WiWlliams GP9 - What's underneath the dynamic brakes plastic part on the body shell?

I took the dynamic brakes off mine years ago to more closely match the CNJ GP7.  Apologies for the grainy photos.  These go back a while.

My 3rd Rail 2 rail version for comparison.  The Williams version looks pretty good without the dynamic brakes.

@M. Tyler posted:

Kind of a weird question here, but has anyone removed the dynamic brakes part on the top of a Williams GP9 and seen what is under it?
Is it easy to remove the part, and are the GP7 fans underneath it?
Thanks!

Matt

There should be no fans underneath that dynamic brake part, as if there was no dynamic brake, then only the two exhaust stacks would be there, i.e. no "cooling fans" on that that part of the hood.

There are two exhaust stacks under the dynamic brake housing and a cooling fan under the winterization hatch. The part is a friction fit and just pulls off.

@Mike D posted:

There are two exhaust stacks under the dynamic brake housing and a cooling fan under the winterization hatch. The part is a friction fit and just pulls off.

Which is better than what I ran into a long time ago when making my MTH GM&O GP38's more accurate for the railroad. The GM&O's 38's had no dynamic brakes, and MTH decided to mount their brake blisters with Super Atomic Glue (actually just plastic cement, but on styrene that stuff is atomic as it is just a solvent) and I had to file, chip and grind - the repaint the area. Worked out all right, but it was a job.

Based on advice I received above, I bought a NOS Williams GP9 made in 2003 according to the Sanda Kan QC card that was inside the box, and as Michael stated above, the dynamic brake/winterization hatch part is purely a friction fit on the top of the GP body.  It is a VERY tight fit and the sides of this add-on part really grip the sides of the body.  It required a BIG tug to pull off the part, to the point where I started to wonder if something was going to break.  When it finally came off, it let go all at once and in a big way.  I got lucky and the paint only suffered a small scuff which I was able to mostly burnish out with a fingernail.  There are no screws, clips, or glue.  It's just the friction between the two parts that holds the part to the body.  Note the part is reversible and the winterization hatch can go in front of the dynamic brake just as well as behind, and though I've never seen a picture of a GP9 with that arrangement, I have learned that there is always a prototype for everything!

I'm attaching some pictures with the part in place (but not properly installed because I don't want to have to pull it off again), with the part removed, and then a couple pictures of the part itself.

In place:

Removed:

Top of part:

Bottom of part:

The Wabash RR had 12 GP9s on its roster, bought in two batches, the first in 1954 and the second in 1956.  Numbers were consecutive 484 to 495.  None of them (as best as I've ever been able to tell) ever had dynamic brakes (the Wabash was pretty flat) and instead they had "torpedo tube" air reservoir tanks mounted in that location instead, which is why I wanted to pull off the part in the first place.  That said, for roads that had GP9s with dynamic brakes, the part is generally a correct representation of the prototype, if a little too big.

Matt

Next time you want to do this, go borrow your wife’s hair dryer, and just slighty warm that part, wiggle, wiggle, tug, and she’ll pop right off without all that fuss….

Pat

I have used a hair drier and a also a space heater before on plastic parts.  Let's say I flew to close to the Sun both times.  I'm sure your method works great, with the emphasis on "slightly," but I don't trust myself now!

Matt