A Borg Dozer on a 1:87 MTH 60' HTTX Flatcar


tootnkumin

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Have been working on this the last few evenings, a Norscot D9T HO scale Dozer on an MTH HTTX 60' flatcar. MTH seems to be the only brand that makes this particular type car, and with an extremely high degree of detail. The only pity is that they opted for plastic decks, rather than like Intermountain did with their real wooden decks on the OTTX ones they make.

The D9T, I have had dismantled for some time, an "interesting" project in itself. Here is a prototype picture of what I'm aiming at
CAT_LOADS[1].jpg

The Flatcar being used is TTX, I weathered the wooden decking by brush painting with Polyscale Reefer Grey, thinned a bit with 70% isopropyl Alcohol
(sound just like MR mag, eh). Once dry, I rubbed some lamp black pastel, using a medium stiff, short bristle brush, along the "boards" to enhance the gaps and bolt heads. Went a little heavy on this, but was able to restore the greyness to the timber with a similar light grey pastel and soft brush. The metal groves in the decks where the tiedown chains lock into, I painted with a rust coloured acrylic I mixed up from various artists paints I have, to a color I liked, using a thin edged soft flat brush, which kept the paint in the groove much better than a small round tipped brush.

The Trucks were removed and washed. They have working springs and rotating caps on the axle ends. Unfortunately the axle extensions pass through the sideframes, and the caps press on. Because the sideframes can move up and down on the springs, they are not fixed to the bolster. I did take the caps off one axle and attempted to remove the axle/wheels from the sideframe, but changed my mind in case everything came apart. Glad I did, getting those tiny, tiny, tiny caps back on was heart in mouth stuff. So wheels and sideframes got painted assembled. Was fairly easy in the end. After adding a bit of "Vallejo" dark rust wash to various parts, I gave the sides and bottom a dusting with the Frosted Glass paint I used on my Gravel hoppers and remounted the trucks. Another interesting difference to the majority (or all) other brands, the spigots the trucks pivot on are metal and separately applied to the car base. They appear to be those split spring dowels you would find being used in engineering for aligning two sections of a casting together.

Some photos of progress so far
DSC05123.JPGDSC05122.JPGDSC05121.JPG

The chains are yet to be secured to the grooves using the ratchets supplied with the flatcar, going to be tricky. More chains to be used to secure the other parts as well. A couple more pics to follow.[SUB][SUP]
[/SUP][/SUB]
 
2 more pics,
DSC05125.JPGDSC05124.JPG

Ah, and before I forget. Why the "Borg" reference? that's because this is "one of five".
 
Sweet Toot, I'd say you nailed it!
This has been on my list of to-do's for some time.
I must say that's a strange way of tieing it down tho, never seen that before.
Hard to dispute actual prototype pics tho, eh?
 
Yes, the chains over the tracks doesn't seem a very secure method, although tightened well, it probably is. Odd that there are no provided tiedown brackets on the machine itself. Here's another of the larger D10T showing 4 chains per side, wish someone had done them in HO as well.
tthx92530-catload[1].jpg
These are D10's as well I think, note the overhang of the Flatcar sides
IMG_3160-E[1].jpg
 
Anybody notice there were no visible chains on those D10's? in the last pic because of the tracks overhanging. They seem to be secured by some special steel brackets (rust colored), apparently bolted to the tracks and presumably locked into the tiedown channels instead. The D11 range is the largest Caterpillar Dozer, so maybe that's what these are.
 
This picture is taken from the Transportation Engineering Agency for Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.
This is the tie down procedure for a D7 dozier. It appears to have tie down channels out the outside edge of the flat car as well as a second set of channels near the middle of the flatcar.

D7 Tie down.jpg
 
Thanks for that diagram Ken, the military certainly seem to go with a more secure method. Would depend on the Dozer size if the blade was still attached, the model ones hang out about 7/16" each side. Doing a bit more research, found this y/tube vid which particularly near the end when the train stops and the taker gets some close up shots. Confirms that from ex factory there are no other chains visible apart from those over the Dozer's tracks. Confirms these are D10's too (nice, clear still shot) and even of the delivery sheet attached to the radiator. I might get as far as a yellow piece of paper with some squiggles on it.
Fast forward 1:00 min to see train

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T2MQXwalKU
 
Anyone read the delivery address on that notice, quite interesting where they're going to. Noted too that the cars carrying them are designated TTHX and appear to have an extra deck over the top, not as I thought HTTX. Looking that designation up indicates a heavier load capability. I now know more about US trains than I ever did about NZR or any Aussie ones.
 
