Hankyu chassis mods

The key to the RS-1 (and indeed my up coming Geep) model is being able to place a shorter body on top of the boxy chassis. A couple of simple cuts make this possible. It is something that even the most hamfisted modeller could do.

The H9000 chassis has a pair of locating pins on one end that engage into a pair of holes on the car body. At the other end the electrical contact strip folds down to make contact with terminals on the LED's that illuminate with the direction of travel. It is simplicity itself to slice the locating pins off with a sharp modelling knife and cut the folded down pieces of contact strip off with a track cutting disc and then slice of a couple of plastic ribs behind them with yuor modelling knife. Doing this you can shorten a body by approaching 6mm or about 9 scale feet.

Above: Finished chassis with pins and contact strip cut off.

Alco RS-1

So, with my rediscovered enthusiasm brimming I set about on a construction project. Not the Geep I thought I might do. But an Alco RS-1. There are many pictures of the class in Don Hofsommers book on the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad and plans are easy to hand in the internet so I was well sorted with reference materials.

For the project I chose to covert a Hankyu 9000 power car. I had a "kitbashers set" that I had bought from Train Aids A quite a while ago. They sell units specifically for the crazy kitbashers in the T scale world who want to scratchbuild. Yes the loco will be a bit oversize and the bogies will be in the wrong place. But even in the early days of HO, N and Z there were models around that were not scale reproductions of the real thing. So as long as this looked like an RS-1 and folks recognised it as such then that was fine by me.

Above: The first task was to shorten the passenger car body. About 6mm was cut out of it to get closer to scale length. I also filed off some of the details on the bodywork along the way.
Above: Next came the addition of the cab. The sides were represented by some lengths of 4.5mm x 1.5mm evergreen strip and the distinctive roof profile was cut out of a section of 12.5 mm evergreen styrene tubing.
Above: The next task was to set about the body with some filler putty, filling in the cab and the roof to change that to a better profile. The final piece of work for the day was to add the walkway around the side and a little below floor detailing, representing fuel tanks, to hide the Eishindo chassis.

So far, so good. I'm pretty pleased with it. It has already been recognised as an RS-1 on Talking T Gauge so my aim has been achieved. The next task will be to give it a light coating of primer so I can see just how it really looks.

Just looking

I've just been taking a look at some of the pictures of Gonou with regards to seeing if I could "Americanise" it. That is, with the replacement of a few buildings make it look like something that viewers at the upcoming Granite City Train Show could relate to.
As I was looking at the pictures I began to realise that I've never actually looked at the layout. I've always studied it. That's different. I've been deciding where to place things, deciding what looks right. "Should more trees go in here" for example.
I've never looked at it like a person at a train show looks at it. I doubt I'll get that same sense of wonderment again that viewers get when they see the small trains for the first time (I do well remember what it was like for me the first time I opened the box though).
But just looking at it as a model. I can do that now. Probably because I haven't studied it for a long time. I can look at it with a fresh pair of eyes.
You know what? I think it isn't half bad.
You know what else? I don't want to Americanise it.
I guess that means I'll have to build a new layout...

Done it now.

I just mailed in my confirmation to take a layout to the Granite City Train Show and in the space that said "scale/gauge" I drew 2 lines.

A vertical line topped with a horizontal one. T.

I'm not saying I'm taking Gonou, though I more than likely will. It's just that the track plan gallery over at the T gauge website was a little bit inspirational and I've been messing around with track parts seeing what would fit on the 20" x 30" piece of 1/2" foamcore I happened to buy over the weekend.

Not content with that. In order to get myself back into the T scale frame of mind I was looking at my spare H type chassis and contemplating fitting a GP7 body over it. It would be a bit long of course and a tad over wide but just how much over wide would depend on the thickness of material I would use.

This is what I mean about the T scale frame of mind. Because the scale is so small (.677mm to 1 foot) the very thickness of the material you use can have a very pronounced effect on the scale accuracy of your model, .75mm styrene sheet has a prototype thickness of about 15" in T scale. So to a certain extent (for me anyway) scratchbuilding in T has to be about creating the right effect. So if my GP7 turns out to be three feet too wide and eight feet too long so be it. It will be worth it when someone recognises it for what it is.

Alas, I have nothing to show for my efforts this afternoon other than some good ideas and more importantly a belief that a GP7 is a goer.

I think it's safe to say I'm back.

OUCH!

Thats the T scale bug biting.

I thought I was done with T. I really did.

I couldn't see the road vehicles and my power pack gave up the ghost just before the Saint Cloud Christmas Train show. I was pretty convinced it was all going against me. I'd had a couple of good showings of my HO scale layout I was figuring it was a sign to stay with HO. I could see everything and the trains ran well.

Then the St. Cloud train show came and even though I took the HO layout and had great fun with it. People missed the T gauge. I was taken to task about it by several people. The local radio interviewer even asked me about it on air.

Now it also turns out that fellow T scalers miss me. It's all rather humbling. I certainly don't consider myself anything like as skilled as many of the other T scalers out there. Those guys who are using their skills to make locomotives and cars to pop onto Eishindo chassis even cutting up chassis in the process. People making laser cut building kits that are beautiful.

I am not worthy.

I'd better get working again to catch up. Things have really moved on even in the couple of months I've been absent. The building kit, the locomotive and freight cars, the new layouts.

A track plan library. This is as inspiring as anything out there. I just can't think in set-track terms when planning. This may well help me come up with a new layout idea.

I've got a lot to do. I really do.

Withdrawl

This Saturday, as you know, I was planning to take Gonou, my T scale layout to the Granite City Train show in St. Cloud, MN but when I got the layout out for a test run this week the controller had developed a mysterious fault. I don't have time to order a replacement controller. So Wingetts Recycling will be heading over there instead.

The Granite City Train Show is at the National Guard Armory in St. Cloud, MN on Saturday December 11th from 9am to 3pm

Come see the show

Gonou will be making it's final exhibition appearance at the Granite City trainable on December 11th.
Final because after this show I will be ending my involvement with T scale. I've decided to face up to the fact that my eyes can't cope with the small size anymore. It's not so much the rolling stock and the buildings it's the accessories.
A while ago I received a pack or two of the Eishindo cars. They come in two parts a chassis and a clear plastic body shell. I haven't been able to make out the details on the body shell since I got them. So I've decided to call it a day.
So if anyone who reads this blog wants a T scale layout come over to the show and make me an offer over $250 and we'll talk. You could be the owner of a very unique model railway layout.