N Scale Little Joe - In Plastic

N Scale Little Joe Fans! I've been working on a 3D model of the "Little Joe" off and on for the last few years. Based on my signature block you can probably tell I'm not a MILW modeller per se, but I love the Little Joe (however not so much that I'm willing to pay the price for brass, not to mention the brass models are particularly elusive anyway.) So, I decided to see what I could do to fill this need not only for me, but for all of you hard core MILW fans as well and other fans of this unique locomotive.

My initial model was designed for a CNC milling application, however with the availability of affordable 3D printing services I've spent the last couple of months modifying my model for printing. Here are the results as of this weekend:





Prior to starting this project I didn't know much about the EF4s beyond the most basic historical accounts of their lineage, but along the way I've learned a lot and now I'm ready for "feedback stage" for this model. For those that may be more knowledgeable about the EF4 or just have a keen eye for detail or just want this on their layout, here are my questions: 1) Does this model look like it hits the mark (in other words, is there anything obviously missing or wrong with this model?) 2) If you're interested in this model, what are your thoughts on molded on grabs vs printing the shell with holes where grabs should be? 3) Do you care that I don't have a mechanism plan made out yet for this model? I've realigned the trucks to match the spacing an Atlas SD35 mechanism so that's a start, but I'm hoping there's some modelling genius out there far better at doing this type of problem solving that wants to come up with a solution we could all use. Little Joe's for everyone!

The pantographs in the pictures are not a part of the model, they're just used as stand-ins to get the visual. I have Kato GG1 pans I plan on modifying for the shell. The model above is mostly a late-model version with blanked out "B" cab, the porch rails are like those found on the early versions. With the way I've built this 3D model however, I will be able to do pretty much any iteration of Little Joe, including swapping out the friction bearings for roller bearings - so the sky's the limit.

Lastly - Murphy's Law states that after putting all this effort in, Kato will release these as a part of their next passenger set, so either way we're set for win-win now with Little Joes.

Happy to hear the community's feedback....thanks! -Mike

 

Chassis will be an interesting project. How to come up with the proper appearing "D" trucks...

 

Mike, that looks good. In answer to your questions, and knowing less about them than you do, I'd go with prepping the shells for wire grabs, maybe even the same for the ladders. The tricky part may be finding an acceptable mechanism to go under it that wouldn't involve a lot of surgery. And it wouldn't surprise me if the pantographs are at least close enough to what was used on GG-1's, AEM's or Acelas (maybe not the last) that something already available as a replacement part could be used.

 

The pantographs were originally built by GE, and later on, the MILW built their own replacements. In fact, one of the men who used to do this for their Boxcabs, (same design as the Joes), on the Coast Division, is still alive and living in Oregon. Their most unique feature is the bows.

 

The fun filter at work won't let me see the pics but I'll certainly chime in. As long as the carbody is as correct as possible to the prototype, not having a matching chassis is a minor issue to me. I would rather cobble a mech to match the body than compromise the model to have a RTR chassis drop in.
TrainCat (Bob) suggested he could photo etch the MILW-style pans, IIRC seeing it elsewhere in the forum.

If we had good truck centers, axle spacing, wheelbase and other drive-related dimensions, we could search the available mechs to see what works. A 2-D+D-2 might not be difficult to build--the D trucks could be kitbashed with a standard 6-axle N scale loco mechanism (whether the longest dimension is the outmost wheel on the D truck or not, see drawing). The other axle, likely the most inboard one, would be dummied and just have an idler axle from a freight car (BLMA or FVM or something)

Or to be completely different, what about a Kato F-unit mech? They're heavy, wide and if you can adapt the trucks from a 6-motor unit (SD40?), that may work as well.

Going completely off-base, what's the wheel size for an EF-4? Will a diesel truck even match the wheel diameter? Might we have to go to a steam loco for that? Did the Joes have spoke wheels like the boxcabs and Quills?


Either way, I'm in.

 

Yes. Did you grab any picures of E70 while stationed at GF?

 

The EF57 has been used as a way off stand-in for GN and MILW, for at least around thirty years. I even had a couple in those roads. But they just didn't cut it for me, having grown up with and knowing the MILW so well.

 

Of course I did! The signs are not of much use, as of 2009 when I last saw the motor.

 

This site has a mildly useful (if not incredibly sharp and easy to read) line drawing with some good numbers.
http://www.pcmaf.org/wordpress/exhibits/milwaukee-road/e70-little-joe/

I never realized the axle spacing was uneven! This drawing shows wheel diameter about 47". The closest diesel model I could come up with is about 42" (modern diesel power). In N, that's no big deal, if we can get a mech matched up with a decent reliable set of trucks.

 

Ryan-

I believe he was just being facetious. If he goes through all this effort, the inevitable is almost immediately a commercial version comes out and his efforts for naught. Good old (Tiger Tom) Murphy's Laws....

 

Yep - you can always count on Murphy's Law, right??

Here's a comparison of two mech options, SD35 vs SD45:



What would be ideal is something between the two. The SD45 option leaves an obvious gap in the center between trucks so my thought is, if I'm going to fudge a little, make it less obvious, thus the SD35. With either option, the SD axles are a little closer together than the Joe, so you're not likely to find an exact match but if anyone has other ideas, let's hear 'em. One other way is to just purchase SD truck assembly's from the parts dept and do your own rig - more involved but maybe with some detailed plans not overly difficult?

-Mike

 

Wouldn't want there to be a too obvious gap between the D trucks. As I recall, weren't they actually coupled together?