# USA Train GP9 CB&Q Kitbash



## Raymond Lam (Jan 2, 2008)

I did a minor kitbash to my GP9 some months ago and wonder if anyone has done the similar alteration.

Here are some pics:

www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Bill Swindell (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice. Have you figured out how to match the yellow & red striping color? I want to do some work on my GP-9 & the SD-7.


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## Raymond Lam (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Bill,

Thanks. Actually I didn't repaint the model nor touch the area with yellow & red stripes. I just reworked the pilots, replaced the wheels and installed some add-ons.

I'm also interested to see your GP9 and SD7. Would you mind sharing a couple of pics?


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## Bill Swindell (Jan 2, 2008)

The GP-9 is stock except I kept the dynamic brakes. The SD-7 still needs some work but that is in the mill. I also painted my SD-45 Chinese red. I don't care if it should be green, I like the red/gray scheme.


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## mocrownsteam (Jan 7, 2008)

Looks great Raymond. How much of a pain was it to replace the wheels? Gear pulling, etc? I have a New Haven unit that I want to do that conversion to.
Mike McCormack
Hudson, Massachusetts


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## Raymond Lam (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike,

Actually replacing the wheels was not a problem. You might not believe it. I could easily pull the stock wheels out of the axles and then push the NSWL wheels back in position with just a pair of bare hands. 
However, the real problem was trimming all the brake shoes away. It's really a tough job. Since the 40" wheels were too big to install, I had to remove all the molded brake shoes to make room for the big wheels. Imgaine totally 16 pcs of brake shoes needed to be trimmed off whereas the material of the sideframes was so hard to be cut. If you intend to do the same work, remember to get a powerful grinding tool. mine was lousy!

Here is a reference link I used for this project: www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips5/gp9_tips.html

Good luck.


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