'Nother Critter, Pt.1

Was tempted to name this post Second Verse, Same as the First, but decided against it. I mentioned in an earlier post I ordered another AHM GE Center Cab loco, and it arrived yesterday. The very first thing I did was slap it on the test track. It worked much better than the first one, but I imagine if I find a re-motoring solution to the first one, I will apply it to this one as well. Pressing on. The first critter has a drastically shortened chassis, but it still sits as high as a standard switcher. In his excellent series of books (Steel Mill Railroads in Color---volume 2 just out, can't wait for 3), Stephen Timko features several locos whose cabs are even with the hoods, allowing them in very confined spaces. This was a look I wanted to capture.


I removed the cab and hoods from the deck.

Next I separated both hoods from the cab with a razor saw.

The air intakes on the short hood came off next. (They came damaged anyway, and yes I knew that before I bid on it.)

Now came time to remove all the molded-on details on the top. The grab irons on the front also disappeared. I sweetened the cut lines as much as possible with saws and sandpaper to get the tightest fit possible.

This is an after-market, thin-wall GE cab. It is really for larger, road units, but I think it works well here.

I plugged the holes, then reinforcing from the inside, glued the two hood sections together. You can also see where I took a tiny chisel knife and scooped a groove after the next-to-last access door. This allows the cab to easily slide over the hood.

Next up: I get to finally try some Tamiya putty to hide those seams. I'll see you then. Don