Sunday, March 17, 2024

Early Pennsylvania Railroad Welded Box & Automobile Cars

 

The file for the clinic I presented at the latest Hindsight 20/20 Virtual RPM, "Early Pennsylvania Railroad Welded Box & Automobile Cars" can be accessed via this link. The next Hindsight will be in December. You can stay up to date by joining the Hindsight group at groups.io.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Roof Paint Failure

 

crop of "general view of part of Galewood Yard, Chicago, Ill.," [Milwaukee Road,] April, 1943, Jack Delano photo, FSA-OWI Collection, Library of Congress, Call number LC-USW36-619

Roof paint failure (peeling, flaking paint on galvanized roof sheets) is one of those parts of freight car weathering that has taken off in recent years. For my purposes (and those of this blog) I am referring to this phenomenon as it occurred to roofs on freight cars of the 'teens through the 50s, realizing that the effects of weather, etc. on more modern cars is a different subject in many ways. The first thing that I want to emphasize very strongly is that I have looked at lots and lots of period photos where roofs are visible and can report one important fact: paint failure was not universal and, in fact, was not terribly common. Granted, in a yard shot, you can discern the effect on one or two cars out of scores of cars, but it is not evident on every car or even anything approaching a majority. So, if the subject of weathering already causes you angst, I suggest you move along to other facets of weathering and lose no sleep. What am I looking to accomplish in this post is to share some examples of what the prototype effect looked like to aid your efforts, should you choose to model this effect. I recently tried one method that I covered in the final installment on my model of the New Haven 1937 AAR box car.

John Golden has done some incredible work in this area using the "salt" technique, and it is really the standard to which I am working, albeit while stumbling through. many techniques and growing pains along the path. You can read John's excellent blog via this link. He also shared his paint failure techniques here (link.) Charlie Duckworth has also produced some quite credible results. His work can be found on the Steam Era Freight Car list at groups.io or on facebook. Military modelers use various chipping and masking techniques (using hair spray and rubber cement among other things) to represent paint removal by scuffing and wear, although many of the same principles translate to roof paint failure. Good luck!

Utah Rails web site

This image shows some subtle effects on a Rio Grande 12-panel box car. To me, it is a good illustration of what I want to achieve on a few cars... the presence of paint failure, but not a completely degraded surface

Buffalo, New York, NYCSHS Collection, courtesy of Joe Collias

This re-roofed New York Central USRA-design box car demonstrates that some times a small amount of failure is all that is needed when weathering

cropped from Neg no. 45882, Spencer, North Carolina, Standard Oil of New Jersey, Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville

The roof on this SP single sheathed car from the B-50-13 & -14 family displays a nice mix of failure and weathering that would be a good prototype to emulate

cropped from Neg no. 50862, Newark, New Jersey, Standard Oil of New Jersey, Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville

While this image is a very tiny snippet (it was all that was included in the overall yard shot,) it does provide a good look at the shape of paint failure in the center of a roof panel

Missouri Pacific freight house, St. Louis, May, 1946, Joe Collias Collection

This is an extreme example, an it's on a more vintage 36-foot double sheathed Boston & Albany car. Note the variety as some panels show very little failure and others are 75-80% devoid of paint

Columbus, Georgia, crop of image no. CG-2590, Central of Georgia Railway Historical Society

I like this image as it's another that illustrates how eve na small amount of paint failure can be quite realistic

Los Angeles, Morris Abowitz

Color images are always a great tool for weathering. Again, note the randomness of the failure on some panels, but not others on these two roofs

crop if image from Kheel Center for Labor Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University

This image is the one I will use to guide my efforts when I build my Resin Car Works kit of this prototype. I will continue to share my efforts here so stay tuned (you can receive updates by following this blog by adding your email address using the box at the top of the page)

Friday, March 8, 2024

Finishing the PRR G22 Gondola

 

"Brooklyn Car & Foundry" builder's photo of PRR 810328


Picking up where I left off on this build, I added some detail that I felt was best applied after the model had been blasted with aluminum oxide. I added rivets to the side in the locations shown in the photo above. They were harvested from an undecorated Athearn snow plow shell.


