Naperville 2002 - John Spencer Models

 

I was digging through an old hard drive and came across folders of photos from my earliest digital camera. Apparently I brought that camera to Naperville in 2002 because I had numerous images of models from the display room. Truth be told, I was searching for images and notes about the St. Louis Refrigerator car model shown above and below (his notes about this project included at the bottom of this post.) It is the work of John (Jack to those who know him) Spencer. Before discussing his work, I will share that Jack was part of the St. Louis freight car "mafia" along with Ed Hawkins and Pat Wider of Railway Prototype Cyclopedia fame plus Ray Long (the "Long" of the Hawkins-Wider-Long photo collection.) They would carpool to Naperville every year.

Jack's modeling was and still is some of the finest HO scale freight car modeling that I have ever seen and he did much of it without the benefit of etched parts, Tahoe trucks or the Tangents that we have today. Jack had many "hacks" to achieve his work. First among them was his voracious appetite for information. He was among the first modelers I met who considered a general arrangement drawing merely a starting point; he wanted the drawings for the metal parts, brake arrangements, etc., to really do justice to a model. He was also a highly skilled pattern maker of details combined with the ability to make resin duplicates of those parts to enable his efforts. Lastly, he was fanatical about the use of very thin (usually 0.003") mylar sheet as a vehicle for making details, including embossing rivets in the mylar (note that this mylar material is available at art supply stores and is not the same as the shiny material used in balloons.) One other thing that Jack used that has become a staple of my modeling is Goo and/or Barge cement thinned with MEK as a vehicle to assemble dissimilar materials.

Jack also thought nothing of going to seemingly great lengths to refine kit parts. If you're familiar with the finely rendered Apex Tri-Lok running boards in Branchline kits, you know that the ends are "see-through" as on the prototype, but most of the length of the part is solid. Jack would diligently thin the part from the underside until it was "open" over its entire length. Why? Because it was a beautiful replica of the running board except for not being "open" over its entire length.

Note that on this IMWX/Red Caboose model, Jack removed the second stringer on each side of the underframe as the prototype had only a single stringer on each side of the center sills

Old age has caught up to Jack and he doesn't make the journey any longer. I miss grabbing a few minutes with him to talk about projects, techniques, and the like. He is one of the pioneers of "extreme" freight car modeling and deserves more notoriety than the modest way he carried himself allowed. A big thank you to Jack for inspiring many of us.

Jack added many details to make this Stewart model accurate for an N&W H-9 including the roping loop castings above the trucks at each body bolster location. Also note the steel plates added to the lower half of each panel, fabricated from Mylar with embossed rivets

My Draft Gear aka "Coupler Boxes"

I have always been a little underwhelmed by the draft gear available to HO scale modelers, be they the "boxes" on simple cars or the "scale" draft gear available from various purveyors. I find them to be either too wide, with ridiculously large openings for the couplers and/or too undetailed. Byron Rose created patterns for very nicely detailed draft gear included in many Westerfield offerings, but it was wider than I preferred, no doubt to accommodate Kadee no. 5 couplers (scale-sized or close to scale couplers were still in the future when the patterns were created.)

I decided to create draft gear to suit my own tastes. The main given is that it must accommodate the Kadee whisker scale sized coupler, as I feel that is an easy coupler to source and use. I set about making parts that were as narrow as possible, knowing that the widest part of the coupler is around the post where it pivots. I believe I succeeded in making it as narrow as possible yet still operable.

I recently tested a half dozen cars equipped with the parts on a layout with numerous handlaid turnouts and radii down to about 20-22". The cars were mostly forty-footers, but did include the 50' X32A. I can report that there was not a single issue related to coupler swing and the only issues encountered were the same as with many other cars where the couplers did not couple on the first attempt. The cars were operated and switched for several hours, providing a good amount of feedback about how the draft gear would function, even with 50' cars around tight curves.

I have included this draft gear in several recent kit offerings and will now move to offer them as separate parts as soon as I can produce sufficient quantities to release them. 

Al Hoffman

 

Al Hoffman, left, with Lloyd Keyser at the recent St. Louis RPM, courtesy of Steve Hile

Al Hoffman died recently at age 80. I met Al in the late 90s after a Naperville RPM. I was headed to the airport and Al, along with the late Bat Masterson, offered me a ride. That introduction led to an almost 30 year friendship. Al lived in Connecticut and when I moved back there in 2005, we saw each other frequently, usually weekly. 

