The WWSL
I was fortunate to be a volunteer at the Shops while I was stationed at Fort Bragg North Carolina. Norfolk and Western Railway GP9 #620 was one of the locomotives I had the opportunity to work on during my tour of duty with the Shops.
My plan is to kitbatch this locomotive and show it on a display shelf.
The BLH AS-16 series was introduced in 1950 as a replacement of the DRS-6-4-1500 and
remained in BLH's catalog until their cessation of locomotive
manufacture in 1956.
The BLH AS-16 was a diesel-electric locomotive rated at 1,625 hp (1,212 kW), that rode on two two-axle trucks, having a B-B wheel arrangement. The BLH AS-416 was a diesel-electric locomotive rated at 1,625 hp (1,212 kW), that rode on two three-axle trucks, having an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. This wheel arrangement spread out the axle load for operation on light rail such as are found on branch lines.
The BLH AS-616 was a 1,600 horsepower (1,200 kW), that rode on two three-axle trucks, having an C-C wheel arrangement. The six-traction motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds.
AS-616 stood for "All-Service, 6 axle, 1600 horsepower" But the AS-616, like all Baldwin diesels, became typecast by its owners in one particular role: low-speed lugging of heavy loads, both in the yard and in mainline drag freight service.
Only 25 units were sold to four railroads — all of whom had bought the earlier model. The vast majority (17 of the 25 units) were purchased by the original Norfolk Southern Railway (1942–82), becoming a signature locomotive for the company.Norfolk Southern Railway #1616
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| Norfolk Southern Railway #1616 |
This Baldwin AS-416 is a diesel-electric locomotive of the
road switcher type rated at 1,600 horsepower, that rode on three-axle
trucks, having a C-C wheel arrangement. This locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1955. The
AS-416 is one of several that were ordered by the original Norfolk
Southern Railway. The 1616 has electrical components supplied by General
Electric. The original NS ran from Charlotte, NC through Raleigh to
Norfolk, VA. the Peabody Coal Company. They donated the engine to the State of North Carolina in 1981.
Engineering
NORFOLK SOUTHERN 1616-1617 Built 1955, center mounted intake grille, turbocharger bulge on firemans side, Mu hoses mounted on uprights of front and rear handrails, numberboard on front of long hood combined with class lights, Their locomotive hoods, both short and long ends, were taller (flush with top of cabs) than previous AS-616 units due to the change from Westinghouse to General Electric electrical components. This design change also included a change in truck design, from the earlier General Steel Castings - Commonwealth truck to the later built-up type C truck design, with drop equalizers.
Diagram
Specifications
Length 56 ft 2 in (17.12 m)
Width 10 ft 3+1⁄2 in (3.14 m)
Height 15 ft 1⁄2 in (4.58 m)
Wheelbase 40 ft (12.19 m)
Wheel diameter 40 in (1.016 m)
Trucks EMD Blomberg B
Loco weight 259,500 lb (117,700 kg)
Fuel capacity 1,100 US gal (4,200 L; 920 imp gal)
Prime mover De La Vergne diesel motors
Engine type V16 Two-stroke diesel
Modeling Information
Model Manufacturer: The best plastic model to begin these would be the Stewart AS 616, now produced by Bowser. While ok for a majority of the AS-16 family, it is not for the Norfolk Southern No.1616.
Project Process
This will be a kitbatch project. A couple body modifications are required:
- The long and short hoods need to be increased in height, and intake grilles modified.
- Battery box needs to be shortened. Intakes grilles need to be added to the bottom of the long hood.
- There are no trucks available for the Norfolk Southern No.1616 model. The trucks will have to be scratch-built/kit-batched. I am thinking about kit-batching the truck. The Bachmann Spectrum EMD SD-45 model has the right type C truck center to center dimensions but the wrong truck sideframe design. I will use that truck and kitbatch the Bowser truck sideframe to the later Commonwealth built-up type C truck design.
Paint Scheme. Norfolk Southern No.1616 was painted in the company's third and final paint scheme (1963). The entire body was gray, top of hoods, cab walkways and running gear was black. Red stripes in a "V" fashion were applied to the front of both hoods.This was the paint scheme I helped reproduce while I was volunteering at The Spencer Shops.
Locomotive exterior:
- Polly S 3 parts Milwalkee Road Gray to 1 part Aged Concrete. The aged concrete has a yellow "hue" to it. (New paint)
- Polly S 4 parts Milwalkee Road Gray to one part Aged Concrete. (Aged paint)
- Gray-CSX gray #414218 add 1/2 cap reefer white # 414113
Frames, main and truck: Black VMA 71.xxx
Side Frame and Pilot:
Running gear, including wheels: Black
Cab interior:
Lettering and Numbering Scheme
Decal.
- Microscale 87-135 HO N&S diesels (1946-1974) - Stripes at 60 degrees
- Herald King L-210 HO N&S grey diesel hood unit (1972) Note - Stripes have incorrect angle @ 45 degrees for Baldwin diesels, but would work for NS Bay Window Cabooses, like NS 387 at NCTM in Spencer, NC.
- Walthers 108-20 HO For the gray cars with black lettering and a red "N". Has four sizes of the "NS" letters suitable for gray hoppers and cabooses
Numbering. Number below cab window, each end and all number boards
Weathering:
This unit will have the new paint job as it was at the NCTM. No need to turn
the model into a rust bucket.
Parts for kitbatching
- Bowser AS-616 Sideframe_L Front_ R Rear -original Stewart truck, sku 691-178
- Bowser AS-616 Sideframe_r Front_ L Rear -original Stewart truck, sku 691-179
- Bowser AS 16/616 Hood Undecorated, sku 691-169
- Bachmann Spectrum SD-45.
Additional Information
As an addition to this project I decided to add a Norfolk Southern Caboose to the project. I have an Athearn bay window caboose in the junk box.
-- Norfolk Southern 387, bay window caboose, in roundhouse This caboose was built from an old boxcar by the NS Railway in their shops in 1937. Some railroads converted their old thirty-six foot boxcars into cabooses for use by the train crew. The sides were stripped to the frame, and in this case new sides and bay windows were fashioned so the crew could watch over the train while in route. Large windows allow easy visibility when going through curves. The caboose was donated to the Town of Spencer in 1976 and later to the State of North Carolina in 1986. It has been restored in the last paint scheme of gray with red stripes to match the NS diesel 1616 and is displayed in the Robert Julian Roundhouse.
Decal
East Coast Railroads NS-004 HO Norfolk Southern Gray Bay Window Caboose decals: (HO-Scale) Caboose
East Coast Railroads NS-005 HO Norfolk Southern GRAY Bay Window Caboose
Reference
Norfolk and Southern Historical Society
Extra 2200 south issue 65 july aug sept 1978 drawing
March 1998 issue of Mainline Modeler steps through the process of
building a late-model PRR AS-616 using the standard AS-616 as the basis.
Phase I (1:25 scale): Drawn by Joshua Moldover. Used by permission.
Phase II (1:25 scale): Drawn by Joshua Moldover. Used by permission
Phase III (1:25 scale): Drawn by Joshua Moldover. Used by permission.
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