Magic land,
I checked all my photos, the only thing that would look silver were the stainless steel wrapped around the retractable side window, on each side. Everything else is tangerine, including the vertical post supporting the triangular vent (butterfly) window and the window gutters. Front windshields just have black rubber grommets, no stainless inserts.
Hope this helps.
@Trainmstr posted:Magic land,
I checked all my photos, the only thing that would look silver were the stainless steel wrapped around the retractable side window, on each side. Everything else is tangerine, including the vertical post supporting the triangular vent (butterfly) window and the window gutters. Front windshields just have black rubber grommets, no stainless inserts.
Hope this helps.
Thanks, that's a huge help!
Making progress, slowly. Spent last weekend and part of this rebuilding my gazebo that came down after that 18" of snow. Drilled for the number boards, but the bit wandered after it got through the body filler and hit the die-cast shell, so I'll need to file and shape them into the correct positions, re-fill, sand and smoothing the damage afterwards.
Started attaching the roof detail. It was nice being able to design the antennas into it, but the reality didn't match up with my expectations, as the resin didn't cure straight enough in such a fine line and I wasn't happy with the results. Plus, it was extremely fragile. Re-engineered them without the antenna cross-pieces and with holes in the stanchions, and ran .020 brass wire. Tried first with holes slightly larger than the wire, but they didn't print cleanly, so I doubled the size of the holes and the wire passes through them.
I currently have 4 of the 5 roof panels attached, waiting on the last to cure, along with the re-proportioned number boards. After printing out the numbers, I decided to make them shorter, which should also increase the odds of them landing on the flat before the nose starts to taper in. Also made the rods longer, as they were barely clearing the filler and the die-cast shell. Hopefully have a cleaned up and primed pic in a few days. At that point, I just need to do the rest of the side detail and I should be close to painting, probably next weekend. Decals? Yeah, as if anyone had any. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.
Whew! I'd hoped to have posted more progress pics by now, but I've been down with the Covid. While that would seem like plenty of free time to get stuff done, I haven't had the ambition, mental acuity and temperment all at the same time to get anything done.
Fingers crossed, but at day 10, the odds look good that I'm going to survive this thing and be able to continue my project. Attached the final piece of roof detail this morning. Once I get everything evened out and hit it with a touch of primer, I'll see if I can get a pic up on here. It seemed like a great idea molding in the rivet details to the roof panels, but in practice, I'm losing a lot of it along the way. Oh, well...
Hope you continue to recover! I had it last March, it took me approx. 12 days to feel well enough to start my normal routine.
I'm on day 10 since symptoms showed up. Today was the first I felt well enough to work on anything.
Still have a bit more work to do cleaning up the roof detail, but it's on there.
Okay, one step forward, 2 steps back department... Was working on the step design for the cab doors, and decided to test with the chassis to see how far down they came. On one hand, I verified that the engine WILL negotiate an O42 curve (it won't look pretty doing so, but it WILL do it). On the other hand, I can't attach the steps to the engine body as I'd planned, as the trucks will knock them off while turning. I'm going to have to figure out some way to attach the steps directly to the trucks. Won't look nearly as good, but it'll work. I believe the donor PA-1 had steps attached to the trucks, now I know why. The steps for the small side doors should be able to be attached directly to the body, as they're beyond the truck's turning radius.
Moving along, slowly. Being back at work has cut into my free time. Roof detail is all cleaned up, gaps filled, etc. Broke off a stanchion on the antennas while doing so, just sanded it down flat to the surface, printed out a few more, glued on the replacement, and back in business! Nice being able to produce your own custom parts.
What's going on here. Ends are masked to ensure correct position for running number boards. 2 holes are fairly close to where I need them, 2 need some work to move them to the correct locations. And yes, though you can't see it from the crappy picture I took, it's sitting on the chassis on track! Still has one of the test pilots, the finished ones won't go on until they're painted, and I'm hoping to do most painting in 2 passes (tangerine, then blue). Not a big fan of cleaning out the airbrush...
Hoping cocktail straws will be close to the dimension I need for the running number boards posts, once the holes are moved to the correct positions, I want to stick them in the holes so they don't get fouled when I fill in around them. Drilling, filling, sanding, more filling and more sanding are on the agenda for tonight. At that point it should be ready for another coat of primer, and then we start attaching the side detail...
Have the holes moved correctly, cocktail straw "whiskers" inserted (using one going directly across helps ensure they're aligned correctly), JB Kwikweld curing. Straws are out now, but it won't be fully cured until after I'm asleep, so filing, sanding, filling, etc. will have to wait for morning.
