For the new air hose set up, I used .030 x.040 styrene. I used a #73 drill for the .040 side and 2 holes with a #80 drill for the .030 side which will be the front. The new idea here was to make that air pipe connection for the air hoses. On the pics that I saw of this connection which wasn’t very clear, the pipes are also supported with a large pipe hanger. The styrene simulates the hanger but also gives me a mounting surface for the air hose. When I get to finishing details after painting, I will show my air hoses I made for the model.



The last detail I added was the coupler locking pin in the center of the box. I used a NBW for that.

With the coupler box completed, I turned my attention to the coupler extensions. Capturing that look of the extension was a cool idea. I’m not sure if anyone else ever made something like that in HO scale, but it was pretty easy. There is a coupler pocket at the end of the extension allowing the coupler to have more swing. I batted several ideas around to make the extension before settling in on this easy modification. I cut 4 pieces of .030 x.060 styrene to a length of .100 to make the pocket sides on the Kadee #156 scale coupler. I measured .030 from the coupler head and cleaned up the area of the coupler shaft with a file. I used CA to glue the styrene to the sides of the coupler shaft.




When the pieces dried, I took a file and cleaned up the top and bottom of those side caps to make sure they were flat across the coupler shaft. I cut 4 pieces of .020 x.120 styrene and glued those as the top and bottom caps. After drying, I went over those joints with liquid cement to make sure these parts are bonded well. I let these dry overnight to insure that good bond.

Next, I found a position on a work block to keep the coupler steady while I gently cut a slight angle using a #17 blade on those sides. I only took enough off to get that angle started. I took a file and started shaping the angle on both sides to form the new coupler pocket. When I got the pocket to the shape I wanted, I finished it off with 400 grit sand paper and finished with 600. When all the sanding was done to get the pockets to shape, they ended up being .110 at the widest point. For the final step, I drilled a hole in the center of the top cap and glued a NBW in as a make shift locking pin.



That completes the under frame of the S1. In the next section I will be doing some work on the trucks.

Trucks

Proto’s Blunt trucks are decent at best. The side frames are made of the delrin type which makes adding any detail a little difficult. The detail on the side frames are more 2 dimensional rather than 3 dimensional as far as the depth of the details. The unfortunate thing here is there’s not much you can do improve that detail from what the manufacture has done. The best I could do was to add some visual detailing and do my best to make the side frames pop with weathering.

But before getting involved with detailing that can be done, the trucks were taken apart and de-greased to remove the gunk in the gear towers. I replaced the axle gears with Athearns since the old Proto’s were prone to cracking. I gauged the wheel sets and painted the face of the wheels with various shades of brown and dark grey for that weathered look.

Taking a look at the pics below, I used these as a reference to help me out. I also referred to the Withers book and Bernhart book Reading wrecks.

I got the ball rolling here by rounding off the edges on the truck frames. I took a sharp #11 blade around the truck frames and made a slight angle on those edges. Next I took some 400 grit sandpaper to smooth and round those edges of the frames. There’s a bump on the side of those frames that that needs a little smoothing around the edges also. Alongside the brake hanger, there is just a big ole blob of plastic on each end of the brake link. I felt I could make these areas look better if I carve out some of that excess plastic. By doing this, I can see the whole brake shoe like you can on the prototype. I took care to do this as Delrin can be brittle and crack, so it was important to take my time.



I was considering adding the slack adjuster rod which is located in between the link and brake shoe, but after tossing the idea around, I decided it wouldn’t add anything to the appearance of those side frames.

I did another carving job to the ends of the side frames. The ends of the frames have that thick connector that holds the frame in place to the gear box. Opening this up adds a more prototypical look the back of the side frames.



Carving these out took a little patience also. I did manage to break a connector off. I ended up pinning it together with some CA. It held up well considering how many times I took those side frames off the gear boxes. But I also made sure I removed them with care.