Has anybody 3RS'd the MTH Alco DL-109/110?

Looking at the pilot on the WPF thread, the skirting on the sides may interfere with the front truck. I suspect that fixing the pilot would take similar steps to those with an F-unit. You might have to shave a bit off the top of the truck side frames for clearance on 36" radius curves. Between the A and B units, I'd use Kadee 745's with the box sides cut to allow for more coupler swing. Interesting project. I'm working on a set of FT's and it looks like I'm going to have a similar issue with the back-to-back B units.

Thanks Matt, and good luck on the FT's.

I couldn't look at the coupler and pilot anymore.  I will finish the rest at a later time.  I need to be spending my time on the layout.

That's looks great Howard.  It's only been in this last year that I've grown to appreciate the fixed pilot and losing the huge coupler!

Your track also looks really nice too...

Thanks Sam. 

 

It's only been in this last year that I've grown to appreciate the fixed pilot and losing the huge coupler!

Once you cross that line, it's a hard thing to come back from.  This whole thing with the DL-109 only came up because I posted that old "show me your Alco picture".  I then took it out and tried to see if I needed to do an ERR conversion, which was always the plan.  I was shocked the engine ran with PS1.  I then looked to see if MTH had done a -2 scale wheel version and they have not.  I took a picture an posted it.  I couldn't look at that coupler anymore it made the engine look silly and that's what I'm saying.  Since I put the picture up in Weekend Pictures, I couldn't look at the front of the engine.  I was so obsessed I had to modify it this weekend.  Next will come the ladders on the side and some Alco weathering.

Matt, if you come back to this thread, I did some research on the engine.  Those dual headlights, are prototypical of the C&NW one of your roads.  Santa Fe's lower headlight should have been mounted lower.   

Nice job on the conversion. CNW did have one and I think MTH produced it. CNW didn't have the B-unit, but I think MTH made one of those too. Might go ahead and add a set to the stable just for laughs and grins.

You're right about crossing the 3RS fixed pilot line. I'm at the club right now running a couple of locomotives I haven't run in over a year -- EMD SD70ACe Demonstrator and EMD SD7043MAC, both with hi-rail wheels with a hi-rail train. Took some getting used to on my part since I've been running scale wheels/fixed pilots and kadees. These are going to get converted at some point.

Once you go down that path, forever will it control your destiny.

Matt, u are correct C&NW never have B unit. I have A and B units from MTH.

Being a fan of the NH and modeling the 40's. This was a must have engine for the war era. It served in both passenger and freight. It took me a few years to acquire all 3 rd. nos.offered.  I started adding Kadee's about 5 years ago. While the swinging pilot bugged me. I wasn't sure on operations if fixing it would cause more issues running on 072 curves. I also wanted to close up the gap on the engines. I was a little more confident in accomplishing this even though it involved trimming the stock coupler mount.

The next photo of the pilot. I ended up putting an Atlas electro coupler mount to frame the Kadee. Functions well but doesn't look to good. The last photos I found on an auction site. Not sure how well the coupler functions as it seems to high. Looks like the pilot was fixed without a spacer. It's on 2 rail track and not even sure if it was converted.

Marker, please help me, I am about acquire a 3 rail version of the BL-109 and BL 110 set with passenger cars, I have converted other MTH items to 2 rail before, I would like to fix the pilot as you did and convert to 2 rail and add Kadees, I would appreciate any help you could give.

 Seeing my DL109's generally are in passenger service. The last 2 photos might not be a bad option. Even with the coupler height to high. All of my head end cars require a large shim to get the correct height. Having the couplers on both the engines and the rest of the cars higher than the height gauge may not be a bad option as far as looks. If it would eliminate the swinging pilot. Even if they don't match the rest of the fleet. As long as they stay together in the consist. I really don't do passenger car switching. The pilot will sit higher. But it may offset the clearance problem with the truck swing. I know if I made a spacer matching the green and getting the continuing stripe right wouldn't be easy.

I was working with some picture files today and found this.  Evidently Santa Fe had to make some serious modifications to the pilot to allow the front coupler to be efficiently used.  As Hot Water stated about the EMC E1 thru E6, the early pilots were not designed to allow for easy usage of the front coupler.  They were originally designed to be used with coupler door closed.  It's obvious that these early Alco's were the same way.

This goes along with the way Dave C was forced to mount the front coupler.  It looks like the Santa Fe alternative would have been to cut away the lower front center portion of the pilot and then the coupler could have been mounted a bit further back.