Awesome work! Great thread.
Another 2 steps forward, 1 step back day. Drilled the holes in the chassis to attach the undercarriage detail, and actually got them in the right places! Unfortunately, the resin the detail is made from is rather brittle, and didn't take well to #4 screws. I can obviously just glue on the one with the air tanks, as it'll never need removed, but I'd like to have the fuel tank removable, as it has the speaker in it. Back to the drawing board...
Was going to use cardstock for much of the side detail, as thin styrene tends to curl when cut from sheets. Unfortunately, the cardstock was too thin. Doubled up, the thickness is fine, but after attempting to glue 2 sheets together, it's all wavy, and I haven't even tried to cut it yet. Searched for brass strips as a possible replacement, but none were thin enough, widthwise. After a bit more searching, I found that Evergreen Scale Models makes styrene strips in just about every size imaginable. Measuring the detail on the engine, it seems their .030 x .080 strips are just what I need! So, the side detail is on pause until they get here...
Running number board shown is just a prototype, the actual ones are shorter, and have longer pegs to connect to the tubes which hold them and the LEDs.
We have a remedy (hopefully)! Since I can't screw into the drilled resin detail pieces, I'll reverse the process. Cutting the heads off some bolts, going to glue them into the holes (producing threaded studs on the detail pieces), and then attach them to the chassis with nuts.
Crappy week. Girlfriend's ended up in the hospital on Wednesday. She's back home now, but it's taken away a lot of time I could have spent working on this. Got the undercarriage detail mounted. Next up, finishing the remaining blemishes on the body, and applying the side detail. Then, hopefully, we move on to the painting phase. Strips for the sides will allegedly be here tomorrow.
Just found this thread - excellent project with some great stories to go with it. Keep up the hard work, and don't let this pandemic stop you from having fun with trains!!
Just playing around today, real work starts tomorrow!
Number board test installation, and one of the final pilots sitting in place. It'll come back off and get painted along with everything else. Windows on the cab doors were surprisingly easy to remove, so they've been primed (not shown). This is the "back" end. How do you tell on a "double-ender"? Well, the little "F" on the front end (which obviously isn't there yet) and the undercarriage. Air tanks are towards the front end. There's a bunch of mis-labled crap out there (models, drawings), but this is verified with prototype photos.
First version with portholes had air tanks in what was designated rear. I’ll check my pics for 3 vent (later) version
You are correct, later version had air tanks on end designated front. Weird they would change it. As a note, the classification lights are vertically centered with the number boards and closer to the board, I’d say at most 1.5 the length of the number board separating the two. Your number boards should be more forward, left side being even with windshield frame. Not nitpicking!!! Just thought you might want to know. Looking great!
@Trainmstr posted:You are correct, later version had air tanks on end designated front. Weird they would change it. As a note, the classification lights are vertically centered with the number boards and closer to the board, I’d say at most 1.5 the length of the number board separating the two. Your number boards should be more forward, left side being even with windshield frame. Not nitpicking!!! Just thought you might want to know. Looking great!
Yeah, wanted to be sure that they'd sit on the flat side before the nose started curving, so I was a bit conservative with their placement. I can live with it.
you could do the entire shell in a FormLabs 3L printer (>$10,000).
There is a guy in the Netherlands that would print it but at a cost of 1Euro per ml plus VAT and shipping. So close to $500 (+ VAT and Shipping) for say two shells. If you want his name and email let me know.
Instead, for a large model I am building I split my model into 3 sections with interconnectors.
@AlanRail posted:you could do the entire shell in a FormLabs 3L printer (>$10,000).
There is a guy in the Netherlands that would print it but at a cost of 1Euro per ml plus VAT and shipping. So close to $500 (+ VAT and Shipping) for say two shells. If you want his name and email let me know.
Instead, for a large model I am building I split my model into 3 sections with interconnectors.
Provided, of course, I had a full 3D model of the engine.
Had hoped to get a bit more done this weekend, but... Seems the .080 x .030 strips turned out to be too wide. Depth is spot on. Measured the existing trim with a caliper, but I guess something was off. I'd thought at the time about getting the next size down (.060 x .030) just in case, but thought I had it nailed. Oh well, new ones might get here by Wednesday, managed to order them from some place in York, PA.
