10-19-2010, 01:11 AM
Well, here I am, a Camelback steam guy for decades and now I have this diesel. It is an OMI Reading GP39-2 that I got very cheap – less than the cost of a new Atlas DCC-ready version – as the rear truck and drive tower were, except for the bigger parts, in a small plastic Zip Lock baggie! After carefully laying out all the parts, grouping and counting them, the reassembly went fairly easily and it has been successfully restored to “original factory condition.” It looks pretty cool and will undoubtedly look even better in Reading “Green Machine” Green with the Signal Yellow stripped nose and yellow number board area over the cab.
But first things first! Should I assume that I should put some of those previously mentioned 2mm lights in the headlamp openings from behind and secure them with Krystal Klear? If so, that will be an interesting operation as the unit has a full cab interior that appears to have been secured in place using a number of 00-80 machine screws and then soldered for good measure. HMmmmm! Any ideas?
There are no “ditch lights,” only a single MU stand at each end, so I’m off the hook there. There are, however, what I believe are called “classification lights” on the vertical face of both hoods … I suppose they take another pair of those same 2mm lights? Those openings are accessible so they should not be all that difficult … more Krystal Klear, right?
Next step then would logically be the Soundtraxx TSU-1000 EMD 645 decoder … a straightforward installation, I am told. Any feed-back here would be greatly appreciated!
This is my "practice decoder install" so that when I start tackling older brass Camelback conversions I'm not totally clueless ... only partly clueless.
I just want to get all of these things test fitted and operational prior to atomizing any finely ground pigment and embellishing it further with thin decalcomania film! And since it is still has the shell off, there’s no time like the present!
But first things first! Should I assume that I should put some of those previously mentioned 2mm lights in the headlamp openings from behind and secure them with Krystal Klear? If so, that will be an interesting operation as the unit has a full cab interior that appears to have been secured in place using a number of 00-80 machine screws and then soldered for good measure. HMmmmm! Any ideas?
There are no “ditch lights,” only a single MU stand at each end, so I’m off the hook there. There are, however, what I believe are called “classification lights” on the vertical face of both hoods … I suppose they take another pair of those same 2mm lights? Those openings are accessible so they should not be all that difficult … more Krystal Klear, right?
Next step then would logically be the Soundtraxx TSU-1000 EMD 645 decoder … a straightforward installation, I am told. Any feed-back here would be greatly appreciated!
This is my "practice decoder install" so that when I start tackling older brass Camelback conversions I'm not totally clueless ... only partly clueless.
Seriously, this is my first diesel since that Varney F-3 Dummy that I got back in the ‘50’s from a Kix cereal box top offer! I still have it to remind me of where I started and to induce me to be humble about my current modeling skill level!]
biL
Lehigh Susquehanna & Western
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
Lehigh Susquehanna & Western
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln