Shifted Lumber Load and Journal Repacking

 If you have ever wondered how a shifted lumber load is re-adjusted, it's not done board-by-board. Watch this video to see the cool way that it's fixed. The video also has a short clip showing a journal being repacked, along with some pretty godawful humor. The whole clip takes less than a minute. You can buy a high res version by clicking here.

Load for the McKeesport Connecting Railroad Gondola

A little while back, I started work on a Funaro & Camerlengo McKeesport Connecting HO scale gondola. I have done a fair amount of work on the model since that post and will update on that in the near future. At the same time, I have been working on a pipe load for the model. The inspiration for the load is the photo shown above of a pipe load in a Mckeesport Connecting gon.

"Top" view of the load layers with four pipes over five. The top layer is at bottom

To create the load, I pulled out some straws that I "liberated" from Dunkin' Donuts years ago. I used them because they are quite rigid compared to other straws (McDonald's also has good, sturdy straws that can be used for loads.) I cut the full pieces to roughly 48 feet in length using a good paper cutter. The filler pieces are obviously shorter! If you click on the photo above of the prototype to enlarge it, you will see that the wood side pieces that help to contain the load have wire tying them together between every two layers of pipe, as well as on top. There is also banding around the entire load.

"Bottom" view of the load with five pipes visible

I built the load in three sets of two layers. The two lower layers are hollow to conserve straws as well as to provide a cavity for a weight. The bottom layer will be affixed to a sheet of 0.010" styrene. The wire between each layer will be created with black thread. The banding will be replicated with Chartpak drafting tape, 1/32" in width. The wood to contain the load will be 4x4 hardwood represented by 4x4 styrene strip. I created the load this way so that everything can be prepainted and "assembled" to simulate what is seen in the photo. The straw "pipes" were glued together with Gorilla Clear Grip adhesive. More as the model progresses...

The load loosely placed in the carbody (note that I have removed the rivets from the side of the car where the collapsible stake pockets were located, as these cars did not have the stake pockets even though the model does!)

Grain Belt Models Corrugated Pipe Load

CB&Q Collection, Newberry Library, University of Chicago

I have been meaning to complete this post since last winter. I have finally managed to get it completed. For years, I have been noodling that with the state of 3D printing technology, you could make a highly realistic corrugated pipe load. Well, I didn't do it, but Grain Belt Models has. They have released HO scale corrugated pipe in a variety of sizes. They are a great candidate for a load, as well as culvert pipes to be integrated into scenes.

FSA-OWI Collection, Library of Congress

They are offered in packs of several pipes (number dependent upon diameter,) in rigid clear plastic containers (I'd prefer something biodegradable). They are printed in a silvery-grey color that is not entirely unlike galvanized, corrugated pipe, but I will paint mine before adding to a car as a load. My target is a more shiny, bluish-sliver color like that of new galvanized metal.

If there is one nit, the thickness of the pipe is out of scale. However, that is necessary to preserve some strength. It's not grossly oversized and the benefits of actually having these pipes outweighs the slightly out of scale thickness.

They are available at the Iowa Scaled Engineering website. There are several sizes from which to choose. The ones I purchased were $5.00 for a 4-pack and I purchased 6 packs to make a load with 24 pipes.

I consolidated three packs (12 pipes) into one container, as shown here

A new load - Allis-Chalmers BZO-HV Oil Circuit Breaker

At Prototype Rails last weekend, I took photos of several things that I found interesting (or thought others might too.) One car and load that caught the attention of me and Bob Heninger was Eric Thur's PRR F30A flat car with a nice Allis-Chalmers BZO-HV oil circuit breaker, shown above. I am always on the lookout for interesting loads. The notes accompanying Eric's model indicated that he had purchased it on ebay. A quick search using my iPhone (while I was standing in front of Eric's model) revealed the seller, whose id is multiscale_digital_llc. There are many interesting items in numerous scales (not just HO) that can be used for layout detailing or flat car loads.

Unfortunately, the item was out of stock. However, on my flight back to New York, I contacted the seller and received a prompt reply that more would be available within a few days. As promised, I received a message a couple days later and placed an order. The order comes with what you see above (meaning double what is on Eric's flat car model.)

Joliet, Illinois, June 29, 1958, Bruce K. Meyer photo

I have a prototype photo in my collection of a very similar unit, included here for reference. Eric used the same photo as reference for his modeling. I will post my efforts here in future. I do plan to make a few modifications that I will share (note that Eric did, as well). Regardless, I highly recommend that you explore these offerings at ebay as they fill a great need for loads and details.

Above is a diagram I have included as reference that I found via google on the site ElectricPartManuals.com.

Allis-Chalmers HD 21 Crawler/Dozer

Wheels of Time recently introduced HO and N scale models of the Allis-Chalmers HD 21 Crawlers with optional dozer blades. The HD 21 was introduced in 1954 and became the best selling crawler in the company's history. Obviously, given the quantities produced and the time period covered (manufactured through the 1960s), they are an optimal subject for freight car loads and any number of scenes. There is a wealth of information available online to help add even more detail and understand the nuances covering the production variants over the years.