The rivets that I applied to the lower crossbearer cover plates are decals from Railtec transfers. While they are white (and perhaps harder to discern,) they are the best shaped rivets on the market.


I am adding a structural steel girder load to the interior. It will be secured in the stake pockets inside the car body. I removed the cast portions, as shown, and added wire to simulate the pockets. The wire was installed in holes drilled into the inside of the side, being careful to NOT drill through to the outer faces of the sides. I formed the wire using simple beading pliers to create the 'U' shapes and secured with ACC. The rivets on the corners were harvested from an undecorated Athearn snow plow shell.


I primed the model with Badger Stynylrez grey primer. It's a fine acrylic primer that I applied by airbrush. I then painted the entire car body, as well as trucks and wheelsets, with Mig Ammo "Red Brown Light" [A. MIG-0914,] which is a nice representation of a slightly faded PRR oxide freight car color. It dried to what I would describe as a "satinish" finish. I sprayed a coat of Quick Shine to create a gloss surface for decaling, again using an airbrush. I applied the decals as shown, including some chalk marks. Both the G22 decals and the chalk marks are National Scale Car offerings. I did omit the reweigh, repack, and brake test data off, as those were applied after some weathering, as the following photos illustrate.


To weather the car, I went exclusively with oils diluted with odorless mineral spirirts. I added some diluted burnt sienna along the bottom of the side sill that was drawn up a little on the surface of the side through capillary action. I also did an overall wash of Payne's grey and a little undiluted paint dabbed in a few places softened and blended by mineral spirits to create some darker areas. 


The reweigh (P50 9-49,) repack, and brake test stencils were all added at various stages of the weathering to appear "newer" than the other stencils. 


The interior was weathered, although it is mostly unfinished as the load will obscure most of the detail. I will create a separate post covering the load that will be published in the coming week or so. You can see the four stake pockets that were created from wire that will serve to secure the load. 


These Funaro & Camerlengo kits "assemble" (there's not a lot to assemble with these... it's more just adding details) into nice representations of the G22. For those who can wait, the Rapido cars should be available in the not too distant future.


Tuesday, March 5, 2024

New Haven 1937 AAR Box Car completed build

 

A three-quarter portrait of New Haven 1937 AAR box car NH 31297.


When I left off on the New Haven 1937 AAR build, I was preparing to blast the model for painting. With that step done, I added rivets in places where they might be blown off during blasting. You can see them in the photos above and below at the side sill support tabs, the grabs on the ends, the ladder mounting brackets, the sill steps, the door handles, and on the door tracks, where I simulated the flat rivets using 0.5 mm discs punched with the RPToolz punch and die and 0.005" styrene. One thing I forgot (and did not go back and add once I started painting) were the three rivets per side sheathing panel used to attach side nailing post clips! Oh well...




I airbrushed the car body with Polly Scale Light Freight Car Red thinned with Liquitex Airbrush Medium. The doors, trucks, and couplers were airbrushed with Tamiya flat black. Everything was given a coat of Quick Shine Floor Finish, again with the airbrush, to create a glossy surface for decaling. I used Speedwitch (now National Scale Car) New Haven box car decals as well as chalkmarks. The photo above illustrates the model after the basic decals had been applied and areas that would not be weathered as part of the first steps were masked.


In the first step in weathering, I added a light wash of burnt umber along the bottom of the car, using odorless mineral spirits to dilute the oil paint. This was "crept" up the side a little, as illustrated in the photo above. It's a subtle effect.


Next, I added some weathering effects to the upper portion of the car. I created streaks using a blend of Payne's Grey and Titanium White artists' oils. I dabbed small amounts of the paint on to spots on the side and then diffused and drew them down the car side to create streaks. 


