3rd RAIL F7 MODIFICATIONS

Ed,

Mine measures 1.4875 inches wide and 2.1655 inches long not including shafts.

Butch

I have been meaning to post a few images of the new Santa Fe Units I received, but time was not kind to me. Below are a few images from this weekends Worlds Greatest Hobby show in Schaumburg, IL.

I ran the units on Sunday for about five hours of total running time with 8 GGD cars. For the most part, the engines ran well as a lash-up but one unit was noticeably cooler then the other three. 

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Looking at the pictures I see that I took all the images from the "A" unit that I have not upgraded yet. All units have lowered fuel tanks, dummy couplers installed between all units, just not the front "A" units yet. On the other end, that end not seen in the images, I have corrected the side window vents, toned down the interior light, and removed the lift rings.

Fuel tank lowered. 1/8 spacer on the left and 1/16 spacer on the right.

Here are a couple of clips from this past weekend.

Still have a lot of work to do on these, but I'm getting there. I'll post more images when I get a chance.

Charlie

I didn't care for the generic number board fonts on my F's. I used the same method SS uses so there was no changes appearance wise, just the font type. I think it looks better.

Could someone please post a picture of the UP version? 

Been patiently waiting but I can't take it anymore!

Santiago you always make it look so simple. What is the process for creating these number boards. I really like the new look. I'm old school, so how you accomplished this is new to me. Your F-7 is definitely going to be one of a kind. 

86TA355SR:  .  I think I promised to post those a long time ago and forgot.  I'll get them posted by this weekend for sure.  Sorry. 

Butch

Butch, once you design it you send it as PDF to a company that makes the negative films for printing books. The process is not as common as it used to be but you should be able to find one. It is essentially an acetate with the printing on the back. Mind you it's not the same as laser printing on acetate. This process makes a solid black and no light can penetrate it as it is used for photo etching. I'm revising my fonts on InDesign to really make it reflect the actual font.

Butch

Thanks for the dimensions on the motor in the Sunset F unit.  The motor is wider than the inside width of my brass US Hobbies/KTM GP7 so I've decided on a different repowering approach.  I'm going to go with a narrower Pittman GM8724 19:1 gearhead motor and 1:1 helical cut axel gear boxes.   It will be similar to the very smooth and quiet running drives previously offered by Jerry Snow (and now by ProtoCraft and Jay Criswell).  When complete I'll post some photos on the OGR 2 rail forum.

The data reveals that Scott will have to use a different motor in his upcoming SD7/9 's.   It shouldn't be a big issue as there are several good alternatives available. 

Ed Rappe 

Santiago,

That is very interesting and I would never have known about that.....but I do now. Makes a very nice looking number plate.  How is the cost if you don't mind me asking? 

Ed, 

Glad I could help. Look forward to seeing our installation once completed.

Butch  

B, Here in Colombia it's rather cheap. A letter size acetate was about 2 dollars.

SANTIAGOP23 posted:

B, Here in Colombia it's rather cheap. A letter size acetate was about 2 dollars.

Santiago,

I just returned from Colombia.  Beautiful country and women!

Butch,

Thanks, look forward to those pictures.

86TA355SR,

Here are some pictures of the UP F-7's as promised.

Butch

Beautiful set

Thanks for sharing!

Once satin coated the A's really start to look the part.....

up148 posted:

86TA355SR,

 

Here are some pictures of the UP F-7's as promised.

Butch

Butch,

Many thanks!

I'm kind of wishing I'd bought a set now.  Enjoyed the photos.

Aaron

Aaron, glad you enjoyed them and sorry I didn't post them earlier. I haven't had time to do anything but the cab vents,but hope to have some time soon.  Santiago has given us a road map for making these locos rival anything available today in F units. 

Santiago they look stunning! I really like the satin finish as it just makes them look beautiful and the anti-glare paint really comes to life in the duller (correct) non-glossy finish. Beautiful locomotive.

Butch 

Well done Santiago and thanks for sharing your upgrades with us.  The satin finish improves the look 100%. What product did you use to get the satin finish and did you mask the widow areas before spraying it.

Thanks Butch and Ed!

Ed I used microscale satin with a 50-50 water mix and light airbrush coats. I taped the windows and lenses with tamiya's masking tape.

Santiago...  Spectacular!

Hello, all.

I wanted to update you on Doug's progress on his F7s.

He's tackled painting of the pilot to match using my technique of bringing the model (or part) to an automotive paint supply store (see my post above).

Here are the results, before (factory painted pilot) and after (color-matched):

Thanks,

Mario

Looks good. I am currently waiting for my pilot to make the switch.

Anyone have any ideas about how to fix the holes? Actually, plugging the wholes is or will be easy, its trying the match the color and NOT make it more noticeable.  Maybe the answer is to leave them alone?

Charlie

Here's more of Doug's pictures.

Notice the touch up around the doors (same paint as the pilot) to remove the stripes and plug the various holes.

Here's the picture of the correct door frame, sans stripes (touched up using the same paint). 

That touch up paint is a dead on!!!  Thanks for posting Doug's work Mario, I really miss seeing his work and comments about how he accomplishes it. He's really making his F-7's look great.

Butch

Did I miss something? Everything ok with LOS? 

SANTIAGOP23 posted:

Did I miss something? Everything ok with LOS? 

He is ok.

Unscheduled leave of absence; if you need his email, just email me from the one in my profile.

Thanks,

Mario

Renumbering will begin soon

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see Doug is using Santiago's solution for changing the road numbers. Might have to pull his chain on MTF to see how it's going.  

Butch

Well,

I finally put a new cruise commander in my atsf frt. Don't know why the original burned .But, I got the chance to greatly reduce the factory wiring. Here it is with the front coupler and the lower fuel tanks .Also a picture of my soon to be assembled dummy A and B units for this Frt unit. The A is a P&D F7 kit with oh so beautiful trucks and the B unit is one of my Lionel F3s . Both to be painted in the frt blue and yellow.

Wanted ya'll to know I'm still around and kickin. Finishing the SP cab forward is my next priority immediately after close coupling the 3rd rail B unit to this 3rd rail A. Then I'll finish the freight units.

Regards,

Ron H

Good to hear from Ron.  I was about to e-mail and check on him.

He has mad skills, love the work on the F units.  Can't wait to see the CF done either!

Thanks Aaron,

I'm blushing.

Ron

This evening I finished the pilot with revised, more prototype coupler and air hose. Painted the windshield wipers ATSF yellow. lowered the fuel tank on B unit and setup the B unit for close couple with the A unit. Have scale rubber diaphragm for the A unit. Also began to fill in the holes resulting from repositioning the lift brackets. Hopefully more tomorrow.

A very short video.  Atsf frts. with reefers.

We have been supplying SF number board and sill number decals for these modifications for a few weeks now and they have been received with great reviews.

For further info. please contact us at   lbrenterprisesllc@yahoo.com  with your numbers list. The decals are black field with clear numbers at 1/2 sheet for $20.00 and black field with translucent white numbers for $27.50 for 1/2 sheet.

Dave, LBR

Added a full compliment of steam and brake lines as well as coupler lift bars to my set.

Very nice.

Ron

Yep, that's going to be a very prized loco when you are finished Santiago. Nice work!

Butch

Doug sent  a picture of his finished SF ABBA. Gorgeous I think.

Yes, they are outstanding.  His work is top notch and I look forward to seeing more

Thanks for posting his picture.

Those look beautiful indeed. 

Hey don't forget to disguise the screw pole behind the grills on the rear a units. It shouldn't be visible.