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Post by tankcarsrule on Feb 16, 2014 7:21:08 GMT -8
I'll start it this week. I'm coming along with my 6 axle whale belly phosphorus tank car. In this photo you can see the scratched brake gear box and stand. The heavy six axle cars used the passenger gear box. The 24 stanchions were the hold up on this project. Lots of bending and soldering.. Regards, Bobby
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Post by TBird1958 on Feb 16, 2014 7:46:20 GMT -8
Bobby,
That's really great work - as always!
Thanks for sharing it with us. Best regards, Mark
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Post by mlehman on Feb 16, 2014 8:30:05 GMT -8
Bobby, I agree, it's impressive seeing the unpainted detail coming together. Usually with my projects, paint hides a multitude of sins At least I finally got Photoshop talking to my camera again. So I have a few pics of this week's projects after all, when I was abut ready to give up. I finished up a Railway Engineering HOn3 Carter Car Ventilated Boxcar kit. Never ran out of Silverton, but I thought I'd support the project when it happened some time back. I have a couple of more to build, basically some "good, used" rolling stock management came by at a decent price to add to my Silverton Union RR fleet to distinguish it from the Rio Grande's. I updated the draft gear to run knuckle couplers. I also roughed in my last major industry on the main layout, the ag co-op/Adobe Milling/Anasazi Bean plant at Dove Creek. I bashed the Walthers Clayton County Lumber kit a little and added a platform. Still have to hang the doors, build the pit for the elevator leg and plumb some overhead drops, etc. Thinking about something better than basic black for a backdrop, plus maybe some steel bins when the budget allows. Also Photoshopped some real world pics around Dove Creek to give my version the authentic flavor of the "Pinto Bean capital of the World." And I managed to obtain a few more parts, so converted a couple of my MRGS coaches to electric lighting. It was super easy to tack a piece of Tichy .010 phosphor bronze wire to the brass trucks for wipers. I used 10k of resistance this time and really like how the lights work -- and reflect off the water in the creek. Now I have to get more seating built...
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Post by dti406 on Feb 16, 2014 10:24:14 GMT -8
Great start to the dau Bobby and Mike, always impressed with your work! Finally finished some cars this last week! Last order of 50' PS1 Boxcars by the EL, removed the shallow ladders from the E&C Model and replaced with extra ladders from a IMRC PS1 Boxcar kit. Painted Scalecoat II Boxcar Red with Floquil Platinum Mist Roof, lettered with Herald King Decals. LBF 52'6" Gon, painted Scalecoat II Black and lettered with Highball Graphics Decals. IMRC 4650CF Cylindrical Covered Hopper, painted Scalecoat II Reefer Yellow and lettered with Herald King Decals. Thanks for looking! Rick J
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Post by tankcarsrule on Feb 16, 2014 10:33:27 GMT -8
Great looking cars Rick! I admire you guys that paint so good, me I hate to paint. I've finished my five ladder cryo car, just waiting on good weather So I can take some outdoor photos.
Regards, Bobby
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Post by TBird1958 on Feb 16, 2014 11:55:20 GMT -8
Some ancient history.....A page from an old Mainline article I wrote about UP/Rio Grande Thrall Gons used on the Kaiser train, at that point I didn't have a good film camera, so my buddy Rick Selby shot these. Here's a down on shot of the first tank car I kitbashed sometime in the early '90s
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Post by tankcarsrule on Feb 16, 2014 12:10:27 GMT -8
Mark, I love that tank car, what did you start with?
Regards, Bobby
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Post by TBird1958 on Feb 16, 2014 12:45:02 GMT -8
Mark, I love that tank car, what did you start with? Regards, Bobby The middle is (sheepishly) tape dispenser rolls (lol!) , friend showed me how to draft out the non-concentric reductions and make them from styrene, the rest is from MDC, Walthers, Plano and A-Line. There wasn't much to work with back then!
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Post by mlehman on Feb 16, 2014 13:00:14 GMT -8
Mark, I love that tank car, what did you start with? Regards, Bobby The middle is (sheepishly) tape dispenser rolls (lol!) , friend showed me how to draft out the non-concentric reductions and make them from styrene, the rest is from MDC, Walthers, Plano and A-Line. There wasn't much to work with back then! Brilliant! It's a fine looking car, Mark, and now I'm impressed by your creativity. Only problem in replicating it now is the price of tape. I bought a three-pack recently and all I can say is it's not quite as expensive as detail parts are yet...but it's getting there.
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Post by buffalobill on Feb 16, 2014 15:01:50 GMT -8
Mark: really nice job on the GATX dual- di tank car. Bobby, as usually another beautifully executed rare and exotic tank car. Rick, like the EL box, with a little time, the E & C cars can be turned into nice cars. Bill
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Post by riogrande on Feb 17, 2014 7:04:05 GMT -8
Mark,
Love the UP/D&RGW Kaiser Coal Liner train pictures! You did a nice job on the old MDC kit version of the Thrall gondola - one give away are the ribs on the bottom piece don't line up with those on the sides. Athearn corrected that when they upgraded model for the RTR version and added the ribs to the D&RGW version. I picked up the Athearn RTR D&RGW Kaiser class SD45's (#5327, 5336 and 5338) and the appropriate UP SD45's (#3648, early, #40 and #48, late).
The tank car looks great - who cares what you used to make it - the end result is what counts!
