Smokey Valley RR Products

[CP5415]

Has anyone ever dealt with this company?

I emailed them direct to see if they had any handrails for a GP35 well over a week ago & I've had no word from them?

Any suggestion?

I have an old Athearn GP35 in which the hand rails don't fit.
I want to be able to put this thing together & the handrails provided, let me see, how do I say this....ok, got it!!
SUCK!

Thanks in advance

Gordon

[locomutt]

Just curious,how old of an Athearn GP-35 you talking[?]

[Anonymous]

Check out Walthers.com for SV stuff.

[CP5415]

I'm not sure how old it is.
It's got 2 flywheels in it so I don't think it's that old.
I bought it second hand & it's been painted in C&EI livery.

I checked out Walthers already, that's where I got the info on Smokey Valley.
They have no stock on the handrails I need

Gordon

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CP5415

I'm not sure how old it is.
It's got 2 flywheels in it so I don't think it's that old.
I bought it second hand & it's been painted in C&EI livery.

I checked out Walthers already, that's where I got the info on Smokey Valley.
They have no stock on the handrails I need

Gordon

Are they flywheels brass or some other material?

[CP5415]

The flywheels are brass, & thanks to Smokey Valley RR products not emailing me back, I went & modified the railings I had with the kit to make them fit.

Oh well, it doesn't look perfect but then again, I wanted this unit to look like it's been around for a while.

Gordon

[Anonymous]

A lot of the companys that supply us with those neat gotta have things are sole proprieter. As such, there are many reasons why they fall off the radar, change of interest, change of health, even death. You might try snail mail with a supplied self addressed and stamped envelope. Beyond that, do like they did and make your own.

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mstein

A lot of the companys that supply us with those neat gotta have things are sole proprieter. As such, there are many reasons why they fall off the radar, change of interest, change of health, even death. You might try snail mail with a supplied self addressed and stamped envelope. Beyond that, do like they did and make your own.

I have found that one generally has to contact those small companies several times before they will reply.

[bogp40]

Whenever I have contacted Smokey Valley it always took a few trys. Originally tried a phone no. in Oregon which was changed to Plantersville, Ms. , However, I just tried the last no. and it will not ring through. Don't know what to tell you other than call information. But anytime I had a problem or question they where always very helpful and courtious. I have used their stanchions on a few models- but always bend my own rails( Smokey Valley rails come in pieces for the long sections) from 1 .019 brass wire. I find that my bends are more accurate to the prototype and being one piece are much more durable. Directions say to CA or solder, I prefer to solder, CA joints will break if flexed. As to the GP-35, if no listing is available, order stantions only for any EMD hood. The only problem you may find is the one long(engineer's) stanchion, variations on mounting to the battery box on various phase changes, fill existing hole and relocate. Deck mounted/ end platform or anticlimber stanchions use care when drilling and trim mounting lug. Note: before mounting the 2 center stantions drill a #76 hole to accomidate an eyelet or wire hook for the safety chains. Smokey Valley stantions may not be the easiest to do, but the final result is the next best to Overland brass. This is the most significant detail that can be added to your project loco that you can be proud of for years to come.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

If Smokey Valley is still in Plantersville, MS then I know the guy that runs the business. It is indeed a one guy enterprise. He has a regular job like all of us and decided to do the model train thing on the side. He bought the Smokey Valley stock and molds from the previous owner. It has been a long time since I spoke with this fellow so I am only confirming that Smokey Valley (in Plantersville, MS) is a one man enterprise.

Jaime

[Anonymous]

Are the Smokey Valley handrails a lot nicer than the stock Athearn ones?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jwaldo

Are the Smokey Valley handrails a lot nicer than the stock Athearn ones?

Over the standard metal athearn handrails, yes, however... It depends on how much work you want to go through. It also depends on your own personal taste and skills. You could just bend new handrails out of .015 or similar brass wire and use the existing athearn stantions....this can often greatly improve the look of the model...the stock Athearn piano wire handrails are rather thick. Smokey Valley handrail kits are more work, but the results are usually worth it if you're building a display model. One thing I've noticed with smokey valley kits is that the handrails are bent wrong half the time (plus the handrails need to be pieced together) so you're probably better off just ordering the EMD stantions and bending your own handrails out of DA .015 or .012 brass wire or similar. Also, if you take and solder the stantions to the handrails (this works with athearn stantions too), you get almost indestructable handrails (the trick is to solder fast using a drop of flux at each joint so you don't heat up the stantion enough to melt the plastic shell). Takes a little getting used to but worth it in the long run.

Thoughts? Comments?

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the soldering tip Kelley [:D] I'll have to clean off the handrails on my gp60 and start soldering!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jwaldo

Thanks for the soldering tip Kelley [:D] I'll have to clean off the handrails on my gp60 and start soldering!

No problem. Another added benefit is that if the handrail is on slightly crooked, you can quickly heat it up and adjust. I've tried doing handrails with CA and found that's about worthless...weaker joint, and once it's there, it's not easy to change.

If you use something like TIX flux (liquid...alot of hobby stores carry it), you really don't have to worry too much about getting the handrail completely clean before soldering. If it's really corroded though, you might want to give the handrail a quick swipe with some sandpaper.

Another benefit is that once soldered together, if you work carefully, you can remove the handrails as a subassembly and paint seperately from the model. (make sure you wa***he flux and other oils off first)....this is especially useful if you're painting a unit from scratch and you've got to paint/decal sill stripes or whatever.

Thoughts? Comments?

Enjoy!

Kelley.
www.dufordmodelworks.com

[Anonymous]

Athearn used to sell packages of their stanchions, both the long and the short. Might be worth checking with them and ordering some. I always have some on hand for my modeling projects.

Bob Boudreau

[Anonymous]

Ithe handrails and stanchions were a bit rusty, but some 600 grit fixed that, and I have enough extra stanchions handy. I have the first side all soldered, and it looks great [tup]

[bogp40]

The best part of the Smokey Valley parts is the stanchions. The castings are as close to the prototype as you can get. They show the U-channel with deck gussets, bolt heads, brackets etc. But as mentioned above and in my previous post, they do require some work. With all the great highly detailed locos coming out now, most of my detail work is back to basics-Horns, plows, bells and the like. The acell plastic handrails used on the new stuff is good enough.
Bob K.