Southern GP30s

[el3637]

I'm hoping that by starting a thread on this, it will motivate me to keep working on my latest bench interrupter project. Not like I don't have enough to do, but while listing stuff for ebay, I once again considered selling my one duplicate number Proto 2000 Southern GP30, knowing that they are long gone and fetch lovely prices at auction. But I just couldn't do it. Proto only made 3 numbers as far as I know, and Walthers has given no indication that they'll ever re-run them and even if they do, they'll be at or above the ebay$$price$$ the old ones are fetching.

So I decided to hang on to my duplicate 2593 and renumber it, and at the same time I decided to officially finish all four of mine as "B Plus" fleet models, meaning they are RTR models with bulb lighting, decoders, and added/upgraded details. I did one of them several years ago, and I'm going to revisit it to add a few more things. Here's the overall game plan:

1. Remove factory board and lights. Add Miniatronics individual bulbs, directly in the headlight holes, D13SRJ decoder.

2. Replace truck sideframes with Athearn Blombergs.

3. Add speed recorders and brake lines.

4. Add Hi-Tech cab shades.

5. Change to Kadee #58 couplers.

6. Add appropriate style mu. stands.

7. Add Southern style walkway lights.

8. Replace horn with correct one.

9. Replace the 3 48" fans with appropriate Cannon. Will probably leave the 36" fans alone.

10. Add Plano dynamic brake shroud.

11. Add extended dynamic hatch (not sure what I'm going to use, possibly Cannon etching).

12. Add end emblem decals on units I can prove had them by 1974-75. If I can't find specific photos, I may leave one blank just for variety.

All of this plus a little paint touch up and moderate weathering.

These differ from Superfleet models in that anything designated Superfleet has to have been painted/decaled by me, and if I were doing these as Superfleet they would have the pilot steps rebuilt, additional pilot details, 36" fans replaced with Cannon/Banna etchings, AMB Laserkit window glass and possibly equipped with Kato drives. They differ from B fleet models in that I'm adding more detail than I normally would - a typical B fleet is an OOB model that has had it's junk couplers replaced with Kadees and a decoder plugged in, and if the PnP decoder gives me any grief (or of the LEDs blow sky high when I power them up) then I'll gut out the board and lights. And of course bluebox-based B-fleet locos lately have been getting Kato motors, which irks me a bit because it drives the price and effort way up on them.

Anyway I have two of them fairly well along, the previously done one needs more details. Still need to go check and see if I have any of the correct horns on hand. Pics soon... I will try to keep the project going and post progress to the thread. My goal is to have them all on the rails by the end of this coming weekend.

Andy

[nw611]

Andy, probably you have already seen them, but on the rr-fallenflags website I found pictures of 2547, 2548, 2550, 2553, 2593, 2595 and 2629 in 1974-76. All but 2629 have got the Southern logo on their short high hoods. BTW do you know when Southern started adding a small capital letter to road #s ? Ciao.
Raffaele

[nw611]

Also 2538 and 2562 had the Southern logo in 1974. You can find them in the two 2550's photos.
Raffaele

[nsc39d8]

Southern GP-30's what a great looking loco. For parts Plano makes the DB hatch and extender cover. All Southern Locomotives received check codes during the 1972 renumber/repaints. End heralds were probably applied at this time as well. Watch doing some of the 2500 numbers as there are two different style of sand fills. Around 2600 the 30"s received the standard EMD sand fill earlier units have a lift cover on the face of the hood end near the number board. Look forward to seeing your progress as I have three I have done but they still need the Plano parts added. Also Plano does a nice etched GP-30 bell for the 30.

JWall
Southern, N&W and NS modeler

[bnsf971]

Jun 13, 2012 14:26:33 GMT -8 nw611 said:

. BTW do you know when Southern started adding a small capital letter to road #s ? Ciao.
Raffaele

I think it was in the early 1970's. Those suffix letters designated if a particular unit was being monitored as a test subject, or had special maintenance needs.

[el3637]

Actually they are computer check digits and all Southern locos eventually got them. There's a readily available formula out there someplace. There were only 10 letters used. I need to look up the correct check letter for the other three numbers - my renumbered one is 2500h.

Andy

[nsc39d8]

The Check codes served two purposes. One was for maintenance records and the second was to distinguish Southern Locos from those of Foreign roads(run through power) in train orders and messaging. this way if one needed to be bad ordered and set out the wrong loco wasn't dropped. Remember locos didn't get reporting marks, everything was done just by the number. I copied the link to the check code formula below.

www.trainweb.org/tnvalley/srlcc/srlcc.html

JWall
Southern, N&W and NS modeler

[curtmc]

Andy,
Walthers/Proto made 4 numbers in the Southern High Hood GP30s - two with DCC/Sound (#2590 and #2607) and two without (#2593 and #2623)...