Al grew up in the suburbs west of Chicago watching his beloved Burlington's trains. They became an outsized influence on his pursuits. He was a graduate of Shimer College in Illinois, including a year's study at Oxford. Al's professional work was for a leveraged buyout firm based in Connecticut. Al was the guy sent in to companies to look at the books and operations and effect the improvements that made such investments profitable. Employees of the firm received equity in companies that were bought out, in the form of stock. Al held his equity in one such company when all others in his firm had liquidated; that investment ultimately made Al "beer rich" (as opposed to champagne rich... his words!) That allowed Al to retire quite young.

brasstrains.com photo

Many of you may not have been acquainted with Al as he generally preferred to operate behind the scenes. However, you are almost certainly the beneficiary of his efforts. Al's post retirement life was focused heavily on his love of model trains and their prototypes. Al had been involved in many projects produced by brass importers, including Nickel Plate Products, Oriental, Overland, Coach Yard,and Challenger, among others. Al often created drawings for projects that he championed. He also imported some Burlington passenger equipment under his own line, Aurora Shops, including the car shown above. Al worked with many resin kit manufacturers, too, including Sunshine, Westerfield, Bethlehem Car Works, and yours truly, as Speedwitch. Al also collaborated with many makers of injection molded products, such as Intermountain, Kadee, Life Like/Proto 2000/Walthers, and Tangent. If a manufacturer ever responded positively to one's of Al's product "suggestions" they became intimately aware of Al's doggedness. For me, his biggest influence was introducing me to Michael Urac, with the Focus on Freight Cars series being the result. Al authored articles in historical society and prototype-related publications. He seemed to have his finger in many pots, with some of those efforts still to come.

While he didn't do nearly as much as he would've liked, Al did manage to build some models. The caboose above is one of his efforts, based upon a resin kit. I gladly painted it for him. Al was extremely gifted at working with brass and had a slew of partially completed projects where he replaced the tires and driver centers, turned new boiler fronts on his lathe, stripped and redetailed locomotives, etc. He was also an avid collector of what I call sad sack models and kits, exemplified well by the ancient Railmaster line of white metal kits, notably a 65-foot mill gondola based upon the AAR design. I am certain that Al owns more than 50% of the extant kits of this type.

In addition to all of these pursuits related to railroads and models, Al was an extremely generous human. I will spare the details, but he used his good fortune to aid others less fortunate, often anonymously.

In his personal life, Al was a life long bachelor until the last decade. He was wed to Mary (Gerritsen) of Valparaiso, Indiana. Al is also survived by a nephew in Colorado who he was deeply fond of.

One last thing I will share is that if you did not know Al, you were unaware of his extremely frugal side, that was sometimes belied by its very nature. Al owned a Toyota Camry from the mid-80s that he ordered with a V6 engine, manual transmission, and crank-operated windows (non-powered.) He ordered it because that combination wasn't available at the showroom. He drove it over 400,000 miles and when the frame began to rust, he had a new frame installed on the old car at great expense! That was Al. Rest in Peace and may the everafter be filled with Burlington resin kits

I had many lunches (often preceded by a visit to The Hobby Gallery back in the day,) trips to meets and shows, and long phone conversations with Al, especially about things that he wanted me to produce. I knew him as well as any of my railroad friends and will miss him greatly. He left too soon. 

Greetings from Vermont

 

Enosburg Falls, Vermont, September, 1941, Jack Delano, FSA-OWI Collection, Library of Congress

I spent several days in Vermont over the past week visiting with family. There were two outings that were tangentially related to railroads that I want to share. We had dinner in Enosburg Falls one evening with a family member who resides there. It is a quaint smallish town near the Canadian border with typical New England charm. It still has a town green/square (Lincoln Park) that even featured an orchestra playing favorites from film as part of an outdoor evening concert. Back in the day, the town was on the Central Vermont's Richford Branch (named the Missisquoi [sic] Branch on the Sanborn map) to Richford. It is as bucolic a modeling subject as your mind conjures. There's even some dude in Virginia modeling the branch! [Marty's blog contains all the details] Many of the bones of the line are still there, albeit as paved rail trails and heavily modified structures. It's an interesting walk into the past nonetheless if you squint and imagine.

New England Dairies, Enosburg Falls, Vermont, September, 1941, Jack Delano, FSA-OWI Collection, Library of Congress

Enosburg Falls Sanborn map, illustrating the area from the photo at top of the page, circa 1920

The other railroad-related outing was a walk with my wife on the Lake Champlain causeway. The causeway was created in 1901 to span Lake Champlain from Colchester to South Hero Island, Vermont (north of Burlington). There was a bridge, as well, that is now gone, replaced by in season ferry service to span the 200-foot gap in the causeway. Today, it's a path used by tons of cyclists and a smaller number of walkers/hikers. 