Those pictures are a goldmine of info and a great find!
Somewhere I have pictures of a quad track articulated tractor with armour plating that was headed to Afghanistan.
I used to run a D10 with a coal blade, I'm looking for those pictures too.
 
Now, here's what I call a decent photo of a tiedown. Been trying to find one that shows the piece that fits into the grooved track in the car's deck that allows fast positioning of the chains and tensioner. The track detail on the MTH cars is great, they actually have the notches along each side that the sliding block clips into. Never going to be able to effectively model these blocks without molding or printing capability, but wanted to know what they looked like


Always a lot of loose chain hanging around these couplings as well, isn't there?
 
More progress.
Installed (and glued down a parts box in front of the Dozer, then later decided it and the blade should have been placed further forward. Got the blade off without doing too much damage to the deck, but had done too good a job of the gluing of the parts box, so there it shall have to stay. Repositioned the blade and repaired the deck (bit of paint and pastel). Removed the wood chocks against the Dozer's tracks as they don't seem to use them (sure I'd seen some somewhere) Got all the chains installed and a bit of rust on them.

Still have to make chocks for the sides of the blade arms on the back and likewise and the blade (Oh,oh!which makes me realise I haven't left enough deck room at the front) My assumption that the Dozer would be centralised is wrong, according to that NS train video. The Dozer is actually sitting more rearward with the back of the tracks over either the TTX reporting mark or the road number depending on how it's facing. That gives more deck length at the front. The Ripper tine is also sitting on top of the blade arms. Ah, well, this one will have be the runt of the litter and have something else dividing it from them, a couple of Front end loaders should do.

Anyway, a couple more pics.
DSC05134.JPGDSC05127.JPG
 
Rico, In that video, one of the blades was painted black for some reason, wonder why?

Toot I don't know if the colour has any meaning really, have to look that one up.
Ours was yellow but I think I've seen black coal blades too. It was the first (and last) dozer I ran with joysticks and had an awesome ripper on the back like yours that would really tear up frozen coal... if you knew how to operate it!
 
Ken, it is heavy. I think the NMRA total car load weight has been well exceeded, might have to grease the truck bearings on these :eek:
 
Once it's finished, I'll take pics out in the natural light, always better than with the flash. Maybe I'll repaint one of the blades in black too, just for variety.
 
TOOT, The black dozer blade looks to be for a "Waste Arrangement" for landfill work. They were generally wider and had a "screen" on top of the blade to gain height and may have been modified by an outside supplier. Pulling down on the sides of the tracks was normal as I remember for tracked equipment, as these machines brake locked when the engine was not running. There is no way these could roll and the little wedge block in front of the tracks in one pic is kinda comical. The wedge blocking was everywhere on these loads. The smaller ones 4x6x about 12" long were nailed into place with no less than (5) 8" nails. Something I didn't see here was the chain "softeners" used everywhere a chain might contact an edge or painted surface (except the edge of tracks). The softeners were like a piece of large, black neoprene rubber type hose, about 12" long, 2.5 - 3" in diameter and with a slight curve in it and split down the outer side to slip it over the 5/8 chain. Also, on all dozers, there is a towing eye on the frame under the radiator, that always had 2 chains, each pulling in a V to the inner set of chain rails. At the rear of the machine, there were no chain points IF the machine had rippers. As I remember, a chain was fed behind the lower pins that held the ripper assembly and were x chained to the inner chain tracks as well. There were a few machines that came in that had 1/2" plywood covering the glass on the cabs and I remember 1 loader that had it glass busted out by rock throwing as####s. After clearing the flatcar, I was required to lay all the chain back in the side channels. I took all the wedge blocks home for the fireplace and used the chain softeners on my trucks. Dave PV
 



Back
Top