Thanks, Tom. I need to put some "glass" in those cabs. I've been meaning to get a Cricut machine so I can cut the glass perfectly every time, but too many other projects distracting me lately.
I picked up this unopened Red Ball 6 axle depressed center flatcar kit today. The kit is pretty simple, with a wood core and a metal deck and sides. Trucks are not included, which is expected of a lot of older kits like this. It looked like an interesting kit, but I don't know hardly anything about the car. It is a riveted car, which is unlike the later cast steel unibody cars from General Steel, which leads me to believe this would have been built 50's or earlier. Does anybody have photos or roster information for railroads that would have had similar cars? Does anybody know what car this is supposed to be a model of? I found one photo on the Modeling the SP blog website that shows the model in L&N paint, but not much comes up when you search for this model online. I am considering cutting it down to 4 axle length, or possibly trying to design another 3-axle truck for this model. My previous DODX truck is too large and would probably not have been used on a car like this.
What a coincidence. I model N scale, but I was just looking for info on this car: GHQ N 50006 90-Ton Depressed Center Flat Car Kit. It looks very similar to the HO kit you show.
Looks vaguely like a PRR Flat car I saw a picture of somewhere... Think ERIE had some heavy duty flats too
Looks vaguely like a PRR Flat car I saw a picture of somewhere... Think ERIE had some heavy duty flats too
That's what some other people were saying too. If it's PRR, then it's an F29. Funaro & Camerlengo make a decent resin model of the same car If the Red Ball car is an F29, it has some dimensional inaccuracies, especially around the slope and radii leading to the center depressed section. I'll look into the Erie cars and see if anything matches. I suspect this will turn into a kitbash project or used as a stand-in for another car, since we haven't been able to prove for sure what type of car it is, if it's even a model of anything.
This thread has slowed down lately, here’s my latest workbench project: I acquired 13 GP9’s and several structure kits from another division member who is moving and downsizing. The first geep on the bench is a partial custom painted N&W GP9 #713. It already has a nice mild application of weathering on it, but there are a few things I want to modify to further represent the prototype. I already relocated the horn to the cab of the roof. This unit will need a decoder installed before going in service. Also, I haven’t found sunshades or nose bells yet that match what the N&W put on their GP9’s. But the workbench will be busy again, so there’s that! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This was a rescue kit that I found at a local train show. I built it as a mirror image by flipping the walls around & turning the roof over. Still needs some tuning up & should make a good background building.
Picked up one of the new-ish BNSF Bay Views from Walthers to kick off my BNSF business train. I decided to go all-out on it with a bunch of upgrades and detail corrections. It’s getting new lighting, a new interior, new ends, and new underbody detail. I just finished up painting the interior, and I’m about to install an ESU DCC lighting strip. ATSF modified this car for the business train; it was the only Big Dome they kept after selling the rest to Auto Train. As part of the refurbishment, it got HEP and tube-style diaphragms. The Walthers model is a bit generic though. They updated the letter boards for BNSF, but it still has the steam-heat ends and underbody. I’m 3D printing new ends to get marker lights, HEP sockets, and modern diaphragms, and I’ll add all the plumbing to the stock chassis as well. The HEP cables are the most prominent since they run along the outer edges of the car, most of the other stuff is blocked from view, so I’ll fill in what I can. Here’s the interior with painted seats. ATSF had pink lounge seats, but BNSF later updated the upholstery to blue. I wasn’t sure when they did it, but since I model 2001, I thought the older 90’s color scheme would look better.
Spent the better part of the last two days converting an Athearn Blue box to DCC. I decided to put a plug between the chip and the rest of the wiring and that added a LOT of soldering little wires to little plug pins and putting heat shrink tubing on each one, plus every other soldered condition. Next, I need to solder some LED and resistor packages, mount them in the shell, and connect those to the harness as well. Hopefully, this will all work when I'm done. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Here's a follow-up on the Bay View. I wasn't able to paint the ends since the garage was too cold for airbrushing. The paint didn't like the temperature, but I was able to get the silver to spray well enough for underbody details instead. Here's a look at the HEP cable system I installed. It's a nice upgrade from the simple Walthers stock details. The air tanks, water retention tank, and small off-center electrical box are the only things Walthers gives you. I added the brake line, a larger diameter pipe visible in some low-angle images, the HEP wires, the junction box, a larger equipment box of unknown purpose, and a few smaller control valves along the side sill. Here's a look at the underside, as well as a detail view showing the car from track level. I'm sure I forgot some pipes and equipment, but information on the underside of this car is scant. I added the stuff I thought would make the biggest difference, and it does a good job at making the car look 'busy' underneath.
Started on a CV Models 1902 150’ Pratt truss bridge. Very involved but fun kit to build. I have the base completed but have yet to put the rail in place. The build calls for cuts of 50° and 25°. I had to make mitre boxes for these as mine only does 90° and 45°. Worked out well. 25° mitre box is not complete. I’ll post a photo when it’s finished.
