Blue box SD40-2

[catweasel]

Just got myself one of these at a good price. It sounds a bit rough and rattly on DC,so that is the first thing to sort out. I have a new set of motor mounts on order, as well as an A-Line conversion kit with a Mashima motor.Then,when complete and running smoothly, it'll be treated to a Loksound decoder. That's the plan. Meanwhile,on the layout,I've made a small extension board for the left side and got rid of the sector plate. Things are moving,but slowly.

[torikoos]

looking forward to the progress you'll be making with this one. Show us how you'll get on with it!

Koos

[catweasel]

Will do. Had 'mails informing me that parts are winging their way over. Bit sad maybe,but I like to Google Earth to see where the vendor is. In this case,it's a place called Blissfield, and Google dropped me right by a railroad crossing in the town. They have also a Depot Museum there,which intrigues me.

[catweasel]

Got the parts for the rebuild of the SD40-2. I've got a set of Athearn 40" wheels which drop straight in, but before I do, I'll fit phosphor bronze wipers to the trucks. The flywheels were slightly too loose on the Mashima motor shafts,I like to have a firm push fit, but a drop of 603 sorted that one out. One other problem I had was that the motor didn't sit down in the frame as it was a bit long. 5 minutes with the Dremel sorted that one out. Otherwise, it's going together well. I'll run it on DC before getting the Loksound chip for it. One thing I would like to do is to fit LED lighting. My loco didn't have any lights at all. Whether or not the previous owner took them out I don't know. Any advice as to best way to do it would be welcome. Thank you.

[torikoos]

Glad you're getting stuck in with it.

As for LED lighting, there's multiple ways of doing so, from using micro LED's (one tiny led per lens opening), to using larger ones behind the current plastic lenses. Whatever floats your boat

I would suggest to have a look around www.expressmodels.co.uk, they have a LED store with various sizes and colours. ( Warm white is probably best)
I personally like micro or mini LED's, using one per lens opening, and secure them in place with a product called Micro Krystal Kleer (by Microscale, available from www.Modeljunction.info , usually).

[catweasel]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-WARM-WHIT ... SwEeFVNwSJ

This is the set I've been looking at. Price is reasonable I thought as well. The kit has enough bits to do 2 loco's. Thinking about a way to improve the driveshafts as well.

[catweasel]

So far, so good with the SD40-2 loco. New wheels fitted, A-line Mashima fitted, now for the fun bit. I've re-wired the trucks and will put a LokSound Direct decoder in it, above the motor. Obviously hard wired, which shouldn't pose to much of a problem. I want to fit ditch lights, lights etc. but I'm a bit concerned about the speaker type and position. I've got a small speaker I can fit in the cab roof, but I was wondering about a sugarcube type in the long hood above the truck. Any ideas about this please?

[torikoos]

So far, so good with the SD40-2 loco. New wheels fitted, A-line Mashima fitted, now for the fun bit. I've re-wired the trucks and will put a LokSound Direct decoder in it, above the motor. Obviously hard wired, which shouldn't pose to much of a problem. I want to fit ditch lights, lights etc. but I'm a bit concerned about the speaker type and position. I've got a small speaker I can fit in the cab roof, but I was wondering about a sugarcube type in the long hood above the truck. Any ideas about this please?

A sugar cube will easily fit above the rear truck firing down (so 'glue' it to the shell with a bit of silicone sealant, which will make it easy to remove) as do other types of speakers. There are many designs that are 18mm wide, which is about the maximum that will fit inside these narrow hoods).

Koos

[catweasel]

I've made a couple of enclosures for speakers to fit above the rear truck in the body,one of which is approx twice the depth, in theory it will increase the bass response. I have another Blue Box shell in Conrail livery which I want to fit full lighting too.This one has 2 red dots painted on each end. I assume these are tail lights? If so, a couple of micro LED's will go in once drilled through. My big question is the headlights. This loco has the Athearn fire in the cab set up. I can knock out the standard lenses and fit LED's in their place,but what about the number boards? If I drilled a small hole through from the headlight LED would it work to allow a small amount of light from the side? Any comments or advice welcome. Thank you.

[torikoos]

I would cut the plastic of the numberboards off the headlight section on both sides, and fit them separately with a drop of glue. Before fitting, use some black paint to mask the sides etc to stop light leakage, unless you want to illuminate them separately. (micro leds would do nicely).

Then the headlights can be refitted with an LED , alternatively you could fit fiberoptic strands with a LED, or fit microleds directly in the lens openings secured in place with some MicrokristalClear.

Koos

[catweasel]

Thanks for the trick. I'll have a look at it. I have some micro LED's to hand. So many projects on the go at the moment.

[Gloriousnse]

I've made a couple of enclosures for speakers to fit above the rear truck in the body,one of which is approx twice the depth, in theory it will increase the bass response. I have another Blue Box shell in Conrail livery which I want to fit full lighting too.This one has 2 red dots painted on each end. I assume these are tail lights? If so, a couple of micro LED's will go in once drilled through. My big question is the headlights. This loco has the Athearn fire in the cab set up. I can knock out the standard lenses and fit LED's in their place,but what about the number boards? If I drilled a small hole through from the headlight LED would it work to allow a small amount of light from the side? Any comments or advice welcome. Thank you.

Some Conrail locos did have red marker lights (In the class light holes on the nose of EMD standard cab locos), I'd suggest googling for photos of the prototype machine to see whether it's correct and what the fittings looked like.

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