Time to Strip and Tease...

I chose to start with DME 6359 since I had the decals, a good SD40-2 base to work with, and it was the specially-decorated “50^th Anniversary of Mt. Rushmore 1941-1991” commemorative engine.  Not something that has been available commercially, and likely never to be offered as an RTR - “ready to roll,” or “ready to run” as they were called in the old days.

          I had compiled a huge pile of DME / ICE modeling data, magazine articles and pictures for that one-time planned layout, but of course they were now boxed up and not readily at hand.  Rather than launch a search and rescue, I went to the DM&E websites and RR Pictures Archives and came up with everything I’d need to know for the 6359 model.  Quite a help in modeling compared to the old days, eh?

          Let’s see, the 6359 is a former Milwaukee Road unit (MILW 193), so it feels right.  It’s got that basic SD40-2 look, with really just the usual MILW RD “short fuel tank” that makes it stick out amongst the thousands of other SD40-2’s.  Extended range dynamic brakes, and variously thru its current career, either a conventional straight-topped pilot snowplow, or a slightly-smaller “slacking back” plow.  And, it had the chicken wire style rear radiator grilles.  There might be many other “nitpicker” details that should be changed for a “museum model,” but I’m of the “three-foot rule” when it comes to the minute stuff.  I do enough to make it look a step or two or three above the beginning model, and make it look “family.”  If you are the type that insists on prototype fidelity in all regards, them you might want to stop reading and looking at the pictures in the blog now.  You can leave comments on this blog (and my others), but I won’t reply to them in that topic area.  It’s MY hobby, and I’ll do it MY way.  Into my stash of SD’s I go and pull out a Rock Island SD40-2, Athearn road number

4794.

It’s of late blue-box vintage (price tag looks like a purchase at Discount Model Trains in Addison TX), and the first thing I notice is that it lacks the old Athearn quartet of “nubs and holes” to secure the body shell to the frame.  Hmm, looks almost like a body-mount coupler box system to hold everything together.  Rather than use brute force and itty bitty common sense, I defer to the instruction sheet. Wow – an intriguing mounting system.  Not only a method to hold the shell on with the coupler pockets, but a couple of boxes that come apart and screw together and into the frame!  Say what you want, but Irv and his descendants have come a long way and are so responsible for getting the hobby where it is today.

With the shell off, the power chassis is something new to me in Blue Box stuff – it had the latest incarnation of the Athearn narrow motor, and those thin tubular drive shaft splines from the flywheels out to the tops of the power truck towers.  I place it on a pure DC-powered test track, crank the throttle, and am amazed at the quiet, slow speed and smooooooth running.  And this is right out of the box.  Nonetheless, I take the bottoms and tops off the truck assemblies, throw a little all purpose plastic compatible Labelle slippery stuff on the gears, and pop things back together.  Using a little foam cradle set-up, I run the engine at a moderate speed for about fifteen minutes in each direction, and then at a very slow speed for same time and change of directions.  So, I have followed the first rule of getting an engine ready for DCC conversion – make sure it runs good on old time DC.

Now, my attention is drawn to that nice bright red and “hurt-the-eyes” yellow ROCK ISLAND paint on the shell.  I notice that it’s also of the later design, as far as detailed printing of the smallest lettering of everything from DANGER 600 VOLTS to the EMD builders’ plate.  Seems a shame to take such nice clothing off and make it naked.  But it must be stripped.  And having used the commercial paint strippers from everyone that makes such items for us modelers, I seek out a more cost-effective, yet thorough and not too messy method.  Months back, I had picked up a thing of Pine-Sol at Home Depot at tremendous price cut, with this in mind.  And so the shell gets slipped under the waves of Pine-Sol in my metal “soaking tub.”  Coming back to the garage about an hour later, the smell of pine forest freshness almost knocks me out.  Does not appear to be any paint floating in the tub, but the Pine Sol is so damned RED!  Donning the latex gloves (pre-powdered inside by the maker for supple skin retention), I search the depths and find the shell and the detached cab section.  Using the new Crest toothbrush (firm bristle buck-99 type), I begin to scrub the shell, and, sure enough, globs of red come off.  Not real easily, but they do.        

To the tub it goes again for another couple of hours.  This time, a warm bath rinse takes nearly all the remaining paint off, save a few pesky nooks and crannies.  And, just as mentioned by those that have  Feels clean and smooth though.  And does it SMELL. 

