Wordless Wednesday 6

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Throwback Thursday 6 CN SD40 5070 at GMDD London November 1968

CN 5070 sits in the company of an unknown CP SD40 in front of the General Motors Diesel Division plant in London, ON on November 1, 1968. Reg Button photo, author's collection.

Today’s Throwback Thursday takes us back to November 1, 1968. We’re at General Motors Diesel Division (GMDD) in London, Ontario where we find brand new Canadian National SD40 #5070 ready for release. In the background we observe another SD40, although it will go to work for rival Canadian Pacific. How to tell? Close examination reveals a number of differences between CN & CP SD40’s; CP SD40’s featured cab-side rain gutters (not sun shades), snowplow instead of rock plow, a different MU plug arrangement, tight-lock couplers instead of conventional coupler, different air tanks (one large instead of CN’s two smaller tanks on each side) and (especially to modelers), different stairwell (step) arrangements. Another painted CN SD40 off in the distance. Perhaps this is an open house to show off the latest-and-greatest in Canadian motive power? Maybe, but the reason for this interesting pairing of engines may well be lost to history…

About the London plant: General Motors opened the plant at London in late 1950, at a time long before Free Trade permitted easy import of goods to Canada from the US (without costly import tariffs). Facing competition from Montreal Locomotive Works and, to some extent, Fairbanks-Morse (under license to Canadian Locomotive Company), GM constructed the branch plant to supply Canadian roads with new diesels. Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo GP-7 #71, famously destroyed in a wreck in February 1980 east of Smithville, ON, was the first locomotive completed at the new plant, and was soon to be followed by many more engines for CN, CP, and other Canadian railways. With its’ busiest year in 1958, the overwhelming majority of diesels built for Canadian roads over the next 35 years or so were built in London. When EMD stopped production at its’ primary manufacturing facility in La Grange, IL in 1989, all GM locomotive production was consolidated to the London plant. The plant then handled all production for not only North American railroads, but also did brisk business manufacturing locomotives for export to countries all over the globe. A declining market share, however, eventually lead to the sale of GM-EMD to Greenbriar Equity Group in April 2009, which included the London plant. Run for a number of years under Greenbriar ownership, the former GM-EMD assets were sold in 2010 to Caterpillar Inc. As part of their Progress Rail division, the London plant operated until 2012 when it was shuttered in favour of manufacturing capacity at their new Muncie, IN locomotive plant. The last diesels to be constructed in London were an order of Kansas City Southern SD70Ace’s, with KCS 4130, 4131, 4133, 4135 and 4136 leaving the plant on September 25, 2012, bringing an end to 62 years of locomotive manufacturing in London.

Not only did the plant produce diesel (and even electric) locomotives, but also buses, earth-moving equipment, and military vehicles for GM’s other manufacturing divisions. Though production of busses and earth-moving equipment has long since ended, part of the plant survives under General Dyamics Land Systems ownership and still produces military vehicles.

What about CN 5070? Following its’ release from GMDD London, the engine enjoyed a long career with CN, eventually being repainted into the popular “zebra stripe” scheme. The engine changed little mechanically over the years, eventually gaining a new snowplow and snow shields, along with new horn, ditch lights, winterization hatch and rear rock plow. Though CN initiated a program to rebuild their SD40 fleet in the mid-1990's, it was soon realized that the per-unit rebuild cost was relatively high compared to the cost of purchasing a new unit. Declared surplus, the engine was leased in 1998 to Quebec Railway Corporation for use on the New Brunswick East Coast railway. Less than a year later, the engine was retired in 1999 after 31 years of service. A new lease on life was granted after rebuild by GEC-Alstom in spring 1999 and the engine was released as Chemin de Fer Matapidia et du Golfe (CFMG) #6909 in a solid black paint job. After nine years of operation in southern Quebec, a sale of the QRC operations (CFMG, NBEC and Ottawa Central) to CN in 2008 spelled the end of the line for the engine. Ironically purchased back by its’ original owner, the engine was shipped to the Homewood, IL shop to await disposition. Resold to Allied Services (A division of Allied Equity Group), the engine traveled to Georgianna, AL as ASDX 6909, where it ultimately met the torch.

