Locomotive detailing

[Jetrock]

I used to be very into adding tons of crud to rolling stock, especially my favorite engine (an SP GP7) partially because I'm fond of crud, but also because the SP units I used to gawk at as a kid were always very cruddy--even today, whenever I go to the Roseville Yards for some trainwatching I'm amazed by the utter mutilatedness of the old SP units (still not painted in UP colors and probably never will be) puttering around the yard. The line I'm modeling will be set just after the line bought diesels but before it stopped running electrics, so it will be a mix of shiny new diesels (most of which I'll have to detail myself, since I model a small line with very few RTR pieces available, and which will feature a little grime on the trucks and such to bring out the details) and pretty run-down electrics (most of which I'll have to scratchbuild or kitbash, and have a ton of weird little details on them I'll have a ball modeling.)

[Anonymous]

I try and detail/weather my locomotives but i'm new in the hobby and that article by Jeff Wilson was very helpful!

[Anonymous]

My HO layout is a free-lance RR set in the latter half of the 19th century. I do quite a bit of detailing on both locos and cars. The Mexican connecting line is complete even to the chickens on the cowcatcher.

[Rene Luethi]

I put jewels in the markers and a little red paint on the hand wheels and handles. I make the headlights operating if they were not before and with a little weathering this almost black barrels from Rivarossi are much prettier to look at.

[Anonymous]

I have a bad habit of getting carried away and try to detail my equipment, whether it be a locomotive, a railcar, or my scenery to the Nth degree. (That's what I get for working around the real thing 5 or 6 days a week.) Some of this detail goes unnoticed because it's in a location that you normally don't view. I gotta cut it out ........LOL

Rip

[Anonymous]

My small size unfinished layout dictates a lot of detail. It's a 12' X 2' shelf with removable extensions based on the timesaver and set in the early 60's in Victoria Australia. It has VR (the then Victorian Railways) diesels and steam, though I prefer diesels. I have to kitbash / scratchbuild most loco's as there is almost no commercial loco products and I make it harder by modelling in Proto HO. Each loco and wagon I uses is as close to the individual prototype item as I can make it. So super detail is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

I generally add very little...Its the old hand/eye co-ord thingie, yu know. And at 74 who cares as long as they run well.:-)

[Anonymous]

About the only change I make is to add MicroLine couplers to both ends of the Units.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Allen Jenkins

The only thing worse than seing a finely modled loco, say maybe an NS GP40X, sprayed with dulcoat is to see that mess on the front of a magazine! All engines shine like a new nickle when they leave the plant, every one ever painted, unless of course it is painted military OD green! Just imagine how many cans of Testers Dullcoat that would take. Most roads use urathane acr. paint, which in a hard rain washes clean and shines. I guess the days when waxing a locomotive are gone forever? What happened to modeling something the folks used to be proud of? Hoggers in the old days waxed steam locos, down to the front cover of the cylinders. I say spray 'em with glosscoat. Even that big beautiful SD70m-ac on page sweet 16 October '03 Model Railroader! Because here's the secret-time will weather and dull that engine, no matter what you do to try to preserve it's new look, short of glass cover and never use! The paint for the Seaboard Coast Line U36B "Sprit of '76" cost $57.00 a gallon, but so did the black and yellow. They went Imron in the early '70s. Let them shine, then weather them! Then next year come back and wa***hem! Enjoy Your Hobby! Allen'03

I guess it depends on your objective. I personally think the most realistic class A locos are sootty on top from exhaust, dusty on the bottom from the track, and still shiny around the middle. Thats how they look in reality after a moderate amount of use after ther they leave the wash facility. If you want to get really nuts add splattered bugs to the nose and windshields. I see alot of G guage locos where this is very do-able.

[Allen Jenkins]

The only thing worse than seing a finely modled loco, say maybe an NS GP40X, sprayed with dulcoat is to see that mess on the front of a magazine! All engines shine like a new nickle when they leave the plant, every one ever painted, unless of course it is painted military OD green! Just imagine how many cans of Testers Dullcoat that would take. Most roads use urathane acr. paint, which in a hard rain washes clean and shines. I guess the days when waxing a locomotive are gone forever? What happened to modeling something the folks used to be proud of? Hoggers in the old days waxed steam locos, down to the front cover of the cylinders. I say spray 'em with glosscoat. Even that big beautiful SD70m-ac on page sweet 16 October '03 Model Railroader! Because here's the secret-time will weather and dull that engine, no matter what you do to try to preserve it's new look, short of glass cover and never use! The paint for the Seaboard Coast Line U36B "Sprit of '76" cost $57.00 a gallon, but so did the black and yellow. They went Imron in the early '70s. Let them shine, then weather them! Then next year come back and wa***hem! Enjoy Your Hobby! Allen'03

[Anonymous]

I admit I've run quite a few P2K's right out of the box, but I don't mind the varying amounts of self applied detail that most manufacturer's locos require. I model N&W late steam and diesel units up to 1972, so I've been pleased with the numerous releases of the past few years. Aside from the above, the recent Atlas HO units are great, with a few details to add, and the Stewart Centuries run like Swiss watches, requiring applying numerous included details as well as purchasing and applying all grabs, lift rings, MU lines, and uncoupling bars. The units do require a fair bit of time to finish properly, but the result is a superdetailed unit as far as I can tell. The P2K Heritage Y3's compare favorably with brass costing 5-6 times the price. Right out of the box. I agree that weathering is part of detailing, for me I only do enough to indicate an engine in service between shoppings and make the details pop, not an exaggerated example of the weatherer's art.

