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STEPS 11-20 |
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Southern Railway's EMD
SD45 Pictorial
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See Andy Harman's GP30.com site for related SD45 project summaries |
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Step 11*
Carefully line up the shell and walkway and cement them together as shown in the scan. NOTE: I have found that lacquer thinner works very well when cementing these two parts together. This thinner actually attacks the plastic and will make a very good plastic to plastic weld rather than a plastic to glue to plastic joint. If you choose to use lacquer thinner as your choice of cement, be sure to use it sparingly and make sure the two parts to be cemented together do fit together well without any visible gaps or holes.
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 Step 11 |
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Step 12)
When your shell/walkway and cab/sub-base assemblies are completely dry, carefully remove the temporary support blocks that we installed and also the locating tabs found under the long hood of the shell as these are no longer needed to secure the shell to the chassis. Now place the shell assembly on the Kato chassis and check for a tight fit. Next, with the shell on the chassis, test fit the cab/sub-base assembly on the shell and make sure the two assemblies fit without any gaps. NOTE: I found it necessary to cut away some plastic on the sub-base inside of the cab between the front and back of the cab as the Kato weight makes this assembly a very tight fit. You will see what amounts to two layers of plastic between these points and I made them both flush with each other. When you are satisfied with the fit of these two assemblies, cement one side of the sub-base to the walkway and allow to dry completely. When dry, cement the other side to the walkway along with the cab roof and the rear ends of the cab. I added braces of .066 square plastic stock to the insides of the sub-bases for added strength.
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 Step 12 |
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Intro to Step 13)
The Southern Railway has always been known as an innovator in the world of modern railroading and there were many boxcars that wore the slogan "Gives A Green Light To Innovations". One of the greatest innovations that the Southern pioneered was the use of radio controlled unit trains using equipment developed by LocoTrol®. These radio controlled trains, also known as "slave trains" or simply "radio trains", allowed the Southern to move longer, heavier trains over undulating terrain, lessening the chances of coupler failure and maintaining on time train speeds. The Southern designated certain units from each of their locomotive groups to be equipped with the LocoTrol® equipment and to act as the "slave master" or "controlling" unit. The original SD-45's that were selected to be "slave masters" were numbered 3105 - 3121. 3120 was later wrecked and rebuilt, but was not re-equipped as a LocoTrol® unit. Each of these units could easily be identified as a "slave master" by it's white number boards and black numbers as compared to other units with their black number boards and white numbers. These units were also equipped with two extra antennae, one located on the short hood roof and one located on the long hood between the last dynamic brake fan and the first radiator fan. Another feature of these units were their protruding or extended number boards found on the short hood end. I searched for years trying to find why these number boards were designed this way and at this time have had only one person to explain it to me in such a way that at it sounds reasonable. The Southern mounted the LocoTrol® equipment on the walls of the high short hood and with the amount of space it took to mount this equipment, it became almost impossible to replace the lights needed to light the number boards. It was decided that to be able to replace defective bulbs, they would need to be accessed from the outside and by doing this the number board setup would have to be modified so that they could be removed to change out these bulbs. I have included two scans of one of these modified number boards so you will be more able to understand how these number boards appeared and how we will make the modifications for the number boards on our SD-45.
Step 13) Very carefully remove the existing number
board gaskets from the face of the high hood kit. Work slowly so as not
to damage the surrounding details. Next, sand the Athearn GP-38-2,
GP-40-2, GP-50 number boards smooth and install in the Cannon holes.
Make sure these new boards are flush with the outside of the high hood
face as this is what you'll be cementing to in the next step. The
Athearn number boards are installed so that you'll have something solid
to glue the extended number boards to. The Cannon plastic surrounding
the kit number board slots become very thin and non supportive when you
remove the existing gaskets surrounding the number boards. Step 13A) Cut two pieces of .020 x .125 x 32 scale inches long and carefully round the corners of these parts. Next, cement these new number boards to the high hood face in the same position as the removed gaskets. After painting the model, we will add white decals with the gaskets along with the new numbers. Stay tuned!!
