97% of the time I always build my models starting with the frame work. Below is a pic of my inspiration.




This photo was taken out of the Bernhart book Wrecks of the Reading Railroad.
The photo gave me pretty much all I needed to see as far as the under frame details like the jack pads and piping of the air tanks. I was also able find some nice shots of a S1 on the internet. Two years ago, I took a trip out to Fostoria Ohio and found a parked S2 that I was able to crawl around and grab some photos. So, I ended up having enough picture proof on detailing the under frame and the body of this locomotive. Doing a model like this requires a bit of research and effort to collect the data needed.

For some reason I can't find the pic of the frame before I milled it. So I have no before shot of the frame. Below is the pic and dimensions after I milled.

Once the milling of the underside of the frame is complete, I turned the frame over and milled the square section of the cradle where the wire comes down under the motor. This makes slight contact with the frame. These early Proto models were not DCC ready as advertised! The bottom contact of the motor has to be fully isolated from the frame. I had the choice of either placing a piece of black electrical tape in the box or use Kapton tape. I chose to mill the area down by .020 and still added a piece of Kapton tape there as a precaution.

Now that the milling is done to frame, I need the deck to help me with the next part to add the Bolster/jack pad supports. Looking at the picture from the Bernhart book, I marked the bottom of the side sills with the length and locations to where the jack pad supports are. The bolster/jack pad supports are welded to the bottom top of the frame rail and are welded again to the bottom of the side sill. I can’t attach my supports the same way; the deck would have to be a permanent mount to the frame, and I need to take the deck off for any future repairs. So I created the illusion by adding 0.010 x 0.030 x .365 styrene strip between the marks on the side sill.



Next I want to finish off the frame details by using 0.080 styrene channel and thinned Barge cement and glued that to sides of the newly cut frame. I cut this a little longer than the frame. I set the channel in place first. Next I took .010 x .188 styrene strip and cut it oversized and glued that in place with the Barge cement. I let the cement cure overnight. The next day, I take a flush nipper and clean up both ends flush to the frame. Next I use a sharp blade and trim off the overhang on both sides.
Moving forward with the frame, I cut for pieces of .010 x .020 x.365 styrene strip; these pieces will support the edge of the jack pads. Next, I placed the deck onto the frame and marked the end locations for those supports. Matching the support edges to the side sill, I used liquid cement to secure those. Next I cut 4 .020 x .020 x.050 styrene strip and glued those to the lower end of the frame rail. This will support the back of the jack pads.

Now I needed to make the Jack pad bolsters. I used K&S 0.005 brass shim stock, and cut 4 pieces to a scale 2 foot wide and .365 wide. I marked off 1.75mm or a scale half foot and bent the angle to about 45 degrees using an etch bender. I adjusted the angles and length as needed to match to the picture in the book. After I had all 4 bolsters sized up and eyeballed in, I used ACC to attach them to the styrene supports. I made sure all bolsters were in between the frame rail and .020 x.020 supports also. I then placed the deck on the frame to make sure all bolsters matched up in accordingly with the jack pads.

Air tanks and Battery boxes

With the frame prepped and ready for added detailing, I needed to get the air tanks and battery boxes prepped as well. I wanted to add piping to the air tanks, but there wasn’t enough clearance for truck swing on a tight industrial radius with the pipe added. I did take notice that the air tanks on the S1 prototype appeared to be a little shorter than the ones on the model.
I was able to get some prototype photos from a trip I took, but couldn’t get the actual measurements of the air tanks. I also found some detail shots of an S1 on the web. Being able to see how the piping was arraigned on the prototype was really a valuable resource.

The first photo is of the front of the tanks and was taken off the web, photo credit Richard Wolfram.


The second one here is my photo of the rear of the tanks taken from my trip.


Whether it appears to be an illusion that the tanks are shorter or not, I had to reduce the length enough to add pipe detail. Looking at the rear of the tanks which is the longer side, I made my first cut straight down with a razor saw right behind the tank straps. I made a second cut and removed another 0.040ths from the tank. I true up both cuts and re-attach the tank ends with solvent cement. Once the tank ends dry, I wanted to make the nipples for each end of the air tanks, which the air pipes are attached too.

I located the center on the tank caps and drill a #79 hole on all ends. I then open the holes up with a #74 drill. I continue to move up in size to open the hole to a #52 drill bit. Next I cut 4 pieces of .035 styrene rod about a ½ scale foot. I brushed the rods with liquid cement and insert them into the holes until half the rod sticks out the tank ends. I dabbed some liquid cement inside and outside of the tank again to lock the rod in place. These needed to dry thoroughly before drilling them out to accept the piping. Once dry, I file down the ends of the rod making sure there flat. I leave about .025 exposed to simulate the tank nipples.

Next I find center on the nipples and use a #79 drill bit to start, then I will follow up using a #76 and finish with a #74 to accept the .019 brass rod.