3rd Rail's NYC Hudson Models; J3a "Super Hudson" Repairs & Modifications

Nick

They are several places you can get parts

call 3rd rail and find out and stay away from

the postal service they not getting their

overtime like they used to and they are mad!

          Mike.

Repairs underway. Got the lubricator linkage facing the right direction. Gently unhook it from the main rod assembly, swing the knee in the other direction, and gently snap it back onto the main rod assembly. Notice I've stressed gently. This is a very brittle little part:

Drooping loose pilot assembly is also fixed, the screws had just come undone. Also had to remove the cowcatcher piece and bend the mounts to make it sit more level. Everything is nice and tight and level now.

Cosmetic repairs are done. Now just waiting to hear on the spring. It's funny how the lack of a tiny spring renders the entire model inoperable.

Hello PC9850..........

I would try to use one of the springs that is in most die-cast "sprung" freight trucks such as the ones from MTH, lionel.  I myself have a brass Sunset 3rd engine so try it.

the woman who loves the S.F.5011,623

Tiffany

Good idea Tiffany, I'll try that if they don't end up having the original springs. Just got off the phone with Christopher at the company today. He's a really nice guy and I remember he and Scott working together very quickly to get me a replacement FL-9 model when my original one arrived with some rashes in the paint. I'll be getting a call back tomorrow with the news on what they have or don't have.

I just bought one of these as well and had the same issue with the journal box being off on one of the tender wheels. I found the spring in the box but I noticed that in the bag of extra parts there was a similar looking spring. Did you receive the bag of parts and stuff with yours?

I had one weird problem with mine, the tender kept derailing on an 0-120 curve. the blind wheels were getting stuck on the inside of the rail. Danny at 3rd Rail suggested i rearrange the blind and flanged wheels. I haven't had a chance to switch them yet.

The gentleman I bought it from did include a bag of parts but I think it was for a Lionel Dreyfuss because it included a double heading coupler and a grey plug for the streamlined pilot. No springs. I do appreciate the extra craftsmanship that goes into creating an actual functioning spring suspension system in the tender, but ultimately it just seems like too delicate of a system in miniature.

Could you please give a more descriptive explanation of exactly how and where you "unhooked it from the main rod assembly"? Was there a very small screw you removed in order to accomplishing the "unhook"? It looks like all those "connections" are riveted together.

I may "fix" mine this evening, since it is out on the layout anyway.

Thanks.

The upper arm of the linkage is secured to the locomotive by a thin rod that slips into a sleeve. The lower arm of the linkage that connects to the rods literally just sort of hooks onto the rod by a sort of semi-circle hook. I can't really explain it and did not think to take a picture. You just need to take care to not break that hook. The whole thing is very brittle.

Hello guys and gals............

That's what owning a heavy brass locomotive is all about, just have to treat it like very fine china. My Sunset 3rd S.F. Texan has a lot of very fine "lost wax casting details" so I handle mine very carefully with a lot of care.  PC9850, I LIKE those drivers on your Hudson as it looks good on that engine !!!!  Is those drivers 79" inches on the real one ?

the woman who loves the S.F.5011,623

Tiffany

Glad you got the springs get the new layout you will do fine!

          Mike.

HI Nick. Should you need a 'spare' 3rd Rail Hudson for your roster, one just showed up on the bay not too far from you...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281168...id=p3984.m1438.l2649

Jacksonville is a stretch, about 4 hours north of my town, but I'm glad you found this as it shows multiple crisp and clear views of a brand new unit from the factory. First thing I noticed was his builders plates look like they're about to fall off too; guess that was a problem on all these. And then that mismatched #7, wonder what happened there?

I'm actually still going through the 3rd Rail model and correcting all the little flaws they come with from the factory, chiefly how the main handrails on the front of the pilot are a little miscalculated and come down at an awkward angle from the boiler. Compare to the Kohs model:

I am currently fabricating new pieces for the front. Will report back when I'm finished with all this.

hello.

My uncle retired from the seaboard coastline railroad some years ago.

Jacksonville is a nice place to live but I don't think the seaboard had

any hudsons one of my favorite locomotives, glad to see one down there.

         Nice engine.    Mike         

Current progress on the handrail replacement. One of the very thin brass rods K&S offers in hardware stores and hobby shops is a perfect match. Below I've pictured my first attempt on the left side, the top bend just a little off. Will fix that but it's good indication that these handrails will look far better than how the factory did them.

