N scale Union Pacific E8 snow shields

[peteski]

If that is what they are called . . . Does anybody make that rooftop detail in N scale?

[C855B]

Yes, snow shields. One of the four fans in each "half" of the engine room is an intake. UP was having problems with snow being sucked-in, warming up, then soaking the air filter and choking the engine.

I scratched snow shields in 1969 for the Atlas/RR version. They were ham-fisted, but conveyed the idea.

JNJ has an etched set here. I think you have to form the edge curl yourself - you see how simple they are, that's most of the job! However, I haven't heard of any activity with JNJ for several years... are they still in business? Web site is alive, and that's all I know.

Kato made their cast plastic shields available as parts after their Kobo project but I think they ran out nearly immediately. For some reason.

I bought an A-B-B-B-A brace of BLI E8's primarily because of the UP-specific details like the shields.

[Doug G.]

That sure is a beautiful locomotive. I still have 2 Atlas UP E8's.

And Mike, you are a font of information!

Doug

[C855B]

Thank you, Doug. If I didn't do the occasional mind dump my head would explode.

Don Strack has an exhaustive treatise on the snow shields near the bottom of this page: http://utahrails.net/up/up-loco-features.php

Don's explanation of the shields differs slightly from what I was told by Steve Lee, manager of UP's heritage program at the time. I can't imagine for a second Steve was unfamiliar with the internals since he and his staff worked on them nearly every day. It is entirely possible that they are both right, as the Es were repowered in '92 with a single 645 replacing the two 567's, and the intake plumbing was undoubtedly modified.

[jnevis]

JnJ has been shut down for a couple years now.  Surprised the site is still up.

[squirrelhunter]

Kato sold the Kobo shields recently, I barely managed to snag a set to use on an Amtrak ex UP E8A. I'd previously called BLI to see if they had them as spare parts or even to get a whole UP shell to harvest them from but they didn't have either in stock.

It really seems like a project that could be done in etched metal or in shapeways. The Kato ones were very finely 3D printed.

[Lemosteam]

PM me with dimensions and I will see if they can be printed within SW guidelines.  I can guarantee immediately that the legs will likely be too thick for most tastes, but those are something that can be fashioned easily from brass strip, and I could provide a printed bending tool/gauge with the set.

Or if someone is willing to send one to me, we could go that route as well.

[Jim Starbuck]

I recently bought some etched parts from Todd (JnJ) on eBay.
You might try messaging him there.
His username is    scratchwerk

[peteski]

Thanks everybody!

I think for acceptable look these need to be photo-etched (SW-printed parts would be too thick).

[Lemosteam]

What's to etch Pete- there's no holes in them and the legs are likely just underneath.  I would think thin brass strip stock would work, no?

[C855B]

PM me with dimensions and I will see if they can be printed within SW guidelines.  I can guarantee immediately that the legs will likely be too thick for most tastes, but those are something that can be fashioned easily from brass strip, and I could provide a printed bending tool/gauge with the set.

Or if someone is willing to send one to me, we could go that route as well.

I think for acceptable look these need to be photo-etched (SW-printed parts would be too thick).

I had thought about doing SW previously, but the 0.025" minimum for SW is vexing considering the prototype is sheet metal. Aside from forming the curves they work better in etched metal. BLI's and Kato's are plastic, and are slightly clunky. Fixing is a roundtuit for another day.

There are three embossed ribs you don't see in most proto pictures for obvious reasons. I found a couple of pics showing the ribs:

  http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1134326
  http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3104653

(Ignore the can-looking thingie - that's a FRED receiver antenna only on the modern, heritage incarnations of 949 and 951. Easier there than the cab roof!)

I guess you could get key dimensions from that last pic if you wanted to take a whack at it. Even if I drove to Cheyenne I suspect the new guy wouldn't let me crawl around on top with a tape measure.

[Lemosteam]

Those ribs are angle iron welded on there, not formed sheet metal when you view that second image up close, so those could be small brass angles glued on there.

There are things I can do to cheat the thickness a little in SW, i.e., just make the min thickness at 0.31 (unfortunately still 1.95" in 1:1) on the very ends and gradually thicken it in the center where it would be difficult to see.  I've printed thinner, but I have to use the print it anyway pick which is only available to the designer.

[peteski]

I guess this thing can be fabricated from some 0.005" brass sheet with some wire legs soldered under the sheet.  This is for a friend of mine who wanted to add some details to his Kato E8s.

[Bendtracker1]

I guess this thing can be fabricated from some 0.005" brass sheet with some wire legs soldered under the sheet.  This is for a friend of mine who wanted to add some details to his Kato E8s.

That's basically what I did on mine.

[jereising]

Me three...used .010 brass IIRC, really no big thing, and they look "good enough"...