I hope this is posted in the right spot.
I am a big fan of six axle locomotives, and I have just started getting in to second gen Alco's. I have just picked up a par of Atlas C420's for the module club I am in, and doing some home work I found out about the never ordered C620's.
Is what I was wondering is has anyone taken RSD trucks, and tucked them under a C420?
The elusive Alco C620. ....
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Alco C620...wow! That's a new one to me. Hmm...that would be a parallel to the SD38. GP38/SD38. Interesting. Don't know anything about them but will certainly be looking into them.
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
The Alco C620 was actually catalogued by Alco as part of their Century line, along with other models that were not built. These include the C428, C624, C636F, C636P (A and B units) and C650DH.
Alco's lone demo sold off to the LV, or just a good photoshop?
SP4460Alco's lone demo sold off to the LV, or just a good photoshop?
Look more closely. It says "Photoshopped by..." in the text at the bottom left.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
Aww yes I see that now! I gess the time of day/wishful thinking got me.
Does anyone have a Atlas C420 andC424 they could put next to each other? I am talking to someone on Ebay right now that made a C624 out of Atlas parts. I hope the 20 and 24's have the same room for the trucks. Then I could clone how he did his.
As hard as it is to believe the 2000 HP C-420 has a much longer wheelbase than the 2400 HP C-424 so we are talking apples and oranges here comparing the two.
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
This was more to check room between the fuel tank's, and steps. He used the stock C424 frame, so if the C420 has the same room, or if the c420 trucks are longer? Then I would know there be room.
A similar model would be the never-built RSD-33, of the same family as the RS-32 and RS-36. Diesel Era mentioned it, in passing, in its coverage of the RS-32 a few years ago.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
This all sounds liek greta fun to me. Go for it!
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Well I think I will go hunting this Friday for a good Rds 4/5 for truck's and see how its going to turn out.
A much simpler approach would be to start with a Bowser C628 and graft on an Atlas C420 cab and nose. Just shorten up the front of the long hood to compensate for the extra nose length of the C420 short hood. Wouldn't take much at all !
Is what i hope whenI take them aprt it will be a easy truck swap. Take c420 trucks off, and pop the RDS trucks on. Or i hope it will be that easy. I think a little shaving may be in order but we will see. Plus a Rsd can be found for $50-$80 on ebay.
LS&I #1804 is about as close as you can get to an RSD-33. It was built in April 1963 and has different carbody features than earlier RSD-12s.
fmilhaupt A similar model would be the never-built RSD-33, of the same family as the RS-32 and RS-36. Diesel Era mentioned it, in passing, in its coverage of the RS-32 a few years ago.
Mark R.
You will also need to remove two engine compartment doors on each side to show that it is a 12 cylinder diesel rather than a 16 cylinder. And you will need to replace the C628 radiator section with the C420 radiator section. The radiator itself is narrower and the fan shroud does not protrude in the 2000 horsepower locomotive as it does in the 2750 horsepower.
DS4-4-1000 Mark R. You will also need to remove two engine compartment doors on each side to show that it is a 12 cylinder diesel rather than a 16 cylinder. And you will need to replace the C628 radiator section with the C420 radiator section. The radiator itself is narrower and the fan shroud does not protrude in the 2000 horsepower locomotive as it does in the 2750 horsepower.
I was just basing my thought on the photo-shopped LV engine ....
The original photo was of C628 #638. They moved the rear of the cab witht he flag back so the flag was under the intake, and then stretched the low nose. The rest of the long hood is straight C628, hence the other mods necessary to make an actual model of what would be a C620. Hmm, wonder if it would have been easier to take a photo of a C420 and photoshop the 3 axle trucks under it.
Took me forever to track down the original. I finall was able to read the number off the trailing unit when I blew up the picture and lucky enough, even though only a bit of the unit is shown, the picture was listed with both unit road numbers. Of course it wasn't on either of the two main LV photo roster sites, it's actually on the Conrail Diesel Zone site, as both 630 (the trailing unit) and 638 were conveyed to Conrail. Not sure why there's a Pittsburg & Shawmut loco there, in Bethlehem PA - opposite side of the state!
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Since the C620 was a cataloged model (Boy was I surprised to hear that!) does anyone have a drawing of it? The big question is was it on a short frame, like the RSD-12, or would the C628 frame be used?
Sometimes I wish GE had made the U23C on a short frame. (must be a photoshop of That somewhere out there)
rrinkerNot sure why there's a Pittsburg & Shawmut loco there, in Bethlehem PA - opposite side of the state!
Conrail leased some P&S switchers for a while along with a lot of other locomotives.
Only that picture was taken 3 years before Conrail. Maybe PBNE was using them. Or just a runthrough of some sort.
rrinker Only that picture was taken 3 years before Conrail. Maybe PBNE was using them. Or just a runthrough of some sort. --Randy
Then the P&S loco was likely leased by the LV to help with the takeover of the CNJ trackage in Pennsylvania. The timing is correct.
That would make sense.
Well this check was went faster then I thought! I wanted to try and get a RDS to see if I could make the C420. Oh well maybe in two weeks.
I am just about done with painting my second C420 though! Anyone have some photo's, or find some photos of light to mildly wethered C420s? Its always fun seeing what others can find
There's some pretty good pics of Monon C-420s out there that may be useful. Here's a link to some of them:
https://www.google.com/search?q=monon+railroad+locomotives+C-420&biw=1060&bih=687&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CB0QsARqFQoTCOTw5uqo88cCFQNXkgodITcADg
The RSD trucks have a different looking side frame than the C628 - they don't look as bulky. IF the C620 were produced, I would tend to think they would have had the same bulkier trucks that the C628 had.
^ Unless they were using trucks from a traded in loco. A not unreasonable assumption for a modeler to make.
Anyone willing to make a C620, I'm cutting them some slack.
LensCapOn ^ Unless they were using trucks from a traded in loco. A not unreasonable assumption for a modeler to make. Anyone willing to make a C620, I'm cutting them some slack.
The trucks under the RSD series were designed for a lighter RS (road switcher) chassis for better weight distribution. The trucks under the Century engines were of a heavier design due mostly in part to the physical size of the engine itself. The RSD trucks wouldn't be capable of handling that much weight.
In Steinbrenner's Alco book, he implies the C-620 would have had the same basic dimensions as the C-628. The most noticeable difference being the smaller radiator area as suggested above.
I don't see the 620 having the same long short hood as the 420. The C-420 had the longer frame and the longer short hood purely to accommodate a steam generator, as on the Long Island and Monon units. Once you build a 620 on the 69' frame, the steam generator and dynamic brakes could both be placed behind the cab, as they were on a C-628. The C-620 could probably have had both d/brakes and steam gen in this position, unlike the C-628, which could have either, but not both in that position. Steam generator equipped C-628's had the hood top mounted resister grids of their 4 axle cousins.
So to build a C-620, the changes have already been mentioned earlier. Use the C-420 radiator section, and shorten the engine bay while lengthening the hood behind the cab. Job done.
CheersSteve
NZ