EMD F40C (a Shapeways adventure)

[EMDX6043]

Gentlemen,

USPS delivered the F40C from Shapeways today, so I set her down on the bench of work for some photos. I'm very pleased with the locomotive, as all major dimensions seem correct, and there is a surprising amount of detail included on the shell. Simply put, it just looks right and captures the hefty appearance of the prototype very well. The Athearn SD40-2 frame looks to be a good fit, but some minor adjustments will be needed--no big deal. I guess maybe I'm biased...I grew up watching these run up and down Metra's Milwaukee District in all their 900rpm glory.

Here she is right out of the packaging, before the bath in Simple Green. One cab ladder was broken off, but was retrieved from the bubble wrap packaging. I cut the other one off and put both in a safe place, as experience tells me that it'll break off anyway and disappear into the carpet before being completed. It's a shame this is a passenger unit, as there's going to be TONS of room for weight in there...

The printing lines aren't that bad in my opinion, even considering this is FUD (Frosted Ultra Detail), but it would have been nice if FXD (Frosted Extreme Detail) was offered. I also ordered some plows and ditch light castings in FXD, and those should be ready to go without much work at all.

[Deleted]

Nice looking shell what I can see of it once you get the wax cleaned off of it will tell the real story.

Also let us know what you use to clean the wax off with.

[EMDX6043]

I used Simple Green, left over from the last time I did a Shapeways project a few years ago. Soaked it for maybe 20 mins in between doing other things, then a rinse and scrub with Comet, and another final cleaning with dish soap. I like using Comet as a poor-man's grit blast, even though she's no where near ready for paint. I think I've settled on Metra 601 for her identification.

I got the shell mounted to the frame yesterday, but it took longer than it probably should have since I used an Athearn frame. I had to grind out most of the shell's mounting flange, then I CA'd new mounting pads for four mini washer-head screws (Athearn motor mount types). The coupler boxes are able to hold the shell onto the frame even though the pads were cut off, but I wanted something more substantial. I also had to grind out a bit of the frame to mount the Genesis motor too, which kinda surprised me. The one downside of the Shapeways plastic is that it is VERY brittle. Those 1/4" styrene rods hopefully keep everything from flexing too much. I had a few slight issues while working with the Dremel...and I'll just leave it at that.

[Deleted]

Looking pretty good there.

[spike]

Does this Shapeways account also have N scale? There was a guy who was selling N F40C, and the F40phm, which were originally used on the BN line, and replaced the E9 fleet. If it is the same guy, I’d be willing to give it a shot. I worked BN Suburban Service early in my career.

[EMDX6043]

Oct 13, 2017 11:05:12 GMT -5 spike said:

Does this Shapeways account also have N scale? There was a guy who was selling N F40C, and the F40phm, which were originally used on the BN line, and replaced the E9 fleet. If it is the same guy, I’d be willing to give it a shot. I worked BN Suburban Service early in my career.

Yep, he's got the Winnebagos still showing in his shop.

www.shapeways.com/shops/daminkeenan

[spike]

Thanks for the reply EMDX. I have thought about doing the F40 Winnebago, and getting some Burlington Budd gallery cars for sentimental reasons. So far I’ve been staying true to my 1980ish Boston and Maine theme.

[EMDX6043]

Oct 13, 2017 20:14:35 GMT -5 spike said:

Thanks for the reply EMDX. I have thought about doing the F40 Winnebago, and getting some Burlington Budd gallery cars for sentimental reasons. So far I’ve been staying true to my 1980ish Boston and Maine theme.

I think you need something to remind you of your time on the Racetrack...

[spike]

Dave, “Race Track” is something that I believe was coined by some foamed to the max Klambake staffer. To me it will always be the East End. I do miss working dinkeys. One regret is not qualifying on them as engineer. My crew on 1282 was the best thought. We worked very well together.

[slowfreight]

Looking forward to this. I'll eventually build an as-delivered F40C, and I hadn't realized that daminkeenan had released it in HO as well.

[spike]

I’d do the Winnebago in N. I’ve been fooling around with B&M, like I said. I thing ConCor did the Budd gallery cars in the CB&Q style.

[jmlaboda]

I thing ConCor did the Budd gallery cars in the CB&Q style.

They did but keep in mind that those things are over 40 years old and they look like it, not being updated by any means. Shame, really, the owner use to have some sort of commitment to improve on his N-scale passenger cars but what was to be some good offerings have stalled, with nothing new in quite some time. He's offered some new models in HO that I wish they would offer in N but so far he's too busy on the golf course to be concerned with doing more in N...

[EMDX6043]

An update...

All I've done lately is install the main res tanks and figured out a way to add the recessed fuel tank step without too much effort. I also cut the fuel tank back per the prototype. All the ladders are now broken off, but that's okay-there were extras included with the shell. I'll probably just clean everything up and add them once she's almost done. The decoder(s) are en-route, so while I wait for that I'll be adding an abbreviated cab interior and start on the usual details.

[KCSRailfan]

Is the quality pretty good on this shell BRI?

[EMDX6043]

Seems pretty good to me...I'm looking forward to the paint portion of the project.

[spike]

Looks good so far.

[EMDX6043]

I finally got the ESU decoder installed (Select V4.0) and spent a little time getting the sound files just right. I still need to turn down the compressor volume when the HEP is running...the reason being that ESU doesn't have them ramp up with the prime mover like the real shaft-driven types, so it just sounds silly to me at the high RPMs. I also got the underframe painted, brake lines installed, abbreviated cab interior (gear tower made me raise the floor), along with Kadee tight locks. I've got a few packets of Sergents around, so that's also on the list. Hopefully the video I'm posting works.
<img src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/bbcode/video-preview.png" video="<iframe width=&quot;560" height="315" src=" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>" alt="Video Preview">

[spike]

I remember going out the north concourse and seeing these. Did head end power run off of the prime mover, or was there a separate genset? I’ve just forgotten.

[slowfreight]

Nov 2, 2017 16:02:34 GMT -5 spike said:

I remember going out the north concourse and seeing these. Did head end power run off of the prime mover, or was there a separate genset? I’ve just forgotten.

The F40C's were always shaft-driven.

[EMDX6043]

It's painting day. The correct P5 is on order too, so there's no need for anyone to point out the inaccuracy. The print lines are starting to disappear under each coat of paint, but I'm still going to leave it as-is since I knew what I was getting into, and she passes the 3 foot rule...

The battery boxes have a bit of damage that I didn't notice prior to paint, so I'll have to address that before the decals and final details get applied.