All's quiet on the SWA front. Things are going well and it's nice to "get into the groove" of yelling at privates and leaning hard on buck sergeants once again! My insider at BIG ARMY headquarters (or is it hindquarters?) tells me that my retirement packet did not go through the proper channels when it was denied (due to some arcane and obscure regulation) so it's now going through a review board. There is a chance, however small, that I may yet be allowed to retire and go home. We'll wait and see.
Anyway, on the topic of discussion, my plans for the Eastern Shore RR are in a quandary right now. The loco roster is very small, so I will be able to reproduce it exactly, BUT it consists of GP 10s and GP 8s. I know the 10s and 8s were Paducah, KY rebuilds and not EMD production models. Currently I've found that Keslo shops is making GP 10 body shells, but at $100 a pop it's not economically wise for me to do that since I will be needing 4 of them. It would appear that I could use the Walther's GP-9m locos (GP-9s with short hoods) and make a few easy mods by adding the roof top duct work and reshaping a few other items to get a passable GP-10 within a reasonable budget. The question I have is what is the quality of the Walther's mechanisms, and would I have to remoter or otherwise do major surgery on them to get optimum performance out of them? Keeping in mind my vision is a high quality (not quantity) model railroad. Anybody got a different idea that would work?
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
Regarding the quality of the Walthers drives, I have a Trainline Alco FPA/B set that runs very well. Detail is not perfect, but mechanics are very good.
As far as yelling at privates - I had a few weeks at Ft Dix when getting discharged - just back from Nam & had a ball terrorizing trainees with 2 other E6's!
Jack,
You might start with Proto 2000 GP18's. They came with the low noses and can be found on e-bay quite frequently. The early ones had problems with the axle gears cracking, causing the loco's to thump as they ran. Walthers will send replacement axles if you ask, or athearn axle gears are identical. Smokey Mountain make grills to backdate these to GP9's (this was before the P2K GP9's were released).
Good luck with the retirement plans.
If everybody is thinking alike, then nobody is really thinking.
http://photobucket.com/tandarailroad/
The Trainline GP9M has oversize hoods on it. The one I have derails frequently, as does the GP15-1. The trucks seem to be the culprit. When it stays on the track, it is a very nice runner.
The P2K GPs are the best deal around right now. The Kaslo shell fits on these drives.
http://www.fuzzyworld3.com/3um/viewtopic.php?t=1063&start=60 shows what one fellow is doing with one. Scroll down a bit.
Perhaps the way to go would be to get 3-4 P2K GPs to start with, and as time and money allow, get the Kaslo shells. The P2K GPs look and run good to start with, and can be picked up fairly inexpensively ($40 or so from Trainworld).
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
I have two Walthers engines, and they work fine. Not as smooth or strong as my Kato units, or even the couple of Atlas' I have (though I have one lemon Atlas too), but they work fine and pull well enough.
So the Army...*ahem*... didn't place your retirement packet through the right channels...and it got denied for some archane reason...ah, yeah, I think they call that stop-loss. Wonder how many retirements actually get through the right channels these days. Geez, I always did love the bureaucratic efficiency of the Army.
Take care, keep you head low and get after that review process. We're looking forward to seeing that Eastern Shore RR of yours come alive!
I suggest starting with a Walthers/P2K GP18 and replace the cooling fans with 4 36"" fans(or you could use 2 48" fans) from Detail West or Detail Associates.I would then add the Horst filter box.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/229-2706
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
There are 2 pages of photos on the Eastern Shore at www.RailPicture.net
Looks like a fun time will be had adding all those detail parts.
Also, before you start scenicing, will you let me know...wanna bump my stock in Woodland Scenic cornfields...
Great advice! Thanks, I have a lot of options to choose from, but I might just go with the Kaslo shells and hope the wife doesn't find out about the cost. Still brakies idea of modifying the shells with details west parts has a lot of merit, but I'm wondering if by the time I've bought all the etched metal goodies and cast metal parts it wouldn't have been cheaper to just get the Kaslo shell in the end?
I hear you fifedog, lots of corn and alfalfa to model! I've got a few ancient Chinese secret scenic tricks I'll be doing to save raw materials.
Planning is going great so far, it's evolving into a double decker as I really want to capture the long nothing between towns. I should be able to get the towns of Painter, Onancock, Parksley and Melfa on the boards with no crowding problems. I have about a 12x24ft area to work with, but angled sharply to the cieling as it's over the garage. Level one looks to be about 24" wide, level 2 about 12" with both levels giving an even front to the viewer. Lighting is proving to be problematic, I can't seem to visualize track lighting or recessed. Perhaps I should build a scale mock up in cardboard.