You will also need to straighten out all the bent posts on the pilot for this to work. On my model they were all bent backwards and to the side.

Look's good to me.

          Mike

The raw brass handrail sections are all finished. Nice and straight now instead of cockeyed. Paint and JB Weld next.

Handrails are done. Painted with Tamiya TS-29 Semi-Gloss Black you honestly can't tell these are aftermarket modifications. Very pleased with how they came out.

Nice work . You have some very nice trains .

Thanks for the kind comments 

Today's project was eliminating some of the "bling" 3rd Rail included on their model. Using the Kohs model as a guide and Pollyscale Engine Black for paint, I blacked out the plated driver tires and some of the plated linkage details. Looks much better and more prototypical now:

Next up is the tender. I was going to let the incorrect lettering slide but now that I've made the corrections above I just have to have the proper decals. It is being shipped off tomorrow to Hot Water's custom painter for the same treatment seen on page 1, minus the weathering since I still like a new look to all my models. He's even agreed to have a look at the damaged rear tender truck that I wasn't having much luck with. Thanks so much again for the reference Jack!

Beautiful job repairing/rebuilding that delicate Hudson.  When you touched up the drivers did you airbrush or brush them? 

Mike

Thanks for the kind words guys

Mike, for the driver tires I used Pollyscale "Engine Black" on a brush with the same width head as the plated tire face. I then set the locomotive at its lowest speed and held the brush head against the tire as it rotated for even coverage. It came out surprisingly nice; you cannot tell the tires are painted unless you stick your eyes right up to them.

Glad this came up again as I really enjoyed the thread.  I looked at the pictures again Nick and once again.....great job!!  Just beautiful...

Alan

I'm not even a NYC guy, but I'd buy your version Nick

Thanks Nick....I have some Polyscale Engine Black, I think I will give it a try!

Thanks again,

Mike

Thanks so much again guys, really appreciate it!

Whenever the tender is finally completed everything will look just like this:

Will you be having your model CORRECTLY weathered to look like that also?

No weathering for me, the model will be as the prototype appears after going through the wash rack and a rub down

Sorry Nick, but by that late in the steam era, the NYC sure wasn't doing much "washing and rubbing down" even their Hudsons. 

This is a great thread it helps me on ideas for my Hudson, glad to see you 

fixed yours and is your train board on the floor on foam insulation.

Tin 

Jack - I have to imagine 5453 was washed at least once during its de-streamlined life. Perhaps right after the shops removed the Dreyfuss shroud they might have cleaned it up before it went back into service. And beside, as president of my miniature NYC world, I hold maintenance and cleaning crews to stricter standards 

Tin - My layout is the usual table top design but with indoor / outdoor carpeting for sound deadening. It looked good back when I was into the "toy train" look but I have moved to hi-rail so the new layout will be fully detailed.

Finally got the tender from the custom painter today, and unfortunately it will be heading back out tomorrow. He had forgotten the NEW YORK CENTRAL fonts changed to sans-serif modern style on PT tenders. The clear coat was also a little too dead flat to match the engine; it will be toned up on the second try. Paint job and new coal pile is flawless otherwise. It was a neat "what-if" had the NYC stayed with the classic Roman serif fonts.

That's a great looking tender and engine.

Tin 

Tender came back from round 2. Font and sheen are correct this time, although the "L" on one side is crooked. There's always something  I'm happy with it, will post photos of it with the engine when I return from NY (had the tender shipped there to inspect while away).

Finally, the properly lettered tender mated with the engine. Still saggy on that one bad spring, that's next on the list. Otherwise the sheen is a perfect match and the new coal pile and lettering look great. Even the crooked "L" on the other side can't really be noticed from more than a couple feet away and certainly not in motion.

Tried a crude fix on the spring. Just "froze" it with a thin layer of epoxy. Still not perfect, but better. Here it is pulling the GGD 1948 20th Century Limited. Pulls all 12 cars without a hitch thanks to the newer truck design that reduces friction.

Nice work Nick!

Hi Nick,

I really do like your new diesels but that Hudson looks much better on point of that 20th Century consist... you might have to do some blue pinstriping though  

Best,

Dave