DID make some good progress, but not much to actually see. 3 of the posts embedded in the undercarriage detail needed re-seated, that's done. The holes in the chassis to mount the body are now in. Screws from the donor engine are too long (as it had a plastic shell), but I have some nylon 6-32 bolts which I was able to cut down to the correct size. I imagine I'll have to isolate the shell from the chassis for the TMCC to be able to use it as an antenna, so that was going to need to be done anyway. Haven't even begun thinking about re-installing the electronics, I guess it's about time to start.
Think I'm finally done with the bodywork, sanding, filling, sanding, etc. Again, it doesn't look like much has changed, so no pics. Also re-mounted the cab doors, as it'll be a heck of a lot easier getting the paint to align properly if they're painted on the body, rather than separately. Slow and steady, but getting closer to done. Which is good, as I've got a Weaver VO-1000 coming in for paint...
Aaaaand..., after waiting an extra day for the .030 x .060 strips to arrive (only 4 days priority mail from York, PA, next state over, bang-up job those USPS stooges are droing, eh?), I ended up using the .030 x .040 strips that came Wednesday. Could have been done by now. After looking at the 2 side by side on the engine, the .040 strips just looked better, based on the best prototype photo I have.
Only one side is done. Besides it being my mom's 89th birthday, I found that if I attempted to do too much at once before the glue set, I'd just have to re-arrange everything. Would have loved to have gone with a faster setting adhesive, but the pieces occasionally needed a bit of adjustment after placing, so I needed something that wasn't instant setting, wouldn't leave too much of a mess when a piece was repositioned, etc...
Here's an unfortunately somewhat blurry shot I managed to take after moving the engine from the table so we could have cake. Hope to have a better one once the other side is done tomorrow.
Side details on, fuel tank removed for speaker wiring, prototype steps in place on one end for testing (small modifications will be made). Prototype pilot still hanging on until final ones are painted. Getting close!
Trying to figure out a few things. Steps, blue? I'm assuming since they're connected to the body (at least on the prototype) and not the trucks, they'd be blue and not black. Builders plate? Any idea what color it was "as delivered"? Pic I have in the original paint (B&W, of course) looks like it blends in with the body, so I'm assuming at least the background is blue. Looks like 2 "Water Fill" labels on the right side (don't have any pics in original paint of the left side). Any ideas about the lettering? "Jersey Central Lines" on the side, tangerine or gold? Hoping the latter because I may have a decal in gold from the passenger cars (have to check size and see if it'll work), anything else and it'll be tough to come up with something, as there are no "O" scale decals available for anything pre-1960s other than cabooses). I THINK I can do a dark blue liberty logo on clear water slide that'll work on the tangerine for the ends. I'm actually excited to be at the point where I need to figure out what color to paint things
Magicland, I own several books on CNJ motive power.
Regarding your question about the color of the lettering, here's a quote from one of the books...
"The body was done in an orange and blue scheme separated by a red stripe. Initially, the roof was painted orange, but quickly grew black with usage. The roof was later painted blue and all following orders came this way. Lettering was the same orange or blue, depending on the background color, and outlined with a thin, red border. Trucks and undercarriage were black."
Further..."Other cab units arrived in a simplified variation of this scheme. Gone were the red stripe and border, and gold leaf replaced the orange lettering. As the CNJ had found out earlier with the switchers, the gold-leaf tended to tarnish and blend in with the surrounding dark background, making the identification almost invisible from any distance. An engineering directive changed the orange in the gold-leaf lettering color to imitation gold."
Another quote taken from a late '40's photo caption for unit #2004 states...
"Original metallic gold lettering is barely readable and demonstrates why the CNJ quickly replaced it with imitation gold paint".
So depending upon what road # you're planning to model, the "Jersey Central lines" lettering could be orange, gold-leaf...or imitation gold!
Maybe you're already aware of this, but here are some other interesting notes on the original blue & orange paint scheme...
Units 2000-2002 were delivered with orange roofs and had a red pinstripe separating the blue and orange on the car body...with orange lettering. Even the blue nose heralds--as well as the name (Jersey Central Lines) and road # at the top, center of the car body--also carried a very narrow 1/4" red pinstripe around them...which was barely visible even in the sharpest of color photographs.
Units 2003-2005 were delivered with the "simplified" paint scheme mentioned above...with blue roofs instead of orange and no separating red pinstripes between the body colors or around the lettering and heralds.
As for the color of the steps...the best I can tell from the color builder's photos of class unit # 2000, they were painted black to match the trucks and under-carriage details. The reason I say "best I can tell" is because the original blue paint was so dark it almost looks black in the color photos!
The builder's plate also appears to be dark blue in the color photos.
