Keystone Customs ATSF #29 Dynamometer car is now available

[Lemosteam]

The requested ASTF #29  Dynamometer car is now available at Keystone Details.

First I'd like to thank everyone who provided guidance during the development of this car.

This fully detailed N Scale ATSF #29 Dynamometer car kit is modeled after images from the mid 50's to fit right in to any ATSF transition era layout. The kit has over 70 pieces not including customer supplied parts.  The car can navigate a 10.5" radius minimum due to the wheel to coupler clearance. 

Detailed instructions will be available soon.



-2X Micro-trains 1015 couplers, grab wire, clear styrene glazing, brass strip for weight, and 4X 0.540" x 33" wheelsets are not included in kit.

Price is $75.00 USD as of 11/14/2018 (due to new SW pricing) plus shipping.  Select the Contact Us button here and fill out the form for ordering information.

(Small price increased for updated SW models 20180329).

Thanks for looking!

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

Hi John, great work! I ordered 1..... Regards, Dirk

[Cajonpassfan]

Just ordered mine. Thanks, John!
Otto

PS: between you and especially Dirk, my wallet is really hurting this month

[Lemosteam]

Shipping soon, test-fit teaser (yes the brass strip snapped in beautifully) and yes that is a TSC short in there and will also fit the normal 1015:

[Lemosteam]

@draskouasshat , @Dirk Jan Blikkendaal , @Cajonpassfan , @thomasjmdavis , et. al.,

What colors do you recommend for this model?  Pullllman Greenfor the shell/walls?, and for the roof? , the chassis?

[Dirk Jan Blikkendaal]

Hi John,

That looks good!!!!
Adequate building intructions also.

And as far as my knowledge goes: sides (also cupola) should be ATSF passenger green (Tru-Color paint), roof (also cupola) and underbody black (as you stated in the instructions: use a good leveling primer first).

Cannot wait to receive mine......

Thanks and regards, DIrk
 

[thomasjmdavis]

Nobody has jumped in yet with "here is the paint diagram from the shop when it was repainted in 1953...." or something like that, so I will go ahead and post my best guesses (mostly what Dirk has already said, but see below) based on the couple color photos in Steve Sandifer's article.  In case readers missed it on the earlier thread http://old.atsfrr.org/resources/Sandifer/29/Index.htm

Such photos as exist make it pretty clear that main body color is ATSF coach green (at least in the mid 1950s time frame)- so in that, I certainly agree with Dirk.

The rest is IMHO, should be taken with a grain of salt, and I may be completely off-base. PLUS, I would bet that the car's paint changed over the years. For that matter, "ATSF coach green" varied by timeframe and paint shop, at least judging from photos over the years.  In some, it looks like WWI era Pullman brown, in others it is almost Kelly green.  All that said, my best guess-

I am going to disagree a bit on the underbody, judging by the couple of color photos in the Steve Sandifer article on his customizing of a brass car in HO.  Looking at those photos, I think the underbody  was probably done in what SF called "truck brown" which was a sort of dark olive drab that weathered to a dark gray-green.  That is the "standard" color for heavyweight passenger car trucks and various boxes underneath, with the exception of the center sills, which were black, and I think that truck brown is what I am seeing in the photos. But it is an "academic" distinction. Truth be told, weathered black with some dust on it would be just about the same color.  (passenger train info from the SF Painting and Lettering book, but I am applying it based on interpretation of photos, not a painter's card from the Richmond shop or anything)

On the roof, black seems the most likely color.  I don't know of a color photo that shows the top.  In black and white, some roof shots make the roof look about the same color as the sides, but I think that is a combination of old "newspaper quality" photos combined with weathering causing the black and green to have virtually the same gray scale values.  It was also true with some wood freight cars that the  roof was wood or metal painted to match the sides when new, but when repainted, the roof got coated with tar (or some similar roof coating)- so it might have looked one way for the first 10 years of its life, then black in following years.  But following the logic that it was painted like a passenger car, the roof would be black.

