Tips on Fixing Pilot MTH F59PHi

The F59PHi has an odd pilot. If you imagine it without the snowplow, you'll see a flat pilot a few feet short of the end of the locomotive. The MP36's that Metrolink and some others use has a similar pilot (and it looks weird without a snowplow). The pictures below should give you a hint of how to shape the spacer. I'd use 1/8" styrene and "round it" to the contours. Then add side fill to the front of the pilot, leaving space for the snowplow. The other alternative would be to abandon the existing pilot altogether and fabricate a new front end entirely. By the way, I'm in the same boat as I have a Metrolink F59PHi I need to work on. On the rear, there isn't much special about the pilot as the locomotive wasn't designed to pull "backward". I believe there is a hostler cab back there on some of the earlier units, but none had headlight system.

By the way, you have a prototypical consist there.

AGHRMatt posted:

The F59PHi has an odd pilot. If you imagine it without the snowplow, you'll see a flat pilot a few feet short of the end of the locomotive. The MP36's that Metrolink and some others use has a similar pilot (and it looks weird without a snowplow). The pictures below should give you a hint of how to shape the spacer. I'd use 1/8" styrene and "round it" to the contours. Then add side fill to the front of the pilot, leaving space for the snowplow. The other alternative would be to abandon the existing pilot altogether and fabricate a new front end entirely. By the way, I'm in the same boat as I have a Metrolink F59PHi I need to work on. On the rear, there isn't much special about the pilot as the locomotive wasn't designed to pull "backward". I believe there is a hostler cab back there on some of the earlier units, but none had headlight system.

By the way, you have a prototypical consist there.

Thanks! Right now I'm leaning toward starting from scratch, especially since it won't need to be structural since I wouldn't ever have anything on the front end of the locomotive. As you stated, the rear pilot is more straightforward, although the MTH one looks a tad small. Neat to see the mixed consist at the end! Do you happen to have a higher resolution version of that photo?

Hi Will.

Unfortunately, I just stumbled across that one and couldn't find a better photo.

Mixed consists were common on Metrolink until they got the new Hyundai-Rotem cars. It appears they've returned all of the Sound and New Jersey Transit equipment they were leasing, but there were a couple of F59PH (non-streamlined) locomotives they leased from somewhere still in service until the F125's (really nice looking units) went into service.

After two weeks of trying to catch an F59PHi for a good pilot shot (Metrolink doesn't have that many and they're scattered all over the place) I caught one yesterday at Irvine as I was about to leave. Here's a side shot of the pilot. It looks like you just have to round off the bottom of the spacer and you'll be fine.

Go Matt! Thanks. Now to get my hands on one.