GMDH-3 has new paint

[Ypsi]

Its blue all I could think about after seeing it was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrbrpKoXHoE

We were driving out to techumseh for a bowling meet, and we have to drive past the tracks infront of the houses nad then past the yard, was a little supprised to see that the GMDH-3 had a new coat of paint on in. I took a video and grabbed these stills from it:

The Blue GMDH-3


Michigan Southern Plymouth


the CSS commuter coach


The video i took:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXsekKzdqYo

looks like they are going to put it back in its factory paint:

colors are like this
http://www.railroadmichigan.com/gm600.jpg

looks a lot nicer to me then it did when it was gray.

[BnOEngr]

I was off of Brown St up there today cutting brush.

I hope to redo the logo on the Plymouth when it gets warmer out.

[CSX_CO]

Anyone know the story behind that...that...that thing? I see Wiki has something: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMD_GMDH-3

Pretty cool looking...and it sounds like it is well traveled.

Practice Safe CSX

[ns8401]

Thing 3 was built in 1960 as the counterpart to the 4 thing 1's which were double ended things. It was styled after the GM Aerotrain of the same period and is a diesel hydraulic so it has a transmission that is automatically shifted like a bus. Power was a Detroit Diesel 8-V71 motor --- the same used in GM's "New Look" buses introduced in 1959. That's what I know about thing 3. I also know it doesn't run real good, has trouble shifting and the motor blows diesel exhaust into the cab which necessitates the cab door being open during operation. Last time I was down there was 2008 so i hope in just over 4 years these issues have been improved upon. There was no thing 2 although it was proposed.

[Racer]

That locomotive to me is weird looking, but it is indeed historical. I hope they get it properly running when I come down there to ride the train sometime.

[SD80MAC]

I hear it takes an hour to pump up air on a 3 car train because its compressor is so small

[BnOEngr]

Has an Allison transmission in it with issues. Allison claims they have no info on it and sold the rights to another company. The other company says they don't have the info, go to Allison.

Another unique thing about this unit is that the control stand swivels so the operator can be on either side of the cab.

[Ypsi]

Anyone have any photos of inside the cab?

[MSchwiebert]

Just curious, but who did Allison say they sold the rights to?

Has an Allison transmission in it with issues. Allison claims they have no info on it and sold the rights to another company. The other company says they don't have the info, go to Allison.

Another unique thing about this unit is that the control stand swivels so the operator can be on either side of the cab.

[BnOEngr]

Sorry about that. I should have gotten the info before I made that previous post.

The transmission was a one-of-a-kind custom job built by Allison for the GMDH-3. Allison claims they no longer have plans or drawings for it, that they sold all that stuff to Detroit Diesel. Detroit Diesel then sold many of the rights to Stewart & Stevensen. Those 2 companies both said they have no info, contact Allison.

The was one gear that had broken and was re-manufactured, but a flange was left out of the bracket between the motor and tranny that needs to be replaced. It can be done without pulling the motor, but it involves a small skinny contortionist to ge able to reach where it needs to go.

The air issue is due mainly to excessive leakage in various air systems on the locomotive.

[MSchwiebert]

I can understand the unit being a "one off" based on the application. However, the disposition that was provided doesn't quite work out. This link http://www.allisontransmission.com/company/history/ helps to show that yes, Allison was a division of Detroit Diesel for a while in the 1970's, the design & engineering "should" have stayed with Allison. I do know from time at my previous employer (Allison was a a good customer of ours) that they did keep some parts in production for a long time after the transmissions that used them stopped being made (more so for military usage than for "civilian" products though).

Sorry about that. I should have gotten the info before I made that previous post.

The transmission was a one-of-a-kind custom job built by Allison for the GMDH-3. Allison claims they no longer have plans or drawings for it, that they sold all that stuff to Detroit Diesel. Detroit Diesel then sold many of the rights to Stewart & Stevensen. Those 2 companies both said they have no info, contact Allison.

The was one gear that had broken and was re-manufactured, but a flange was left out of the bracket between the motor and tranny that needs to be replaced. It can be done without pulling the motor, but it involves a small skinny contortionist to ge able to reach where it needs to go.

The air issue is due mainly to excessive leakage in various air systems on the locomotive.

[BnOEngr]

I can understand the unit being a "one off" based on the application. However, the disposition that was provided doesn't quite work out. This link http://www.allisontransmission.com/company/history/ helps to show that yes, Allison was a division of Detroit Diesel for a while in the 1970's, the design & engineering "should" have stayed with Allison. I do know from time at my previous employer (Allison was a a good customer of ours) that they did keep some parts in production for a long time after the transmissions that used them stopped being made (more so for military usage than for "civilian" products though).

The Museum Director has been in contact with Allison, Detroit Diesel and Stewart & Stevensen, so she has covered all the bases, and has the model number of the transmission. It was a one-of-a-kind custom job built specifically for this locomotive.

[Standard Railfan]

What a great locomotive! Thank you for posting all the photos and information.

I have never seen or heard of the H series of locomotive before. What a great styling job. Too bad about the mechanical systems not working as intended. Probably never did.

Where does the GMDH-3 reside?

[Ypsi]

Southern Michigan railroad in Tecumseh Michigan. I had no idea that I would even see it out there in new paint

[Robert MacDowell]

Yup, I was the painter on that one. We had a devil of a time getting the paint match. Even now I think it may be a half a tick too green.

This whole project started last year when I climbed up to look at the roof, which is fiberglass. I found dinner-plate sized areas where the paint had come off. And the sun was beating down on the exposed fiberglass. Now, fiberglass is glass strands soaked in epoxy or urethane resin (which works the same way as epoxy). Urethane is resistant to sunlight. Epoxy is not. So the epoxy was just turning to chalk, and water was soaking into it, freeze/thaw, cracking it further, etc. We were about to lose the roof.

So I got a grinder and chewed out all the old material, then dashed off to the auto parts for some fiberglass mat. We already have West System epoxy, which is made in Bay City, so I did an epoxy repair. Next day, I ground and sanded it semi-flat, and painted some 2-part epoxy primer on it.

And then it occurred to me that - the sun is just going to destroy this new work too in a few years. So I had to topcoat that primer. I wasn't just going to paint spots in the roof, the rest of the roof needed paint too, so I ran out to my paint store and got the best match they had in stock. And painted the rest of the roof.

And while I was at it, I painted the fiberglass nose, because that was in bad shape too. So, damage arrested, off to other projects.

But oh man, it looked stupid.

So... in for a penny, in for a pound Had to finish it.