Interestingly, I can't see any "Water Fill" stenciling in the builder's photos.
Hope this helps a bit. I’m enjoying following your project!
How long will this beast be?
@CNJ #1601 posted:Magicland, I own several books on CNJ motive power.
Regarding your question about the color of the lettering, here's a quote from one of the books...
"The body was done in an orange and blue scheme separated by a red stripe. Initially, the roof was painted orange, but quickly grew black with usage. The roof was later painted blue and all following orders came this way. Lettering was the same orange or blue, depending on the background color, and outlined with a thin, red border. Trucks and undercarriage were black."
Further..."Other cab units arrived in a simplified variation of this scheme. Gone were the red stripe and border, and gold leaf replaced the orange lettering. As the CNJ had found out earlier with the switchers, the gold-leaf tended to tarnish and blend in with the surrounding dark background, making the identification almost invisible from any distance. An engineering directive changed the orange in the gold-leaf lettering color to imitation gold."
Another quote taken from a late '40's photo caption for unit #2004 states...
"Original metallic gold lettering is barely readable and demonstrates why the CNJ quickly replaced it with imitation gold paint".
So depending upon what road # you're planning to model, the "Jersey Central lines" lettering could be orange, gold-leaf...or imitation gold!
Maybe you're already aware of this, but here are some other interesting notes on the original blue & orange paint scheme...
Units 2000-2002 were delivered with orange roofs and had a red pinstripe separating the blue and orange on the car body...with orange lettering. Even the blue nose heralds--as well as the name (Jersey Central Lines) and road # at the top, center of the car body--also carried a very narrow 1/4" red pinstripe around them...which was barely visible even in the sharpest of color photographs.
Units 2003-2005 were delivered with the "simplified" paint scheme mentioned above...with blue roofs and no separating red pinstripes.
As for the steps...the best I can tell from the color builder's photos of class unit # 2000, they were painted black to match the trucks and under-carriage details. The reason I say "best I can tell" is because the original blue paint was so dark it almost looks black in the color photos!
The builder's plate also appears to be dark blue in the color photos.
Interestingly, I can't see any "Water Fill" stenciling in the builder's photos.
Hope this helps a bit!
Some interesting stuff there, didn't know about the red striping around the herald, letters and road numbers. I'm modeling 2004, so that makes things a bit easier. Also a bit more difficult, as most of the color photos seem to be of the earlier 3. Just about every Baldwin builder's plate I've seen that still has paint on it seems to have the lettering highlighted in some contrasting color, wonder if they used orange, gold, or something else?
If you zoom in on this photo, you can see the 2 "Water Fill" marks, one just to the right of the cab door, the other about the center of the engine. https://i1.wp.com/digitalraila...2017/10/CNJ-2004.jpg
@necrails posted:How long will this beast be?
About 20" from pulling face to pulling face.
Ugh, "Jersey Central Lines" passenger car decals are too small. I need the "E" and "R" of "Central" to hit the center ribs on the sides, and they're hitting "E" and "A"...
Put on the gutters over the cab doors and windows, which other than railings, should be the last bits that need added. I swear, every time I look at this it grows more areas that need a touch up though...
Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have knocked it into good enough shape to break out the airbrush. Heading to the finish line...
Sadly, I lose too much text definition when attempting to print the builder's plate at a scale 8mm, so I have to decide what to do with them. Maybe just the plate, edges and logo and decal the text...
Don’t forget the window frames (stainless steel) for the retractable windows. The retractable section is rectangular creating a butterfly window like an old car. I would think it’s easier to create this feature now before painting.
Not sure I'll be able to get retractable windows on there, don't think I have the patience to attempt it. And without any good close-up pictures of the prototype, I'm afraid they're going to be closer to the ones that Lionel put in the Centipedes (though I have moved the divider between the sliding window and "vent" window closer to the front than they did). Running a divider down that piece, with one half tangerine, and the other silver may not be something my eyes are up to anymore.
This is the best pic I've got of one of the windows. It's down, mine'll be up. As I mentioned, not sure I can nail that line dividing them and the 2 colors.
Think this is the best I can do. Re-designed the window with an inset frame on the main part of the window (I assume the original sits in channels on the sides and slides down, but that's not happening in 1/48th scale). Ugh, also just noticed that on the prototype, the rear corners of the window opening have 90 degree angles, while on the centipede (which this originally was), they're rounded. Back to the ol' drawing board...
Okay, still needs cleaned up a tad, and it's leaning in at the top because there's nothing holding it, but I managed to get the corners squared away before dinner...
