scratch G scale ES44AC-H #2010 build w/ charging lights

Its looking good Joe, to bad you have to start over, but it sure is nice you found a PS3 board!

Been following this build all along...impressed..sorry about the rain..maybe not

I can't always blame it on the rain. So I have to add the humidity! (it's a Northeast thing) 

The basement was 63 degrees the other day. Hard to stay outside when the dew point is higher. I'm getting soft.

some of the first of many panels....

Joe those X panels on the AC cabinet look right on. Bravo!

Nice work, Joe. Noticed what looked like chase lights.

AGHRMatt posted:

Nice work, Joe. Noticed what looked like chase lights.

Yeap! 2

I will search for more active pins (maybe rear ditch lights?) Front markers don't work? I'm not using them anyways. That maybe something?

I need to see what my O scale Evo is connected to. I believe it would take three flashing in sequence to fool our eyes. I only see two active right now.

I will try to connect them to SMD LEDs.

I thought the lights were in the boxes on the sides of the engine. It looks like they come from under it?

Rats! I'd better review how I can simulate this better.

There was a comment about a post where I was getting help on my charging lights. It made me aware that I hadn't updated this post on where this build is at. So I will add a link to that helpful post for anyone following along that missed it. Thanks goes out again to Stan and GRJ for their help.

https://ogrforum.com/topic/micro-leds?page=3

Basically, here it is again. The video of the lights just hanging there for a test.

I will mount the lights permanently and repost when I have something better to add.

I don't know. I built another grille and how many more yet to go?

At this rate, I won't have many more builds left in me!

I didn't realize how much time has passed since I worked on this engine. Many things popped up that had to be done. Nice weather needs to be taken advantage of before the winter sets in. I finally made it downstairs to do some more work on this. I spent extra time trying to get some bad castings to work with the metal screens. I should have just made new ones from scratch.

WOW. Where does the time go? I see this engine in the corner of my eye laying around. I never work on it. Other things keep me busy until I finally realize how long it's been lying here waiting. Some of the side panels (doors actually) have mesh grilles that have kept me from attempting to make them. I have the material and have done it before. I just have to push past the initial fear and dive back into it. It would be better to make something that needs tweaking, than to do nothing at all.

 I just noticed many of my outside lights aren't working and the mulch needs spreading so maybe soon after I'll be back.

where I left off....

still more door panels to go.

I have been avoiding the next steps..... the pilot steps for some time. I can do angles, I just hate the math. Usually I wing it and get things close enough. These modern GE's have 6 steps and the older MTH Dash 8 version only had five. I was going to just go with five but there's other details on the pilots that I'd like to model.

 So.... here I go. I figure that the six steps have a run that equals about 20 degrees from vertical. Sounded simple enough to model except that the pilot is not a square or even a rectangular box. It has sides that are at angles too. To make matters worse I believe the front pilot is different from the rear. I maybe wrong about that but I already cut the frame and have to custom build each pilot to match.

 The front pilot is where I'm starting and the cab side of the pilot has an angle cut into it at 27 degrees roughly from the side of the steps. The steps appear to be mounted to side steel pieces like a modular unit that gets welded in?

So what angle are the steps rise changed to when the side is not a right angle? My brain fried and it probably is not that difficult to calculate????

If I can't figure it out mathematically I'll have to build a template and fudge it together.

Joe,

You can figure it out with trig if you want to use the math method. Or do it graphically by drawing it out.

Presuming that all step nosing lands on the same line, start with the horizontal distance from the top step nose to the bottom step nose, along the straight side of the stepwell.  This distance would represent the adjacent side in the cosine trig function.

So....COS(27) = adjacent ÷ hypotenuse....or rewritten,  hypotenuse = adjacent ÷ COS(27).

The result of this equation would then be used as the opposite side length in a tangent function, with the adjacent side equal to the height from top step to bottom step.  So....

TAN(x) = opposite ÷ adjacent, so TAN(x) = result of the previous cosine function ÷ top to bottom step height.

I hope that all makes sense. I'm not at home now so can't add any graphics to demonstrate the relationships but you could look them up if so desired.

You can also use the results of the initial cosine function to figure the relative lengths of the front and rear edge of each step tread.  Just add that amount to the length of any step's rear edge to yield the length of the corresponding front edge.

Lastly, you'll obviously need to substitute the different angles and lengths for the rear steps.

Good luck!

Jim

Yeah... ah... thanks!

Well, I have to stretch my brain way back to high school trig days. I used to be a math major. Something happened …. (life) and I seem to forget most of this stuff. I started taking calculous in high school (early) and when I got to go back to college like 11 years later, I did not prepare. So the college entrance exam left me knowing all that I don't remember!   and humbled.