The Wheels of Time models are fairly simple. They consist of high-quality resin castings that appear to have been mastered using CAD and 3D printing. There is a minimum of parts: single "body" casting plus left and right treads and exhaust. An optional blade and hydraulic cylinders are available as a separate enhancement. I opted for just the dozers as even those push my late 1951 era by a few years, but they looked too good to pass up (I am hoping that when the prototype police visit, they aren't as well-versed in dozers as freight cars!) The hydraulic blades weren't adopted until 1960 (the blades were operated by cable and winch prior to the adoption of hydraulics.)

I paid $22.50 each and also ordered one decal set for $7.00. They were ordered via a pre-order program. Wheels of Time is currently accepting names for a wait list for follow-on orders.

I will build up the pair that I purchased and provide details here. Stay tuned (it may take awhile, though, as I have no shortage of projects...)

"Personalizing" Scrap Loads

Ever have that moment when you are at a layout and you see that same load that is on every other layout you've visited? Me too. I decided that I would try to minimize my reliance on the same cookie cutter loads that everyone else has. I want a scrap load, but the options are limited. How to be different? Personalize your load. I have been gathering scrap material for several years to complete a "stock" scrap load. The bag shown above illustrates this material. It is the spiral material from drilling resin, which simulates scrap material from large machining of metals, sprue bits that look like raw metal, wire and other various shapes that also resemble scrap metal. In the aggregate, these can all be added to the top of a commercial scrap load to make it unique. Give it a try.

The load above, which I made years ago, could use some toning down, as well as signs of oxidation. However, it effectively replicates scrap metal from machining operations such as milling. I didn't do such a good job "containing" the silver overspray. My next effort will be much better. I will show the results here. The car is a Westerfield model of a PRR GRA.

Wordy Wednesday - Loading Stacked Steel Plate

I chose this photo for today’s Wordy Wednesday post because I feel it illustrates something worth replicating in model form. Note the small steels plates in the two gondolas closest to the left edge of the photo. The plates are stacked at both ends of the cars. They are also laid on top of boards and separated by boards, as well. The center portion of the gons are “empty”. This is highly realistic and would be easy to replicate using sheet styrene cut into appropriate sizes and stacked and bundled, as shown. I will do a follow-up post in the near future illustrating how I replicate this.

The near gon is a Nickel Plate Greenville-design 52’6” car offered in HO in styrene by Life-Like Proto 2000 and previously in resin by Sunshine. The next car is a P&LE 70-ton USRA-design car. These are available in resin from Westerfield and in styrene from Walthers in a far simpler (less detailed) form. Protocraft has imported O scale brass models of Greenville-design 52’6” gondolas.

The image was recorded looking east at the Nickel Plate’s E 75th Street Yard in Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1949. The photographer is noted as “Burger” and the photo is from the Jay Williams/Big Four Graphics collection

Springfield Purchase

It's been way too long since I posted anything. I endeavor to rectify that over the coming weeks. In that spirit, I thought I would share my main purchase from Springfield (I tend to not buy much anymore... I just don't find a need to purchase many things). Back to my purchase. Almost two years ago, Tony Thompson had a post on his blog about a load created from a Euclid scraper. I thought it looked like a great load. I meandered over to ebay and fruitlessly sought to find a similar vehicle. Not one to throw up the white flag, I saved the search term and hoped something would appear.

My efforts were finally rewarded about a month ago when my ebay search yielded an amazing find! Like a true slacker, I dithered. Then at Springfield (the Amherst Railway Society show), I actually found what I was seeking.

I plunked down $45.00 at the Don Mills Models table and came home with what you see here. The detail is quite fine and the castings are generally good. I will be showing my progress here, including mounting it on a flat car as a load. Stay tuned!

P.S. the ebay Buy it Now listing was still active at the time of this posting and Don Mills certainly has more.

PRR F29 Load Update

In the first post about constructing a Funaro & Camerlengo Pennsy F29 depressed center flat car, I made reference to a Walthers transformer load that I was possibly going to use on this car. Fast forward a couple of weeks and in looking at the transformer once I had it in my hands, it appears to be too modern for my late-1940s dated car. So, I went back to the drawing board and became optimistic about a Bachmann boiler that is marketed integrally with their depressed center flat car. I obtained the pair for assessment.

The Bachmann boiler

The boiler is a marine boiler (I believe; I'm not an engineer or a researcher of boilers!) that scales out to about 20 feet long with a diameter of about 10 feet. The lower portion of the deck of the F29 is a little longer than 20 feet, making the boiler an ideal fit. It is going to be a perfect load for this car... with one exception. It does not weigh very much and neither does the F&C F29 (and there is no place to hide weight in the F29). The boiler is assembled, with both of the ends glued in place and I don't want to risk damaging it by trying too aggressively to pry it apart. However, I suspect I can cut a slot longitudinally in the bottom of the boiler, where it will be invisible once the boiler is loaded on the flat car, and insert lead sheet to bring the weight of the car and boiler combo up to an acceptable level.

The opposite end of the boiler

I also referred to the loading instructions for such a boiler on a flat car as contained in Rules Governing the Loading of Commodities on Open Top Cars, from the AAR, revised 1941, effective March 1, 1942. They are presented herein and will be used to create a prototypical arrangement, including the rods, blocks, and braces.

Loading diagram for boilers

The boiler also has some very prominent mold parting lines that need to be cleaned up. The rivets along those lines are also either missing or deformed. I will clean up these lines through sanding and add replacement rivets in the appropriate locations using Archer rivets. More to come as things progress...