DIGITAL FABRICATION - G-39 and G-38 Ore Jennies continued.....

 

The first G-39 was completed a few weeks ago.  The photo above was from a test run on the Cherry Valley O-Scale layout.  The white car to the right is the prototype G-38.  The G-38 was the original PRR home built “modern era” Jennie.  1000 of the G-38s were built in the very early 1960s, soon followed by 2000 of the G-39s and G-39As.  Much of the two cars are identical, with the exception of the additional 18” of height on the G-39s, the absence of steam lance portholes, and the much larger, pusher bumpers.  The G-39 was built coincidentally with the emergence of taconite pelletized iron ore.  The 70 ton rating of the G-38s couldn’t be realized with the lighter taconite.  With the higher sides, the G-39 could carry the full 70 tons of ore.   In the Penn Central era I’m modeling in O-Scale, the ore trains were a mixture of both versions of the car.  I hadn’t originally intended to model the G38s, but for prototype fidelity, I changed my mind.  Some of the laser cut files need to be adjusted and parts added or eliminated, but overall, much of the work had already been done, and the assembly was similar.   The first G-38 is complete, painted, and partially weathered.  I need to do some final weathering with oil paints and chalks and it will be good to go.  At this time, I have about 24 G-38s and 39s under various stages of construction.  The ultimate goal is around 45-50.    Again, the laser cut parts, the laser drilled holes, and the laser alignment marks, makes assembly easy and fun.    I have a number of other O-Scale projects of similar nature underway - an Erie Dunmore Caboose, a 60’ tank car, an 85’ TTX piggyback flat, and a Seaboard Pneumatic whale belly covered hopper.   I’ll be posting about these occasionally, under the Digital Fabrication heading.   All these cars are being built from scratch, with the intention of production of multiple cars, using digital fabrication to speed, simplify, and add precision to their construction.   They are being built of a variety of materials, primarily plastics, and using a CNC router, a laser cutter, and multiple 3D printers.