Athearn GP60M conversion to Norfolk Southern GP60

[John]

Here's an update on my next project. A pair of Norfolk Southern GP60's

These will be converted from Athearn/Railpower GP60M's and detailed as Norfolk Southern #7121 & #7129:

Here's a picture of the prototypes:



The base models are a basket case Athearn GP60M I purchased very cheaply on ebay, and a 'new old stock' Railpower Products GP60M shell and chassis kit I bought from MG Sharp models.

The Athearn is a reissue of the old RPP shell, so both of these locomotives will have the same heritage.

I will be stripping the Athearn shell and ditching the cabs (if anyone needs a couple of GP60M cabs then I'm open to offers).

I've already purchased most of the parts I need for these builds, including the correct truck sideframes and various Details West and Detail Associates parts.

One of the pair will be built with a salvaged Athearn SD50 cab, the other will use a Cannon cab.

I will update on progress as these builds get underway, but for now here are a couple of pics of the base models.

[Deleted]

Are you putting the Athearn cab on the Athearn shell and the Cannon on the RPP shell? I found mounting the Cannon sub base on an Athearn shell very tricky but because of the width of the RPP shell under the cab it fits well.

By the way I gave up on M G Sharp's after several unsatisfactory experiences and high prices. I find the net is the best place to get stuff.

[John]

The Athearn GP60M is pretty much identical to the RPP shell, I don't think they changed it at all, so I expect the Cannon base will fit under either (hopefully!).

I didn't find MG Sharp too bad for prices, but I've only bought that one shell from them, and price-wise I was comparing to the import costs of buying from the US.

Do you know of anyone else in the UK that stocks RPP shells? I couldn't find a net listing for any other stores that have them.

[John]

Here's an update on this build. I've stripped the paint from the Athearn shell that will form the base for NS #7129 using 99% alcohol.


The shell in a tupperware tub ready to be sealed.


The shell after about two hours, the paint is loosening on the larger panels.


The shell after around three hours and a scrub with an old toothbrush. Most of the paint is removed, but there is some around the steps and other detail areas.


The shell after more scrubbing and a wash in soapy water. There is some glue residue where the original wide cab was fitted, but the new dash-2 sub base and etched walkway treads will hide any blemished that remain.



Here are the main body parts I have for #7129, including a Cannon cab, 88 inch nose and sub base. I also have etched walkways, plows, anticlimbers and the usual hoses and other small details.

[tamaman]

Looks like a good build. Good start.

[John]

Work continues on my GP60 project locomotives

This is #7121 the locomotive that utilises a new-old-stock Railpower shell, I am building this one with all Cannon & Co. parts while #7129 has a combination of Cannon and salvaged Athearn parts.



This is my first time using Cannon cab components, and I'm very impressed with the quality and variety of options these kits allow.



The sub base is built based on the precise details of the prototype locomotive, an easy job given the sheer number of options Cannon provide in their excellent kit.



The cab itself is a similarly detailed kit, and goes together very easily, although unfortunately I realised after I'd finished that I had read some advice which suggested leaving the roof off until after assembly, to make it easier to add the glazing.



The nose features the correct GP60 brakewheel side section and the toilet hatch, exactly as per the real locomotive.



Here is a photograph showing everything test fitted, the anticlimber and sub-base have been glued in place.


I had bought a set of Cannon GP tread-plates for the model, but the step shape is different from the older GP38-2 so I am going to have to rethink my approach to the tread for these locomotives.

Does anyone know of an etched tread set that will fit the Railpower GP60?



Here's a shot of both models showing the progress so far.

[Deleted]

Having purchased from Sharpe's on numerous occasions (due to lack of other sources) I realised he overcharges on most everything. Usually just changes the $ for a £ sign which can obviously be quite costly. However, he is the only supplier that I know of in the UK for railpower shells. I bought my last two from a supplier online but had to get them shipped via a friend in Canada!

Like your work so far, I am following this one with interest, keep up the good work.

[Mike DeBerg]

Any chance the following will work for you?



[quote author=ajuk board=huh thread=9678 post=71797
I had bought a set of Cannon GP tread-plates for the model, but the step shape is different from the older GP38-2 so I am going to have to rethink my approach to the tread for these locomotives.

Does anyone know of an etched tread set that will fit the Railpower GP60?
[/quote]

[John]

Those railflyer treads might do nicely, I've e-mailed Chris to see if he can suggest a set to match what I need.

[d10ng]

Aj,
Speak to Macs models, he stocks a good number of railflyer products. Based in Bonnie Scotland. WWW.Macsmodels.co.uk I think.

Dave

[Deleted]

Dec 29, 2011 15:47:36 GMT -5 John said:

The Athearn GP60M is pretty much identical to the RPP shell, I don't think they changed it at all, so I expect the Cannon base will fit under either (hopefully!).

I didn't find MG Sharp too bad for prices, but I've only bought that one shell from them, and price-wise I was comparing to the import costs of buying from the US.

Do you know of anyone else in the UK that stocks RPP shells? I couldn't find a net listing for any other stores that have them.

Apologies, I forgot to answer your question. I have been mail ordering from Highball Graphics(if you don't already know them, don't be mislead by the name, not just decals, Microscale (directly) and two eBay sellers, jtprantle and ihe2005. I have tried two UK traders and find I am sadly disappointed in the service they provide.

[tamaman]

Nice work on those units!

