# One down, Another to go.



## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

After my previous rebuild of an RS-3, I have decided to do another.

http://sner.webs.com/pictures_23039_IMG_4483_2-1.JPG

I may decide to take 2 hoods and kitbash them together with other details to make an RS-32 high nose. More info to come


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

That's a real 'black beauty'! Looking forward to the info (and pictures?) to come!!!!


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

After finally figuring out how to post photos, here is the first photo of the project. This is the prototype unit I plan to model. Work on the model version will commence as soon as it arrives at my door step.


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Well, finally I got around to getting down into the rebuild. Another RS-3 arrived so I use it as a base for the 3rd RS unit (which was caught in a wreck a few years back) Although, both units are missing parts, I plan to make the unit as detailed as possible.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Cool! It'll be interesting to watch this project. I really like the RS-3.


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Tonight, I finally got down and dirty. I pulled both trucks out from underneath the Alco, and completely gutted the unit. The body and frame are up on blocks (off on a shelf waiting for body work) while I completely re-tune the trucks. I am actually using 2 sets of trucks (one set is off a wrecked RS-3 that had run down the flanges to almost nothing and the other set has a good set of wheels, but bad motors). My plan is to rebuild them with rotating end caps on the journals, adding a detailed brake system, also well as lowering the truck spacers. So far, I have one truck about half way done with journals almost complete. Mean while, I pulled off cab windows, headlights, marker lights, grab irons, handrails, and pilots off the body. In addition, I printed up (I do mean printed, thanks to the U-Print Printer) new front hand rail brackets out of plastic, since Aristo was unable to supply replacements. I also sanded off all molded details to the unit such as the cutoff bar and hood door handles, and added a brass made cutoff and new front railings, both made of .064" brass wire. I am still waiting on the ditch lights and plows from Aristo but other than that, things are slowly progressing. I will get some photos up tomorrow. 

David


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Here are some older photos. I have since installed new grab irons, door handles, new number board glass, blocked out the headlight holes, and then sprayed the locomotive a semi-gloss black like the prototype. I also am wrapping up with the the first truck conversion, and just waiting on brake cylinders. I was able to actually have the roller bearing caps rotate as the axle turns. 

David


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

The unit as of this moment.









David


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Looking very nice! Nice to get rid of those weird markers! 

Please keep the pictures coming! 

Greg


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Beautiful work! I love the brass wire detailing.


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

The unit coming together. I am right now using shop (motorless) trucks to side the body on. However the first truck closet to the photographer is a truck that is in the first stages of being rebuilt into operating roller bearing cap operation. The fuel tank the engine came with was not correct for the unit I am modeling, so I have to build a new one from scratch








A comparisin shot of the standard locomotive and what I rebuilt. Handrails are all new on the rebuilt version and look at bit over sized from the front, but in reality, they are correct just an illusion since I have not installed ditch lights and other front details.


I am still waiting for parts for the body, so for now, I can only rebuild the trucks for the unit. One is finished other than the extra details and I am starting in on the other.

David


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Finally. I finished up the side rails and re-screened the fan cover. In addition, I also had to re-manufacture all the handrail supports since so many were broken and/or lost when the unit was caught in a wreck. I got around to ordering the new details for the locomotive such as headlights, plow, ditch lights, etc. Unfortunately, this will be the last time I work on the unit for a long time since we are moving to a new place,...but to an area with the place for a good amount of large scale. 

David


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Well, its been a while since I posted an update here, but now I actually have an update for it. 

I haven't had much luck with getting the extra details needed, so I have swapped to a different manufacture to get them (we will see what happens this time). Because of lack of parts, the body and frame have not progressed at all. However, success has come to the units trucks. I am waiting on truck details from another fellow modeler, but I finally (rather successfully) got the trucks to look realistic bulk wise. 

The stock Aristo-Craft AAR type A trucks are not very realistic. The side frames are too tall (top to bottom) and the overly long bearing covers make the trucks look like a toy, which annoyed me greatly. For modeling #977, I needed to convert the truck journals to rotating roller bearing caps to be prototypical. I did that by cutting off the bearing covers, enlarging the end of the brash bearing, and attaching a ART roller bearing cap to the end of the axle. Simple fix. However, the height issue of the side frame still was a problem. After a long period of time (before I even started the #977 project), I have finally decided to take the truck springs out and replace them with extremely soft springs. This allows the axle and equalizer beam rise up on the side frame, thus lessening the distance from side frame bottom to top, making it look like the prototype. I still need to get the soft springs, but here is what I have gotten as an almost finished product.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By SNER on 20 Sep 2010 09:34 PM 
After my previous rebuild of an RS-3, I have decided to do another.

http://sner.webs.com/pictures_23039_IMG_4483_2-1.JPG

I may decide to take 2 hoods and kitbash them together with other details to make an RS-32 high nose. More info to come 





Looking good! 
just FYI, in case you are interested! 
977 is actually a RS2, not a RS3..although the differences are quite minor, and the Aristo RS3 can be easily made into a RS2..
(977 was originally D&H RS2 4020) 


however the RS32 is a completely different beast..it has no body parts in common with the RS3..
I dont think any RS3 parts would be useful to make a RS32..they are really completely different machines..

Once someone comes out with a RS11 in Large Scale, then we will have the basis for a RS11, RS32 and RS36.. 

but for now, there are no existing shells that can be reasonably made into a RS32..they simply dont exist yet.


Scot


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Scot, 

Thanks. It's great to hear from another Alco fan (I live and breath Alco/MLW). I understood that #977 was an RS-2, but I refer to it as the RS-3 since it does have the battery boxes on the walk ways of the short hood. I have kinda given up with saying it's an RS-2, unless I am around full blooded Alco fans, other wise it becomes a back and forth debate on whether or not its a RS-2 or 3. 

As for the RS32/36, I actually have started into the project of building the high-nose "Notched-Nose Wonder" (it's somewhere packed away). I started with a modified ART RS-3 frame and used parts of the body and cab. I cut off the rounded top of the RS-3 hoods, but kept the sides of the hood and extended them higher. When I packed up the project for a move, I was just creating the new top for the high hoods, along with the notches, etc. Eventually, I will dig the project out and finish it, once I have finished a few other projects. 

David


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Some of the details arrived for the trucks. I still haven't finished the second truck with roller bearing caps, so I will post pics when both trucks are finished with full details.


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## SNER (Sep 20, 2010)

Well, been quite some time since I have been on MLS. I changed era's and the unit is changing again. I never finished the truck conversion, but after getting some 3 axle truck parts, I have decided to back date the unit to a Southern Pacific RSD-5 in the 1950's. Because of this change, this thread will no longer be updated and a new thread for the RSD-5 will be created. Look for it soon.


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