I also made the decision to simulate some paint failure on several of the galvanized metal roof panels. This was done by applying a mix of Payne's Grey, Titanium White, and Cerulean (Blue) in several places. They appear stark in the photo above, but I did "integrate" them into the overall look of the model as the weathering process progressed.


I added some powders to create an overall effect as well as blend the previous steps. On the sides, I added Bragdon's Grimy Grey powder, which is fairly muted once under a flat coat. I also augmented this with some targeted application of Pan Pastels Payne's Grey. The photo above shows these after they were sealed under a flat coat.


I also added the same two powders to the roof, but in greater strength to add grime as well as mute and blend the paint failure patches.


I removed the masking tape from the capacity and reweigh location and added those decals, as shown, reflecting a reweigh at the New Haven's Cedar Hill facility in March, 1949. 



At the same time, added some "fresh" paint failure again using the mix of Payne's Grey, Titanium White, and Cerulean (Blue) to arrive at a satisfactory color. 


I applied another dilute wash of Payne's Grey thinned heavily with odorless mineral spirits and added the repack and brake test stencils, as well. The photo above illustrates the completed right side of the car.


The B end of the completed model...


I applied one more "coat" of powders to the roof to mute the areas exhibiting simulated paint failure. I am mostly satisfied with this effort, although I still think I can improve upon it. I will post some further thoughts about this in the next couple weeks as part of a separate post about paint failure.


The completed left side of the model... I am quite pleased with the overall end result. The New Haven script scheme is one of the iconic box cars of the era. Having a good representation of it will add plenty of context and character to the fleet.

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Northern Pacific GS Gondolas

 

Two prototype photos, Minnesota Transportation Museum or Minnesota Historical Society (uncertain,) courtesy of James Dick and Aaron Gjermundson

After Springfield, I had posted some info about the PRR G22 gondolas, including the upcoming Rapido offerings and other HO scale models, and followed up with my G22 modeling efforts. What I forgot to do was post about the Northern Pacific GS gondolas that are also coming from Rapido featuring a joint effort with the NPRHA (links to gondola and wood chip car reservations.) The NP had two groups of virtually identical cars built in 1940 by Pressed Steel (car nos. 50000-50499) and by the NP's Brainerd, Minnesota shops (car nos. 50500-50749.) The photos directly above and below are of the series built in 1949 by the NP. The earlier cars are quite similar, with the biggest differences being trucks and hand brakes. The car displayed here had ASF A-3 Ride Control trucks and Superior hand brakes. The model displays a car with cast steel double truss sideframe trucks and Ajax power hand brakes.



Diagram for the 50000 series built 1940

The cars in this series were equipped with Scullin (50000-50249) and ASF (50250-50499) truck sideframe castings, although they both follow NP casting pattern FS-589, making them virtually identical in HO scale (the prototypes would have had data cast into the sideframe that is legible in HO, but not from more than a few inches away.) Draft gear included Cardwell-Westinghouse NY-11-E (50000-50099,) Miner A-22-XB (50100-50299,) Peerless H-1 (50300-50399,) and Waugh Gould No.43 (50400-50499.)

Diagram for the 50500 series built 1949


Test shots for the models were on display at Springfield. The actual designs were developed in conjunction with noted historian and modeler Rick Leach and the NPRHA, assuring a high degree of accuracy. As can be seen in these photos, the model is a faithful replica of the prototype. While these did see varied service on the NP, like all gons, they did wander and could be seen just about anywhere. They lasted well into the 1970s.

Thank you to Aaron Gjermundson for providing information and photos about the prototypes and to Jim Dick for also adding information and clarifying details.





