Modeling CSX PS-2CD 4750 Covered Hoppers
Jun 2, 2014 18:51:04 GMT -8
jmcin, onequiknova, and 1 more like this
Post by drolsen on Jun 2, 2014 18:51:04 GMT -8
Hi everybody,
This is my first attempt at sharing an ongoing modeling project on this list. To be honest, I've had some issues over the past few years with motivating myself to finish any projects - probably a result of having two wonderful little girls join our family - so I thought this might help push me to get some modeling done and share the results. This is a little lengthy and may be way more than most people want to read, but I thought this might be interesting to some of you, to see what can be done with a high-quality HO kit.
I've been fascinated by the variety of 4750 cuft covered hoppers in the CSX fleet, the majority of which were built by Pullman-Standard for the Chessie System (B&O) and the Family Lines System railroads (later Seaboard System). So far I've identified seven different orders that each have small detail variations, having been built at different times during Pullman-Standard's almost two decades of production. I enjoy researching and attempting to model these kinds of prototype variations, so when Tangent's HO scale model arrived, I jumped at the chance to make use of all the different parts that David included in this model series. While the original Intermountain PS 4750 was a good model for its time, it represented only one of the many variations of the prototype covered hopper, which Tangent has really done justice to.
Tangent's RTR models are beautiful, but I still love building kits, so I'm grateful that he has several versions of this model available in kit form. What I discovered while researching these models is that even with all the options that the Tangent kits offer, there were so many variations in Pullman-Standard's production that I had to make some of my own modifications to accurately represent certain groups of CSX hoppers. I somehow manage to always pick the most difficult prototype to model when I jump into a project, and this was no exception. I'll start by sharing one model, and then hopefully follow up later with models of other variations and CSX number series.
The first kit that Tangent released was an early PS 4750 that features a non-overhanging roof on the ends of the car (i.e. the end of the roof is flush with the end of the car). CSX has two series of cars that match these early-production prototypes:
SCL 241300-241599 (built 1973) to SBD 250760-251058 to CSXT 250760-251058
B&O 603700-603899 (built 1973) to B&O 254036-254218 to CSXT 254036-254218
I actually started modeling a former B&O car, but I discovered that I would need to scratchbuild one of the brake components, so I postponed that project and started on one of the ex-SCL cars from CSXT series 250760-251058, basing my model on CSXT 251012:
Since I'm modeling the 1998 time period, just before the Conrail split, my model will have a lot less grime, rust, and graffiti, but I wanted to match the details and lettering of this prototype car. I got lucky and caught this car in a train that was stopped a few miles from my house, so I shot a bunch of detail photos of the car, a requirement for many of my modeling projects:
drolsen.rrpicturearchives.net/rsPicture.aspx?id=671734
The first thing I had to fix to match this prototype was to fill the notches at the bottom of the side posts on the Tangent body. The notches were a prototype option that both B&O and L&N apparently declined, which was the first challenge I faced. I trimmed styrene strip into a triangular cross section and glued short lengths into the notches, trimming them after they dried and cleaning them up with Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer, used as a filler, and some wet sanding. Here is the body with the notches filled:
And a close-up of the filled notches:
After filling the notches, I added the early (pre-1978) rivited center sill parts, seen on the left in the photo below. I included a comparison shot on the right of the welded center sill on a later 1980-built ex-SCL car, which I'll cover at a later date. This is just an example of one of the many variations that the Tangent kits allow you to model:
Aside from the side post notches, the brake components are the other variation that requires modification to the Tangent model. The Tangent kit includes a B end vertical slope sheet that is a close match for my prototype (called "Version 2 Side-mount trainline Top mount AB Valve" in the Tangent instructions), but I needed to replace the high, top-mounted AB valve with a lower, bottom-mounted AB valve sitting on top of the angled support bracket shown below (sorry about the fuzzy iPhone photo):
Here's another shot of the B end with most of the components added. You can see the white spots where I filled the original AB valve mounting holes:
I wanted to use rubber Hi-Tech Details brake hoses on this car (I've broken too many plastic hoses), so I modified an old Athearn metal handrail stanchion. I shorted and closed the loop a little (trimming off a little of the end of the loop) so the Tangent plastic brake line, with its air hose removed, would fit in the back of the loop, and the Hi-Tech hose will be inserted in the front:
Here's the simpler A-end:
Here's the model as it stands now, ready for grab iron installation, roof, and discharge gates. I also secured the weights inside with clear silicone caulk:
One thing I'm going to try to fix before I finish this car is to replace the standard Sergents with their recently released short shank version, as I think the current ones stick out too far compared to the prototype. CSX PS 4750s can also be found with both standard Type E couplers, and Type Es with a lower shelf. It also looks like my prototype had shelf couplers too, so I'll have to use that version of the Sergent short shank.
