I recently purchased an Atlas HH600 with sound/DCC in NYC livery. Unfortunately #805 is post-renumbering and the lettering was too late for the period I wanted to model (the photos I found still showed the loco in the old number and lettering after 1940.)
The Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) purchased three HH600s in 1934 and 1935 and this livery would be more suited to Sweethome Chicago, so I decided to repaint the loco.
After a plea for photos, I received photos of #302 and 303, both of which showed significant detail differences from the Atlas model, and which would take major surgery to correct, I decided to do the repaint anyway, especially as it was so difficult to find the detail photos in the first place.
Very nice job, Jon, as usual. [Y] I have #805 (w/sound) in my NYC livery - even though the numbering and striping reflects the '48 (and later) paint scheme and I model the early 40s.
I also bought an undecorated HH600/660 with the idea of painting and detailing it in the '39 originally released number and paint scheme, like the one pictured below:
Once I get the undecorated shell painted and detailed, I can then swap chassis’ so that it has sound. I just love the low-speed response of these Atlas versions.
Jon, I can relate to your predicament about lack of pictures. Other than a B&A version in a NYC diesel book that I have, this is the only pic of an early NYC HH600 that I have to work with.
Tom, that’s the loco I wanted to do as well, but I didn’t have the lettering in the correct size to hand, so I went with a less-accurate model of one of the three BRC locos.
In the end it was a quite simple and rewarding re-lettering and weathering job, and has produced a nice little loco in a short space of time
A few more photos of the HH600 switching at Sweethome.
The two photos I was sent show the 1935 livery to be black - probably as-delivered, with no thought to ‘brand BRC’. I think the grey/black/yellow livery may have come along in the later 1940s, as omore and more RRs dieselised.
