When I got the replacement shell for my SD80 (link) it came with a partial set of detail sprues, and it turned out to be missing some of the key handrail sections. The Kato website was out of stock as it's been years since these models were last available, so I couldn't get spares to complete the shell.
Luckily Kato have just reissued the HO SD80, including the Conrail version, so the handrails are once again available from them. I ordered a couple of sets, along with various parts for the other Kato project locomotives I have to hand.
The new handrails are an exact colour match, but interestingly the cab grab irons are moulded in white on this new set, where the previous release grab irons were blue. I looked at a few prototype pictures and it appears that real locomotives use a combination of white and blue, seeing as I had both I was able to do the same.
I find these Kato handrail a bit fiddly, especially with the multi-piece design that uses small extra pieces for the step rails, these parts are push-fit and I find they spring loose easily like the rear step grab has done here.
This shell is fitted to the frame from the dismantled Candian Pacific SD90mac I bought a few months ago, and this frame had a defective lighting board, so I also replaced the board with a cheap secondhand one from eBay and fitted an 8pin DCC chip.
The locomotive is now ready to join my NS SD80 hauling coal gondolas on the club layout, and I will definitely need to get some more gons to justify such massive motive power! I will give the model a light weathering at some point, but for now its going to remain factory fresh.
I bought a job lot of three locomotives on ebay over a year ago, and one of them was this Athearn Genesis SD70m in CSX livery. It was in bad shape when I got it, as you can see here in my original post.
I washed the heavy weathering off the shell and then put everything back together, I needed to order a few parts from Athearn, including a new set of drive wheels, and it wasn't long before I had the main parts back together and running.
The engine wasn't DCC ready so I decided to fit the engine with a MRC sound decoder board and ordered a rectangular speaker housing to pace inside the long hood. Then I realised the speaker wouldn't fit on top of the frame as there wasn't enough space.
The engine went back into a box until I could think about what to do with it, originally I had thought I would need to buy a smaller speaker, but then when I looked at the engine again recently I realised that the frame could be cut down to size without affecting the driveshaft clearance and there would be room to fit the speaker.
I had to cut about a centimeter off the top of the rear chassis weight, I dismantled the engine again and used a hacksaw to cut off the excess metal. It's important to strip the engine, otherwise the metal filings from the cut will ruin the motor.
I then brushed off all the filings and reassembled the chassis, taking care to put everything back in the correct orientation.
With the chassis reassembled, I was able to tape the speaker enclosure in place and re-wire the connections before giving everything a test run to make sure it was fully functioning.
Predictably the lights were connected for 12v instead of 1.5v so they burned out instantly when I applied the power. So much for my electrical skills! I will need to invest in a new set of bulbs or a set of led lights for this locomotive.
I have a spare set of SD70 handrails ready to paint in CSX colours for the pilots, and I still need to number and weather the unit, but at least it's back together and running once again. Not bad for an engine that's been in pieces for years.
Next I really should revisit the Kato SD70ACE that was part of the same ebay lot, it's also awaiting rebuild and would only take an hour or so to get back on the rails.
I managed to find some time to work on my GP38-2 project this week, adding the rest of the decals and some weathering to the shell.
I applied the decals before weathering, thinking that would give a more realistic appearance, but it turned out that I should definitely have done things the other way around. Some of the drybrushing has clung to the white conrail logos and numberboards, so I will need to re-apply some of the decals to fix.
I was originally hoping to have this engine done in time for the NMRA convention in Bournemouth next weekend, but with work being so busy, it's not looking likely that I will have it finished. Hopefully I will find some time this week to work on the remaining details.
