Southern Railway GP7 in progress...

[supagav]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to share some progress shots of a new GP7 I'm working on. It's painted up in the Southern Railway colours and is intended to represent a geep from the late 60's. Here are a couple of shots of the details I've added to the trucks. The first shots of of the engineers side showing the ATS hot shoe and the new sand pipes (appologies for the qualities of the pics, I've just got a new digital camera and I'm struggling with all the settings):

 

[supagav]

The second set are of the other side showing the new speed recorder and sand pipe details. I also painted the wheels a rust brown so that I wouldn't have to take the trucks apart again when I weather the loco later on:

 

[supagav]

Here's another couple of progress shots showing the new rooftop firecracker antenna. The antenna itself sits on top of a small junction box which is connected through the piping to a small utility box on the step next to the cab which houses the radio gear on the original. Just need to find a suitable part!

 

[Richie]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Nice fine detailed work Gavin

 

[supagav]

Here's another few shots of the front MU boxes. They are originally Ozark parts but I had to modify a few slightly as I wanted them to be closed, whereas the original castings are made to represent an MU plug already inserted. The prototype photo for GP7 #2195 had one of the front MU cables left draped over the front handrails, so I tried to capture this on mine (ps: please excuse the broken coupler lift bar, a few of the rings fell off when I was lifting the loco, they're next on the list!):

 

[groundframe]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

[SIZE=3 font="times new roman"]Hi Gav,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3 font="times new roman"]Inspiring stuff, your level of detail is excellent.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3 font="times new roman"] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3 font="times new roman"]Regards[/SIZE]
Peter. (Possum Point Short Line)

 

[GANDYDANCER]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...


Love the detailing your doing Gavin looking forward to seeing the finished result.

 

[Rod Fearnley]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Gav what are you using for the Firecracker antenna cable brackets, please? Very nice work by the way.
Rod

 

[supagav]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Thanks for the kind words guys

Rod: They are spare parts from Charles Ro, the storefront end of USA Trains. I believe they're originally from the SD70 loco but you can order anything from them, painted or undecorated. There is a really nice guy there in the spare parts dept who is always pretty helpful.

All the best,
Gavin

 

[supagav]

A few more shots showing the rear end MU boxes before mounting. They're attached to a small piece of styrene rod which has been drilled and pinned to provide a stronger mounting on the loco pilot. The second shows them mounted and unpainted:

The following two photos are from a Southern book of diesels just to give you an idea of the prototypes I'm (trying!) to follow!:

 

[russiansandy49]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Great work so far, Gav
Look forward to the radio box fitted
Is the bell your next task?

I know this loco very well!

 

[supagav]

Here's another shot showing the new brake and air hoses. The old USAT fittings just look too stiff and straight in moulded plastic, without the proper hang and bend in the pipes. I kept each end of the fittings but replaced the hoses with a section of black single core cable. The pilots of most the USAT diesels feature a massive big hole to allow for coupler swing on very tight radius, so I filled some of this in with a small piece of sheet styrene but still leaving enough room for the Kadee coupler pocket to swing. (Again please excuse a few blemishes in the paint work, these will be touched up when I'm finished):

 

[supagav]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Rod: sorry I just re-read your post. The cable and brackets are all made from brass rod. The brackets themselves are a slightly smaller diametre and just bent in a tight U shape with a pair of needle-nose pliars. I drilled some holes either side of the cable and tapped them home with a small modelling hammer. One hole was a little too large as my drill bit snapped, but this was easily fixed with some humbrol putty!

All the best,
Gavin

 

[supagav]

Brian: you're very welcome I was following and stealing ideas from a copy of Model Railroading on Southern geeps in HO and got many great ideas from the simple step by step photos. The following two photos show the completed pilots with the all the new hose detail, MU boxes, blanked pilot hole and painted coupler. The colour of the coupler will tone down slightly when the loco is weathered later on:

Thanks again for looking,
All the best,
Gavin

 

[Richie]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Coming on really nice Gavin love the step by step guide

 

[royale]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Excellant work, and it makes the loco look good - wel done -

John

 

[steven large]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

[H2][color=#ff0000 font="ms sans serif"]exellent job mate!!!!....loves it when it done.....it look very nice fully detailled......especailly the front....[/H2] keep up the work..........

 

[Rod Fearnley]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Thanks Gav. Darn! I have some of those eye bolts from USA Trains................ However, I do have a couple of drills small enough to accomplish the task. (when everything else is done )
Rod

 

[GarryH]

Re:Southern Railway GP9 in progress...

Genuine pleasure to read your posts and progress reports Gavin
Superb as always

 

[supagav]

Thank you Garry

I managed to get a little more work done tonight and fabricated a small cabinet that houses the radio gear. The box sits on the step behind the cab on the fireman's side of the loco. The Southern Railway tested out a system of remote control operation and as a result retrofitted many of their locos with this kind of equipement. You can see in many of the photos of these geeps that they have two sets of antenna, one for the main radio in the cab and the second for the remote control equipment. The box was made from styrene, with square styrene rod used for the legs. The photos show the cabinet test fitted, then installed and painted. (Again please excuse the blemishes around the windows and the missing wiper blade, these will be touched up when I'm finished)

Thanks again for looking,
Gavin