Things started moving for earnest yesterday, and  - as usual for this kind of major construction projects - progress is rough but quick. However, some bets I made upon the ingredients procurement seem to turn out positively! 

Work started with the disassembly of the static Atlas NS Class 1200 model. It's all-styrene, just with a metal plate as a chassis. Against my expectations the model's hull was only held by two tiny screws under the "noses" on the chassis, so that I did not have to use force to separate it. The body's walls are also relatively thin, good for the upcoming modifications. The model also features two nice driver's stations, which could also be removed easily - they will have to go to make enough space for the electronics of the Märklin 3039 all-metal chassis.


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Concerning the latter, I tested it and the motor is running well. The light bulbs are missing (see above), but they can be easily retrofitted, so that we will have light on both ends (after I drill the head- and taillights open for this purpose).
Dry-fitting the chassis under the Class 1200 hull revealed that the stunt will basically work - the chassis is less than 1mm too wide, but with some force it will fit. I just had to grind a little of the chassis' front edges away to reduce pressure on the styrene body. Here's a look how the chassis will sit under the nose section; on the left you can see the manual switch that allows to change between power sourcing either through the rails or the pantographs from above - I might try to keep this function through the new, retrofitted all-metal pantographs, but that will come at a later stage:


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

To make the Class 1200 hull fit over the shorter BR 110 chassis, a plug of about 3 cm has to be take out of the body. The Class 1200 was deliberately chosen because it has ample length, and the body is rather bare on its mid-section, so that re.combining two shortened halves should not pose too many problems:


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

To make the hull sit well on the chassis I added some styrene profiles inside of it - easy to glue them into place  At this time, the original fixed pantographs and some wiring on the roof had gone, brake hoses on the nose were removed to make space for the BR 110 couplers, and the clear windows were removed after a little fight /the were glued into their places, but thankfully each side has three separate parts instead of just one that would easily break) :


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Finally: a look into the new locomotive's innards before I start to try to stick the hull halves together again. The space under the lower nose sections is tight but enough for the light bulb consoles:


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Veeeeeeery interesting Thomas. That motor on the new chassis looks an amp-hungry beast for sure!

Very interesting build, Dizzy (apart from using the Maerklin system    ).
You could also have lengthened the loco frame, but it's true that, as Luxembourg it's an even smaller country than the Nederlands, it would need smaller locos...

very interesting and inspiring

Well lengthening the chassis would be beyond my metal-working skills, and electronics is also not my strength. The ingredients were deliberately chosen to pose as little trouble as possible, even though there were still some open questions. As you will see in the background, the  multi-purpose Class 3800 was created/procured initially for border-crossing passenger trains to Northern France and Germany, so that a four-axle layout would be more than enough.

Day #2 into the project, and things literally take shape. First measure: PSR on the flanks, and some more metal tweaking on the chassis' front ends to make it better fit under the bonnets. Here's a look after the first PSR round, with the body sitting on the chassis as intended:


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Next technical challenge: even though the body sits well on the chassis, it should be held into place for better handling of the model later - after all, the plan is to make it "functional". I did not want to have visible screw in the roof, so that I had to find a underneath solution. I found a small space next to the motorized rear bogie, and drilled a hole into the chassis. Then a Spax screw was mated with a matching styrene profile adapter, which was roughly trimmed down to fit under the body shell.


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

On the chassis' underside, things were modified, too. The Märklin model comes with a plastic "thing" that also featrures a slit for the power spource slit. It was damaged, though, so I just retained the slit section and transplanted compressed air bottles from the Atlas NS 1200 on the other side, with an opening for the new screw head:


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making things easy, my solution to fix the styrene adapter in/onto the body was simple: a huge blob of 2C putty secures the new part into place - and it worked like a charm! 


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

While drying and doing more PSR on the body, I also started work with the pantographs. Here's a comparion between the static OOB parts (rear) and the new, funtional all-metal replacements from China (front):


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Very small and rather short screws hold them in place, so I drilled resspective holes and test-mounted them - and they look rather nice!'