[el3637]

Jun 13, 2012 20:04:33 GMT -8 curtmc said:

Andy,
Walthers/Proto made 4 numbers in the Southern High Hood GP30s - two with DCC/Sound (#2590 and #2607) and two without (#2593 and #2623)...

Ah now I remember. I bought the 2593 and 2623, and an extra 2593 because I didn't want sound. I ended up with a non-sound 2607 from an ebay seller who bought it just for the sound chassis and swapped shells, so I got it fairly cheap at the time because it was an oddball. Something like that. Anyway I have all except the 2590 and none have sound.

I also ended up with a sound GP30 in N&W that I bought at some point just to play around with the QSI sound. Or maybe I bought the Southern 2607 with sound and swapped it with the N&W myself. Heck it was, like 5 years ago. I can remember stuff from 25 years ago better than 5...

Andy

[el3637]

Progress report 3:14 am:


Guess what I had exactly enough of....

Andy

[Deleted]

Jun 14, 2012 23:15:11 GMT -8 el3637 said:

Progress report 3:14 am:


Guess what I had exactly enough of....

Andy

The OMI parts?

[el3637]

Actually I have extras on the walkway lights. Each unit takes 3 of them, so two six packs did the trick. The Hi-Tech Southern style cab shades however... only had two in the bin. The one GP30 already had them installed. Finally I pulled all of the Hi-Tech stuff out one pack at a time, and there was one left face down in the bottom, and I flipped it over... and it was cab shades.

It's a nice part but has a propensity to cold fill and break in two when you try to dress it up. Only broke one this time. I guess I need to order some more. I don't know how many of my other Southern B-fleeters need them though.

Andy

[el3637]

I found out I also had exactly four DA Nathan M5 kits. Two packs of two, one styrene one delrin. Also had one DW in brass, but I decided since all of them show out of stock at Walthers, to just use the plastic ones. I have assembled the two styrene ones using CP, which is now my preferred method for any delicate styrene parts that could be melted or deformed by a solvent, and the CP should also work on the delrin horns. I also had exactly four brass DA firecrackers on a sprue in my misc scatterbox - a plastic divided box that has small loose parts many of which date from 34, 35 years ago. When I open a pack of something that there are multiples of and I only need one, the extras go in the scatterbox.

This project has, as I feared, taken on a life of its own but I think I now have a finite plan. I still need to do the decoder and headlight wiring on 3 of them including the one previously decodered because it has a PnP and LEDs which will be leaving. And 3 of them still need their Athearn Blombergs. But the body work is pretty much done, except for building and installing two more M5 delrin horns.

I also discovered after the fact that these units probably all should have had the fan plate (rectangular) that sits under the dynamic brake fan, which Plano makes, but the extended shrouds and fan bases have already been installed so I will do without.

For the side extended dynamic hatch, I used the Cannon GP35 part. It's slightly different, but I don't think anybody makes the exact GP30 part, which I think has a lip on the top edge.

Andy

[Deleted]

What is CP?

[drolsen]

Jun 19, 2012 3:59:39 GMT -8 @australianterrier said:

What is CP?

Cy-Pox. It's the current incarnation of Cyano-Poxy, an adhesive that combined with a "fixer" spray, does a great job of bonding dissimilar materials.

Dave

[el3637]

I'm actually still working my way through my second last large bottle of Cyanopoxy - still have one more in the freezer. One other good thing about CP, it lasts a lot longer than typical thick CA. I keep it in the freezer until I open it, but my current bottle is over a year old now - I'm thinking 18 months or so since I opened it, and it's still about half full and still liquid. I haven't kept it in the freezer after opening. Zap-A-Gap would have gone rock hard in just a few months without keeping it in the freezer, once opened and sometimes it goes bad before you open it - I have some "brand new" never opened Zap bottles that are hard as a rock. Really I never use Zap anymore, I even prefer to use the CP as a filler.

Cyanopoxy is back under "new management" but most seem to agree Cypox is the same thing, so when I'm ready I'll probably buy that.

Some people claim CP is the exact same thing as regular thick CA, but the longevity tells me it's quite a bit different, and its ability to bond metal and delrin is quite a bit better - with or without the kicker. Like most products, it's not as good as the manufacturer thinks it is, but is sure is better than most anything else.

Andy