Patty comes into the garage and for a moment, thinks the reclaimed Pine-Sol in the bottle is tomato juice. And is amazingly not thrilled with the “clean smell.” Neither am I. So, after supper, we stop by Wal-Mart and get two items for more body stripping research - some 91 percent isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and a container of DOT Grade 3 approved brake fluid. I had read on a website that you had to get the 91 percent solution (sold only at Wal Mart according to the poster) instead of the more common 70 to 80 percent stuff.  I pour the quart of alky liquid into the soaking tub and throw the shell back in. After just fifteen minutes, the wash, scrub and rinse routine leaves a nearly nude plastic form. The alcohol smell is much more tolerable to me, and it took most of the piney woods smell off the model itself. The garage still reeked of the Pine-Sol though. After a few minutes of elbow grease (the floor of the garage looks like a CSI crime scene - so much red and thicky icky), to the faucet I go, and with warm water and the brush and a bit of Imus Ranch environmentally-friendly Dishwashing Detergent, the shell comes fairly clean.

http://www.imusranchfoods.com/   

To the tub it goes again for another couple of hours.  This time, a warm bath rinse takes nearly all the remaining paint off, save a few pesky nooks and crannies.  And, just as mentioned by those that have done the Pine-Sol thing, there remain a few lite white blemishes on the dried shell.  Feels clean and smooth though.  And does it SMELL.  Patty comes into the garage and for a moment, thinks the reclaimed Pine-Sol in the bottle is tomato juice.  And is amazingly not thrilled with the “clean smell.”  Neither am I.  So, after supper, we stop by Wal-Mart and get two items for more body stripping research - some 91 percent isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and a container of DOT Grade 3 approved brake fluid.  I had read on a website that you had to get the 91 percent solution (sold only at Wal Mart according to the poster) instead of the more common 70 to 80 percent stuff.  

 I pour the quart of alky liquid into the soaking tub and throw the shell back in.  After just fifteen minutes, the wash, scrub and rinse routine leaves a nearly nude plastic form.  The alcohol smell is much more tolerable to me, and it took most of the piney woods smell off the model itself.  The garage still reeked of the Pine-Sol though. 

         

Into the SD stash I go again, and pick out a “Conrail Quality” blue SD40-2 non-powered engine.  Into the 91 percent solution it goes.  I leave it for a couple of hours, and it’s nearly 100 percent cleaned off.  After a scrub and wash, back it goes for another hour and I’m very satisfied with the results.  The Pine-Sol will be in the garbage pick-up Tuesday (it’s not considered HAZ- MAT, is it?) and the brake fluid will be returned and swapped out for 2 more bottle of 91 proof happiness.  Since then I’ve also denuded a CNW SD40-2, a Kodachrome schemed ATSF eng and a blue and yeller ATSF as well, with equally great results.  91 Proof is the way to go.          

 

DME 6359

THE DAKOTA, MINNESOTA AND EASTERN SD40-2 6359

                            (and why it should have a blog all its own…)

Well, the SP Coast Line diorama / test track is up and running with DCC (see the blog for it at http://spcoastlinemid60s.blogspot.com/), and as planned, it’s time to get lots of projects that were started over the past several years and those planned with the retirement layout in mind, UNDERWAY!

          In going thru boxes of accumulated stuff, I found (not unexpectedly) lots of Athearn Blue Box SD40-2’s.  The buying started back in the 90’s when I envisioned a layout based on some portion of the Milwaukee Road Transcon line.  Then, things turned towards the MILW’s “Corn Lines” for about a decade and a half (see the story on another blog of mine, http://spwpvalley.blogspot.com/).  So, I would still have some SD40-2’s, just not as many of them as I would F units.  Counting them up, a total of nine SD40-2’s - most powered, just a couple of them dummies.  Most all of the first phase of Athearn SD40-2’s – with the corrugated rear radiator grills and standard length nose.  However, I did find that my buying of these six-axles lasted long enough into the era of Irv’s “customizing” of body parts, and the newer “spline drive” universals and sleeked-up motors.  

          You will recall (if you read the other blogs about my adventures in the hobby) that I went thru a short, albeit intense period of IMRL leanings, along with a slide into the ICE era.

I had gotten a set or two of DME Microscale decals for the layout, since those roads’ units found themselves frequently on the neighboring regionals.  To be quite honest, it has been a good six or seven years since doing some bench work rebuilding / kitbashing / detailing / painting / lettering projects, and I wondered if I still had the touch, or the talent. After all, the eyes have shifted and the fingers have little twitches of soreness from time to time. 

          Concurrent with getting the SP Coast Line diorama / test track up and running, I  configured a “workshop” that would be the best I had ever assembled in my fifty plus years in the hobby, given the space constraints and current usage of the area.  Had plenty of storage in all forms - plastic parts bins, multi-level drawer sets, sliding drawers and everything else.  It was time to get back to a part of the hobby that has always been a top draw for me.

          Of course, my kitbashing had its origins back in the 60’s and 70’s, when those of us that modeled certain roads and certain types of engines and cars had to do it to create stuff we wanted on our layouts.  Naturally the selection, road names, varieties, detailing and availability of models has blown up a thousand fold since then – and of course, the PRICE of these gems has too!  Gawd almighty, if I was starting out in this hobby now, I would have to ditch my job of the past 32 years and find something that pays better than the railroad – which, for someone such as myself with two years of college and a vary narrow job category history (see my Face book page for that drivel!) would not be realistic.  So, back to my roots I go here in 2011 – ready and willing to play with sharp objects, sticky and colorful stuff that I can’t ever get off me, smelly but incredibly strong adhesives, very very thin but detailed decals, and the courage to cut, slice and dice plastic.