I’m dipping my toes into the 3D printing world by drawing up and designing a more to scale replacement Blomberg truck for the USAT locomotives. Since I started my GP-30 rebuilding/detailing project I’ve been concerned about how overscaled the various brake hangers, brakeshoes, etc are. I’m still in the process of modifying the truck to work as a direct replacement for the USAT truck by using the same mounting holes and arrangement. My plan is to 3D print the sideframe as one piece for casting, and then have the detail parts (brake hanger, shoes, journals, etc) to be printed separately.

I’ve also been working on building a sloped journal that was seen on early EMD GP’s. If I can design it right, again it should be just a direct replacement for the USAT journals.

What will you be printing it in?

Not sure yet… I’m open for suggestions. It’s not quite finished yet, but it’s getting there.

If its not a structural member, I’d be tempted to try SLS nylon and print four at a time. You would lose a little detail, but it would be whole lot less hassle than molding & casting.

If you’re going for detail, FUD would be better, but you might have to cast it in several pieces.