I am looking for some references and/or ATSF experts that can tell me what is on top of the cab on a late 60's/early 1970's ATSF high nose GP7. From the photos I have found it looks like it has an antenna stand, but I can't quite make out what's on it. I am working on modeling 4 of them, two in pinstripe, and two in yellow/blue warbonnet. I am trying to figure out what details I need to use for them. Any help would be great.
Here, check this out.... http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=45345&nseq=19 Lots more where that came from; search for "GP7" "Santa Fe", and "1970-1979" and there's 21 hits. That is a ground plane antenna sheet, very common in that era, and a real SOB to model properly as rather fragile. I made a brass etching for my CF7 kits and it's by far the worst part to fabricate and secure in the entire kit. On my own GP7, I used .010 wire legs on a styrene platform to get enough strength and put a 'firecracker' on top. But if you're detailing, nothing you can do will help more than tackling the handrails. Mine is also pretty weathered, and is probably the most consistently visible unit on the layout, so it got a lot of attention.
Thanks Randgust, thats pretty close to what I am trying to get to, but I don't think the firecracker is the right kind of antenna, the one i've seen in photos is looks alot like a beacon light, but its all black...
This one has a "firecracker" type antenna, as on the model by randgust: This one has a "can" type antenna (that may have a beacon-like appearance) : This page from Details West has illustrations of various antenna styles: http://www.detailswest.com/dwparts2.htm
You can search for something special, or just use a little piece of .035 Evergreen Styrene rod painted flat black. That's what I've been using for those.