 Now add a few more decades to that and I can't even follow the equation properly. Maybe I'll just draw it out......

Oh, each step is about 9mm rise so 9x6=….

Well, by my math, knowing the height of the steps is 54mm, the line through the tread nosing each step on the 27° face should be 22.22°.  Your mileage may vary, but it shouldn't.

Starting on the square side of the stepwell, in elevation.....

TAN(20°) = nose of top step to nose of bottom step / 54mm
nose of top step to nose of bottom step (square side)  = 19.654mm

Now in plan, figure out the distance along the angled side from nose of top step to nose of bottom step......

COS(27°) = 19.654mm / nose of top step to nose of bottom step
nose of top step to nose of bottom step (angled side) = 22.058mm

Now back to elevation to determine the angle of the line from nose to nose on angled side of the stepwell.....

TAN(angle from nose to nose) = 22.058mm/54mm
angle on angled side of stepwell = 22.22°

It's a little different then what I described above, but it works out the same.  Sometimes one sees things more clearly than they did initially.

Have fun!
Jim

over 2 days at it and I still haven't finished. I still have to modify and mount 20 steps, cut the pilot face around the rear deck, and glue both faces onto the step assembly. Then make coupler blocks and all the other details like the grabs, and pilot detailing.

 Come on Mike Wolf! Make us these....

I really enjoy your work on this loco.

Spent part of today redoing the pilots again. The stair's angle and set back weren't right. Broke off the wings a few times trying to make things right. I should have started over but what fun would that be?

 Now to custom cut down each stair to fit into a tapered modular (welded in) unit.... Urrggg!

custom "fitment" of the rear pilot!

What good is spending so much time on an engine, if it can't earn it's keep? 

I slapped the couplers on her so she can make it outside before the train year ends. 

I also ballasted up the fuel tank and she's almost ready for a pull test! 

she runs!

well? here's my first attempt at the GE high adhesion trucks....

I'm not sure if this idea of several pieces will work or will be the best. These will be the core and need pieces added for thickness. I have to try something to get started. I will make the back transom also as a separate piece. I started carving the side frames with the load bearers molded on. I think it would be easier to make them separate and add them on. I wish some more detail parts were available in 1/32 scale. It always seems like I have to make every single piece on these engines!

I'm still playing around with these truck's side frames.

these trucks are really looking like updated GE Dash 9 trucks. So here's the Aristo 1/29 scale version to get an idea of what I'm trying to recreate.

It would be great if I could get the bearings to spin but two of the four side frames have covers over them anyways.

It's very cool to me that this forum allows me to share this after so long!

I finally got back at it. The finer details drive me nuts. It has to be near perfect or your eyes will see that it's not right!.... and I'm never perfect.....

So I know, it's a little rough. I just want to get her done.

Well? what else can I do? It's raining non-stop so I got some more things done. Not perfect again, but good enough for outside in the rock pile.

Wait..... wait.....

am I done? am I ready for ………….paint?????!!!!!!

I put on all the panels I had cut and even built a sand fill area for the rear ( I believe that's what it is?). As I'm applying tape I notice that the front should have 2 small panel doors..... and now..... what about a door! ?? Ooops. That's what I get for rushing.

I need to paint outside anyways so the rain that forced me in, will now hold me up for a few more days. I should be able to make 2 small hatch panels and a door for the nose.

Engineer-Joe posted:

Well? what else can I do? It's raining non-stop so I got some more things done. Not perfect again, but good enough for outside in the rock pile.

 

I have this model in O scale if you have any questions I can take some zoomed in photos!  Love the model!

Thank you Tim. I have a MTH O scale version sitting right in front of me as well as some drawings. It just happens that both had an inaccurate area on the rear engineer's side of the long hood. The screens aren't correct for this one version.

 Because I already modeled it I'll pretend the engine was rebuilt back at GE after an accident!

If anyone attempts any model, you have to have accurate pictures/ drawings. Not only that but an engine gets revisions thru it's life. So after selecting a version, then the road, and the road number, you still have to pick an exact year. I'm getting so that I just say close enough!

Here she is with some front end nose detailing....

Hmmm, I could start picking up leaves or..... just stay inside?

Engineer-Joe posted:

Hmmm, I could start picking up leaves or..... just stay inside?

This is your future

I need that! …. and cordless!!

I have a vacuum that has a detachable blower. Sometimes it works fair. Sometimes it just makes a mess. Leaves like to grab the track. I swap it out to a vacuum and I lose the ballast, the surrounding small rocks, the rubber mulch, etc.

First color applied ( much greener in person!)

sorry, let me try this again....