One has to wonder if CN 5070 and the unknown CP SD40 ever crossed paths again – likely not, but who knows?…

‘Til next time,

Cheers,

Peter.

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6 Tips and Ideas to Customize Your Model Kit

So you've built a few model kits and you're ready to up your game and do something unique and different to your piece?

First, go check out your local hobby shop and get some ideas on what you may want to do to upgrade your model. Do you want to custom design and make your own decals? Change the interior? Add something completely different?

Ask yourself if this is for you or to enter in a show and what level you are building at. Be realistic with your skill level and remember with each kit you do, you're going to get better!

Painting is the most common way to make your model stand out. If you're brush painting, make sure to keep your brush strokes going in one direction for a better look.

When customizing your colours be sure to write down how much of each colour you're mixing so you can get an exact match each time. Who knows, someone may want that colour combo and ask you for the mix ratio. Use eyedroppers or pipettes to help with this.

Weathering can really add that "something special" to your custom build. It can make your piece look beat up and rusted or look as if it's just been though the mud. It can be used to create blaster marks on a Sci-fi kit, engine exhaust stains or peeling paint on a car.

It's all in how you use your paint and brush. For example for blaster marks use paint and brush to 'dry brush' the look you want. For a dusty look you can use chalks. Just make sure that after you create the weathered look you desire, seal it with a clear coat of Matte, Semi-Gloss or Gloss. You don't want to ruin that hard work.

Decals are a fun way to customize for beginner to intermediate builders. The majority of kits already have a sheet of decals ideal to your model choice, with sometimes two or three variant choices; But what if you want something unique to your imagination?  Decal sets and paper are just what you're looking for.

Basically decals are layers of paint built up on plastic film with a paper backing.  The glue is usually activated by water.  Your printer may be up to the task of creating your decals.

When using decals make sure to cut as close to the pattern as possible (nail or craft scissors work best for this). Dip your decal in water for the instructions set amount of time and add it to your model. You can use Microset to help the decal settle onto the model more snugly.  There are many articles and YouTube videos on how to use and apply decals. Practice makes perfect in this case.  Even the most expert model builders can have trouble with decals. Just take your time with it.

Finally, consider adding your model onto a Diorama to add dimension and truly get the feeling across to those looking at your creation. They can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. Ask your experienced local hobby shop for tips and ideas.

With the help of your local hobby shop's knowledgeable staff, checking out a few YouTube videos, researching articles like this one and your own imagination, you can create a potential masterpiece from a humble box of plastic and photo-etched parts.

Make sure to read these great blog articles too and share them with a friend:

• 10 Tips For Buying A Model Kit
• Basic Tips For Model Building

• Model Tips for Beginners - Part 2
• Model Kit Building And Painting Tips And Tricks

Please make sure to comment below if you have a tip to share!  Like our blog to get updates on the newest additions. We post every Thursday, alternating Trains and Model/Toys.

Also, make sure to check out our Website, Facebook and YouTube Channel for inspiration, learning and fun!

Thanks for reading

Happy Hobbying

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Op session No 6

A quick recap of op session no.6:

Mike Barrett at 27th Street clears the car float, then fills it up again.

The Harlem Station after Barrett's completion of work before he moved over to 27th St. 

Steve Jackobs heads out of the yard to switch the HBS industries.

David Petersen (left) and Steve Jackobs (right) dropping their pickups in the HBS Yard.

Barrett, Jackobs, Petersen were on shake down duty operating the new 27th Street Lehigh station, Erie Harlem and the HBS industry jobs, but no yard this time. This was a last minute gig that conflicted with a large train show an hour away, so I didn't expect to get a lot of takers, but I needed to have trains run to find some more problems before the next session. The original idea was to have a stress test since I can now handle 11 people, which is what I was gearing up for the following weekend.

No big surprises, and mostly it confirmed work load balancing and how much time it takes to complete jobs. After this is was back to work on converting another locomotive to battery power, adding a car float and a bunch of battery charging for the next session...

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