The Erie-Built Diesel

Nice video!  I would have a string of those if I wasn't so busy buying avgas.

@SANTIAGOP23 posted:

How I wish Scott would offer these instead of that ugly EP-3 electric

You and me both !!!!!!!!    
I tried pumping up the Erie-Builts in that long running “3rd Rail Wishlist” to no avail. With the EP3s looking like they were going Nowhere, I emailed to coax Scott to switch to offering the Eire-Builts. After all - Great linkage to Olympian AND multiple roads could be offered !!! expanding the audience of prospective buyers.   No go. 😑
Well,  I guess the EP3 buyers are happy.
Actually, I need another model to reserve like I need a hole in the head 🤭😳🤣🤣.  

@TrainBub posted:

You and me both !!!!!!!!    
I tried pumping up the Erie-Builts in that long running “3rd Rail Wishlist” to no avail. With the EP3s looking like they were going Nowhere, I emailed to coax Scott to switch to offering the Eire-Builts. After all - Great linkage to Olympian AND multiple roads could be offered !!! expanding the audience of prospective buyers.   No go. 😑
Well,  I guess the EP3 buyers are happy.
Actually, I need another model to reserve like I need a hole in the head 🤭😳🤣🤣.  

If folks are happy with the EP3, that's great, but it's not for me.  However, I'd definitely go for a set of Erie Builts in the Olympian Hiawatha scheme.  As well, the Erie Builts were ordered by many of the roads that are most popular in model railroading (ATSF, UP, PRR, NYC, etc.) so I'm guessing they'd all sell well. 

What was wrong with the Atlas Erie-Builts?  They looked pretty good to me - I suppose if they had been metal I might have bought a set.  Ditto the Skytop lounge.

Okay - get ready for blasphemy!

I have a CLW cast PA body, but no nose.  Hopefully a nose will show up to rectify this mortal sin?  But meantime my buddy Maroon has found an ancient Erie-Built nose, and I am going to modify it and temporarily solder it on the PA body.

I have already machined the inside of the nose casting so it sits on the rails extending from the PA body.  I think you can see from my photo what comes next!

Here are side views, first with the rails sticking out, and then with the nose resting on the rails and a block of wood.

Looks marvelous Bob2!

Thank you.  Marvelously ugly, of course.  But it will get marginally better.  I will reduce the windshield vee today.

Interim update:  I reduced the windshield vee, and shaved 1/8” off the rear of the casting, including the indent where the sheet sides were to be soldered.

The Center Post is just hanging with tape- a better one is being designed with screws and solder attachment planned.

The front taper seems slightly overdone, but it is possible that the Atlas nose is too blunt.  All the photos I have indicate that it is slightly less than the casting under work, so I am “thinking about it.”

All in all, I think I am approaching acceptable accuracy. Herewith:

Its looking better already ,hanging on the next instalment.    cTr..... ( Choose the Right )

Here is the bolted-on cab, with fuel tank skirts hanging on with tension -

First, sorry about that shadow.  I can get rid of it with "paintbrush", but haven't figured out how to store the result.  Second, I have decided to fill in that incongruous arched window with smooth brass.  It will be glued in, just in case a PA nose shows up in the future.

I may have mentioned that I am merely bolting the nose on for the same reason.  I spent two agonizing hours last night aligning the bolts pulling the roof together.  Wound up with enlarged holes and big washers.  All is well.

Bob, use the Snipping Tool app and then edit with its 3D paint option, then save or re-snip and paste it straight into the forum post as I have done here, this took about 2 minutes.

I got it painted out - the "save" was what tripped me up.  I used to be able to do it by sampling the color and using that when I brushed - alas, they keep improving these things

Yeah Bob, truth though I struggle myself, surprised no else instructed us here on the best way to fix that, I'm sure there is.

Erie-Built may not appeal to a lot of folks. Maybe they don't look.  How is Jim's project going?  He said it will be early KCS - a colorful scheme.

