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Jul 1, 2004
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Sean Steele is a Senior Engineering Designer, an HO modeler, and a huge fan of Conrail. Look for his other Conrail modeling projects here at the CRCyc. Photos by the author, unless noted.
As Brian Thompson’s photo of CR 9927 below will
attest, this Conrail RS-3M possesses some close matches to Atlas’ HO scale standard RS-3. For instance, 9927 has pretty good "as-built" carbody louvers; most people familiar with the Dewitt and Altoona rebuild programs will undoubtedly agree that no two RS-3M's are exactly alike in this regard. Furthermore, the fuel tank is also similar to the Atlas model, saving a lot of work in this area.My model of CR 9927 started out as a Cotton Belt RS-3 model that I purchased, at a good price, during a local swap meet. The first part of the conversion to M (modified) status is to remove the ALCo fan and
smoke stack, which is relatively easy to do with a razor saw and files. Tiger Valley (TV) makes a cast metal hood that glues onto the centreline of the carbody, resembling the raised hood that clears the exhaust pipes of the 567 prime mover. TV also includes fans for this conversion, but I
opted to use Details West fans because of their crisper detail. I omitted the raised panel over the first two carbody doors simply because it didn’t stand out to me in pictures until after the model was completed. (This always happens, doesn’t it!?!) I modified the trucks by removing the axle bearing caps and replacing them with Miniatures by Eric exposed roller bearing caps.I use Squadron Green Putty for most filler work, but, as those of you who use this product know, you must use a small amount with several applications before the final finish is achieved; otherwise, the putty will shrink
and leave a depressed area. However, in the case of the small windows on the end of the cab, this is exactly what I wanted to do--show a quick plate-over by the Altoona shop
forces. I installed only the center clear windows on the cab ends and glued them in, filling in the area with green putty. I then filed and sanded the area until smooth. When I applied the paint to the model, this area shrank, showing where the plexiglass windows used to be. Not often can a product’s shortcomings be used to a modeler's advantage!When it comes to the supplied Atals handrails, I usually opt not to use them. For simplicity, however, I decided to use them for this project with a minor modification. Because the white-highlighted ends of the handrail stands out if too thick, I cut off those sections and replaced them with 0.015 brass wire. Plus, this area will now stand up to more abuse, and the white paint will be less likely to flake off. When all was done, I painted the model with Floquil's Conrail blue and applied decals I made on my Alps printer. I lightly weathered the model with a dusting of oxide the locomotive would receive from switching duties. Finally, I dusted the trucks with rust coloured chalks.
I’ve always liked the RS-3, and thankfully Conrail gave them new life in blue. Some may deem removing the unit's original heart as sacrilegious, but seeing them live on well into the 1980's was worth the initial pain.
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