To me, that's NUTS!!! But I don't collect, I play with my trains. I guess all in all, its a good thing. It's nice to see so many still interested in the Freedom Train and its' collectables. Funny to watch the diesel sets go for sometimes as low as $50.00 which includes the engine and 4 cars while the steam sets go for the big bucks you mentioned. The engine is th big part of it BUT there is an extra car (no. 105) that is in that set which allows folks to use the word 'rare'. I wonder how many are tickled to know I just finished stripping down 3 of those cars for my train )!!! Happy modeling!! Johnny
Hi all, Although I've been working on various projects, work continues on my AFT. I am catching up on some work for clients and even though this car is not for my train, I will eventually do one for myself. So i figured I'd post the construction here and kill two birds with a large rock. This will be American Freedom Train Car No.202 The crew that traveled with the train during it's journey had some cars reserved for their personal use. Among these was this ex-Reading combine, which was outfitted with a generator and kitchen for use on the Freedom Train. Of note is that this is one a few cars that survived the scrappers torch and resides in a Museum in British Columbia. When in Freedom Train Dress, she looked like this: The starting point for the model will be a kit from Bethlehem Car Works. A good starting point at that as the car is based on the prototype. These kits are hard to find and are very well detailed. Assembly is relatively easy yet time consuming. The carbody and underframe ready for primer: The ONLY thing that need to be done to change the standard kit arrangement was the roof. It is nicely rounded but the vents were modified when adding the kitchen and generator for AFT use. I scratched the vents the best I could from the only picture I have of the car(the one above). Roof, looking at the same side as proto photo: Off to the paintshop for primer. More to come......... Happy modeling, Johnny
Update on AFT "Pie' car No. 202 The car has been painted white and has had the red and blue stripes painted as well. No decals are available for the stripes and I think the painted ones look better anyway. And here is the latest of the car with the decals(still wet) just applied.......... More to come...... Johnny
Hi Verse, Thanks, Does that mean you're gonna build one too?? Well she finally hit the rails as all the dullcoating is finished and the sub-assemblies are together. All that's left are the diaphrams and grabs. But I just couldn't resist posing her around the layout.......... At Dachshundville............. Rolling across the high bridge......... And getting switched out at the quarry......... More to come.............. johnny
Well American Freedom Train car No.202 is finished. Word on the street is that the owner has commited to an order of 3 more cars this spring. They will be; the entrance car, the heavyweight tool car(for the 4449), and a concession car. Looks like the shops will be busy. Here is the AFT202 as it arrives behind the 4449 at LaRue........ Posed for a 'farewell' shot....... And switched into a cut of other cars and ready to go........ More to come, Johnny
Part 1 Like most show trains, The American Freedom Train carried it's own power supply. That way they need never worry about having to 'plug-in' while in town. The train carried two(2) generator cars. They were used to supply power to the display cars(No.111), and to the coaches and concession joints and ticket wagons(No.200). It is car No. 200 that is up next. This car like most on the train was a coverted baggage car. This car had no side doors ans was accessed only from the ends. It supplied powere to the coaches and other off loaded equipment. Keep in mind that this a learning process for me as well. I have never attempted to cut holes in cars before, let alone do any real 'scratchbuilding'. A Rivarossi SS baggage is my starting point: Here is the car with one end blind and starting to fill the the other baggage door to form one set of grills. More in next reply............
Part 2 Here the other opening for grills have been cut-out and framed for the grills: The car looks the same on both sides. More in next reply.......
Part 3 Here the car has had the grills installed and the grab holes drilled: All that's left to do is install some exhaust stacks and send it to the paint shop. More to come, Johnny
That's a lot of work, paying off very well! Will be an impressive train when complete. It should be featured on Discovery Channel!
Although I had already redone one of the "Showcase" cars, I was never satisfied with the windows that Lionel had in them. They were too short and didn't give the car the correct feel that these unique cars had. The prototype had windows that came to the bottom edge of the roof. I wanted my models to reflect this, so here are some photos of the car. This is what the car looked like after I first modified it by fixing up, properly placing and creating the displays....... After cutting out the tops of the windows, I used various sizes of strip styrene to frame out and fabricat the new ones....... The car now has the 'correct' look and feel. I also created from styrene the bulkheads that gave the car it's seperate compartments for the displays. New flooring has also been added for displays..... The prototype gave a great view of the cars' contents and now my models do as well. Next it's off to the paint shop. More to come, Johnny
Didn't the attendants that traveled with this train wear special uniforms, and had a car they rode in with the train on tour? Is that next or have you already made them? I got in on this late, so I haven't seen the engine, or all the cars you have made so far, maybe?
Hi Watash, It's NEVER too late for good conversation. As far as a uniform, all the pics I've seen show various states of dress by yht e crew. Everything from coveralls for the engine crew, to casual business for ticket personnel. I know that there were different patches worn for different departments. The crew had what was called a crew car( No.20) and it was just a baggage car basically used for storage of concessions. Any of the crew that tavelled on the train spent time in one of 5 passenger cars that brought up the rear. Here is a basic breakdown of the cars; Locomotive Tool Car for #4449 Crew car Three (3) 85' flats carrying ticket and concession wagons and support vehicles. Two (2) Large window 'Showcase' cars. Entrance/Office car Ten (10) Display cars Exit/Generator car Generator car Sleeper Pie car(combine) Two (2) day coaches Observation car Some other cars came and went but this was the usual lineup. The crew car is one of the next three to be built. For a refresher..... The re-worked Lionel engine that will undergo further work..... Original showcase car on left, first of ten display cars on left....... Close up of 'panel' side of display car............ More to come, Johnny
