TP&W 801 Modifications: Part I

As noted in my previous post about TP&W 801, I decided to modify the fuel tank on the Atlas model to better match the prototype. The TP&W tended to purchase its locomotives with the smallest available fuel tank, and the 801 was no exception. The smallest available fuel tank on the ALCo
C-424 had flat sides. Larger-capacity C-424 fuel tanks had bulging sides of multiple lengths. The fuel tank on the stock Atlas C-424 model has long bulging sides, as shown below.

The bulging sides on the Atlas fuel tank are separate parts that snap into the main fuel tank casting. It is simple to remove them from the main fuel tank piece, but this also removes the air reservoirs, which are cast together with the bulges. Prior to removing the entire fuel tank from the frame (this is easiest to do with the shell removed so you can access the fuel tank tabs from the top), I used thin strips of masking tape to mark the locations of the ends of the air reservoirs.

Removing the bulges leaves two rectangular holes in each side of the fuel tank.

I filled these holes with bits of 0.030" styrene cut to fit and cemented in place.

Once the glue had dried, I filled gaps with putty, sanded them smooth, and painted the fuel tank flat black.

I used a razor saw and miter box to separate the air reservoirs from the bulges. With the casting upside down in the miter box, I made the saw cut just on the bulge side of the joint between the air reservoir and bulge.

A sliver of the bulge remained on each air reservoir after the saw cut. I carved and scraped this away with a hobby knife.

I put the fuel tank back on the frame first, then glued the air reservoirs directly to the metal frame using the masking tape as a guide. Once the air reservoirs were glued in place, I removed the tape.

Modifications complete to the fuel tank and air reservoirs.

The 801 is back in service.

TP&W 801

The Prototype
ALCo C-424 #801 is my favorite TP&W locomotive. The prototype and its twin #800 were built in September 1964 and originally painted olive green with yellow stripes and numbers. The 801 was repainted red-orange and white circa 1972. The first version of the red-orange and white scheme featured small italic numerals on the cab sides and no lettering on the nose. In 1980 the TP&W began replacing the italic numerals on the cab with much larger numerals in a similar font to that used by Conrail and also adding red "TP&W" initials on the nose in the italic font. Circa 1982, the TP&W initials on the 801's nose were redone in the Santa Fe's font (Cooper Black).

Here are some links to good photos of the 801 that show the iterations of its TP&W paint and lettering.
1964
1976
1981
1982

The 800 and 801 were sold to the Morristown & Erie in December 1983 and became M&E 18 and 19, respectively. While attending graduate school in New Jersey, I made a trip up to Morristown and was lucky to find both the 18 and 19 parked outside the shop.

M&E 18 and 19, Morristown, NJ, August 2, 2009

M&E 19 was retired in 2016 and sold to the Tri-State Railway Historical Society in 2017. The summer 2017 issue of Tri-State's newsletter has a nice history of the 801/19.

The Model
Atlas first released HO scale models of TP&W 800 and 801 in their original green and yellow paint in 2003. I received the 801 as a Christmas present that year. Ten years later in 2013, Atlas released the 800 and 801 in red-orange and white. At the time I was planning to build an Illinois Terminal layout and did not purchase one. I was kicking myself about this in 2018 after reverting back to my original intent to build a 1970s TP&W layout, but luckily I found a used red 801 in good condition on eBay last year for a reasonable price.

The Atlas model straight out of the box. The end handrails are left for the modeler to install.

With its Conrail-style cab numerals and Cooper Black initials on the nose, the Atlas model represents the 801 in 1982-1983. So not technically correct for the 1970s but definitely close enough for me at this time. I've been studying photographs of the 801 for many years and have noticed several detail discrepancies between the prototype and the Atlas model. Some of them are relatively minor but would need major surgery to fix, and I'm comfortable just living with those. There are 4 things that stand out to me that I could see myself changing about this model, listed below in the order that I would likely tackle them:

1. Remove the bulging sides of the fuel tank
2. Remount the handrails on top of the side sills
3. Remove the dynamic brakes
4. Remove the nose lettering and redo the cab numerals in the italic font.

The fuel tank is a simple, low-impact modification that I decided to just go ahead and do now. (Look for a blog post about this soon.) The handrails would require plugging a lot of holes and drilling new ones, but shouldn't be too difficult, especially if I can make a drilling jig. I would need to find a good matching red-orange paint before attempting items 3 and 4 in the list. This is a very attractive model as-is, and for now I'm fine with just modifying the fuel tank and calling it good. It may be a while before I work up the nerve to make more intensive modifications and risk damaging the model.