EMD's DD35 in N Scale

I want an EMD DD35, in fact I want 2, but nobody makes one. Bachmanns The DD40AX is way to long, I could kit bash two atlas GP35s together (that's what EMD did) but what about trucks?

Well those of you who are starting to get to know me know I like 3D printing. So that's my answer.

Step 1. Draw the thing....



This is a correctly sized shell, right length width etc. Fan details, doors, light handrails, cover plates, the works. Since these shots I have also added the hand brake wheel on one side.

Step 2. What to put it on.

Well the closest thing is the Bachmann DD40AX and the new DCC one is very good. But it is 24mm (0.945”) too long. Doh!

But not to be beaten, I have enlisted the help of Bobthebear, a.k.a my Dad. So what did we do?

To Be Continued......

 

Interesting project, looking forward to seeing your progress.
What railroads had DD35s?

 

You're right Boxcab.
I just searched the LocoPhotos.com website and found photos of both UP and SP.

http://www.locophotos.com/Search.php?SearchModel=EMD+DD35&Search=Search

There is also the DD35A unit:
http://www.locophotos.com/Search.php?SearchModel=EMD+DD35A&Search=Search

 

I have thought about this for a long time.

The trucks on a Kato RSC-3 have THREE of the four axles in about the right space.

Adding a forth axle shouldn't be that hard. So I would place your shell under TWO Kato RSC-3s.

At least that what I was planning on doing.......... some day.

 

Hi All,

The UP had several in the end, the SP had just the one. They came about after the UP challenged EMD, Alco and GE to produce a 15000HP power set to replace the 8500 turbines. So we ended up with the GE 50, the Alco C-855 and the EMD35. The demonstrator set from EMD was a GP35 two DD35s and another GP35 totaling 15000HP. In the end UP found one of the best combinations was a U50 with a DD35. The DD35A (cabed version came a bit later).

-James

 

I would like to purchase a complete set if one was made. Awesome product for Atlas to make.

 

Then I guess I need to get there first then! :teeth:

 

Continued.......

Her is a brand new Bachmann DD40AX with out the shell. (Thanks to bobthebear for photos and work).



And the circuit board on top, that's a lot of stuff!



Under the circuit board is a standard Bachmann DCC chip.



Now, as I said before this chassis is 24mm to long, where can we cut that from, the middle! But there is a problem, a pair of brass problems on the end of each motor. The smaller flywheel on the left is the one in question. The chassis is a twin motored job so there are two of these.



Snip!



Put it all back together, minus the two inner fly wheels and the circuit board and it runs like a dream. DC of course for now, the DCC chip is still attached to the board.



Hang-on you say, wont taking out 2 of the 4 flywheels make it less smooth? It didn't, and don't forget this is a cabless booster, it will be coupled to another loco. So with that lets cut out 24mm. You can see the recess where the old fly wheels where.



Also, this unit does not have a cab so one end need to be thinned to the same width as the body.



Did it work?

To be continued......

 

Thanks Bremner,

Yep the SP had 3, my mistake.

-James

 

Continued.......

Did it work? Yes it did.

Here is the loco after frame milling, cutting and resembling. (Thanks again to bobthebear for photos and work).



It has been wired here for DC just to test, and it runs like a dream. The joint was split with plastic to separate the frame electrically and all the other faces braced with plastic, all glued together with some very strong stuff!



And from the underside between the fuel tank mounts.



Here you can see the cut down area where the cab was, we also cut down the top of this areas to make room for the DCC chip, as the space where it was is no longer there!



And here it is with the DCC decoder reinstalled. The, now split, front and back sections of the frame have also been joined by wires so as not to rely on the butted joint between the two halves.



And here it is again next to an unmodified DD40AX chassis.



This shows very well just how much was taken out! The trucks have also now been weathered.

All in all I think a fanatic job! Thanks bobthebear!

So the Shell.

To be continued...............

 

Continued.......

Now that the chassis was ready I needed to check the shell would fit. We knew the length was ok, but what about the width. Well Bachmann's new DD40AX is thinner than their previous models, but still to wide. 100mm (3.93") to wide, that's 0.625mm (0.024") in n scale, am I going to worry, will you see it, no! I made the model 1mm wider,



I also went through and removed any unessential material to reduce the print cost.



Now, the DD40AX has one huge fuel tank slung underneath. The DD35 had two GP35 tanks, plus they where shorter over all so I had to model a pair of those too. They are joined together and will use the same mounts as the DD40AX tank. I even remembers the bell which was mounted between the tanks in front of the battery boxes which were on one side only.



Next, the hand rails. (Yes I know they look a bit fat in the pics above, that's because they are!). In order to make them print they can't be the correct size, this is N scale after all. The problem I faced was with the length of them they would be very fragile, the chance of them surviving the post print process was negligible. Shapeways recommend a putting stuff like this on a spew or similar. Now as they charge by material volume this adds a lot to the cost of the model, how can I protect them, what is large enough and strong enough. How about a DD35 shell!



All 6 handrails are inside the shell, joined by a 1mm long cylinder at the base of each post.



The idea is they can be cut out with a sharp knife once we get the shell home.

So the model went to print. Did it work?

To be continued......

 

Continued........

And here is the real thing (print that is).



Plus some other parts I am working on.

The details look a bit fuzzy because the model is covered in a wax residue left over from the print process, more on that later.





And as I said before the hand rails where printed inside the shell.



So does it fit, yes like a glove! After cutting out the handrails of course!



To be continued....

 

Continued.....

Here it next to a second generation DD40AX.



And A close up.





The hand rails also came out very well.


The shell and the fuel tank fitted with a very satisfying click over the mounting points on the chassis, almost as if was intend to:teeth:.

So here is the kit with the chassis after I had washed it in water. (not the chassis).



And the kit.



Next it's a dunk in a jar of Goo Gone for 24 Hours to remove the wax residue.

To be continued........

 

Thanks Hemi,

I think etched stations and wire handrails will look better, however, this first unit is for bobthebear and he wants to run it with a concor U50, luckily enough it looks like the handrail will match. But also it's modellers preference so I will leave the handrails in the kit so people can chose to use them or not, I think it would be wrong to supply it with nothing?.

-James