MODELING: Prototype Photos

The collection of prototype information and images has dramatically changed in the last ten years or so.  In the past,we have relied on published material in magazines, books and historical societies for many years.  In the last decade, there has been an explosion of information on the web with a significant contribution from pages of Facebook and other web sources.

I came across a series of photos 1954 shot on a joint section of track used by the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road.  I found the pictures to be amazing  depicting a ton of historical information.  The subject of the photos was a wreck of a Milwaukee Road train due to a failed brake beam from a truck on a ART reefer.

The photos yield some useful modeling information in regards to color and weathering.  The reefer appears to be recently painted based upon the sheen on many of the siding boards.  The variation in color and reflectance of the paint is a subtle to show some weathering on the car.  ART reefers had railing on the outside of the their ice hatches.  I had not seen black paint on the piece of hardware before.  The exposed truck shows moderate weathering from dust and small amounts of rust.  The wheel fronts are caked with dirt mixed with axle grease.  There isn’t much rust appearing on the truck.  The top photo shows weathering on the car end from wheel splash.  The color is darker than my expectation of a light brown or tan shade.  Probably due to the color of earth in this region of the country.

The Warren tank car is at the other end of the block of derailed cars.  The weathering on the tank body reflects road grime on the black tank bottom and frame.  The white gray tank top has been shaded to a tan shade due to road grime.

The wrecking crew is busy getting the stockcar back on trucks.   The Milwaukee Road had a fairly large collection of these wood stock cars.  Rails Unlimited has (had) a urethane kit for this car.

The view has some tips on weathering rolling stock.  The stock car end displays grime splash from adjacent cars.  The ties are nearly buried in cinder and dirt roadbed.

 

Another fantastic view of the Milwaukee Road stocks.  I am interested in the weathering effect on the trucks.  The basic color appears to be a dirty/grimy shade.  The journal lubricant mixed with grime mixed creates a layed of “stuff” caked on the journal body and lid.  I wiil need to keep this in mind on my next build.

The photos show were taken by Rick Wilson April 12,1954 at Muscatine, IA.  I found them on the Remembering the Rock Island page on Facebook.

Gene Deimling

MODELING: Soo Line Depot (revised 4-30-2024)

Depots are a landmark of railroad’s presence in a community.  In many communities they speak to the history of a important form of transportation in a country.

One such temple of transportation was an unusual structure located in Junction City, Wisconsin.  The Soo Line ran their trains past the depot for many years.

Time has taken a toll on the venerable structure.  Robert Leners took a bunch of pictures while the depot was still around.  I have used three of the pictures.

Our old friend, Robert Leners, has built another classic midwestern depot.  This time he picked the Soo Line Junction City.   Robert used his traditional approach of styrene as the primary construction material.  He has mastered the technique of large structures built from styrene.  The Soo used a cream and oxide red for the paint scheme on their depots.

I found this map online showing Junction City with the Soo and Milwaukee Road crossing at the depot.

I want to thank Robert for sharing his latest work with this blog.

Gene Deimling

NEW PRODUCTS: New Products

KADEE METAL PRODUCTS

We received a sample of the proposed Kadee P48 version of their O scale trucks.  Jay Criswell was contacted by Kadee and he volunteered to organize testing of a few pairs of their newest version of the freight car truck line.

The trucks are diecast metal including the wheels and weigh 1.5 oz per truck.  The truck is similar to the Protocraft in terms of weight.  The truck is patterned after a 50-ton Barber S-2 truck.  This truck design was widely used from the early 1940s well into the early 1950s.

Kadee has designed a unique way of equalizing the truck via articulated joints designed into the bolster.  The truck does seem to track very well on the test I performed.  The truck  uses a .062″ diamter axle running in a engineering plastic bearing inserted in the journals.  It rolls well.

Kadee packages the trucks in a clear plastic box and it includes various bolster plugs and self-tapping screw for mounting.  The parts allow the trucks to adapter to Atlas freight cars.

The one issue that we found is the bolster is about .040″ lower than the standard used by most other truck makers.  I suspect that they will provide a proper insert to ensure that the coupler height is ok.  Jay Criswell is looking at ways to fix this if Kadee doesn’t come up with a solution.

Kadee is not clear if they will sell the wheelsets and or trucks at this time.  We recommend that Kadee offer a complete truck that the modeler can use without fussing around with spacers.

Looking forward to seeing the trucks and wheelsets appear in the market soon.  The company has made quality products for model railroaders for many years.

