Halifax South Western GP9RM…
A few months ago I introduced an alternative history for the Halifax South Western, and as part of the more recent post 2000 period I suggested a number of ex CN GP9RM were acquired for terminal operation in the Halifax area…
I sketched a mock up of one of the locomotives and the die was set, I could justify one on Beaverbrook and it was a nod to the Halifax South Western plans I had originally made for a layout. However, the GP9RM wasn’t available off the shelf…
There are a few options though… one, wait for Rapido to announce it (or Athearn!), two scratchbuild, or three use a kit. I had an old Likelike Proto2000 GP20 from childhood available as a donor chassis so this seemed to favour option three. In terms of kits there is the cast resin Kaslo shops model I’ve used here, or the Maple Leaf model that I believe is 3D printed resin (and has the hallmark of a Briggs product in the photos I’ve seen). The Kaslo shell had been designed to fit the Likelike chassis so the choice was made… plus it was a touch cheaper, available at the time, and I’d done a Kaslo model before so had an idea of what I was letting myself in for…
Construction has spanned evenings and weekends over the past few months and has generally gone without a hitch. Part for lent is adequate but rewards careful preparation. The etched parts are neatly made and lift the detail. My resin shell was a bit warped ‘open’ so I’ve fitted pins to the underside that lock in slots on the chassis. The body is held in place by the Kadee coupler pockets each end.
This post shows the model ready for the paint shop, I’ve had to rebuild the trucks as they had split gears and I plan to rewire for DCC and have a suitable ESU Loksound v5 to fit with the correct sound file for one of these rebuilds. This will require modification and soldering new pickup wires I think, we’ll see how it goes. I plan to fit LED headlights too, but not ditch lights, for now. It’s been a fun personal project alongside the myriad of commissions. I’m looking forward to seeing it come alive in the paint shop now, more soon…
Ah, now I see where those parts were needed for. Hopefully they fitted okay and didn't need too much clean up.
ReplyDeleteYes thanks for the help with that Mark. In the end, the parts arrived from Canada so I didn’t need to use them but it was very generous of you to help and interesting to see the quality from your printer.
DeleteCool, always better to have the proper kit parts if you can.
DeleteThese GP9's are absolutely my favourite among the Canadian diesels. It's been too long since GP9 season was in place here in Halifax and I feel withdrawal. I also feel a little anxious because CN feels like it's in the midst of another purge of their fleet: the last of the GMD1's are now gone and these GP9's feel next on the list. We still see them in full stripes (still and always a masterclass in really good paint scheme design that's both beautiful but also supremely practical) and in the newer "peeling paint" CN North America colours too.
ReplyDeleteIn our conversations on Terra Transport and thinking how the NF110/210's wore black and orange I started daydreaming that some of TT's own standard gauge GM's could wear those same colours. I really need to invest in a few GP's for here to try this out.
Chris
I guess it depends Chris, in my back story to the HSW examples, they arrived he early noughties. I think at outset, TT would have had the old MLWs, not the GP9s that in the 1990s see, to have been well loved and reliable. However… HSW did start operation with ex CN SW1200RS… perhaps these were quickly patch painted?
DeleteOh, by the way, I completely love GP9s too, the outline is just right. The low height compared to the later units they have a real heft, but the length of long and short hoods are just right…