IAIS RS36 900
First, an overall view of the conductor's side of the 900. I think one of the more visible improvements you can make to this model is to replace the factory handrails. There are no Smokey Valley handrail sets that are correct for these, so I bent my own. I cut the factory stanchions away, then laid them on my workbench surface and, based on a Neil Schofield tip, used a T-pin to make a pilot hole under magnification and drilled each one out. This process was actually easier than it sounds. Including the time spent to bend the new handrails (using the factory end sections as a guide), it took about two hours total, but in my opinion, the improvement in appearance is well worth it.
A view of the front pilot and short hood details. The Bowser/Cal-Scale RS-32/RS-36 detail kit ( http://www.bowser-trains.com/history/hocalscaleatlastrainmanrs.html ) was a great help on this model, providing the grab irons, MU and air hoses, and lift rings. The kit also includes other parts that weren't appropriate for my prototype, so I'd encourage anyone building one of these models to check it out as a starting point. Ditch lights and cut levers on the 900 are Detail Associates parts, #1022 and #2211 respectively. MU stands are modified P2K parts from the scrap box, with the top MU port removed and a Details West #172 step light added in its place, pointed to shine toward the coupler, per the prototype. Pilot steps were removed, gaps were filled, and new pilot plates were fashioned from styrene, with 18” straight grab irons added to contain the MU hoses. Finally, the drop steps were scratchbuilt. I couldn't find an etched material that matched the Alco pattern on those drop steps, so I instead used Scale Scenics #652-3500 aluminum micro mesh with styrene reinforcements.
These two roof views show the Bowser/Cal-Scale lift rings and other details. The three lift rings on each side, along the outer edge of the roof, are bent from wire, since I felt the kit's parts were too large for that application. The Atlas exhaust stack wasn't right for the 900, so I added added a styrene plate and shortened a stack from a Kaslo M420R. It's still not correct, since the prototype stack is rounded on the ends and flares outward, but I haven't yet found a suitable replacement. The dynamic brake vent was opened up by sawing vertically just inside of both end walls, scribing along the bottom to remove the original cast-on vent, and making a new top plate from 0.010” styrene (already painted black in the first view, with some of the paint worn off by subsequent handling). The vents were added using the Scale Scenics mesh material mentioned previously.
The hand brake chain and pulley mechanism was made by drilling holes in the front truck sideframes inboard of each brake cylinder and fashioning pins out of small guage wire, pinning Detail Associates #2210 chain material in place. Pulleys for the rear cylinders were made from parts left over from a Cannon short hood kit, drilled out for the pins. This view also gives a glimpse of the material removed from the frame to allow for the fuel tank cross section to be narrowed.
Don't laugh: I couldn't find anyone who offers etched steps for this model, so I drilled out each step with about a dozen holes to open them up in hopes of giving that effect. It did the trick from typical viewing distance and only took about 40 minutes total for all four corners, but the result doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. I also added a bell from the scrap box inside the front pilot steps on the engineer's side.
Not my work, but I thought this was a neat detail that Atlas added: The paint location and date on the lower rear corner of both sides of the long hood. I believe the 900 is the only IAIS unit to get this treatment. I had seen the stencil on the prototype unit in photos, but could never tell what it said until viewing the Atlas model under magnification. I found it especially interesting in that my layout features the Council Bluffs enginehouse in which the prototype 900 was painted.
This view shows more of the grab irons from the Bowser/Cal-Scale set, as well as some cab roof details. The horn was kitbashed from scrap box parts, the firecracker EOT antenna is Detail Associates #1805, and the Sinclair radio antenna is Details West #274.
Rear of the unit received the same treatment as the front.
Finally, the fuel tank. The Atlas tank is too wide and had the air cylinders cast in. I removed them, scratchbuilt new cylinders from styrene and wire, and narrowed the fuel tank. As shown in a previous photo, I also removed material from the fuel tank portion of the frame in order to allow the more narrow tank to fit over it. It's still not 100% accurate, but I think it'll improve the 900's appearance and hope the discrepancies won't be noticeable. I believe the prototype tank is a foot or so more narrow still, but this is as far as I was comfortable taking it without major milling of the frame and potential issues with frame strength and integrity of the pocket holding the motor.