I don't think he's evaluated the Erie Builts drive status yet, I won't see them until he's got that sorted out. May wind up doing  some CLW centercabs or maybe those cast H16-44's for him before the Erie Builts get done. His backlog pile is pretty steep and he's been tied up with family matters and getting the club layout upgraded.

We're going back and forth over whether the Erie-Builts will get that factory "freight" scheme or the simplified red and yellow "blonde" scheme. Though it's more work I now lean toward the former as the L&A had two A units in that scheme with SG's that showed up on the Flying Crow periodically.

It has progressed:

The little cigar band sticker fits much better on the less detailed sand cast nose.  Note the difference in the maroon color - I shall be repainting and re-banding the new one in the not too distant future, but first I need to make another pair of the corrugated nose wings.  Ten-wheeler in the back is an on-going project inspired by Mr. French Train.

By the way, I would encourage that more complicated scheme - the red units all look so forlorn in photos.

Remind Jim that I owe him a solder job - any of the big cast units.  I am fully equipped.

Meanwhile . . .

Well, surprise, F-M fans. Note the difference in nose lengths in that photo.
Jim Scribbins did a nice book on the Hiawatha - and on page 254 he notes that there was indeed a longer, more pointy snout on the earlier units. I had sort of suspected that some were more pointy than others, but was unaware of the snout length disparity.
Learn something every darn day - too bad it isn’t useful stuff.
So my modified Atlas nose may be less correct for the B-17 windows than the sand cast variant.

Great stuff Bob

I tried searching "French Train" to see if I could find pictures of the ten wheeler, with no luck; any chance you could give us a little more about it ?

Unfortunately, the search function here does not like me.  I cannot even find my own threads - I search for "Erie-built Diesel" and it comes up with anything with the word Diesel in it.  I found this thread by simply plowing through the pages.

But it is a charming ten-wheeler - freelance, but close to a Frisco prototype.  The poster's handle is "French Trains."

Here is the original thread I posted some time ago.

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...6-0-brass-locomotive

Far from beeing as nice as the one Bob is building, it has a more toy look. I repainted the loco and it still needs some improvements.

Daniel

bob2

When using the search function try checking the "exact phrase match". Sometimes (but not always) this will help limit the search.

Bob,

I just went through this whole thread looking for the "B-17 nose" version (my favorite) and did not see it. Did I miss it or is it elsewhere? It is always a pleasure to watch a craftsman at work; especially doing something that I do not have the capability to do.

The ”B-17” appellation refers to the windshield. All of my photos and most of the others show that early windshield.  There is a post on page 2 with photos of both windshield configurations.

Esoteric, huh?

Bob2  Your Milwaukee  units  look great how are you doing the wings?

I had help. Callie Graphics has the artwork, and she has my permission to sell copies to others.  We have it darn near perfect.

Decals would have been better, since the vinyl is not stretchable. I may smooth out the original unit and re-apply.  She sent extras.

She also did some Sunset Limited passenger car stripes, and some neat orange NW2 Southern Pacific stick-ons in orange.  Stunning.

I have several A class Hiawatha's , 2 are weaver and have the wings  put on with decals, and in O scale they dont look right . , yours look better

She can do it, but the artwork and angle (for the nose slope) is up to you.

Thanks for the link to the ten wheeler thread; great stuff

Adding this here, because it is sort of a “Milwaukee” thread.  Just got a Bi-Polar for two-railing, and hit this Kasiner duplex with some old orange paint.  I like it, and am going to do the older single maroon stripe, either above the top windows or right at the grey.  Thought I would memorialize the preliminary paint.

I was heading toward a couple Hiawatha cars for the two locomotives, including a Skytop, but am now leaning toward maybe four cars of the mostly orange scheme, including some Walthers heavyweights.

Bipolar looks good on the shelf.  I really look forward to the 2-rail upgrade.

I know L&N Pullman is pretty far away from Erie-Built and Milwaukee, but here is the other side. I may have to cut some more extrusions so I can do both L&N and Milwaukee.

Wow! Lousy picture!  I will do better later, maybe in an L&N thread.