More SP SW1500 Fun/Madness Work has started on another SP SW1500 kitbash, seen here next to the 2596.... Also, I've added a Richmond Controls lighting module to the 2596, including working gyralights. Very bright and cool looking!.... Other work done to the 2596 was the addition of a visor over the lights on the rear of the cab along with the addition of a roof vent and a rooftop antenna.... Russ
LIke I said before....I'll take FOUR!!! I have basically memorized the mag article on the bash but just can't seem to get the mechanism to get one started.
WOW!!! This is sharp. One of these SW15's might have worked its way onto a coal train? Or were they just yard service only?
One of the N Scale mags (I can't find it now, it's probably at work) had an article on bashing a ConCor/Kato SW1500 into a correct SW1500 using a Atlas MP15 shell. I'll dig around and see if I can find it.
Well I now have a Kato SW that could be used for a SW1500 but I can't find the magazine. :tb-mad: Once I find it I will either start on a Central California Traction (SP) version or a Western Pacific one. I just would need to figure out the best way to mill the frame. Any suggestions?
considering the SP's oddball powered trains, it would not suprize me to see ANY SP loco on any train except for their H12-44's that were delivered without MU. I have seen SD40T-2's and SW1500's on the same train...however they tended to be on the power transfer trains in So-Cal, between Colton and Delores.
After a break from the hobby, Russ and Daniel have motivated me to do a pair of SW1500s. I bought two of the Concor SW1200s a while ago before Life-Like released their version, but at least now I have a reason to take them out of the box. Since the Concor shells and handrails are clunky, a pair of Alton & Southern SW1500s with Atlas shells would look a LOT better in the yard, along with the lone A&S MP15DC #1522 (1980's scheme). These are typically run in sets by A&S anyway, so I might hard-wire them as a pair for better pick-up. These don't creep well and are too fast based on a couple of test runs this week, so I'm leaning towards making them dummies and slaving them to the MP15DC. Now that Atlas has their online store back up, I'll place the parts order this weekend after a quick inventory for some other stuff. I'm posting this on TB so that I'll follow through with it (ha).
As for mechanisms, I would wait for the new Bachmann S-4 to see if it will fit the bill. The old Kato mech is ok (I based an SW1000 on it many moons ago) but there is room for improvement. I also cut down an MP15 chassis at one point (no more flywheels) and it ran great and retained the DCC board. The only problem was availability of the Life Like SW9 trucks at the time to do more and the need to change the double drive gear to one from an older Kato built RS3
Here are the completed shells for a pair Alton & Southern SW1500s sitting on Concor SW1200 mechs (unfortunately not the nicer Kato mechs, but they run OK). Hopefully will get a chance to paint this weekend.
Those look great! Can't wait to see them painted! Hey, you see how the rear tabs on the cab on the unit on the left are not fully seated into the slots on the sub-base and you can still see the slots? That kept giving me fits until I figured out how to resolve it. When putting the cab on the sub-base, you need to angle the cab (and hood if it attaches directly to the cab) down at the rear quite a bit so those tabs get all the way into the slots and under where the need to grab. Then you can bring the rest of the cab down to level and the tabs should seat nicely if you leave a little backwards pressure when doing it. Russ
Nice work! a switcher like that used to work an SP branch near where I grew up. They would alternate every other run or so with a GP-9 also. And every now and then both would show up in the consist.
Thanks! & thanks for the tip Russ - I had to really push those tabs in firmly for it to seat correctly. I had a few set-backs while painting yesterday. First the blue: The Modelflex 16-86 MP (Jenks) blue was a lot darker than all of my previous bottles. I couldn't tell until I ran out and switched to another bottle. It's much more royal and turned out nearly black. My wife agrees that it just won't work so I have a few more bottles on order. If this happens again I may switch from Modelflex to Pollyscale and mix my own. Had I caught it sooner I should have reshot the SW1500 parts instead of spraying some other future projects. Now the yellow: The Modelflex CNW Old Yellow I thought would be close match was too much on the green side. The A&S yellow is more on the Railbox yellow side, so luckily I was able to add a few drops of Signal Red to darken it. I stripped off the yellow/green coats with 95% alcohol and reprimed with primer gray. An afterthought was that I should have primed with white, but I didn't have a fresh bottle so gray it was. Eventually the light coats of yellow added up and it looked dead-on based on pics. Oh, and I wound up cracking the water trap on the air line, so that was an unplanned repair involving a lot of electrical tape. The good news was that I was able to shoot my A&S MP15DC #1522 parts with the proper blue and added decals last night. no work on the SW1500s until I get more MP blue paint, but I also managed to shoot pair of fantasy C44-9Ws, a GP38-2, a U23B with GP cab and a B30-7A, so I now have plenty of painted parts in the project pipeline. When the new paint shows up I'll be ready to add a drop of reefer yellow and/or white as needed to match my other MP paint jobs. I'll post a pic later that will show the difference in shades of blue between the MP15DC and the SW1500.
Has anyone used the BLMA #45 SW1500 Nose Conversion part? I didn't know it existed until I got a pair of them at a train show recently.
Looks great! I, too, started another (3rd) SW1500 kitbash (right). This one will be in the 2400 series (probably 2469) and has the non-recessed gyralights. The middle unit will be in the 2600 series (probably 2679).... Bringing back the SP light show....one N scale model at a time. SW1500's on the left, MP15AC on the right.... Russ
Last night I installed an LED in the cab end to illuminate the headlight in the one SW1500 that's finished. Very pleased with the outcome as it is very bright...
