The General
Electric 44-tonner, introduced in 1940, was designed for light
branchline and industrial work. Its small size and weight made
it perfect for many shortline railroads and the Middletown &
Unionville, like many other railroads, chose the 44-tonner as
a successor to steam power.
Almost 400 of these units were built between 1940
and 1956 and over the years changes were made to the body style
of the locomotive. (The March/April 1975 and May/June 1975 issues
of Extra 2200 South contained an excellent article on the GE 44-tonner
that explained and illustrated the many differences in the locomotives.)
Luckily, the Bachmann HO model of the 44-tonner (patterned after
the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad unit at Strasburg, Pa.) has the same
Phase IV carbody as the M&NJ units. This makes building an
accurate M&NJ model relatively easy.
Presently, only one of the M&NJ's two 44-tonners
is in full paint. The No. 2, which the railroad purchased in 1963,
wears the M&NJ's current blue and yellow livery, while the
No. I is stored in the shop wearing only a coat of primer. Since
the No. 2 is the engine that is currently in use, it is the one
that I chose to model.
Constructing
the model
The biggest change that needs to be made
to the model is on the pilot. The footboards should be cut off
with a razor saw and the bars that held them to the pilot should
then be carefully carved away using a hobby knife with a chisel
blade. Then sand the pilot smooth with No. 400 sandpaper.
If you plan on replacing the Bachmann couplers with
Kadee couplers, remove the coupler mounting lugs and the adjacent
plastic tabs by carving them off with a hobby knife. Cut them
flush with the pilot opening and file the area smooth.
Now the model is ready for the new snowplow
pilot. I fashioned mine from .010" sheet styrene (see drawing)
and then used .010"X.040" styrene strips to represent
the mounting bars. Be sure to notch out a space in the center
of the pilot for the coupler. While on the prototype the pilot
drops down below the coupler pocket, on the model the need for
a greater swing area for the coupler causes the pocket to fall
into the plow area.
Before installing the pilot on the model, make a light,
vertical score down the center of the back of the pilot. This
will allow it to bend outwards in the middle slightly when it
is attached to the locomotive. Position the pilot about three
scale inches below the poling pockets and glue it in place.
Once the pilots are secure, use a pin vise and a small
drill bit to make the holes for the nut-bolt-washer castings,
air hose and grab irons. Each mounting bar should receive four
n.b.w. castings: two above the pilot, one near the top of the
pilot and one about six scale inches from the bottom. Line up
the outer grab iron holes just above the top of the outer pilot
mounting bars. Drill these and then use a grab iron to measure
the placement of the other two holes. Attach the n.b.w. castings
with solvent, but hold off on cementing the grab irons and air
hose in place until after the pilot has been painted.
To make the protruding portion of the Kadee coupler
housing look more acceptable, a simple coupler pocket can be fashioned
out of three .010"X.040" styrene strips framed around
the top and sides of each coupler opening. Attach these pieces
to the pilot and after they are secure, drill a hole in the top
corners and install n.b.w. castings. Now it is time to install
the top plate from the Kadee coupler housing, but be fore that
can be done the back portion of it needs to be trimmed straight
across to allow the mechanism to fit inside the body.
Cut it so that all that re mains behind the
center mounting hole is approximately 1/16". Line up the
screw hole on the trimmed piece with the mounting hole in the
body, make sure that everything looks straight, and then glue
it in place with solvent. To finish off the coupler pocket, simply
add two triangular pieces of.010"X.040" styrene between
the top trim piece and the top of the Kadee coupler housing. These
should be placed about 1/16" in on each side.
Posed beside the baseball field in Slate Hill (above),
No. 2 shows off the yellow and blue paint scheme it received
in 1980, three years after No. 1. Note the locations of the lettering
and details in these photos. The metal shield with the herald
(below) is put at the front end of the locomotive in the winter
to keep snow out of the radiator.
The Bachmann model (left) needs its footboards and the
mounting brackets that hold them in place removed. To install
Kadee couplers, cut down the coupler mounting lugs and the adjacent
tabs even with the coupler opening (center). Use a solvent cement
to attach the new pilot (right). The holes for the grab irons
and air hose had yet to be drilled when this photo was taken.
The M&NJ's No. 2 has both a single chime airhorn
and a Hancock air horn. The Hancock airhorn should be placed on
the same side of the engine as the single chime horn, but on the
opposite hood. To mount it in place you will need to drill a hole
approximately 1/8" from the cab. Drill the hole now, but
wait until after the locomotive is painted before installing the
Hancock horn. The single chime air horn and the headlight housings
can be installed at this point, however, as they will be painted
blue.
While there are still a few more de tails to add,
they are better left until after the engine is painted. Also,
before painting remove the metal rods that run across the top
of the radiators. The radiator covering needs to be added to these
rods.
Painting
It is a good idea to wash the
model in warm water and dish detergent, rinse it and then let
it thoroughly dry before doing any painting.
While the prototype is painted with Rustoleum®, I opted for
the more traditional Floquil for the model. For the yellow use
a 25:4 mixture of Reefer yellow and Reefer white. The blue is
a combination of D&H blue and Reefer white mixed in a 5:1
ratio. For black I used Floquil Engine black. All of the paint,
except for the green used on the interior of the cab, was applied
with a Badger model 350 air-brush and was thinned with an equal
mixture of paint, glaze and thinner.