I'll try to post another update with grab irons added. I apologize in advance if this project drags out, but I hope you all find something interesting in this lengthy description (if you've made it this far!).
Have a good week!
Dave
This is my first attempt at sharing an ongoing modeling project on this list. To be honest, I've had some issues over the past few years with motivating myself to finish any projects - probably a result of having two wonderful little girls join our family - so I thought this might help push me to get some modeling done and share the results. This is a little lengthy and may be way more than most people want to read, but I thought this might be interesting to some of you, to see what can be done with a high-quality HO kit.
I've been fascinated by the variety of 4750 cuft covered hoppers in the CSX fleet, the majority of which were built by Pullman-Standard for the Chessie System (B&O) and the Family Lines System railroads (later Seaboard System). So far I've identified seven different orders that each have small detail variations, having been built at different times during Pullman-Standard's almost two decades of production. I enjoy researching and attempting to model these kinds of prototype variations, so when Tangent's HO scale model arrived, I jumped at the chance to make use of all the different parts that David included in this model series. While the original Intermountain PS 4750 was a good model for its time, it represented only one of the many variations of the prototype covered hopper, which Tangent has really done justice to.
Tangent's RTR models are beautiful, but I still love building kits, so I'm grateful that he has several versions of this model available in kit form. What I discovered while researching these models is that even with all the options that the Tangent kits offer, there were so many variations in Pullman-Standard's production that I had to make some of my own modifications to accurately represent certain groups of CSX hoppers. I somehow manage to always pick the most difficult prototype to model when I jump into a project, and this was no exception. I'll start by sharing one model, and then hopefully follow up later with models of other variations and CSX number series.
The first kit that Tangent released was an early PS 4750 that features a non-overhanging roof on the ends of the car (i.e. the end of the roof is flush with the end of the car). CSX has two series of cars that match these early-production prototypes:
SCL 241300-241599 (built 1973) to SBD 250760-251058 to CSXT 250760-251058
B&O 603700-603899 (built 1973) to B&O 254036-254218 to CSXT 254036-254218
I actually started modeling a former B&O car, but I discovered that I would need to scratchbuild one of the brake components, so I postponed that project and started on one of the ex-SCL cars from CSXT series 250760-251058, basing my model on CSXT 251012:
Since I'm modeling the 1998 time period, just before the Conrail split, my model will have a lot less grime, rust, and graffiti, but I wanted to match the details and lettering of this prototype car. I got lucky and caught this car in a train that was stopped a few miles from my house, so I shot a bunch of detail photos of the car, a requirement for many of my modeling projects:
drolsen.rrpicturearchives.net/rsPicture.aspx?id=671734
The first thing I had to fix to match this prototype was to fill the notches at the bottom of the side posts on the Tangent body. The notches were a prototype option that both B&O and L&N apparently declined, which was the first challenge I faced. I trimmed styrene strip into a triangular cross section and glued short lengths into the notches, trimming them after they dried and cleaning them up with Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer, used as a filler, and some wet sanding. Here is the body with the notches filled:
And a close-up of the filled notches:
After filling the notches, I added the early (pre-1978) rivited center sill parts, seen on the left in the photo below. I included a comparison shot on the right of the welded center sill on a later 1980-built ex-SCL car, which I'll cover at a later date. This is just an example of one of the many variations that the Tangent kits allow you to model:
Aside from the side post notches, the brake components are the other variation that requires modification to the Tangent model. The Tangent kit includes a B end vertical slope sheet that is a close match for my prototype (called "Version 2 Side-mount trainline Top mount AB Valve" in the Tangent instructions), but I needed to replace the high, top-mounted AB valve with a lower, bottom-mounted AB valve sitting on top of the angled support bracket shown below (sorry about the fuzzy iPhone photo):
Here's another shot of the B end with most of the components added. You can see the white spots where I filled the original AB valve mounting holes:
I wanted to use rubber Hi-Tech Details brake hoses on this car (I've broken too many plastic hoses), so I modified an old Athearn metal handrail stanchion. I shorted and closed the loop a little (trimming off a little of the end of the loop) so the Tangent plastic brake line, with its air hose removed, would fit in the back of the loop, and the Hi-Tech hose will be inserted in the front:
Here's the simpler A-end:
Here's the model as it stands now, ready for grab iron installation, roof, and discharge gates. I also secured the weights inside with clear silicone caulk:
One thing I'm going to try to fix before I finish this car is to replace the standard Sergents with their recently released short shank version, as I think the current ones stick out too far compared to the prototype. CSX PS 4750s can also be found with both standard Type E couplers, and Type Es with a lower shelf. It also looks like my prototype had shelf couplers too, so I'll have to use that version of the Sergent short shank.
I'll try to post another update with grab irons added. I apologize in advance if this project drags out, but I hope you all find something interesting in this lengthy description (if you've made it this far!).
Have a good week!
Dave