Friday, March 1, 2024

Illinois Terminal 1937 AAR Box Cars

 


The photo shown above (Karl Geffchen photo, Aug. 1978, from the Fallen Flags site) was posted to the Railroad Modeling the 1970s Group on facebook with a query about details. I posted an answer there, but thought these cars would make an interesting post overall. So, here goes. I will cover the photo above first even though it is the last chronologically, since it is the genesis of this post. It is an ITC 1937 AAR box car that was modified with a wider door opening (six feet to eight feet, although it's possible it's seven; my most "modern" ORER is only from '61 so I am uncertain; if you know, please leave a comment below) and a side sill support spanning from body bolster to body bolster as well as additional bracing where the door posts meet the side sills. Presumably, it also received the underframe modification as shown in the last photos below. Note that this car is one of the members of the group with AC&F proprietary ("Carbuilder's") ends.

East St. Louis, Illinois, 1938, R. J. Foster photo, from Joe Collias

ITC 6041 was from the first group of 1937 AAR box cars acquired by Illinois Terminal (car nos. 6000-6099, 100 cars.) They were built in 1937 by AC&F and were quite "standard" in their details, including Youngstown corrugated steel doors with early Camel Roller Lift fixtures, square corner Dreadnaught ends, Murphy rectangular panel roof, double truss spring plankless trucks, Ajax power hand brakes and wood running boards and brake steps.
American Car & Foundry photo

ITC 6299 was the last car in the second group of 1937 AAR box cars, also from AC&F and built in 1941 (6100-6299, 200 cars.) These had Youngstown doors with Camel fixtures, Murphy rectangular panel roof, double truss spring plankless trucks, Equipco power hand brakes, wood running boards and steel plate brake steps. What made them unusual were the round corner AC&F proprietary ends, as shown in several of the photos herein.

circa 1955, Paul Dunn photo

Circa the mid-1950s, many cars were fitted with side sill support extensions, as shown above as well as bracing where the door posts meet the side sills (click on photo for a larger view.) The door opening remained at six feet. The placard boards were also lowered, as shown.

ebay purchase, undated

At some point in the 60s, cars received heavier side sill support sections, spanning the body bolsters, as shown above and in the first photo of this post. The door openings were increased and the doors were replaced with improved Youngstown corrugated steel doors. The underframe stringers were also augmented. The cars originally had one zee bar stringer on each side of the center sills and between the bolsters and the end sills incorporated a diagonal brace at each corner. As shown, these were augmented with two I-section steel stringers on each side of the original stringers and three I-section stringers on each side of the draft gear, replacing the diagonal braces.

ebay purchase, undated


Sunday, February 25, 2024

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

 

Westerfield PRR X23 box car (coming in styrene from Rapido)


I used to be able to look at layout photos in a magazine or visit a layout and immediately know that a person was a builder of rolling stock (or not) just by perusing what was riding on their rails. It was easy to spot cars that you could only obtain by building a kit from Sunshine, Westerfield, F&C, WestRail, Yarmouth or Speedwitch. However, the market has made it so that cars specific to a single or a small number of railroads are available as high quality, ready-to-run offerings that rival and, in some cases, surpass the resin offerings. This means that a great number of model railroaders can populate their layouts with exceptional cars without the fuss of building them or to paraphrase, this rising tide of cars lifting all boats (and sometimes overpopulating... how often do you see a non-B&O or Milwaukee layout with three Wagontop or Ribside box cars, respectively, a figure all out of proportion to reality?) However, as my late friend Richard Hendrickson used to say frequently, "these are the good old days..."

Above and below are a sampling of cars that I built as resin models that have been released (or will be) as injection molded, ready-to-run offerings.

Westerfield New York Central USRA-design steel box car kitbashed with narrowed IMWX roof (released in styrene by Broadway Limited)

Sunshine Models UTLX X-3 tank car (released in styrene by Rapido)

Sunshine Models B&O M-53 Wagontop box car (released in styrene by Fox Valley and Exactrail)

Sunshine Models Milwaukee Road Ribside box car (released in styrene in various versions by Exactrail, Intermountain, and Ribside Cars)

and just to illustrate the reverse, here is a Rapido model that I built (of a car that I had also built from a Sunshine kit years ago.) While there are many ready-to-run versions of this NP prototype available from Rapido, I bought an undec and painted and lettered it, with a few detail enhancements (read more about that via this link.)