I am looking to try to make some cab-less locomotives. I am looking for tips on how to make them, I would like to either make a style like the Santa Fe’s GP60B or a slug type. If any one has tips or knows some one who can do this and would point me in the right direction that would be great.
Thank you
Joe Butler
Well, step A in such a project is to get photos and drawings of the locomotive you want to end up with.
Step B might be to do a kit bash. Find an RTR or kit locomotive that is a reasonable match to what you want to build. You want something that looks like your target model and is the right length, height, width and price.
Then figure out how to modify it to look the way you want. A lot of slugs started life as EMD road switchers. When converting them to slugs, the cab was removed and the gap between the long hood and short hood was filled in with sheet metal. A lot of HO road switcher models have the cab as a separate plastic molding that can be removed. Sheet styrene could be usedto fill in the gap left by omission of the cab. Then some detail castings of grills and fans and such might be required to make it look like your prototype.
MR actually did an article on a powered GP7 slug in their May 2012 issue - pg. 52-54. That should get you off on the right (or left) foot.
Tom
An issue that often arises when modeling a slug is how tall the motor and gear train are. You can only lower the hood so far until something has to give. At that point you face either building a highly modified drive of some sort or just building an unpowered slug…which is what they were in real life, after all.[;)]
I’d liek to make one of my bachmann u-boats into a slug a B30-7A
Thanks for all the help I kinda figured that I would have to freelance it because I would like to make different models in cabless units like a GP38, SD38, and maybe some older alcos
Burlington Northern converted some GP38-2’s, SD40-2’s, SW1000’s and a U30C into cabless boosters. Photos here: http://www.trainpix.com/bn/ROSTER.HTM
Chicago & North Western made slugs out of RS3’s. Google is your friend…use it.
BN’s B30-7A’s were cabless boosters, not unpowered slugs. See here: http://www.trainpix.com/bn/GE/B30-7A/INDEX.HTM
Smokey Valley makes parts for doing the job you’re interested in. Visit their site here: http://www.smokeyvalley.com/Catalog.txt and look for kits #72 & #73.
facepalm booster, booster, booster. theres was even a b in parenthesis in the model railroaders guide to diesel locos. [|(]
I will check it out thank you! [Y]
just looked and it’s all for HO [banghead] did I pick the wrong scale?
Oops. My bad as well, I didn’t look at your signature which clearly says “N-scale”. That would be a bigger challenge, although an Atlas B23-7 shell with a high short hood would be a good beginning.
B30-7A(B) is not a formal GE model designation. GE considers them to be B30-7A’s with the cabless option.
Most of us know this, but for those who don’t (and as a reminder for the rest of us), “B” or booster units had engines, generators, controls, etc, and were essentially cabless locomotives. Most even had hostler controls so they could be driven into shops for maintenance. Slugs, on the other hand weren’t “unpowered”, true, they didn’t have engines, generators, or controls, but they did have powered trucks. They drew excess current from the locomotive(s) they were mat
[quote user=“twcenterprises”]
Most of us know this, but for those who don’t (and as a reminder for the rest of us), “B” or booster units had engines, generators, controls, etc, and were essentially cabless locomotives. Most even had hostler controls so they could be driven into shops for maintenance. Slugs, on the other hand weren’t “unpowered”, true, they didn’t have engines, generators, or controls, but they did have powered trucks