Aaaand, we're just about ready for paint! (Hopefully) final mock-up. Still need to drill some holes for handrails and grab irons. Steps for the side doors and other detail which will be mounted to the bottom of the shell will be applied after painting (so they don't get knocked off during said painting).
Looking really good, can’t wait to see it painted. You’re going to have one beautiful loco when completed. My grandfather was an engineer for JC so someone taking the effort to replicate their motive power hits home. I’ll never understand why the manufacturers ignored Baldwin cabs, it’s not like the JC was the only one to purchase them.
It's funny that you can get just about all of them in HO, if not actual RTR engines, at least shells which can easily be built and detailed. I guess in O, with less competition in the marketplace, they build what they figure will sell the most with the least expense to tooling modifications. I was originally interested in a DR-6-1500, as I figured a shark chassis would be a good starting point, and are readily available. However, since they mostly ran back and forth to PA, and the area that I'm "modeling" (once I actually have room for a layout) is South Amboy, it would make more sense for a DRX-6-2000, since they ran regularly on the NY&LB.
I'd like to see one in 2R for my NY&LB, but MY CNJ roster is finally starting to fill out with the shiny new four EMD (I mean 3rd Rail) GP7Ps just delivered. Still would be a very nice locomotive to add to the roster. Maybe someday I'll tackle that project. I still have a fleet of All Nation coaches to build first to put behind the locomotives I have. 
The progress is great. Looking very nice.
Better hurry, before all those Geeps are running out of Newark Penn...
The impending demise of my dryer delayed things slightly while I replaced it, but they're rolling again.
This is about as close as I can get the silver window frames. At the moment, it's just held there by scotch tape, as it'll need to come back out when the blue goes on, then they'll receive some acetate "glass" before final assembly.
I've (hopefully) printed out the last of the parts, the ladders for the side doors and those little thingies which are just to the inboard sides of the cab doors. Almost forgot to pull the headlight lens I had in for the mockup before I painted! Plan on masking everything and hitting it with some blue tomorrow.
More fun! Remembered I needed to re-install rivets on the roof panels (why, Baldwin, why?). They were printed with them, but between sanding into shape and several coats of primer, were no longer visible. Fortunately found my rivet decals. No idea where my 3M 1/8 vinyl tape has disappeared to. Also can't find my Micro Sol.
White vinegar (which is basically Micro Set) seemed to work OK.
As for the missing tape, nobody in the tri-state area seems to actually stock it. Everyone can order it. Heck, I can order it. I believe I had to order it the first time I got some. That's not helping me. In a pinch, figuring it didn't have to stick long if I put it on right before painting, I went with some vinyl electrical tape, as the curves I was doing weren't especially tricky. Also changed my mind about painting everything in 2 shots. Decided I'd do the blue on the roof first, then the blue on the sides, as it made the masking easier. It also gives me a 2nd shot to paint any auxiliary pieces I need again (as 2 turned up missing when I went to paint them). On the bright side, the missing builder's plate turned up, now for the 2nd time as it had previously been lost and found.
At some point I'll make the missing 2 windshield wipers, but that'll probably be after everything is painted and assembled, as I don't want them breaking off in the process. Still waiting for the decals to arrive, I'll experiment with the electrical tape for masking the noses, and if that seems like it'll work, I'll do the sides tomorrow.
It turned out to be a lot easier masking the curves on the roof with electrical tape than on the nose. Managed to make do by cutting it with scissors, once everything is dry I'll evaluated how well each side matches the other.
Next comes some touchups with the tangerine, then a few more shots with the blue, hoping to get both done tomorrow. Picked up a great set of drill bits for the dremel at Harbor Freight which made drilling the holes for the railings a snap. Got word today that the decals were shipping (which probably means they'll actually ship Monday, but at least they're finally on the way).
Then comes all the fun of attempting to re-assemble it. I ordered 2 electro couplers from Lionel. One has normal length wires, the other has wires that are about 2" long. No idea what they'd be used for, but it's supposed to be 2 of the same couplers. Easier splicing in longer ones than attempting to return it and wait, but it's holding up progress. Space shouldn't be a problem, as there's 3" more of it than there was in the PA-1. Speaking of which, the PA-1 had a cab. So now I'm thinking about making cabs for this. Fortunately, they can be added in at any time. Wiring everything up and getting it working should be enough of a challenge for now. I'll have to see what boards are in it (the PA-1 had TMCC, but no railsounds) and if there's any place to hook the couplers and possible directional lighting.
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
