Looking for an NKP-style high-hood bell.

[nickelplate759]

No dimensions yet.  I do agree that it should be sturdy, and something that isn't just tacked onto the corner of the shell.
My goals are
1. Needs to resemble what's in the picture
2. Needs to be able to withstand minor bumps
3. Needs to be fairly easy to make.


I'll trade accuracy (1) for sturdiness (2) and ease of fabrication (3).

A single-piece metal casting (with a tail that mounts into the loco shell) would be ideal, but I lack both the expertise and the equipment for making such things.

[randgust]

Looks to me like a piece of brass U channel, just cut off on a 45-degree angle, would do the trick.  If you are a stickler for detail and want to make those tiny triangular cut-outs in the sides, that would take some time - probably have to drill a little hole and poke on it with a file. 
It would be very strong, but would be subject to getting whacked and coming off the body completely.  But if you cut and bent a flat part of the brass channel so it pointed backwards at the bottom, it could go through a hole in the body and be epoxied on the inside so it would be very strong indeed.

I agree that a part like this is just begging to get broken off and lost in everyday use.

Do you have any dimensions for that bracket?  Width, height, depth?

Yeah.   What he said.   

Brass isn't as scary as you think to work in.  I use a really good pair of Fiskars embroidery scissors to snip stuff out of brass sheet.  If you want it to bend sharper, score it with the end of an Xacto knife.   Fold it up, ACC or solder it, it really does take a beating.   And if you do solder it and it kinda looks like crap, remember you can carve off excess solder with an Xacto, or file it, or grind it with the edge of an abrasive disk.   It doesn't have to be perfect to start with.

The more I work with fabricating parts in brass and with brass shapes, the more I like it.   I got really tired of fixing broken detail parts in plastic and FUD is just disturbingly fragile.   Just always remember to clean the material first no matter if you're soldering it or ACC'ing it.

I just scratchbuilt a working oil pump rig for Altoona; on a Ttrak module, and it has to survive rough handling on a portable module.  Brass all the way, and this is from a guy that works with a Radio Shack 30W iron and a whole lot of little clips and pins to hold everything where I want it.  I used to think guys that scratchbuilt stuff out of brass were the high priests of modeling; they just want you to think that!

[mmagliaro]

Where I'm going with this is that you piqued my curiosity about just how long it would really take to make something "acceptable" for that part. 

So if you had dimensions, I was going to take a piece of brass channel and just make one to see how long it takes (and how good or bad it turns out). 

Remember... when I have made all those little scratchbuilt parts for my steam loco projects, what you see here on the forum is sometimes the result after I've made 2 or 3 (or 5!) of them and tossed them out because they were disasters.  I'm thinking that this part, being a simple geometric shape that can be made from stock brass channel, may be a one-and-done thing that can be knocked out in 20 minutes. 
I may be wrong about that!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you're looking for the Sunrise part, it's N358:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040219150230/http://www.sunrisenterprises.com/sren.htm
See: https://web.archive.org/web/20040123071042/http://www.sunrisenterprises.com/n358.jpg

[nickelplate759]

That's certainly close enough.  If only I could stumble on a dozen or so of them.

[mmagliaro]

http://www.needtrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6118

They appear to have two of the Sunrise 358, but the photo shows only the bell.  Are you sure that sunrise part include the bracket and isn't just the bell itself?

[nickelplate759]

http://www.needtrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6118

They appear to have two of the Sunrise 358, but the photo shows only the bell.  Are you sure that sunrise part include the bracket and isn't just the bell itself?

The photo seems to be the wrong part, but more important I see the following:

"Updated 9-2-2010"
"0 Units in Stock"

    Was worth a try - thanks for the tip anyway.

[wazzou]

@nickelplate759
Check with Atlas Parts for the bell that came with SD-24/26 models.


https://www.nscalesupply.com/ATL/ATL-LocomotiveEMDSD24.html

[nickelplate759]

@nickelplate759
Check with Atlas Parts for the bell that came with SD-24/26 models.


https://www.nscalesupply.com/ATL/ATL-LocomotiveEMDSD24.html

Already did.  No Joy.   Thanks for the suggestion nonetheless.

[nickelplate759]

Just saw this - CMR is offering 3D printed detail parts, including a GP nose bell.
Their web site (and their eBay store)  just show a rendering of the CAD model, so I have no idea of the quality.
Has anyone tried any of these parts?

https://www.cmrproducts.com/store/Locomotive-Detail-Parts-N-Scale-c32109681

[ns737]

I have one sunrise  no# n-358 that is for NS,NW,GN,BN,GT.

[nickelplate759]

I have one sunrise  no# n-358 that is for NS,NW,GN,BN,GT.

I've been trying to find the old Sunrise parts, but they are hard to come by. I want about a dozen bells -  that's why the CMR part intrigues me.

[ns737]

you can have for 4.00 plus the cost to ship.

[ns737]

I also have 5 n-701 3 chime horns

[ns737]

I would need your zip code.