Walthers

Here is a link

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?manu=328&category=Part&split=30

Funny, in the past, Athearn was famous for stocking parts for their products!

Regards, John ********************************************

Everything in life is temporary. So if things are going good, enjoy it because it won't last forever. And if things are going bad, don't worry. It can't last forever. <> Unknown

F Units

I'm not familiar with the Athearn Genesis units, but I assume from your post that they come with the full skirt and you want to modify them- correct? The easiest way would be to modify the existing Athearn shells. It's a pretty simple project if the fuel tanks are shaped correctly. If not, you'll have to modify them in order to get the right look with the skirting removed.

I'm in the middle of building two F7A's using Highliner shells and old Stewert chassis (with Kato drives). I've removed portions of the skirting and modified the fuel tanks accordingly, I'd be happy to post some pictures if that would help your project.

Tom Patterson

de-skirted F units

Tom,

I would to see the photos of your F7 project

F Unit Project

Here are some photos of the Highliner/Stewart project. The first picture shows the skirt modifications. I've been using photos of L&N units as a guide in addition to an article on modifying Highliner shells by John Welther in the July 1995 edition of Model Railroading.

The next two photos show the modifications to the fuel tanks. I elected to keep the mounting tabs but you could cut these off and glue the tank to the bottom of the frame.

I cut away the top portion of the fuel tanks and rounded the edges per the prototype. I then added a small piece of Evergreen I-beam to simulate the top portion of the tank. 

In the next photo you can see the fuel tank/battery box/main air reservoir piece attached to the frame.

Once the shell is attached, the tabs holding the piece to the frame aren't as noticeable. Note that the bottom flange on the I-beam should be level with the top of the tank, not sticking above as it does on the right hand side of the photos below (photos sure help point out mistakes!). 

I made the same modifications to a Broadway Limited F7A unit and a B unit and this project was a little more involved. The fuel tank/battery box/main air reservoir on these units is an integral part of the chassis. I had to cut a piece out the metal tank, add some styrene backing and then add the Evergreen I-beam. The photos below show the results.

I'm not sure what the set-up is with the Genesis units, but I have to think that one of these methods would work for modifying your units. Good luck!

Tom Patterson

de-skirted F units

The piece I question is at the forward end of the fuel tank, and doesnt look like its attached to the body.

HighLiners

Dear MRHers,

Would these be the HighLiners in question?

http://highlinersdirect.com/

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Re: Highliners

There is a reason that Athearn doesn't offer the f-unit shells.

They buy the shells for the Genesis f-units from the owner of Highliner.  The deal they signed with him allows Athearn to use his shells either undecorated or factory painted on complete locomotives.  They are not allowed to sell the shells alone.  The owner of Highline kept that market for himself.

Battery Box

NSengineer,

The piece you are referring to is the door to the battery box and in the photo you posted it's not attached to the body. It's mounted directly to the battery box. Here's a link to a diagram of an F7A which shows the battery box in front of the fuel tank:  http://southern.railfan.net/images/archive/southern/dieblue/f7.jpg. Directly behind the battery box is the main air reservoir. And here are some links to some photos on the Fallen Flags website which show the door on the box more clearly:  http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc1832ags.jpg and  http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc1760dsa.jpg. Note in the second picture that the top of the door is straight while the box behind it slopes from the center to the sides. The shape of the box makes the door appear to have an odd shape in some photos. Note also in the second photo that a small piece of skirting remains in place just to the left of the door. The skirting ran slightly in front of the battery box door while on most models it's flush with the door.

After looking through a bunch of photos of PC F-units, it appears that most of them had the skirting modified as shown in the links above.

Tom Patterson

Battery Box

Ok, I have a clearer Idea now, Thanks for the info. Now the project looks simpler than I thought.

de-skirted Fs

You might want to check out the Walthers P2K units. Some of them are deskirted and they do a very nice job on the battery box. Their bodies and frames use the same mounting system as the Highliners.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/920-48271

Lou