I began painting by carefully brushing Floquil Dark
green on the inside of the cab. This can be done with the airbrush,
but since the area was so small and hard to see I decided it didn't
warrant dirtying and then having to clean the airbrush.
The body and cab were painted as two separate pieces,
but they could be done assembled if you choose. Either way, be
sure to mask off the inside of the cab so the chairs and control
stand don't get painted. Also mask the inside of the headlights.
Although the new Microscale Middletown & Unionville
and Middletown & New Jersey decal set comes with yellow stripes,
I chose to paint mine on. To do this, apply the yellow to the
sides and ends first. Be patient, as it will take at least a few
coats to cover the gray plastic. Let each coat dry thoroughly
before applying the next.
After the final coat of yellow has dried, it is time
to mask the stripe. Cut a strip of masking tape just wide enough
to cover the area between the middle of the top door hinges and
the bottom of the door handles. Make sure that the piece is long
enough to go around the entire engine. The radiator grilles at
each end and the trim edge around them also needs to be masked
off. Carefully apply the tape, making sure that it is straight
and that there are no gaps where the blue paint can get through.
A little extra time on this step will be well worth the effort.
Once the tape is in place, spray the entire locomotive
body blue. When the blue has dried, the masking can be removed
if you want to check your work before moving on. If the masking
tape was tight on the body, there should be a clean crisp yellow
stripe on the engine.
The black is the final color to be added. Mask off the entire
body except for the walkways, frame and pilot. Airbrush these
black. Also paint the Hancock air horn black. When the paint is
dry, remove the masking and you now have a 44-tonner in M&NJ
paint.
Final details
With the engine painted, the
Hancock air horn can be cemented in place along with the lenses
for the headlights and the windshield wipers. Cement the grab
irons and air hoses in place on the pilots and paint the engineer
and install him also.
The Kadee couplers can also be installed at this point.
Remember to trim off the back of the coupler box to match the
top piece that is already installed on the locomotive body. If
you have a problem keeping the spring in place in the coupler,
you can add a tiny drop of cement to one end of the spring and
glue
it to the coupler.
To make the radiator covers, which I am told are actually
rug remnants, cut a piece of a baby wipe or similar towellette
the width of the metal rod that fits across the top of the radiator.
Glue one end of it to the rod. After the glue dries, paint the
material a dark tan and while the paint is still wet, wrap it
around the rod a couple of times. Spread a drop of white glue
on the inside of the end and squeeze it with a tweezers to the
rod. The metal bar and cover can now be reinstalled on the locomotive
and the exposed part of the rod painted yellow. Next, add the
handrails and paint them using the photos as a guide. Also, brush
on yellow on the grab irons, frame steps and on the edges of the
cab steps.
The rerailer hangs off of a bar attached to the handrails
on the side of the cab lacking the battery box doors. Use a .010"X.060"
styrene strip to make the bar. The two hooks for holding the rerailer
frogs can be fashioned out of small pieces of.010"X.040"
styrene softened with solvent and bent into a "J" shape.
Glue these in place and attach a rerailer frog to the hook closest
to the cab with a dab of cement. Paint the whole thing black.
The model is now ready for the Microscale decals. Check the photos
for their proper placement. The side of the engine with the battery
boxes gets the 2 and the M&NJ. The other side gets the herald.
After applying the decals, use plenty of setting solution to get
them to snug down and to get rid of the sheen. Add some weathering
to the radiator vents and exhaust stacks on the roof by lightly
brushing them with Floquil.
To add some rust to the pilot, trucks and rerailing
frog, I used a new product to the model railroad field called
Rustall® by the Kuras Design Group (see Dispatchers Report
for more information). This is simply brushed on and allowed to
dry. It leaves behind a light, random rust pattern. I also brushed
their Dust on the pilot, walkway and trucks. A little Floquil
Mud on the trucks rounded out the weathering process.
Give the engine a coat of Floquil flat finish, add the cab windows
and you've got an HO scale M&NJ 44-tonner to add to your roster.
Unlike the No. 1, which came equipped with
a plow pilot, the snowplow was added to the No. 2 after it was
purchased by the railroad. The coupler lift bar arrangement on
the No. 2 differs somewhat from the model, as does the railing
just above the pilot.
Parts list
Bachmann 44-Tonner-undecorated
Detail Associates
No. SY 2203 NBW castings
No. 6206 Air hoses
No. 6210 Grab irons
Details West
NO. AH 131 No. Hancock air horn
RF 119 Rerail frogs
Evergreen Scale Models
.010" x.040" Styrene strips
.010" x.060" Styrene strips
010" Styrene sheet
Microscale
No.87-545 M&NJ decals
Kadee
No. 8 Couplers
Floquil Paint
D&H Blue
Reefer Yellow
Reefer White
Engine Black
Dark Green
Weathered Black
Kuras Design Gloup
Rustall
Blackwash
Dust
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This article was reprinted by permission
from Railroad Model Craftsman and Chris D'Amato.
It originally appeared in October, 1989 Volume 58 Number 5