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 17, 2014 18:36:42 GMT -8
Bobby, great work as we've come to expect. Love those tank cars! Rick, your Scoular car is a real blast from the past. Just when I think I have enough grain hoppers you post one I need. T-bird, those MDC Thrall cars still hold up. I have a few I decorated for LCRX to go with my FPPX coal train:
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2014 18:59:22 GMT -8
....those MDC Thrall cars still hold up............. I remember when they first came out. It was one of the first kits featuring separate ladders and other stuff. MDC made some really good kits.
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 17, 2014 19:34:26 GMT -8
When I was a kid, I got a model railroading book by Robert Schleicher (I think that was the author's name). Anyway, it featured mostly Tyco stuff in it and showed you how to get from train set to layout. I remember there were some photos in that book that showed products from other manufacturers I wasn't familiar with at that time. One was Athearn and the other was MDC. Among the cool stuff I saw in that book was the Athearn Freightliner. I have always enjoyed vehicle modeling and that first Athearn Freightliner began a long history of kitbashing that model into every variation I could come up with. The other models that made a big impression were the MDC coal gondolas. When I saw them I realized that they were the cars I saw in the coal trains that passed near my house, not the Virginian and Peabody hopper cars I had. I knew right then I needed a long coal train of those cars.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 18, 2014 7:32:19 GMT -8
I still have a few of the MDC Thrall Hi-side gons. During MDC's last gasp of kit producing, they made a 12 pack of D&RGW Thrall gons - 4 Rio Grande Coal Liners, 4 Blue end D&RGW, and 4 all black D&RGW. I bought only the blue and all black versions, but kept the all black and sold off the blue when Athearn offered the RTR version. The all black will be mixed in with the RTR cars. Of course the bottom ribs won't match up perfectly with the sides unless you cut the bottom into several parts and glue them on that way.
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Post by TBird1958 on Feb 18, 2014 9:26:20 GMT -8
My UP Thrall cars were the first unit train cars I'd built, I painted and lettered them all ( when I was younger I had a lot more ambition lol!) and even created a clip-on paint mask for yellow ends. They all got 38" wheels, and of course I made a 4 engine set of SD-45s (3 Rio Grande,1 UP)to power the train they're about 20years old now and I'm planning on updating them some later this year.
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 18, 2014 11:06:01 GMT -8
I still have a few of the MDC Thrall Hi-side gons. During MDC's last gasp of kit producing, they made a 12 pack of D&RGW Thrall gons - 4 Rio Grande Coal Liners, 4 Blue end D&RGW, and 4 all black D&RGW. I bought only the blue and all black versions, but kept the all black and sold off the blue when Athearn offered the RTR version. The all black will be mixed in with the RTR cars. Of course the bottom ribs won't match up perfectly with the sides unless you cut the bottom into several parts and glue them on that way. I used a new no. 11 blade to slice the offset part of the underframe part on my cars when I detailed them and repainted them. I didn't do anything for the missing thickness on the side opposite where I did the cutting, but it really isn't very noticeable, especially on the black cars. Just making that change made a huge difference in the appearance of the cars. When I finally get around to weathering them (which won't occur until I have the power for this train built) I just might revisit this area. It wouldn't take much effort to cut little wedges of 0.015" or 0.020" styrene to fill in the mismatch. They are also very light compared to the Athearn version, so I filled the open area along the center sill underneath with bits of sheet lead cut to fit. That, along with the metal wheels, definitely helps. I also bought Athearn's coal loads for them and they fit just fine.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 18, 2014 11:18:27 GMT -8
On an old set of D&RGW Thralls I filed the off-set part so they would match up better - kind of like you trimming them with a blade. The MDC version could use more weight, that's true.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 15:16:01 GMT -8
The MDC version could use more weight, that's true. The old MDC kits of the Thrall gondola was lighter than a feather. You could hide weight with a coal load, but running empty, I'd be open to suggestions.
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Post by bar on Feb 18, 2014 17:15:57 GMT -8
Instead of adding weight just add truck bearings. The Proto:87 Store has them, or you can just use bits of styrene. I have and run long trains with empty pig flats at the head end -- in reverse -- with no derailments. It's miraculous when you see it for the first time, plus cars will track rock-steady. www.proto87.com/model-railroad-fast-n-easy-riders-working-suspension.html
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Post by mrsocal on Feb 18, 2014 17:58:01 GMT -8
It's all good but in the real world car for the most part don't track rock steady. With the advent of the concrete tie yes things have improved dramatically but never the less still not rock stead. Just my thoughts. I used to add apposing shims to my track to get a good rock.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 19, 2014 5:33:33 GMT -8
Jim,
Your photo's of the Mill siding area look great!
Bar,
Those look like a great idea. The confusing thing is there are photo's of the sheets of round bearings. One says around $5 and the other around $20 and I don't see the difference in thes store. I vote the $5 set - look exactly the same!
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 19, 2014 9:02:05 GMT -8
It's all good but in the real world car for the most part don't track rock steady. With the advent of the concrete tie yes things have improved dramatically but never the less still not rock stead. Just my thoughts. I used to add apposing shims to my track to get a good rock. That's a pretty neat idea. I want to model the former Cotton Belt by my house on a Free-mo branchline module and this sounds like just the way to do it.
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Post by mrsocal on Feb 20, 2014 18:59:50 GMT -8
rch, I would use different lengths and height variations to not get a uniform motion going. It took some work and trial and effort but the effect was great for old spear lines and yards.
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 20, 2014 22:57:12 GMT -8
Thanks for the info, Scotty.
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