TWIN STAR CARS

Ross Dando is preparing a couple new urethane kits in 1/4″ scale.  Pictured above is a rebuilt USRA Double Sheathed boxcar.  Steel sides with added replacing the original week siding and framing.  The interior height was raise to 10’0″ like the very common AAR 1937 boxcar.  The upgrade cause the unusual sidesill as the steel sides were attached to the original steel side sill.  The cars retained the original fishbelly underframe and Andrews trucks.  The roof was upgrade to a Murphy raised panel steel design.

The kit production is being done by Jon Cagle and will include etched parts and cast details for the Youghstown door and the brake equipment.  Protocraft expects to have a correct set of decals for this car.   Can’t wait to see this kit on my workbench.

SCOTT KRITZKY

There is a new set of printed Hutchins ends available for modeling the Southern SU boxcars.  They are a very unique design used by several roads and defintely stand out.

I checked out the sample against the one published drawing and they are right on the button.  Scott is offering a pair for $24 plus postage.   Contact him directly for details.

scottkritzky  at  gmail dot com

Sarah Griessenböck

SARAH GRIESSENBOCH

Sarah has established a connection with 3D Central Trains to produce her incredbile 12,500 gallon tank car model.  The amazing part is that the body is one-piece making the pretty easy to build.   3D Central lists the 1/4′ scale model at $89.95 plus shipping.

Here is Sarah Griessenböck showing her fine tank car model at the March O Show recently..

That’s my blog posting for this time.

Gene Deimling

MODELING: The Zmann Rides Again!

Each year the March O Meet conducts a model contest according to NMRA rules.

I had initially reported that this was the last year for the contest. Dan Dawdy corrected my error. The contest will continue as part of the event.

I did learn that our friend Jime Zwernemann did it again with a winning scratchbuilt caboose.  This year he picked a real classic wooden car from the Chicago Great Western.  The plan appeared in the Model Railroader magazine many years ago. The end platforms remind me of an old Niles interurban with their arched windows.

Jim’s caboose is made from styrene which is his first choice for modeling.

Since this model was intended to be a contest model from the get go, an interior was part of the model planning.  The design of the cupola did create a need for a different approach to a removable roof.

Jim decided to create a structure that tied the cupola with the short and long roof.  It facilities the display of the interior of the model properly.

Trucks are an important piece to create a miniature of the prototype car.   The prototype wore a 5′ wheel base archbar truck with outside brake beams.   It turns out hat PSC had offered a very similar truck with a steel bolster not wood like the prototype.  Jim created a cover for the bolster and added simulated brake beams with supports running  through the bolster.  This approach is widely used by narrow gauge modelers.

Here is a shot of the underframe which is nearing completion.

Jim won Best of Show at the 2024 March O Meet.   His model is unique and very well executed.

I want to thank Jim for sharing his work with us.

Gene Deimling

MEETINGS: 2024 March O Meet

The annual gathering of O scale modelers and collectors was just completed in Lombard, IL.   The crowds looked  good and there seemed to be a lot of enthusiastic attendees.  The show managed survive the great COVID mess.  It is now under the capable stewardship of Bradley Kowal after the Hill family decided to not to continue.

 

 

 

 

The great selling floor is where most of the action happens.  It is sort of model railroadings “Field of Dreams”.

There are vendors and manufacturers arrayed throughout the floor.  The show was thoughtful in providing a few chairs for the older folks like me who get tired standing around.

Another major part of events like this is the social contact and the renewable of friendships.  In this virtural world it is nice to actually meet a person who you have communicated with via email or texts.  Ah yes modern social medium.

3D modeling and printing has become a siginificant factor in O scale.  Improvements in printer technology is now good enough to print a one piece.  A nearly ready to paint model is just about there.

The show was very fortunate to have an amazingly talented guest from Austria.  Meet Sarah Griessenböck

Sarah presented a clinic on 3D modeling to a large audience.

Some of Sarah work is shown below.

This is an interior for a SW-1 switchers.

 

This is an amazing GATC tank car created by Sarah.

We are fortune that these items are now available from a US vendor called 3D Central Trains.   

Check out this producer for the Train Kitchen products as well as other designers.

MODEL CONTEST BEST IN SHOW

Jim Zwerennman won Best in Show this year.  The winning model is a Chicago Great Western wooden caboose.  I will provide more information and pictues of the model in the next installment.

