My Scott Lupia Salute: ATSF U36C 8714

[randgust]

Back in March of 2010, Scott ran a nice article in RMC on kitbashing a U36C from a Kato C30-7 and a U30C shell.

I had a U36C I'd bashed several years ago from a Trix U28CG, which is really sort of a Phase 1 U30, and frankly, not that far off.   I extended the radiator wings with styrene on that one.  Looked a little odd from the top.  And the detail on that was a little rough.

The deliveries of GE U36C's started in 1972 - that's the year I model.   They were the 'cover girl' on the 1972 Annual Report, with #8706 on the point of the Sea-Land train over Cajon.  If there's such as thing as a 'cover girl' on my layout, the U36C is it.  That dates the railroad, and is the slickest, newest, and most modern power I have.

So here's mine - with thanks to Scott for giving me a plan, and a better way to do this.  Basically, you're taking the entire radiator section and rear end off the C30 and grafting in onto the rest of the shell from the U30.

I took it up a notch on what I could do - replacing all the plastic handrails and grabs with real wire, adding GMM details, and putting in one of my favorite features - a Stratoliite flasher and constant lighting unit from Richmond Controls.  Unlike my first attempt, these LED's are scale-sized.  I pretty much threw the book at this one - everything I know how to do.  Z couplers, and another salute to the number board technique that John Sing developed.

About the only glitch was the additional battery box on the fireman side, I added that from an old Trix shell.   I'm sure there's louvers and latches that might be wrong, but on a dark blue body that's darn hard to spot.  And this is one of two units on the layout that have zero, none, no weathering and finished in semigloss - as in 'just delivered' condition.   The other is my SD45-2.





The sunshade, cut lever, and MU cables are etched brass of my own design that I supply with my CF7 kits.  The window is open for the addition of an engineer.





And here's one with the flasher running and the headlight on. 



Decals are Microscale, by the way.  The builders plates came from the really old 1972 set that had those on it.

[amato1969]

The handrails really look the part - great job on this diesel!

  Frank

[u18b]

Excellent job!

Here is my U36C contribution.
(wish Kato would make one!)

[davefoxx]

Excellent job!

Here is my U36C contribution.
(wish Kato would make one!)

 

DFF

[Scott Lupia]

Feeling mighty humbled here.  I am really glad my article inspired work.  Here are some of mine.





Scott Lupia

[u18b]

Randy,
Did you use a Kato U30C?

If so, how did you do the handrails since the way the handrail piece holds the walkway piece, I would think that would be really hard.
And maybe even unsteady.

[Mark5]

Awesome models!

Did ATSF change the trucks to silver on later units? Here's 8758 being delivered with silver trucks:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=585168

Mark

[randgust]

Randy,
Did you use a Kato U30C?

If so, how did you do the handrails since the way the handrail piece holds the walkway piece, I would think that would be really hard.
And maybe even unsteady.

Yes, that's 90% of it.  I glue up everything on the walkways with ACC and cut all the handrails off.  I'll paint and decal anything that would end up behind the final handrails, so most of all that is done on what looks like a finished shell.   Assembling them on the shell, rather than on the workbench, is the trick I learned from Tom Hoover.

Drill horizontally .020 for the stanchion wires.  I fabricate the horizontal handrail wires out of .010 wire first, then add the .015 soldered stanchions starting from the center, dividing each area in half.  ACC into the walkways ("L" shaped at the bottom, not straight in)  That really helps keep everything straight.   I don't cut the stanchion wire to final length until later.   I can tweak any adjustments and resolder if necessary; then trim the stanchion wires to final length.   Final step is to grind off any excess length and solder with the edge of an abrasive disk in the Dremel.

Same process as on the RSD15's that John Sing posted - just did those two at the same time I did this one.

The wire handrails are really, really solid and hold paint with no issues, and can take a hit and easily rebend.   I have approximately 40 units I've done this to plus another 40 or so that I've done as custom work for others.   As they go on AFTER a shell is painted, it's entirely possible to do this on a previously-painted shell.   What's impossible is doing fine painting or decaling around them after they are on.

[randgust]

Awesome models!

