There's been so much inspirational work on the board lately, I thought it was time for me to start something of my own. I'm working on a 40' outside braced wood boxcar. So far things are only just started, but I thought I'd share a picture...
WOW that looks great! Any chance you will cast them? : ) I wonder if you can buy MT stirrups separately like you can in N scale? Keep the pics coming!
Thanks for the kind words Chris. I am thinking about casting as I work my way through this one, though already I have made some decisions on construction which will prevent my casting copies (note the freestanding door tracks...) I do however want a number for myself for my "Canadian praries in the 1970's" branchline, so casting is an eventuality. The big challenge is going to be getting resin around the braces (on the model in the pic, the braces are .010x.020 styrene and forcing resin into that standing .010 ridge isn't going to be easy. I've told myself that I will work on this project a little bit each day so hopefully more pics later. Chris
Wow, Chris! That's an awesome looking car. I think lot's of folks will want some of those if you do reproduce them. What are you using for the construction, Plustruct/Evergreen styrene sheet and L girders? Randy
The construction is styrene and is designed much the same way as the typical N scale boxcar is done. I scratchbuild boxcars/reefers/similar from the roof down with a seperate (removeable) floor. Since the talk of casting is already out there, I was just sitting here asking myself what the casualty of doing these as solid castings would be. They're so darn small and the resin wouldn't weigh that much I... The big reasons for this thought process are: 1. I'm really frustrated by warped resin castings and I'm thinkin' that a solid casting is going to last longer. 2. Easier to cast. I will still dish out a recess in the base for a seperate floor casting, but the mold for the solid casting will be easier to construct and cast and I think may reduce the number of waste castings. Just some thoughts. Back to work. Chris
chris mears, i love your cars. we're looking forward to seeing your end results. chris schmuck, you might consider K&S brass mesh -- which they make in 1/16th (and smaller ... and larger) increments for the stirrups. i've used it on two of my buiding attempts and it looks very good, i think. here's how it looks. this was cut into ladders and stirrups for the scratchbuilt g.s. gondola in the background. dave f.
Glad you posted this Dave. I was just remembering you talking about this mesh when I read the thread earlier today. Randy
That Gondola David made is now my prize model. I could not believe my eyes when I open the box. The detail in person is so much better than the camera can do justice to, and it looks fantastic in the photo's Now we have Chris doing an outside braced boxcar. Fantastic! This is just the kind of cars we need available in Z. I can't wait to see how it turns out when painted. Looking great so far! -Robert
The gondola??? How the heck did you guys slide this one by? I'd really like to see some pics of this model. Chris
David describe in detail how he scratch build it on a earlier post, so have fun looking for it. It may take some time, but its worth the effort. Robert, its it another trade. Maybe your nickname should be Robert, the trader.
I always have trades going on. It's the best way to get really great stuff, and spread the wealth. I have not taken any recent pictures of my Timesaver module yet, but I have Tim's grain elevator, Lionel's derilict building, Loren's trees, and Dan's bumpers and grain augar on it so far, all aquired in trades. That's just the scenery sruff, but on the rolling stock front I have Tim's 3 bay PS2 hopper, David's drop bottom gondola, and Allan Borg's centerflow hoppers on it too. Again, all aquired in trades. I plan on putting more traded stuff on this module too. -Robert
Hey, you guys all trade too! And if you don't yet, you will someday! It's fun! And my wife don't get mad at all! -Robert
So I've started working on the floor. I think I am going to work up a decent master then cast the copies that I will actually use. As such, I've started work on a generic 40' boxcar floor master... Obviously I've some distance to go, but I was quite pleased with how it worked out so far and I wanted to share my progress with you all. Cheers Chris
Looking good Chris! You might be able to use N Scale AB Brake Gear from MTL too, as it's almost the right size. If you buy the MTL #1201 40' underframe part, you can cut off the Air Reservoir, AB Cylinder and AB Valve (Triple valve?), then sand those parts a bit flat on one side, then glue those to your master for great looking brakes. They cost about $6-7 for a 6 pack: -Robert
