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Post by emd16645 on Jan 5, 2013 16:11:18 GMT -5
Having a bit of time off around the holidays, I started working on my Cary SW1500 project. This SW1500 will be painted and lettered for Matanuska Rail Leasing, a locomotive and car leasor/rebuilder located on my Eastern Alaska & Yukon. I picked up a Cary SW1500 shell a few years back, with the plan of eventually upgrading it a bit. The metal shell gives it a good amount of weight, and given a decent drive should perform quite well. Currently, the shell sits on a powered Athearn frame.  The first thing I started with this build was to add a Cannon walkway tread kit.  I've built a cab interior using parts for an Atlas MP15. The cab base was extensively modified to fit into the Cary shell. I still need to add a front bulkhead for the interior prior to painting it.  Cab interior test fit (sorry for the poor image quality)  The last thing I have done with this model so far is to grind off the cast headlight/numberboards and replaced them with Atlas parts (again MP15). I also drilled the shell to allow for lights to be added.   Please leave any suggestions/ideas you may have, I'd like to know what everyone thinks. |
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EMDX6043
Chairman
Future ex-modeler
Posts: 838
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Post by EMDX6043 on Jan 5, 2013 16:14:23 GMT -5
That's a neat project!
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Post by icghogger on Jan 5, 2013 20:29:22 GMT -5
Excellent Start, Chris!!
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Post by canadaandsouthern on Jan 6, 2013 10:48:56 GMT -5
How did you get it to sit on the Athearn frame?
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Post by emd16645 on Jan 6, 2013 11:23:19 GMT -5
How did you get it to sit on the Athearn frame? The frame is from an older SW7, and is a drop on fit. |
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Post by Packer on Jan 6, 2013 16:14:39 GMT -5
I like.
How good is the detail of the doors on the cary SW1500 compared to the athearn one?
reason I ask is because if I go though with an actual hump yard, I doubt that a pair of athearn RTR SW10/15s would really cut more than a few cars.
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Post by canadaandsouthern on Jan 6, 2013 17:13:52 GMT -5
I see, I have the sw7/9/1200 version and I cant get it to sit on the athearn frame.
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Post by emd16645 on Jan 6, 2013 18:34:07 GMT -5
I like. How good is the detail of the doors on the cary SW1500 compared to the athearn one? reason I ask is because if I go though with an actual hump yard, I doubt that a pair of athearn RTR SW10/15s would really cut more than a few cars. I haven't seen the latest RTR SWs to give a proper comparison to, but compared to my BB SW1500, the cary shell doesn't quite match up in regards to detail level. Personally, I am will to sacrifice a little bit on the detail level if there is a great difference in performance. The BB SW1500 with powered drive weighs about 7 ounces, while the cary shell with the same drive weighs better than 17 oz. This is comparable to an Athearn RR SD40. To me, the detail level overall is acceptable enough, especially for such a great increase of weight of the unit. I see, I have the sw7/9/1200 version and I cant get it to sit on the athearn frame. The frame I am using came from a SW unit that the fuel tank details were cast to the body shell. That era frame seems be the one that the cary shell was designed for, although I'm not sure as to when those models were produced. If I can find the shell I'll take some pictures and post it here. I did a quick google search, and the evilbay listing below is the same frame that I am using. www.ebay.com/itm/Athearn-HO-SW7-Powered-Diesel-Locomotive-Chassis-RUNS-WELL-/160947362125?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item257935d94d |
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Post by canadaandsouthern on Jan 6, 2013 21:02:58 GMT -5
I'm using the same style but the rear gear tower get in the way
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Post by emd16645 on Jan 7, 2013 4:20:06 GMT -5
I'm using the same style but the rear gear tower get in the way For whatever reason, mine fits on fine. I've had both the shell and frame for a couple of years, although I don't remember ever modifying either the shell or frame to fit each other. I have had some clearance issues with the rear truck with the cab interior I built, and I still have some tweaking to do to get that to fit properly. As far as mating the shell to the frame, I'm at a bit of a loss here.  |
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Post by Packer on Jan 7, 2013 15:40:00 GMT -5
I'd glue something in the gap in the pilot and leave room for a coupler box. That way when the coupler box is removed, the shell can be lifted off.
Another idea is to cut the gap towards the top a little and use the DW pilot buffer plate.
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Post by emd16645 on Jan 7, 2013 20:04:16 GMT -5
I'd glue something in the gap in the pilot and leave room for a coupler box. That way when the coupler box is removed, the shell can be lifted off. Another idea is to cut the gap towards the top a little and use the DW pilot buffer plate. I plan on doing something to fill in the gap in the pilot. Not quite sure which route I will go at this point. Thanks for the pointers. |
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