LifeLike P2K SD7 Shell on a Walthers Chassis: Epilogue


IronBeltKen

Lazy Daydreamer
This is a continuation of a thread I posted in early September [http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/...9-body-shells-before-vs-after-walthers.30626/] regarding the possibility of directly swapping the shell of a Walthers P2K HO scale SD9 with a shell from an earlier-production LifeLike P2K SD7. Nobody - not even the customer service rep at Walthers - was able to provide a definitive answer. But I REALLY wanted to have a sound-equipped SD7/9 to work my main yard during op sessions, so I formulated a possible Plan B: Buy a Walthers model and paint+decal the shell in the desired B&O dark blue scheme.

I wanted to get a model without dynamic brakes, but all the places I looked were either sold out or priced way above what I was willing to pay. Trainworld had some SD9s in stock [albeit with the dynamics] that were priced to fit my budget. My reason for not wanting a DB-equipped shell was: All of the B&O's DB-equipped SD9's had only a single fuel tank with a giant open gap where the second tank would have been mounted: http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/bo/bo1831goh.jpg . Trying to duplicate that spotting feature would involve a huge amount of effort and risk: Completely removing the motor, drivetrain and trucks from the chassis; milling away half of the motor well; then reassembling the chassis and HOPING the motor could still be reliably mounted.

Luckily, I discovered a photo of one oddball B&O DB-equipped unit - #1838 - that did NOT have that yawning gap under the body:

bo1838kla.jpg
It wasn't actually a fuel tank - only sheet metal plating - but it was SHAPED like one and could be replicated with minimal effort. So I felt comfortable enough to buy a DB-equipped model.

All of Trainworld's SD9 models were priced at just under $200, except this BNSF patched unit [https://cdn8.bigcommerce.com/s-e3e83/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/4850/9901/09200000048609__63719.1409829275.jpg] which went for ~$180. So that's the one I bought. As soon as I had it out of the box and removed the shell, my original fears were confirmed: the headlight apparatus in the newer models would prevent a Life-Like shell [with its light bars] from fitting on the newer Walthers chassis without a lot of re-working...Plan B (repainting) seemed like the more desirable approach.

Soon it dawned on me that my decision to buy this BNSF model [for $20 less] instead of the solid-black Conrail patched unit, was penny-wise and dollar-foolish :oops::mad:! The BNSF shell would need a primer coat to cover the BN green before applying the B&O dark blue; not only that, but this shell faithfully replicated the BNSF prototype unit as it appeared in the mid-1990's: a flashing strobe beacon on the cab roof, and no pilot-mounted steps (those were outlawed in the mid-1970's). It would need to be back-dated. (...continued...)
 
Painting and lettering the loco was the easy part: I had plenty of leftover Microscale B&O decals available, and I've done so much airbrushing over the past several months that I could do it....well, maybe NOT blindfolded, but you get the idea! Here are a few pics of the shell before I "aged" it, this is what it would have looked like NIB:

BnO_1838_ShellFreshlyPainted.jpg


Originally I wasn't going to bother adding pilot platforms. But every time I looked at the prototype photo, the platforms were plainly visible. And then I discovered two more differences between the BNSF shell and the B&O body. The collapsible walkways on the ends of the BNSF unit were nearly twice as long as those on the B&O; and the BNSF unit has the SD7-style twin ladders on the end of the short hood, another deviation from a typical "vanilla" SD9 which only had one on the right [engineer's left] half. Finally my "OCD" side got the best of me and I ordered a used LifeLike SD9 shell from an eBay seller. [So much for the original $20 savings, hah!] Once the shell arrived, and I cannibalized & installed the necessary pieces, I considered the results to be worth the effort.

BnO_1838_LongHoodFwd_exp.jpg


BnO_1838_ShortHoodFwd_exp.jpg


Finally, now I have at least one sound-equipped switcher for each yard.
 
Willie/Ray - thanks for the kind words! No need for envy, each of you has talents of your own that I haven't even ventured into yet (laser-cut wood structures, after-market sound decoder/speaker installation).
I have been letting the subconcious ponder the Athearn SD45 RTR DCC ready from about 10 years ago that I want to put sound also into (it has/had the 8 pin/9 pin silent option and the open motor). I also want to replace the bulbs with LEDS. I'm leaning towards fixing the decoder to the top of the shell, so wiring to the LEDS can be permanently attached to the decoder, mounting the speaker between that and the motor, so the only wires left to deal with, when removing the shell, are the power pickups and the motor ones. I'll do a thread on that when I get one of those elusive "round tuits".
 
Actually, I have a question. The number boards. I found out (from an answer by the guy that made and installed them), that MRL only light the front boards, not the rear. Do you bother to go that far with renumbering, or is that not practical? If you do, how do you do the boards themselves?
 
Ray, I do both ends because the B&O back-in-the-day operated their hood locos in both directions on the mine branches and the yards. Since my loco color is dark blue, I don't bother with any additional painting on the board faces themselves - just apply the white digits (supplied with the Microscale B&O decal kit) onto their required positions and apply MicroSol. 24-36 hours later, I cover the boards with a thin wash of neutral gray to create the appearance of being covered by dirty glass (not easily visible in these photos unfortunately).
 



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