Spent the last few days modifying my SD9:
- Converted to PS3 (used a RailKing SD9 as the donor). Fairly straightforward, but you have to make sure no wires overhang the sides of the PS3 board, and alas, there is simply no room that I could find for the smoke unit
- Reversed the motor leads, so it starts long hood forward, per Pennsy practice
- Swaped headlight leads, so the long hood headlights light up first
- Reversed the engineer and crew, so they are looking in the direction the loco is going
- Fixed the steps. (Just broke them off and reglued)
- Weathered, using Prismacolors Soft Core pencils per Michael Gross’s article in the latest MRH, as well as with an air brush, some washes, and some pan pastels. These would be fairly new in the era I model, so they would be fairly clean
This has to be one of the smoothest running and quietest locos I own. Slow speed operation is excellent, and it also has quite a lot of pulling power. And with twelve wheel pick up (This is a 2 rail model, of course), if this thing stalls, its your trackwork.