So more stuff to share in the next post. Please tune for more good stuff.

Gene Deimling

 

 

 

NEW PRODUCTS: New Trinkets for the Modeler

New supplier of 3D printed vehicles was discovered by Ross Dando.  They are Custom Model Depot located in Washington State.  Visit their website to see the range of cars and trucks available. I selected a 1951 Studebaker Commander sedan.   They were unique looking cars and had some interesting features like suiside doors when most other US carmakers had discontinued them.

The model design captures the essense of the actual car.  Printing is decent but there are some artifacts evident from the process.  Automobiles have a lot of curves and whatnot that confound the printer to produce a smooth surface on all aspects.  The model can be cleaned up with a little patience and careful wet sanding.  The only real challenge is to cut out the windshield for clear plastic and fit it into the opening.  The kit is composed of a few parts and a simple assembly process.  Creating the chrome accent requires and steady hand if you are using paint and a brush.  There are chrome fine tip markers that can do the job. Bare-Metal is a foil that can be applied and cut with a sharp #11 blade leaving only the desired area covered.

Eric Hansmann posted a tip about Tamiya rattle can paint.  He pointed out thar they offer a color called Rubber Black (TS-82).  It seems to be an excellent color for painting undeframes.  I like using Tamiya spray cans for certain jobs like the underframe or even a roof like ATSF steam era boxcars.

I painted my Southern Car & Foundry ARA 1932 boxcar underframe using this product and really like the results.

Kadee Metal Products is developing a Proto48 version of the line of freight car trucks.  A new wheel is being developed to fit into existing truck tooling.  They announced this at a recent hobby show in Massachusetts.  This is good news given the very high price for trucks from Korea’s Boo Rim.   I believe Yoder is no longer importing his line of Chinese made trucks and San Juan Models has not done anything with the trucks like once offered by San Juan Car Company.

 

That’s all for now.

Thank you for visiting the site.

Gene Deimling

MODELING: Oil Can Technique

Bill Yancey (MMR) came up with an interesting approach to impart subtle ripples in steel freight cars.  Steel car construction has a noticble irregularity to the side surfaces.  The effect is more pronounced with the right light reflecting bouncing off the side sheets.  The name of “oil can” has been attached to this effect.  Modeling this effect has been a challenge and so few attempted to recreate it.

Bill was constructing an modern exterior post boxcar. He decided to add a little texture to the flat side sheets. His approach was simple.  It involves impressing slight dents in a strip of .010″ styrene.  The strips are cut to fit between the posts.  I think the technique could be used on traditional welded boxcars like PS-1 cars.

Applying the panels to the sides should be done carefully by using your sovent of choice sparingly.  Testors liquid cement or MEK could cause the panels to sink and deform.  Bill uses Microscale Micro Weld glue. I will try this on my first project.

Innovation is important to advancing the craft.  Bill contributed to this process with his approach.  Than you Bill for sharing your work with this blog.

You will find a more detailed description on the technique in the March Railroad Model Craftsman. You can order a copy from White River Publications if you are not able to buy one at your local stocking dealer.

 

Gene Deimling

MODELING: Frisco Russian Decapod

The Frisco Russian Decapod were remarkable machines built for Imperial Russia in 1917.  They were constructed with the Russian standard of five-foot gauge rather than the standard of four-foot eight and half inches (4’8.5″).  They were not delivered due the Russian Revolution.  The builders were stuck with the 200 locomotives.  The locomotives were regauge and used wider tires.  The Decapods were designed for operation on light rail and found a following of railroads that were looking for a new locomotive with light axle loading.   Major railroads like the Western & Maryland, Seaboard Air Line, Erie, NC&Stl, Frisco and Missouri Pacific purchased many of the locomotives.  A number of them ended up on shortlines.

Expert locomotive builder, Louis Bartig scratchbuilt the locomotive shown in the pictures taken by James Booth.   Mr. Bartig used brass and nickle silver to fabricate the basic model.  He also built his own drivers by cutting out the spokes from a blank disk of brass.  Commerical castings were used for the details on the locomotivein many cases.  Mr. Bartig built many exquisite models in his lifetime. He passed away a number of years back.  I suspect his collection is in the hands of lucky collectors.

The complexity of steam locomotive backhead is illustrated in this shot.  He didn’t missed much when undertaking a build.  There have been a number of exceptional locomotive builders in our hobby and scale but few measured up to a Bartig-built steam locomotive.

