoard Member

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    Good to know you make the Superliner so I can concentrate on something else. I hate double-ups in our scale. Bad enough others do so....
    P42? If you are capable of doing a superliner you can do a Genesis the same way. Maybe with some Marklin chassis so you get the trucks right as a bonus.
     
  17. SJ Z-man

    SJ Z-man TrainBoard Member

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    With 3D printing (e.g. Shapeway-like companies using Z-Corp, etc.), you can print in Polycarbonate. It will take up to 120C and is quite durable so could be used for the lower detail work (ends and bottoms) or for your forming tool (taper side walls inward at the bottom for an overbend that recoils to the desired vertical position).
     

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