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 Intro NB#3305 |
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 Intro NB#3305 |
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 Step 13 |
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 Step 13A |
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Step 14)
Following the instruction found on the Cannon HH kit, complete the assembly of this unit and set aside to dry. NOTE: It is easier to drill all of the grab iron holes while the HH kit is in pieces than after it is assembled. Step 14A) In this scan you see the Microphor toilet water filler. This detail wasn't added to these units until the early 1980s so if your modeling era is any earlier than this, I'd leave this detail off the model. Test fit the HH kit to the sub-bases and check for any gaps between the two. When you are satisfied with the fit of this unit, align the HH on the sub-bases, cement in place (from the inside) and secure with rubber bands until completely dry.
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 Step 14
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 Step 14A |
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Southern SD-45's were originally equipped with Automatic Train Stop and the
equipment was installed in a box that was situated on the short hood end,
fireman's side. It appears that all of the SD-45's were equipped with the
ATS box except for units 3100 - 3104, which were the last 45's ordered by
Southern. The SD-35's are the only other units that I know of that had
this feature. If you decide to add this detail, follow the
instructions below.
Step 15) * Using parts from the Cannon sub-base kit, cut part number 10 to 12" long x 24" wide. Cut part number 5 to 24" wide and then glue these two parts together. Next, cut a strip of .020 x .125 to 26" long and glue to these parts together. Allow to dry and install on your model. If necessary, add the .005 filler to the end of the ATS box next to the high hood. When installed and dry, remove the NBW casting on part 5. |
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 Step 15 |
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Step 16) *
Drill # 79 holes for the DA grab irons and install on both ends. DO NOT install the bottom grab on either end until the decals have been applied. Remove the .120 x .100 plastic from the pilot face if you model has the newer, modern cut lever. Remove the trapezoid shape from the front of the coupler pocket, sand smooth. Remove the plastic foot boards as shown in the scan, sand smooth. Drill two # 56 holes for the DA class lights.
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 Step 16 |
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Step 17) *
Install the Cannon inertial filter screens, inertial filter hatch and turbo hatch. |
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 Step 17 |
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Step 18)*
Carefully remove enough plastic under the DB motor support so that the support will fit onto the shell roof. Assemble the Cannon DB and radiator fans by following the instructions included in the Cannon kits and install per their instructions. Do not install the fan blades of the grills at this point. Set aside to dry. |
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 Step 18 |
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Step19)
Install the horn, antennae and walk-way lights. Step 19A) Install the DB vent, antenna, walk-way lights, bell and curved grab iron. Step 19B) Install the walk-way lights and voice antenna on the fireman's side. Step 19C) Top down view of walk-way lights, bell and air supply line Step 19D) This scan shows the location for the two Locotrol antennae and the five chime horn.
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 Step 19 |
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 Step 19A |
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 Step 19B |
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 Step 19C |
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 Step 19D |
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Step 20)
Using .015" x .100" strip styrene, cut a square .100" x .100" and drill a #79 hole in the middle of the .030" side. Now glue this piece in place .100" from the short hood edge and even with the front of the short hood. Allow to dry. Next, bend the .012 brass wire in the shape shown in the top scan. Note that this wire conduit runs parallel with the cab roof edge, bends toward the long hood side and parallel with the long hood, bends back toward the DB fan, runs parallel with the DB hatch line and terminates in a semicircle loop into the roof of the long hood approximately .100" from the antenna and .125" from the DB vent. On the prototype, the pipe or conduit carries the wire for the voice radio from the radio equipment to it's antenna on the long hood. Drill three #80 holes in the areas shown and secure the wire conduit to the shell with eyebolts bent and cut to resemble an upside down "J". Secure with Cyanopoxy and allow to dry. Step 20A) This step shows the semicircle loop and how it drops down into the roof of the long hood. |
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 Step 20 |
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 Step 20A |
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