#boxcab

The Pennsylvania Railroad class E3b was a pair experimental electric locomotive supplied by Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co Built in November of 1951. The locomotive was of the two unit design, with each unit having a B-B-B (AAR) or Bo-Bo-Bo (UIC) wheel arrangement. The bodywork and running gear was produced by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton while the electrical equipment was provided by Westinghouse, who also acted as the main contractor. They were powered by AC current fed via a transformer tap changer through 12 Ignitron (Mercury arc) rectifier to DC traction motors which ended up giving the locomotive 3,000 horsepower. Unfortunately both were scrapped in 1964 with only 13 years of service.

Mammoth Cave Railroad Co.

I've drawn some Milwaukee Road electrics before, but I had yet to draw the EF-1/EP-1 Boxcab Electrics until now so here, enjoy.

Reference Image: https://www.elvastower.com/forums/index.php?app=downloads&module=display&section=screenshot&full=1&id=106&record=100

A Diesel for the BVLC Part 2: A Slight Change of Plan

Hi all,

There has been a bit of progress on my On30 diesel, although not exactly what I was expecting.

After receiving the first set of 3D printed parts, I test-fit them to the chassis.  Unfortunately, it seemed that some of my measurements were a little off, and the walkway didn't fit onto the chassis.  However, the cab did fit onto the walkway as intended.

There's a 'bump' on the chassis where the cab of the original model went.  This was approximately 4mm too far back, so I moved that end of the walkway forwards to correct this.

There were also some issues with the detail parts.  Although the 3mm LEDs did fit into the headlights, it was a very tight fit and left no room for the thickness of the paint.  Given that the headlights do need to be painted to prevent the whole part from lighting up, this wouldn't exactly work.  As such, I enlarged the holes for the LEDs, adding 0.1mm onto the diameter.  The bolt detailing was also enlarged, as it wasn't distinct enough on the original.  I also thickened the side doors, as they were originally too thin and had warped as a result.

With these corrections done, I uploaded the parts to Shapeways and ordered them.  But even as I did this, there was something bugging me about the model.  My original intention had been to do a 'narrow gauge RS-1', as an homage to one of my favourite diesel designs.  However, due to circumstances outlined in my previous post, the design had evolved into an angular, low-nosed road switcher.  Given that the early diesels (e.g. GP-7, GP-9, RS-1, etc.) had high hoods at front and rear, this design seemed to me to be too modern for a layout set in 1948.  As such, I decided to redesign the locomotive as a boxcab rather than a road-switcher.  As this design was introduced in the 1920s, it would be more appropriate for my era.

I started by redesigning the footplate.  Originally, the footplate just extended from the side of the chassis with the cab sitting on top.  This resulted in a cab roof that was right on the height limit for my layout (as determined by the backdrop cutout).  Given that all the boxcabs I'd seen had quite a bit of equipment on their roofs, I'd need to lower the outside walls.  I also wanted to give the boxcab a bit of a 'hunkered down' look.  The footboards at each end were also added.

I brought the ends and sides of the original walkway in, ensuring that they would clear the fuel tank.  I then dropped them by 8mm and created a 2mm 'ledge' around the outside, upon which the body of the model will be resting.  I only put a few supports between the ledge and the walkway, enough to hold it in place.  These will be covered up when the body is in place.  A small section was added at the ends to accomodate the coupler box I had made for the original version of the diesel.

With that done, I did the body itself and the roof (not shown).  I'd noticed that most boxcabs had a distinct shape to the front wall, where it curved over then seemed to run flat underneath the roof.  As such, I made the flat bit on eiher side 1.5mm thick, then extruded it back to form the side walls.  With the four walls in place, I then put in the holes for the windows and doors by using a boolean operator to 'cut' them through the walls.  I did the same for the large radiator grilles from the original model.  Given that I already had these parts printed and ready, I decided to use them.

My next step was to create the doors and window frames, to be printed in ultra detail plastic.  I also copied and shrunk the radiator grille, cutting holes for four of these - two in each side.  I also added an interior wall, just behind the side doors.  This was mainly to block off the motor and electronics from the front cab windows - the side and rear windows will be blacked out.  However, it also adds a bit of reinforcement to the body.

I then turned my attention to the roof.  The roof details are based on what I could see from the prototype photos, most of which were taken from the ground level.  I have a few spare details (air tanks, etc.) in my parts box that I'll be adding to that flat area.

The ends of the walkway were also extended, to accomodate the coupler lift bars.  Drill starter holes were also added for the coupler lift bars, handrails beside the doors, and a ladder up each side.

Owing to the height of the cab and the end doors, I wasn't able to re-use the headlights I'd printed for the first version of this locomotive.  Those were designed to go on a vertical surface, but the boxcab needed roof-mounted ones.  I had designed top-mount headlights for the original diesel.  These were designed to have a 3mm LED inserted from the back, with a cover plate closing off the rear.  However, the cover plate was too thin for Shapeways to print.

This time around, I attacked the problem from a different angle.  After lowering the original top-mounted headlight, I sliced it in half horizontally.  This allows the LED to be inserted from the top.  As each piece of the headlight housing is larger, there are no problems with it being printed.  It was also adjusted to match the curvature of the roof, and mounting pegs were added, with corresponding holes in the roof itself.  A hole was also cut through the headlight and roof, to allow the wires to reach the LED.

My last step was to prepare the parts for printing.  After separating the shell into its three components, I added some sprues to the body to reinforce it during printing and shipment.

The details were duplicated as needed, and laid out ready for printing.  They and the body were then uploaded to Shapeways, and I expect to have them in a few weeks.