Amtrak Genesis fixed pilots

Clem, I fixed the pilots on both of my Genesis locomotives and added Kadees. I can post some pics later but it really makes a huge difference.  

Thank you Jeff.  Sure hope it was easier than my SD40-2

Clem

Clem, this is much easier!!  You'll be pleased doing this project.. 

Jeff what cars are you pulling with these? I'm acquiring the Atlas Amtrak Zephyr cars. Going to be my version of a Amtrak heritage fleet. Haven't decided to use the Genesis or the FP40PH. Looking forward to the photo's

Clem 

I too would like to see the photos. I have a few premier genesiss'.

Here is the pilot on one of mine- this is a custom painted Phase V unit- I used 4mm Evergreen plastic strips to curve around the contour of the pilot, measuring each side and angle-cutting at a 45 degree angle on the ends. Makes a huge difference... I drilled holes directly into the frame to use #2 x56 sheet metal screws to attach the pilot

You did an amazing paint job on that engine Jeff.

Art

Amazing how much better that looks.Well I guess I found another project

Thanks for the photo

Clem

 I hope MTH sees this. I hope they release more models with fixed pilots.

Here is the discussion thread in the 2R forum.

https://ogrforum.com/t...2-and-f40ph-heritage

That looks good Jeff

Here is a photo of P42DC #145

Thanks Mike for the photo's and the link to the other post.

Clem

Mike that looks very nice. I need to get one of these as well with PS 3.0. Nice pics!

Nice work fellas! I'm tempted to try your technique.

After you fix the pilot what is the minimum curve it can handle?

Thanks!

Nice job guys. How about a few close up shots of the shims that were used if possible.What paint was used on the shims. I have about 3 of these I might like to fix the pilots. I too wish MTH would have done these with fixed pilots.

I used a 4mm strip of styrene from Evergreen- these are thin enough they "wrap around" the contour of the pilot. I do just the outer edges all the way around. You then drill small holes in both the pilot and the frame and attach with small sheet metal screws. On those edges, cut the ends of the strips at a 45 degree angle to make it appear seemless. Take your time and it becomes a nice project. Measuring everything is the key here. I used a strong CA glue to attach the strips to the pilots.

As for minimum radius, it doesn't change at all as these are 4-wheel trucks and are not affected at all. One other thing, you will need to cut the small "arms" that are on the pilots that were used to attach the pilot to the truck. Dremel tools work great on these things.