 

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks, Tom, for the educated paint color writeup. I think your assessment is right on and unless someone comes up with better documentation, that's what I plan to use. I also concur that the substantial amount of dust and road grime accumulated on the underbody make the subtle distinction between black and "truck brown" somewhat moot.

In my opinion, the only real question (and this has been a topic of ATSF modelers' conversations for decades) is the proper color and shade of "coach green". It should look lighter and more olive next to Pullman green cars. Many years ago I made a batch of "coach green" using the old SF Society formula (5 reefer yellow, 4 Pullman green, 3 BC red, 1 engine black) that looked good to my eye but that's gone now and I need to find a suitable replacement... I need to try the TruColor option noted by Dirk in a previous post to see how it compares to my other cars.

By the way, I just received 23 megs of beautiful illustrated instructions from John; they are a work of art as well.
Thank you John!

Otto K.

[draskouasshat]

I've ordered my 3...........
Before Otto calls me crazy or Thomas tells me there was only one dynamometer car.......... i bought one to build as per the kit(this #29 will run behind diesel sets), one will be built with a powered mechanism (this #29 will be run behind a solo steam locomotive but add tractive effort for prototypical scenes), the last one will be for display if i don't break any of the other 2 during assembly.

Again, john, you've done one badass job on this for us Santa fe guys. I can't thank you enough.

Drasko

[Lemosteam]

Here is my first build fit up test model. No real fit issues.  I will admit it is very difficult to find the grab holes.  Some are obvious. Went thru ten of those brittle drill bits. Might be better to just use the actual wire. 

The three wire thicknesses in this shot show a nice but subtle contrast to each other, especially the center pole in front of the door.


Roof walls and chassis just fit up.


Note that there is a TSC on one end and a standard coupler on the other.





She rolls really nice with MT axles in there. The brass strip adds some heft, but last week I bpought some of those tiny lead #12 shot and added some inside the centerbeam. Nice and weighty now,


Only more grabs, Windows, and glazing now. Going to leave this unpainted for now as I dropped the chassis once and broke the end beams. Waiting for another print.

[Cajonpassfan]

Looking good, John!
Otto

[Lemosteam]

Decided to tackle the 0.010" dia roof walk railing using the bending gauge and soldering fixture (more on that net time)



Also bent up the 0.008" dia cupola handrail and soldered in the short supports around the edge. The two front corner supports are pretty tough, but not impossible. The rest slide in from the outside and then push back out to touch the railing. A drop of flux and a dot of solder and boom.





The light housing has wire passages and provisions to stuff an 0402 LED inside. Fits nicely. Added clear Gorilla polyurethane glue on top to seal in the LED an provide a lens. I will add some matte medium on top to make the lens opaque. The fifty eBay 0402 LED's for $9 are coming in quite handy!



The printed walkways show up nicely here around the cupola. Yes those are gaps between the decking. I left those to be printed in the wax support to make an intentionally rough surface, but they can easily be sanded smooth on a flat surface as desired.

[Cajonpassfan]

 
 
I don't need to build mine, I'll just watch this
Pass the popcorn please...
Otto

[Lemosteam]

FINALLY,  all of the wire grabs, railings and wire details are complete on the shell.

Roof gently snaps off, after pulling the door grabs out of their respective holes first.

Corner posts have been added.  Almost complete led with the test fit construction.  Very pleased with the design's fit and assembly quality, and the wire gauge. Definitely some delicates and small features, but if my hands can Fido this anyone's can.

Waiting for a new floor print to replace the one I broke when it fell to the floor.

Some views of the near complete shell.
Chimney side:


Opposite side:


Cabin end:


Cupola end:


Cupola end 3/4 view of railing:


Cupola end opposite 3/4 view of roof corner grab.

[Cajonpassfan]

I like it John!
Otto K.