Passenger Train Engines: E6A and F3A/B

SIX engines in the 'Warbonnet Scheme' must have been stunning!

Thanks for the info on the E6. I'll find other uses for our E6A/B duo. I guess I will look to a second F7A/B combo if funds permit. Otherwise, we'll settle on a compromised ABA.

Thanks everyone for the many replies. It seems that we can easily make the fixes to eliminate the derailment concerns. It looks like we'll budget a 'Super Chief' into our model RR plans.

Reply to
Matt Brennan
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An E5A&B from a LifeLike n scale E6 pair is my current project. At first glance, it seemed simple to just add a letterboard band and some fluting to these, but I see other discrepancies that I would like to take care of. Is there a bashing article that might guide me further? My biggest challenge is the center carbody section with the windows. DSG says that the section is shorter, but it looks like it is just moved downward to accommodate the letterboard and reversed behind the cab door, and the fluted section is actually the shortened dimension. My hope is to accomplish the project without a donor body, so if someone has a recommendation, I'd appreciate the knowledge.

Steve

P.S. I probably need to follow through quickly on this project. I just got a call from the LHS that the 6 month wait for my Pioneer Zephyr kit has ended, and I'm out the door RIGHT NOW!

Reply to
Woody

glance, it seemed

windows. DSG

to accommodate

call from the

I am not sure about N-scale, but there is/was a supplier out there providing or planning to provide resin parts to kitbash the P2K HO E6 to an E5. I think last I looked the parts were delayed or discontinued. The kitbash is difficult because the entire structure of the carbody had to be changed with windows moved, fluting applied, etc. Also the price of the resin parts was going to be substantial.

Reply to
David B. Redmond

: I am not sure about N-scale, but there is/was a supplier out there : providing or planning to provide resin parts to kitbash the P2K HO E6 : to an E5. I think last I looked the parts were delayed or : discontinued. The kitbash is difficult because the entire structure : of the carbody had to be changed with windows moved, fluting applied, : etc. Also the price of the resin parts was going to be substantial.

Things are looking up for this project. A donor shell was located at the hobby shop, as well as an HO E-5/Sam Houston Zephyr on sale, so that I could compare the various panels and sizing to an E-6. A Concor parlor car will be sacrificed for the fluting. That'll do.

Reply to
Woody

I was thinking of just buying an undec, but couldn't even find any of them.

Hmm. The Kato car definitely has an edge in roadability, but not actually owning one I can't do a more detailed comparison. I don't remember what the coupler arrangement on it was. All I know is that I replace the couplers on my Walthers cars before they ever touch the rail. I made the mistake of trying to operate some of the first Budd cars (Amtrak) when they were first released and thought what the heck, I'll run 'em with the factory couplers for a few trips. I was rewarded with an uncoupling, the train rear-ending itself, and a nice slumbercoach taking a dive to the concrete. $32 passenger car damaged because I thought I could take a short cut and use the @^&%$# factory couplers. Other than that, I haven't had any operating issues with the cars worth reporting. Just check the wheel gauge and trucks for squareness.

I have only a few IM RTR cars... none recent. The first RTR cars they did were the covered and cylindrical hoppers, and they would self-destruct if you actually tried to run them on the trucks they came with. IM has since done an about-face on their wheels and trucks but I don't have any of the newer RTR cars. I like to build them myself and still favor the Kadee trucks.

As to the Kadee cars... they are just dead nuts on. They run flawlessly, and the couplers are set up to Kadee spec. As a $30+ piece of rolling stock should be. As long as Kadee is in business, everybody else is going to be fighting it out for #2 when it comes to "road readiness".

Andy

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Reply to
Andy Harman

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