[Anonymous]

If anything, I must be a negative or minus number status of adding detail to my steam only movers.
How? My lovely 2-8-0 looks just that way, lovely, until it hits the first switch on my admittedly too tight layout ...18" radii. Then the lead truck goes one way, the drivers tother way. So I pulled off the lead truck. Does it take away something. I suppose so but I quote a very long in the tooth and very active in the trade business person serving the model RR inxustry: "the three-thirty rule. If it looks good from three feet at (a scale) 30 mph,it's fine".

[Anonymous]

I would like to see model locomotives [and cars] that have couplers mounted that would create the proper spacing between coupled units and locos and cars. They are much TOO FAR APART to look good. And, I'd hate to have to work on trains that were that far apart. What a leap that would be.

[Anonymous]

Ido very little detailing . I run a free lance short line that never has enough money for new power so we purchase used equipment and run "as is" on the outside unless there is something obviously broken or missing. some look very good, some very bad, all run great!

[Anonymous]

The only loco's I've detailed so far are a pair of Athearn F7As - the lack of glazing was really getting to me so I fitted a couple of the Walthers Diesel Dress-Up kits!

[Anonymous]

been away from detailing for 28 years but really enjoyed it and it was really worth while. I at that time had a fleet of both brass stea, and plastic decials. Getting off the subject I detailed AHM passanger cars and many people through they were brass. But the detailing of the engines was a self satisfing craft. And payed from those other hobbier when they saw your work and really was satisfied with it and asked where to get the detaining parts and information on you engines.

[Anonymous]

I voted "super-detailed," but I have to admit that my "enough factor" decreases in direct proportion to the increase in the strength of my bifocal prescription.

[CP5415]

With 2 year olds around, any detailing will get ruined. I do what I can weathering wise, but I can't detail anything until she's old enough.

Gordon

[connrail]

my son & I add enough detail and weathering to get away from R-T-R look but don't go overboard. Just adding cabshades, M.U. hoses, correct horn and spark arrestors (especially on switchers) can dress a locomotive up quite a bit, and slight weathering shows it does work and doesn't just stand around. The manufacturers are doing a great job with locomotives of specific railroads, but still a little more can be added to enhance the look to set your engines apart from everyone else's.
Tommy

[Anonymous]

I'm somewhere in between the suuper detail and just a little. I like to get my Rio Grande locos looking like the prototype. Usually I add the plow, antenna, and bell to the units from Athearn. Atlas. P2K, and Kato units normally just get the plow and lift rings.
All of them get weathering, which I feel is part of detailing.
But it all great.
Paul

[IRONROOSTER]

Haven't seen any detail parts for the S scale diesels I have - S Showcase Line sw1 and sw9. If I do, I'll buy some.
Enjoy
Paul

[Martin4]

Most of my roster isn't detailed yet but I think it often isn't necessary to heavily superdetail; a fair level of weathering makes the biggest impression and a few significant details make the rest. I try not to have one model to stand out too much. Some have an antenna, some a winterization hatch, most have sunshades, some have a plow and some got all-weather windows; most will get multiple units hoses because details on the ends and on the roof are easily seen at first sight. I don't think I will install speed recorders nor sanding hoses, uncoupling levers or classification lights, traction motor cables and all those hard-to-see items that are also hard to install or fragile. I admire those who have the talent and patience to modify hoods, doors, trucks, cabs and windows but I don't need to go that far.

Martin
Québec City

[Anonymous]

I have many steam locomotives on my layout. A couple have been ready to run, most have been kits or made up from several manufacture's parts. All have been altered to somewhat resemble each other. They are also weathered to look like they have been in use. I am modeling the WW2 years when the railroads didn't have much time to clean there motive power. I have seen too many pictures of steam locomotives that look like they've only run about a mile from the paint shop.

[Anonymous]

Some interesting comments from the other side of the pond on levels of loco detailing.
I have been kit bashing and scratch building british locos in O scale for some time and for me the approach has been 'if you can see it then model it'. Many of my British locos have working motion and valve gear between the frames as it can be seen when viewed from the normal viewing height. Full cab detail as our cabs were very open affairs.
Now as I am modelling On30 American using out of the box locos, a lot of the work has been cut out but I am still detailing the models on the 'if it can be seen then model it' formula.
These models are also being weathered with some locos cleaner than others to reflect the difference in overhaul periods.
But this thorny issue depends on the each persons requirements and one would expect to find that the level of detailing of locos to be less on a large pike and rather more on the smaller pikes. Each to their own and lets keep the fun in railroading.

[leighant]

I couldn't find appropriate way to vote. I detail moderately to match prototype photos but rarely use "aftermarket parts" except for the figures in the cab. Usually have to make my own parts from bits of wire, plastic etc.

[Anonymous]

Diesels have details?[?] OK, maybe under the hood.
No brass whistle, bell, external air tank, feedpump, etc.
I model a small branchline, circa 1939, so I have a lot of older stuff (like me) which is fairly well detailed.

[Anonymous]

I fall on the superdetail end of the spectrum. As I dont have huge ambitions in terms of numbers of locomotives I tend to pull one off and revamp it to my current level of skill and knowledge. The net result is a rotational progression toward the highly detailed end of the scale.

[sparkingbolt]

It varies with the loco. If it is well detailed, I may actually leave it as is, 'cept some weathering. Sometimes though, they dont look right without some help. Just bought a couple MDC RS3s, (kits) they'll get lift rings, m.u. hoses, uncoupler bars, "glass", some sort of headlighs. Mainly the stuff that's obvious by it's absence
This new batch of steam and diesel locos of late seem to have more detail than we could do ourselves not that long ago. it's great! Dan in Bend

[Anonymous]

Most of the locomotives out of the box these days is detailed enough for my tastes. Some of the older stuff though needs some detail to personalize it to fit a persanal road