Small GP-7 Fuel Tank?

[wabash2800]

I would like to model a smaller 800 gallon fuel tank like seen in this link on GP-7 450.

www.rr-fallenflags.org/wab/wab450ads.jpg

Has anyone seen any info such as measurements or good detail photos for these small fuel tanks? Also, do any GP-7's exist today with such a small fuel tank in a museum or on a shortline?

Thanks in advance.

[Rudy Garbely]

Yup! This one's in Hamburg, PA at the Reading Technical & Historical Society museum. It's an ex-RDG unit.

[stillbre]

I believe this can be done on the P2K Geeps by removing the plasitc tank from the chassis and just using the exposed motor-mount to represent the tank. Just cut the air tanks free of the fuel tank and reinstall them. Bob Harpe did this on a Southern GP7 build that he did several years back.

[thb401]

I did the same thing Josh describes on my P2K TH&B GP7s. Only took a few minutes to do. Bill Maclean.

[dtinut]

Cutting off the plastic tank is OK, but it looks a lot better when it is done correctly. I have milled several small tanks into P2K frames - the only frame currently that this can be done on.

Here is one that I did.


Let me know if you are interested...
Regards,
Brian Everett

[wabash2800]

I guess it's going to be a little more work for me as I have a couple of Atlas GP-7's to do this to. As you may know, the frame, air tanks and fuel tanks are all one casting. I have a friend who has offered to mill both sides for me and I plan on attaching two cut down sides from a plastic fuel tank plus two new air tanks. I will also have to fabricate a new fuel tank skirt, but that won't be a big deal. This will take weight out of the unit but I plan on adding some lead back inside to compensate for that. Do you think that will work?

If the weather wasn't so bad this time of the year I wouldn't mind driving out to Hamburg PA, to measure that unit but, of course, contacting them first. Maybe I can get someone at the RRRT&HS out there to take some measurements and photos for a donation? (It would cheaper than traveling out there. But perhaps it will be in 2 feet of snow this weekend?)

Thanks for the replies so far.

[wabash2800]

Brian:

That looks good. What did you base your details on? Did you just work from photos or have any measurements? I like the trusses. Is that something you added?

Please provide more details. Note my other reply: I am going to do this Atlas units...

Victor

[Rudy Garbely]

Feb 5, 2010 20:55:13 GMT -5 wabash2800 said:

If the weather wasn't so bad this time of the year I wouldn't mind driving out to Hamburg PA, to measure that unit but, of course, contacting them first. Maybe I can get someone at the RRRT&HS out there to take some measurements and photos for a donation? (It would cheaper than traveling out there. But perhaps it will be in 2 feet of snow this weekend?)

www.readingrailroad.org/ There's probably a contact on this site.

They are open on weekends, $5 admission. They give free tours of the yard too, so if you can wait until the weather clears up, I'm sure they would let you take measurements. They let me run all around the C630 taking detail shots.

[dtinut]

It would be a lot of work on an Atlas model to make it have the small tank...Good Luck!
Let us know how it goes. I haven't tried it, and I only have 2 Atlas GP7's - both in Chessie paint, and they had the larger fuel tank, so I didn't think about that on those.

The Athearn GP frame is not really possible because of the way it is designed. You'd be better off building your own frame.

The P2K frame is the one that is best designed to modify into the small frame setup.
I have dimensions for a guy named Scott Chatfiled who crawled all over almost every variety of early Geeps to get dimensions of all the important parts, including the fuel tanks.

I did use some photos to build the frame rails whaich are made out of styrene, and are added after the tank is completed.

Brian

[paul]

Hey wabash2800. check out my post whats on the workbench :just about done. think that might help you out

Paul

[dale]

I milled Atlas GP7 tanks in trade school back in the early 90's very easy to do. You can leave the skirts on or mill them down and you mill down the air tanks which look bad anyway then use Athearn GP7 air tanks with either brass or styrene tubing.