|
John
hails from Wisconsin. He has taken to modeling the American Freedom
Train in HO scale and has graciously agreed to share with us images
and notes of his progress. It is still very much a work in progress,
so check back every month or so to see what's new. John is basing
much of his model on the Lionel AFT cars from the 1970's. Click
on any of the images to see a larger version!
|
|||
 |
Update September 2008. Johnny has come a long way in modeling the American Freedom Train in HO. These pages follow his progress chronologically from his beginnings in 2006. Just thought we'd start out with a single picture of his very lastest work -- the AFT wagons and flatcars. Enjoy the rest! |
||
|
|
IN THE BEGINNING (late 2006) AFT Showcase Car #41, with considerable reworking. It wasn't long after this that John decided to try to model the entire American Freedom Train. These pages chronicle his progress. Check here regularly for the latest! |
||
 |
Another
shot of AFT Showcase Car #41. Beyond the considerable reworking
of the interior to rearrange and modify the showcase items, John
lowered the car height to a more prototypical level.
|
||
 |
John's
notes on lowering the Lionel cars: If you turn over the car and
remove the trucks, you will see on the bolster that the outer ring
is raised about 1/16th of an inch from the other level. I shave
this higher ring down flush with the lower one and when the car
is reassembled, it sits lower on the trucks. This of course requires
some modifications to the trucks; looking at the Lionel trucks from
the side, on the tops of the frame you will see little rounding
areas above the frame where the wheels line up. Shave these down
even with the truck frames. This will provide a truck that will
clear the car body when swinging on tighter radius (less than 26")
curves. And of course the wheelsets that come with it are discarded
and replaced with the correct 36" metal wheels. I was surprised
at how close Lionel came to the actual trucks with these. After
this process, you will be able to body mount Kaydee No. 5's (or
whatever you choose) easily with a few shims.
|
||
 |
AFT
Display Car #101, flat panel side - with Accuen's stickers replacing
the panel art.
|
||
 |
AFT
Display Car #101, shadowbox side - with Accuen's stickers replacing
the shadowbox art.
|
||
 |
BEFORE
: The Freedom Bell from Lionel's AFT model.
|
||
 |
AFTER
: The Freedom Bell. Ripp sanded, drilled and painted it.
|
||
 |
BEFORE
: The Lunar Rover Test Article from Lionel's AFT model.
|
||
 |
IN
PROGRESS: The Lunar Rover Test Article gets some paint and a mast
for the antenna.
|
||
 |
COMPARISON
: The Lunar Rover Test Article from Lionel's AFT model and Ripp's
makeover, complete with communications dish/antenna.
|
||
 |
John
is no big fan of the Lionel GS-4, but when he received a "basket
case" Daylight in a batch of AFT cars he bought, he decided
to see what he could do with it...
|
||
 |
John's notes 12/23/2006: BEFORE: When I received one in a lot I bought for the cars, I thought I would throw it out. But being the frugal one, I decided to tackle the beast. The first picture is what the thing looked like when I opened the box; driving wheels all screwed-up, motor fried and frozen and parts broken off. It was also CAKED with dirt, mud and who knows what else. |
||
 |
AFTER:
I tore the engine and tender completely down. Some things that were
done: Re-quartered the drivers and removed the motor. The cast frame
in this early production model does not lend itself well to remotoring,
so I opted to make this a freewheeling, 'dummy' that would have
the home-road helper cut in right behind it, thus supplying the
power to move. I also cleaned and touched up the engine and tender
shells, fixing the broken parts. The drivers got their rims painted
white as did all the others as per the real girl. Metal wheels were
added to the tender as well as a kaydee #5 coupler.
|
||
 |
Still
to come: Repositioning of the boiler number boards. Correcting the
position of the cab Numbers. Finding right sized stars for the drivers
and adding pilot stripes and constant lighting w/mars light. And
of course, blackening the side-rods.
|
||
 |
John Ripp's update February 2007: This will be AFT car #202, the 'Pie Car" (circus slang for the meal car). The model is a commission for AFT fan/collector John Finnin. A few years ago Finnin modeled the AFT himself in O Scale using K-LINE's AFT model and adding the rest of the cars from his own handiwork. Several years ago John had modeled the whole train in HO. Now he has decided to update it, enlisting the help of Mr. Ripp. |
||
 |
The
combo car is a model made by Bethlehem
Car Works. It's a near-perfect match for the real
AFT #202, which started life as a Reading commuter car. The kit
John is using is Bethlehem Car Works Steel Combine (suburban) Kit
# 220.
|
||
 |
One
end of the roof.
|
||
 |
The
other end of the roof.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 before.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 after!
|
||
 |
Other
side. Looking good!
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 with lettering.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 with lettering, other side.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 ridin' the rails of Ripp's fictitious Madison Central of Wisconsin
- also known as the 'MadCow'.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 headed through town.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 headed cross country.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 ready for its close-up.
|
||
 |
AFT
#202 complete and ready to ship to Mr. Finnin!
|
||
