Hello all!
Here is a project I just completed. I love A-A or A-B-A sets, and own several. However, I've never liked the fact that most have dummies as the 2nd A unit or the B unit. I figure, unless it is powered it is just another car that needs to be pulled.
Having said that, I also need to mention I reside firmly in the cheap seats. My annual budget for any train-related products is a mere fraction of what some would spend in an afternoon at York! Therefore, I love secondhand Postwar and MPC era engines -- simple to maintain and fairly easy to modify.
The subject of my project is the dummy B unit of my Alco PA War Bonnet A-B-A set (all acquired separately):
I happened to notice that the dummy B unit frame was about the same length as a NW-2 frame:
However, several things would need to be cut off the NW-2 frame for the B unit shell to fit.
Obviously, the handrails had to go, as well as the steps.
Likewise, the upper part of the E-unit switch would need to go. I didn't want to cut a hole in the B unit shell just to have access to a lever I never change from 2 direction operation.
Much Dremel tool cutting (and a couple of cutting wheels) later:
Touch up the bare metal to flat black.
Remove the headlight. B units don't need one.
The tricky part was figuring out how to secure the B unit shell to the new frame. I cut blocks of wood, drilled holes through the frame and secured them from below with screws. I did it the old fashioned way -- cut once, cut twice, cut a third time, then measured. I probably could have done that a lot better...
Screws secure the shell to the blocks of wood from the outside.
One thing I was not able to accomplish was directly swapping the under-frame detail part. The trucks on the B unit are slightly further apart than on the NW-2, so the part from the B unit frame would not fit on the new frame. I decided not to try to cut or modify the part at this time.
The follow short clip shows the finished product. The first part amuses me, as it looks like a runaway B unit!
The project is not over. The other A unit is powered but doesn't have an E-unit. Conveniently, I have a spare and just need to install it. I'm considering wiring a harness such that all three share power. If one unit shorts crossing a switch it can reverse directions against the other units.