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800) of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Holes for the front and rear lights were also already drilled into the body. At the moment I try to figure out how I can (safely) connect the pantographs in the roof with the power source switch on the chassis. I will propably solder cables between the switch and each pantograph, which will run through additional small holes under the pantographs, so that the tony screws that hold them remain free and unmodified. But if this stunt works I will achieve much more than expected, and the locomotive will have full OEM functionality! 

The usual method for having functional pantographs is to solder the wire to a small washer that will be inserted between the roof and the screw head. No other holes through the roof. Obviously supposing that your screws are conductive.

Ahem... as Germany uses 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC juice, and Luxembourg (and northern France)  25 kV, 50 Hz AC,  what is your technical solution?

Well, with the original screws there will be no space for a washer, because they are very short and small (1mm diameter, I guess!), too. If I could I'd avoid additional holes, but with the resources at hand I'll just have to improvise. Märklin does it on the original 3039 body with a single piece of thin sealing strip that internally connects both pantographs and the switch on the chassis. Re-creating that is beyond my capabilities.

And maybe the CFL Class 3800 is a multi-voltage locomotive...?    For instance, the German E 310/BR 181 locomotives from the Sixties were equipped with a converter and other equipment for the different French and German alternate current systems.

Those new pantographs look REALLY good, what loco were they intended for in the first place?

Multi-voltage locos are relatively common these days, they just heed hefty transformers and sometimes an inverter if they're running on DC.

Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 09, 2022, 05:05:59 AMThose new pantographs look REALLY good, what loco were they intended for in the first place?

To be honest, I have no idea! They are generic stuff from China, sold seperately (got them via ev!lbay). I guess that "correct" OEM pantographs that mimic a specific/real-world type would have cost three to five times what I paid... But they look the part. 

Day #3, with only little progress. I realized that I need some special paints for this project, so I ordered them online and it might take a couple of days that they (hopefully) arrive. However, there are other points of interest that can be taken care of.

Most of yesterday's evening went into technical aspects - the attempt to make the pantographs functional, so that the locomotive can be powered wither through the tracks or the catenary. Some (crude) wiring and soldering followed - and when everything was connected, it turned out that it works and that the pantographs are truly conductive! 


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A simple plug connection allows the body to be separated from the chassis, and the pantographs can later also be removed/exchanged, should need be. After this partial victory my attention moved to the roof, where the OOB wirings (not shown in the following picture) were trimmed down to match the shortened body and I added some roof details, primarily a cooler arrangement for a regenerative brake system. It also helps to hide the seam... 


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Good work on the wiring Dizzy 

Gondor

Quote from: Gondor on November 10, 2022, 12:43:08 AMGood work on the wiring Dizzy 

Gondor

Yeah, I would have burnt it to the ground if i'd tried that.

Day #4/5, not really much happened. I disassembled the chassis further for painting, esp. the shiny wheel discs need IMHO to be toned down. Everything below the waterline will become black, with some dry-brushing to poit ot details and simulate dust and rust from the tracks.


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


While this is drying overnight I started on the body shell with a first coat of grey primer. The seam area on the flanks looks good, but we will know for sure when this has dried, too.


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The lower parts have been painted - not certain if the difference can be told at all. though? Some matt varnish to follow, the details on the bogies come out much better now.


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The body had after priming a better quality than expected, only some minor sanding has been necessary to even out some dents, but no more PSR. Basic overall painting from the rattle can can follow soon, the livery will be quite simple and inspired by the real CFL Class 3600 locomotives. 

Right side:

H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Left side:

H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Just before basic painting I added soem small details to the hull. Two small plugs cover holes from removed pressurized air hoses on the headstocks (not visible here), and I remembered some PE brass ladders a good friend gave to me a while ago. They were tailored to fit in length and now found very good use at the shunting platforms on the hull's corners and under the driver's cabin doors. This will make the locomotive a bit delicate to handle, yes, but it won't be used much in the future. The gain in realism and style is hard to beat, though?


H0 scale "3804" (Class 3800 dual-system multi-purpose locomotive); Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL; Luxembourg National Railway Company), 1991 (What-if/scratch-built) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Time for paint now!