A couple of questions for Mel about putting together the Cary E-7's with the Athearn chasis.
Mel, I'm at the point on my E7 where I'm try to figure what I need to do to the Athearn SD-40 chasis to mount the Cary body. A couple of questions.
1) How much of the SD-40 fuel tank did you remove and did you use the skirts that are provided in the kit?
2) How did you mount the body to the frame?
Any insights would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Scott Sonntag
After seeing Darth Santa Fe’s F7 with real screen over the vents I’m working on a fresh Cary E7 body.Baring my arthritis problems I will post the body install on a Athearn SD40-2 frame. Note that the Cary/Bowser instructions say SD40-2T. I tried one T frame and didn’t like the fit.I will have to disassemble a finished E7 as my 84 yr old brain can’t remember.So far I have managed to drill all the .021” holes for the grabs. Only took 5 bits to drill 28 holes in the metal body, not bad for old shaky hands Mel.I ordered #80 brass screen and it arrived Tuesday and it appears too fine so I ordered some #60.https://cloverhouse.com/Cart/product_info.php?cPath=46_47&products_id=13760I’m not sure how accurate your going for but the Cary marker/classification lights are incorrect for a E7. I’m not a rivet counter and let it go on my earlier E7s, thinking about that on this one.My fingers don’t want to cooperate this morning, will try later this afternoon to pull a body. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
For the front mount I used a piece of K&S ¼” wide by .032” thick Brass Strip formed to the curve. I soldered a small piece of K&S ¼” wide by .062” thick Brass to the curved section and epoxied the curved strap to the body. I tapped the .062" brass bracket for a 2mm screw through the Athearn coupler mount.For the rear I drilled and tapped the frame for a 2mm screw and used a short piece pf the ¼” x .062" brass to extend the coupler mount..I made a Styrene filler to go between the body and the Athearn fuel tank, didn’t use the Cary tank cover. Not prototypical but I’m not a rivet counter. The Athearn SD40 truck frames are wrong for the E7 too.The A-Line #29300 E-Unit sideframes snap on the Athearn trucks.
The speakers are in Styrene enclosures in all of my E7.
I'm very happy with the header type micro connectors that unplug making the body/shell easily renovable.
Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
Thanks so much Mel. Unfortunately I followed the directions and bought a SD-40T. Bought the body shell and Sd-40 25+ years ago so I will moved forward from there.
Accuracy isn't critical on this one but I would like be faifly close representation
Looking forward to any other information that you can share.
Scott
The SD40T-2 frame is just a hair over ¼” longer than the SD40-2 so it shouldn’t make much difference.I can’t remember why I went with the non T other than the non T was easier to find used.I ended up with a total of 8 SD40-2s, 4 E7As and 4 E7Bs. The SP only bought 5 E7A so the one I’m working on will be the fifth number 6004. I only replaced the truck frames on 6000 and it’s E7B mate, it’s hard to tell the difference between the E7 side frames and the SD40 frames unless they are side by side. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
Thanks for the insights Mel. They got me thinking. Got a good start on getting the frame milled/filed to where it fits in the body. Have to work on shrinking and narrowing the fuel tank next.
Don't forget about the Hobbytown E unit chassis still available from Hobbytown
https://hobbytownofboston.com/?page_id=61
117608 E-Unit Power Chassis Kit EMD A-1-A Trucks, w/Flywheel Drive For A or B unit body shell. 75.00
This is a very nice running chassis
Ron High
I have four of the older Hobbytown E7s with the metal body that I remotored with can motors and they do run very nice. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.