Sometime Im going to build a new locomotive for my railroad. Im wondering how many here build new locos for your RR’s. My new loco will be a rebuild of a SD70, it will be called a SD70RCW. R = Rebuilt and CW = Dash 9 saftey cab. It will be on a SD80MAC frame with the trucks and motor from the SD80MAC. It might sound crazy but I have the parts and Im wanting to use them.
Have fun.
Victor
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
This is not "“building” a locomotive. This is ktbashing - taking parts from several kits and bashing them into something else. Building a loco infers starting from scratch, making everything yourself.
I’ve done a lot of kitbashing myself.
Bob Boudreau
Right I know that but when you are talking in prototype language they dont say the kitbashed a new loco they say they rebuilt them with parts from different locos. Words dont matter though kitbashing or rebuilding, same thing.
Victor
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
Somebody in my area dreamt up and built this:
That’s S. Berliner III’s “DDP45”. Imagineering at its best! [:D]
About the only one I’ve done lately (that I have a photo of ) is in my signature. I started this thing 25 years ago. It sat in a box for years. it’s now a U-18b. Had the tank milled back in the early 80’s sometime and never got around to completing it. Nothing to crow about, but it’s done.
It is not so crazy to kit bash your models. Many railroads have used hoods and parts to rebuild one of a kind from wrecks into engines that were never offered new.
Your story could include the reason this rebuild situation happened to justify the new model on your railroad.
The whole scratch-building thing vs. kitbashing is interesting.
I was researching what it would take to scratchbuild a while back. You essentially cannot scratchbuild a locomotive. You will still buy gears and motors. You may build the motor, but then you’ll purchase bearings, etc.
There’s a line that defines “scratch”, but you move that line to whatever you think is appropriate, I guess.
Thanks for the replies. CARRfan, that was very well said. I like the pics guys.
Victor
Happy Railroading.
The NMRA Achievement Program has a category Master Builder - Locomotives, and one of the many requirements is that the applicant scratch build a loco. They list items that don’t need to be scratchbuilt, like the motor, wheels, couplers, light bulbs, detail parts such as horns, etc. as it is not really practical to do so.
Items that modelers typically make themselves include the chassis, truck sideframes, body, handrails, etc. I personally have all the requirements for this award except for this one. I’ve been thinking of scracthing a Trackmobile, following an old article in MR. It would be powered by a NWSL Flea power truck, with most of the rest of it made from styrene. One of these days!
The original poster noted “Words dont matter though kitbashing or rebuilding, same thing.” Yes, but the subject of this post does say “build” new locomotives, and not rebuild existing ones. There is a difference.
Bob Boudreau
Bob, I hear you. I did not realize the NMRA had a definition for scratchbuilding.
I wonder if in the old days they defined scratchbuilding as also machining your own wheels, winding your own motors, etc.
May not be ‘building’ from scratch, but I just ordered the boiler kit and super detail kit from Cary for a Mantua ‘General’ that I won off of eBay. One of those ‘projects’ that I hope to have complete and entered in a regional contest in May.
Jim Bernier
Interesting. That would look neat.
The model name “DASH 9-44CW” stands for- dash 9 series, 4400 horsepower, and the “C” stands for 6 axle and the “W” stands for widecab. I think it’s prototypical to build your own loco’s . IC built GP8’s, GP10’s and GP11’s. The possibilities are endless- here are a few i thought of- GP80MAC[(-D], GP38-2M (M= north american saftey cab)
L.I.T. Now that is what I call building a locomotive and using one’s imagination, it’s too bad designers for diesel locomotives don’t revert to newer designs, rear cab, mid cab, cabs on roofs, round designs, etc. etc. there must be hundreds of different configurations to enclose an engine and motors, if modellers can do it so should manufacturers
I also built a U18B out of a Atlas U23B and c30-7 shell. Came out decent.
Josh modeling the Maine Central in 1976
I think yall are getting caught up in the semantics and missing the point of the post. I think IMCR was just describing a project and looking for feedback. There are many different levels of modification one can do to modify/ kitbash/re-create an engine. IMCR plans to create a “fantasy” model by combining existing parts. Go for it. You will have a unique piece that you can be proud of.
Below is a “insert correct term here” slug .
In this second image you can see the height difference when compared to the 2 Geeps
I’ve never built a new one from the ground up. I’ll have to add that to my list. I do have several drawn up. However I have kitbashed many. My favorite is an SD30. I’ll see if I can drum up a picture of it.
LongIslandTom, do you know Sam personally??? I’ve been emailing him back and forth, and have contributed to his website. He has some awesome stuff, aside from my contributions. [swg][(-D]
well for my HO Archer Grain railroad i have built a couple of kitbashes
i took a proto 2000 gp18 and added the following
Chopped the nose, built a cab simular to Santa Fe’s Topeka cab, and milled the fuel tank down. Then took out the air tanks and added new detail associates ones to the sides, instead of behind the fuel tank. Then i added a cab air conditioner, antenna stand, and moved the horn to just behind the cab and added all the piping. Then I cut off the running boards and added mu hoses, air hose, coupler lift bar, mu stands, ditchlights, a low headlight in the nose, and winshield wipers, wire grab irons, and lift rings. then i added 4 exhaust stacks, and new fans. then i added the speed recorders and piping between the brake cylinders on the trucks, then i cut of the outside brakes on the trucks.
I named this model the gp19-1.
then i have been working on several gp7u chop noses for the Santa fe.
The Canadians are way ahead of ya with their CN GP38-2 with safety cab… [:D]
but did the saftey cab on a CN GP38-2 look like a SD70M cab?