Did ATSF change the trucks to silver on later units? Here's 8758 being delivered with silver trucks:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=585168

Mark

I don't know of any locomotive order that ATSF made that had more variations in the paint 'as delivered'.    8700-8705 were delivered in Pinstripe.   
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2056305

8706 and a couple more (maybe as few as two) were delivered in Yellowbonnet, but with a yellow sill front rather than blue, and a blue plow, black trucks.   Annual report:
http://productimages.goantiques.com/115054/2971081_fullsize.jpg

Next phase was to change the front sill to blue, still black trucks:  (the way mine was delivered)
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=290388&nseq=17

Also note that 8735 has yellow handrail stanchions.  The "Postcard" shot I used as my painting guide was 8712 and the stanchions are blue.  So there's weird variations between individual locomotives as well.
http://static2.akpool.de/images/cards/28/285866.jpg

Yellowbonnet started with black trucks.   CF7's were done the same way to start in '72, as well as some SD45's, other selected units.

I'm not sure when they started delivery in silver trucks, but it was later in the order - maybe '73.   It shows that 8758 was delivered in July of '74, two years after mine.   I think, but can't prove, these were the first units delivered in silver trucks.   Santa Fe liked silver trucks so much they repainted trucks on pinstripe units (SD45's and GP35's for sure) at the same time without the warbonnet.  Everything that got near a shop got silver trucks starting about '74-75.

That's at least four distinctive color schemes from the factory on the same locomotive.  The other thing that's driven me nuts is sunshades, they only were on the engineer side for that group, but later orders seem to have them on both sides.

Oh, and PS - man, alive, Scott, that entire scene is just wonderful.  Grew up with the EL in Jamestown, that's just....yeah, completely right.

[Catt]

There is a radiator -long hood end on Shapeways  now so you don't need to waste a C30-7 shell anymore to build these beautiful brutes.No, I do not remember who designed it. 

[mandealco]

Amazing U-Boats Scott.  Great to see another shot of your awesome "Bridge 60",  as you'll know, the real one is now Alco territory, so is on my 'to do' list for our next visit to The U.S..
Cheers
Steve
NZ

[u18b]

There is a radiator -long hood end on Shapeways  now so you don't need to waste a C30-7 shell anymore to build these beautiful brutes.No, I do not remember who designed it. 

That's convenient.

http://www.shapeways.com/product/WZEQN7ZSC/u33c-radiator-and-hood-end-1-160?li=search-results-1&optionId=55921567

[randgust]

If you're doing the Santa Fe ones, you don't have rear-end numberboards.

[u18b]

If the original poster, Randy, would allow me to go beyond ATSF...

The CSX U36Cs have an unusual story.

They started life as seven units on the Clinchfield.  This was a big high horsepower purchase for the Clinchfield.



Clinchfield had been practically an all EMD road.
Thus for various reasons, the Clinchfield folks (engineers, shop people etc) HATED them.

So they went to Seaboard Coast Line and explored a trade.

SCL liked U-boats and agreed.
So they traded SD45s for the U36Cs.

Here is a photo of both kinds of locos together.
This is a shot of a U36C on the SCL property not long after the trade.



SCL was pretty good about repainting locos.  So they did not stay in Clinchfield livery for long.



But the funny part of this story for me is what happened to the SD45s.

Clinchfield was not as flush with cash as SCL.
Also- hey, the basic locos were both BLACK.   The main difference being the SCL pinstripes.  Why spend a lot on repainting!

So Clichfield went on the cheap, got some black paint, painted out the SEABOARD COAST LINE silver letters and replaced them with CLINCHFIELD.
And that is it.  So it produced a rather unique looking loco.

And that is how a couple of these SD45s looked all the way to CSX days.






If you are a CSX fan, how could you not want to model one of these?

[Catt]

That's convenient.

http://www.shapeways.com/product/WZEQN7ZSC/u33c-radiator-and-hood-end-1-160?li=search-results-1&optionId=55921567

Not to mention ,a heck of a lot cheaper.Almost makes me want to go buy a U-30C.How do you think that would look in Dark Future?