[John]

I finally managed to get some workbench time on these two units today and got the Q-Fans fitted to the RPP shell, the grabirons fitted and hunted through my parts collection for the various bits and pieces I will need to finish them.

I've got almost everything I need but I realised I still haven't sourced any suitable handrails for these units, and ebay seems to be empty for Athearn sets so I will need to order some stanchions and bend my own (first time I will have to do that).

[upnspguy]

Hey,

I know it's been a while and sorry about bringing back this thread but John have you done any more work on the GP60s? I am looking to do a GP60 myself and would be interested in getting more idea's.

Thanks,
Brad

[John]

Hi Brad, I've not done any more work on them for the past year, I left EA and moved up to the midlands and there is no opportunity to do modelling in my rented room. Good news is I am in the process of moving into a house with a garage so modelling work can resume shortly. I've got a bunch of projects stacked up, including my Rock Island GP9 and these two GP60's. I want to get them finished for the NMRA convention in Bournemouth in October. Stay tuned for an update on the build in a few weeks.

[3800]

Jun 24, 2014 22:20:56 GMT -5 3800 said:

Author,

Nice presentation. I too am looking forward to seeing these models progress. Everybody has their own opinions regarding how to go about handrails, but I'd go the route of Smokey Valley. I know... I know, their product availability and quality control is often sketchy but recently I was desperate b/c my stanchion supplies were low so I emailed SV HQ and asked if they were still in business. Two days later I received an email back inquiring what it was I needed and they would be happy to send my order out. Well, I return emailed an order of various stanchion only kits (I reiterate, no pre-shaped handrails in these kits- stanchions only) specific to about 8 various EMD locos. Also in this return email, I asked for an invoice totaI... three days later a packet of stanchions was siting in my mail box! As it turned out, they sent me out over a $100.00 worth of product on the honor system! I was blown away! I never knew that you could order 'kits' of 28 pieces of the same stanchion, but that's what they did. They basically sent me out 6-28 piece kits of short, 4-28 piece long and 1-28 piece extra long stanchions, the latter for my various P2k SD50 & GP60 projects.

Oh sure I had to spend some time in front of the tv with a wire brush and a couple of sets of my favourite needle nose & duckbill pliers, but what the he!!, I got the product in one transaction and today they look as straight and as sharp as ever.
A day after receiving said stanchions, I realized that I'd forgotten about ordering the staked front and rear SD/GP 50/60 stanchions so I'd enquired about the possibility of getting 3 - 28 piece sets of those tallied on my order... got an email back w/ a new invoice total for those, I sent em a money order for that grand total and two weeks later as mentioned, I received two or three types of staked stanchions of which were so finely cast, I just needed to snip them off of the sprue! No elbow grease required!

I'm stoked! After all the time and trouble I was going through trying to piece together various Precision Scale stanchion kits not knowing exactly sure what I was going to get, this was a break! Not knocking Pre-Scale here, I understand they're updating their online catalog for much higher detailed product description etc etc.

Just passing on my recent experience, honest, I'm not a representative for Smokey.


Forgot exactly how much they charged me per kit but it was reasonable... very reasonable


Just a tip re shaping/bending rail wire if you've never done it before... I know you're working with railpower /athearn but if you happen to get ahold of a take off plastic set of athearn handrails and you decide to do the set in wire, don't bend your wire based on the height of the plastic stanchion/handrail assembly! (don't ask  ) The smokey valley stanchion heights from short-long-extra long vary slightly from the plastic. I would affix the stanchions at the locations on the side of the treadway and bend your wire accordingly. OK I'll fess up.. I once bent up 5 sets of various GP60 & SD50/60 long hood side handrails copying the plastic prototypes.. they all had to go into the scrap/extras bin.
 

adios 

[Randy Earle]

Very nice build. It makes me wonder if anyone has ever attempted to replicate the demonstrator's rounded cab fronts.

[dtinut]

Aline makes steps that should fit
A-Line HO #29244 Diesel Steps GP60,B,M (Brass)

Handrails:
old RPP offer - HO RAIL Power PRODUCTS #5530 GP 60 M METAL HANDRAIL SET (2 sets currently on ebay)
old Rail Details - HO RAIL Detail PRODUCTS #122 GP 60 M METAL HANDRAIL SET NIP - (nicer stachions than the other)

not sure if Athearn offered/made newer handrail sets for the std GP60, as I think they just made them for the GP60M and GP60B...

Nice builds.
Brian

[John]

Im still working on these, recent house move has taken all my spare time, and the new garage is full of boxes so no modelling space yet! Hopefully I will be able to update soon.

[John]

I finally dug out the GP60's and got them on the workbench. Following a house move I've got a proper modelling cave in the garage so I can work on a build without taking over the kitchen table.

First thing I noticed was that the models weren't as correct as I remembered, the horn looks too low on one of them and the cannon sub-base was definitely sitting on a warped walkway.

So, a bit of jimmying with a scalpel and the nose and sub base are off the model and ready to be re-fitted.  I realised that I had glued them in place with the shell sitting flat, but due to the low pilot face that resulted in an upward bend on the walkway - the solution is to let the pilot face overhang the edge of the workbench when fitting the nose.

Second thing is that the horn looks too low down on the hood.  It came with a really tall looking horn stand that I thought was too big, so I just glued the horn directly onto the top of the hood.  Looking at it now I'm thinking the horn should be up a bit higher. 

Can anyone advise on how the real horns are mounted?  Is it with a tall bracket or low?