Does anyone know when CNW began getting rid of the nose mounted gong bell? Up to which point did new units cease to be delivered with this feature. And finally, where might i find a kit to modify existing units with a gong bell in N scale. I have found them in HO, but not for N.
Thanks in advance for any input.
Modeling the CNW and BN in the late 70's midwest.
a book I have shows sd40-2 and sd45 models with nose bells, book is copyrighted 1979 so no help after that.
The CNW was such an enthusiastic purchaser of used locomotives that this is not an easy question to answer -- it depends less on year than on the engine and class. A good roster book is what you need. Bob Baker's "The Run of the GE's" has a good variety of photos of the final CNW diesel roster. The Paul Withers all time roster book might be more useful to you.
Yes the SD40-2 and SD38-2 had the nose gongs. So did GP15-1s. So mid 1970s for those engines. The GP50s had them so 1980 for those. The SD50s did not have them, so 1985 for those.
But again it gets tricky. Some SD45s had them, but I see some photos where there is no nose gong. Removed? Never there? Don't know. And some of the gongless and gonged engines were the acquired SD45s not the originals.
Can't help much on N scale parts either, sorry. But it pays to be imaginative about things that are not labeled CNW style nose gongs (or fire alarm bells or schoolhouse recess bells which they somewhat resemble) -- I see some ship detail parts in N in the Walthers catalog which might provide the raw material for a nose gong. Polishing the end of fine styrene or acrylic rod might get you there, too.
Dave Nelson
Thank you for the replies, I knew it was gonna be tricky as I've seen locos of the same class with and without gong bells. I suppose since I am modeling 1978-1979 era I can look for photos of specific units I want to model taken during those dates. This may mean renumbering some of my factory units and installing gongs on a few others. I guess the point is that gong bells were not a standard feature fleetwide at any one time.