I would like to thank James Booth for sharing these pictures of Louis Bartig mastery of locomotive building.

The Illinois Railway Museum has a sister engine to the Bartig prototype.  It does operate at the museum allowing you to ride behind a 1:1 version.

Gene Deimling

MODELING: Thoughts on Building a Caboose

I have been puttering around with a Northern Pacific wood caboose built.  Like many projects it has stretched over a number of years.  I decided to finish it before doing anything else.  As with any scratchbuilding project, there are challenges that come up in the process of building.  Here are a few thoughts on how I solved a few of these bumps in the road.

REMOVABLE ROOF:

I have struggled with keeping roofs from warping and creating uneven reveals.  The caboose I am building happen to have a wide letterboard and fascia on the car.  This feature might help with roof warping and hide any uneven mating to the body.  The challenge was to hold the letterboard vertical and straight while bonding to the roof.

I fashioned a stripwood fixture to support and locate the letterboards for bonding.  I positioned a styrene strip in the slot formed by the fixture.

The letterboards are attached to the laminated styrene roof using MEK.  They were left a little long to eliminate any splicing if they aren’t long enough.

Here is the roof test fitted to the body.  I am happy with the results.

Northern Pacific 24′ cabooses were built in large numbers and modified over their life several times.  It was a surprise to find out that general arrangement drawings over the cars didn’t exist.  What survived in the archieves and collections were modifications to the original design.  An example of this is the drawing shown above which depicts a major modification to the end platform safety equipment and railings. Modifications started in the late 1940s.

Here is the same caboose a year earlier than the date of the lead photo.  This was the original appearance before upgraded.  While the railroad drawing was dated for 1949, it wasn’t done right of way.

END FASCIA FABRICATION

This series of cabooses had a deep fascia.  I made a simple tool to cut these parts from sheet styrene.  I have shown this tool before when I was cutting the top radius on car ends.

The compass tool was made from .060″ and 080″ styrene.  The pivot point is a length of .046″ brass wire.  The cutting device is a #11 blade.

I used an old piece of particle board as a work surface.  I cut the fascia out of .020″ styrene.   It is a very simple way to create the pieces.  Once the fascia if attached I will mount the end railing assembly.  It is composed of a series of etched brass parts that were assembled in a wood fixture.  The top bars will have to be twisted 90 degrees and fitted in behind the fascia.  Once this work is done, it is all dowhill sort of speak.

Next time I will show some of the downhill stuff.

I would like to thank Rick Leach for his technical assistance with this project.

Gene Deimling

MODELING: Part Two of Mike George’s Shay

 

Mike George has completed his scratchbuilt three-truck Shay.  Proto48 three-truck Shay are exceptionally rare.  The subject for this locomotive was native to Mike’s home state of Tennessee.  It apparently operated near Chatanooga for a stone quarry.

The model is made from brass with commercial and custom casting to match the prototype locomotive which was displayed for years.

Mike fabricated the classic wagon top boiler used by Lima on most of their Shays.   He was able to get his son to do a CAD drawing of the boiler which created a cutting pattern for the sections.  The same CAD file was used by Terry Van Winkle to design a dome that was cast to fit the slope.

The Shay three-cylinder engine is a modified PSC assembly that Terry Van Winkle was collecting.  He was kind enough to supply to Mike.

The finish on the Shay started with a coat of rusty/dirty color.  Mike applied a series of washes to establish the the gray/black basic locomotive color.  It took time to get the density of the top color.  Once that was completed to Mike’s liking, lettering was applied. Weathering was done with touches of rust, grime and dirt.  It took a while to achieve the final look that he had in his mind’s eye. His final color looks like a locomotive that spent time in the elements.

At this point, Mike decided to go with Modelu figures     

Modelu pioneered the use of 3D scanning actual people dress in appropiate attire.  The resulting image is stunning even in our scale.  Painting model figures is a bit of a challenge.  There are several guides online showing how to do.  The design file is then scaled and 3D printed to order.  It is the perfect detail.  It is the perfec finishing touch to an exquisit model.

Shay 2147 is out on the mainline for a “sprint” a photo shoot.

The deck girder bridge is a copy of an actual structure on the Hook & Eye Division of the L&N.  Mike built this beautiful structure from styrene with a lots of pressed rivets over the darn thing.  The bridge has superelevation built into the deck.

More pictures are available in the the February 13, 2018 post.

I feel honored that Mike shared pictures of his magnificent Shay with my blog.

Gene Deimling