There's an avian critter (Great Blue Heron) in the angle formed by the tree's trunk and the large stone

A few things from St. Louis

New York Central System Historical Society

I brought home a few things from the St. Louis RPM. The first is a Sunshine Models kit of a Northern Pacific fifty-foot heavy insulation refrigerator car. I missed these when originally offered and managed to find one at the Resourced Rails table at the meet. The prototypes were built by the Despatch Shops in East Rochester, New York in 1946. At the time they were unusual for their length as well as the extra insulation for frozen food shipments. The kit looks like a fun project. I will create my own decals with NYC-style typeface stenciling to match that of the prototype. PS - you can order high res scans for $5 each of these cars at the NYCSHS site (links here and here) A more thorough post about these prototypes will follow at some point.

The next of the loot is a Monon container gondola offered by Forbes Train Models (Doug Forbes.) It's a 3D print of the prototype. Doug also offers a few other versions of the cars. The modeler adds the details such as grabs, wire, trucks, couplers, etc. The first page of the instructions, including Doug's email is included below. These are well-rendered straightforward kits, but are designed to allow varying levels of detailing, from basic up to completely tricked out. The images above are the 3D-printed body with a shot of Tamiya fine surface primer (aerosol can.)

From Dave Hussey's PBase gallery... link below

Last and out of era for me is the Cannon & Company kit for the Northern Pacific's 5300-series combination door waffle cars from Pacific Car & Foundry, kit FC-5015. I know it's too modern for me. However, I have always liked the premise of these kits (as well as the Modeler's Choice line) and relish the challenge of building one up someday. Link to Dave Hussey's PBase image gallery for the prototype and model.

Some models from the St. Louis RPM

 

The powerhouse from Maynard "Mitch" Mitchell was the highlight of the meet for many observers. It was extremely impressive in person. 

As I noted in the post with my clinic file from the event, it is a large event on many levels, with more models on display than anywhere else I can think of, more vendors than other RPMs by a factor of 3-4X, and more people than other RPMs by a factor of 3X. I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to take it all in, but I did manage to snap some pics with my phone to document things that caught my eye. No slight intended to those not included. There was just a LOT to absorb...

This attractive Rock Island covered hopper was the work of Zach Pumphery (although I may have mixed that up... if you know, please drop a comment below)

This long-nosed KCS unit is the fine work of Dan Schueth

S scale is alive and well. This CN overhead bunker reefer is the work of James McAuliffe

These reworked (by the Southern) PS-1s were reworked models by Rusty Evans

This diorama of the CNW's Tama, Iowa elevator was created by Ron Christensen. It was another of the most impressive models on display

Mont Switzer had a display of TOFC equipment from his beloved Monon. These are modified Penn Line flats with modified and resin cast Mini Metals trailers

Lloyd Keyser's RSD5 was my favorite model from the event. Lloyd heavily modified a Stewart RS3 plus an Atlas power chassis and cab plus lots of elbow grease. Lloyd's fine model was painted by Bill Strauss.

Eric Hansmann is not just a freight car modeler. He built these 1923 Mack AC trucks from Jordan Highway Miniatures kits.

This NYC Pacemaker car was built to represent a car with ghost lettering shown in a 1967 Jim Sands photo as recreated by Timothy Alund

This is an in-progress diorama of The Chicagoan by Chris Zygmunt

Steve Hile kitbashed the Rio Grande's Burnham Terminal Coaling Station (Denver) using a couple Walthers coaling towers. It is another of the gems that was extremely popular

Al Brown modeled a TH&B refurbished USRA double sheathed box car using a Westerfield kit

If you attend RPM events, St. Louis should be on your calendar at some point, as either a yearly pilgrimage or a bucket list trip

My presentation from the St. Louis RPM

This past weekend, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present at the St. Louis RPM, at the convention center in Collinsville, Illinois. If you have not had the chance to attend, the only way I can describe the event is a supersized RPM times two. The attendance figures are approx. 1,000 and the sheer number of vendors and display models is mind boggling. It is an experience all who attend RPMs (and even those who do not) should enjoy at least once. 

My presentation was the Pennsylvania Railroad's early welded box and automobile cars, an evolving project as my models come to fruition. The file can be found at the Speedwitch files page, linked here.

Over the next couple days, I will also post about an interesting model kit from the meet and some photos of display models. Please check back