Rock Island F Unit Details

[dmidkiff]

A few months ago @Bendtracker1 sent me some units to paint up for him, one of them being an F7A unit.  There is a detail on the top of the loco that neither of us could identify, but Allen did some nice work to add what he thought was a radiator of some kind. I've got an F7 on my roster and was having trouble identifying lineage for it, but after seeing Allen's work, decided I would model a Rock Island unit, the same one he did.  Can anyone tell us what this detail is?  Just behind the door up on the roof...

Prototype:



Allen's work:


My work:


Unrelated, but what kind of horn did I use?  It's an Atlas horn from their B23/30/367, part number 9497204.  They list it as a 3-chime horn for the locomotive, no idea if it's a Nathan or whatever.

Thanks, Doug

[wcfn100]

Take a look at the Athearn FP7.  It a cooling pipe that winds back and forth.



The link might give you a bigger picture.

http://cdn3.volusion.com/ztna9.tft5b/v/vspfiles/photos/ATH-G22551-2.jpg?1456472651

Here's Details West.




I can't be sure from your photos is it's the same as there was a second style that I'm trying to locate.

Jason

[cjm413]

A few months ago @Bendtracker1 sent me some units to paint up for him, one of them being an F7A unit.  There is a detail on the top of the loco that neither of us could identify, but Allen did some nice work to add what he thought was a radiator of some kind. I've got an F7 on my roster and was having trouble identifying lineage for it, but after seeing Allen's work, decided I would model a Rock Island unit, the same one he did.  Can anyone tell us what this detail is?  Just behind the door up on the roof...

Prototype:



Allen's work:


My work:


Unrelated, but what kind of horn did I use?  It's an Atlas horn from their B23/30/367, part number 9497204.  They list it as a 3-chime horn for the locomotive, no idea if it's a Nathan or whatever.

Thanks, Doug

Here are some better shots of some RI F7's - note that the cooling pipes are in the same location where the dynamic brake fan would be on a dynamic brake equipped F7:

[dmidkiff]

Thank you guys for the clarification. 

So these F7's did not have dynamic brakes, it's either the fan or cooling pipes? The cover over that area should not have the fan and should be smooth?

I'll need to move my part and figure out if I want to bend more wire or try to find another way to simulate the piping.

Doug

[robert3985]

To assist you in "bending pipe" out of brass, you can soften (anneal) brass easily by running it through a flame until it starts to turn red...this phase is known as being "straw-colored"...then remove it and immediately quench it in water.  Wipe or steel-wool off any carbon deposits and bend with slim-jawed pliers.  You'll be amazed at how easy it is to bend brass wire into complex shapes after annealing it and making it much softer.

Photo (1) - Here's an N-scale aftercooler I bent up for my super-detailed Key Big Boy several years ago:


Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[wcfn100]

Before this gets too far it should be pointed out that the RI cooling pipes ran 90 degrees to what the Athearn and Details West images show.

Jason

[dmidkiff]

Good advice Bob, thanks.

Good to know Jason, I believe I can see the shadows on the 180 degree curves in the photo of 403, they are oriented 90 degrees from the Athearn and Detail West.

Doug

[Wutter]

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Slightly different series of Rock Island F7, but to make my cooling coils I used 26 or 28 gauge magnet wire and bent it into the switchback shape and made the standoffs lifting it off the roof from 0.010 stainless wire. The copper wire used the make the cooling coil makes bending it a lot easier, and you can set the shape once you're done by just applying some CA on the backside.

[GhengisKong]

The Rock used mostly Nathan P5s and P3s(P5s preferred). The closest n scale match to the Rock's P5 style is the BLMA Nathan K5HR24. Still waiting on Atlas to restock that part....
I think Miniatures by Eric part NH-6 is a match for the P3 if I'm not mistaken. I have yet to purchase it, but it will be on my next order.