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

Clinic file from MARPM (as well as St. Louis RPM)

Yes, I know, it's been a looooonnnngggg time since I have posted anything. I aim to rectify that over the coming weeks. First up is the link to the presentation files from this past weekend's MARPM event as well as the St. Louis RPM in July. Both files may be accessed via this link.

The recent presentation, from MARPM, is a modestly expanded and revised version of my clinic on creating decal artwork (like that shown above.)

The second and older one is the clinic from St. Louis for this year's project car. The focus of the clinic is/was alternate center rivet, U-section/hat section steel box and auto cars.

Finishing the Litchfield & Madison Gondola

In the last post about modeling the Litchfield & Madison's USRA "clone" composite gondolas, I covered the construction and detailing not covered in my presentation file from the St. Louis RPM. This post picks up from there and highlights the completion of the model.

First, the trucks. I have been going back and forth on the exact manufacturer of the truck bolsters used on the prototype. I am still uncertain. I have waffled between Simplex and Huntoon and other less prominent possibilities. Regardless, the bolsters do have the "box" ends typical of these manufacturers' bolsters. It is a feature I wanted to replicate for a few reasons: it is a prominent detail, it would undoubtedly expand my modeling skills, and it would hopefully provide a solution for future similar needs in the absence of a commercially-available solution.

The sideframes of the prototype were quite similar if not identical to the Tahoe Model Works ARA 40-ton trucks without Barber Lateral Motion details (TMW-115/TMW-215). I used those trucks as my baseline. Through trial and error, I found that 0.040" x 0.125" strip styrene would fill the opening in the truck bolster (I didn't have this on hand, but created it from 0.010" x 0.125" combined with 0.030" x 0.125"). I glued it in place with Walthers Goo thinned 50% with MEK followed by ACC flowed in to fill the small remaining gaps. After it dried, I trimmed it flush using sprue nippers. I then used 0.010" styrene to fill the "wedge-shaped" opening followed by a piece of 0.005" styrene that is 0.125" wide on top of the wedge-shaped piece. I filed all of this so that the face of the bolster was flat. Lastly, I added a piece of 0.010" styrene rod on top (Plastruct offers 0.010" styrene rod). I think the trucks capture the look and feel of the prototype.

I have a pretty standard regimen for finishing models. I sandblast all metal and engineering plastic surfaces, as well as any "shiny" areas on the resin surfaces, to provide a surface conducive to good paint adhesion. This includes the truck sideframes and "faces" on the wheelsets. I use 220-grit aluminum oxide with a Paasche Air Eraser and a blasting booth. I follow the blasting by washing the model and parts with liquid dishwashing detergent (such as Dawn) using a soft toothbrush. All parts are thoroughly rinsed and allowed to air dry.

I "prime" models with a grey paint that isn't necessarily a primer, but provides a base coat and reveals any glaring imperfections that might need to be fixed. On this model I used Tamiya Sky Grey applied with an airbrush. As a side note, it goes down incredibly smoothly and in a very fine coat, which is what I would expect from a "true" primer.

The interior wood surfaces were painted with Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. This is my standard base color for wood surfaces. After the yellow had dried, I masked the interior wood surfaces and applied Tamiya black, with a touch of grey, to the other surfaces of the model, including the interior faces of the ends, trucks, wheelsets, and the couplers. I applied a light coat of Future floor wax, applied with an airbrush, to the sides and ends to create a glossy surface for the decals.

The decals were applied using my standard regimen. Once the decals loosen from the paper backing, I slide them in place on the model. I let them dry before adding any setting solution. I also added several chalk marks that would be "under" the weathering, to replicate some older chalk marks. I did not apply the repack stencils, as they would be added after the weathering, as well. There were a few areas that required gentle slicing and reapplication of setting solution to eliminate trapped air. Once I was satisfied with the decals, I applied a small piece of masking tape to each side of the car where the repack stencils would be placed after weathering. The tape would keep these areas "clean" during weathering, to reflect freshly painted areas.

Using an airbrush, I applied a coat of Tamiya XF-86 clear flat. This served the dual purposes of sealing the decals and creating a flat surface for the application of weathering. I used powders for the weathering. On the interior simulated wood surfaces, I applied Bragdon grimy grey and Panpastel raw umber and extra dark Payne's grey, in that order. On the exterior surfaces, including trucks, I used only the Panpastel raw umber. I added a little Bragdon's rust powder to the couplers. All weathering was sealed with another application of Tamiya clear flat.

I removed the masking tape for the application of repack stencils. Using a fine brush, I applied small amounts of Future floor wax to the areas where the repack stencils and additional chalk marks would be applied. I added these decals followed by another coat of the Tamiya clear flat.

I cleaned the treads of the wheelsets and inserted them into the truck sideframes. I added the couplers to the pockets. I glued small bits of paper to the car sides to simulate route cards. The last detail, unfinished at this point, is to add the angle cock/air hose parts. I am awaiting a replenishment of these as my stash has been consumed.

I am quite happy with this project as it has resulted in a distinctive composite gondola being added to the fleet that has also introduced me to a couple new modeling skills. Mission accomplished.

I am already looking forward to next year's project for the 2019 St. Louis RPM (no teasers yet!)

More building the Litchfield & Madison Gondola

This post gets into the meat that I teased on my last post about these cars. It has proven to be an immensely gratifying project. First, I want to highlight a few things I will recommend that others not do or things that I hinted I might do that, in the end, I did not.

I do not recommend modifying the coupler box on the model. It would not be a great deal of work to leave it intact and work around it when adding the ends. It also would not be a great deal of work to remove it entirely before doing any serious modification to the body, in the instance where you wish to add your own different style of coupler box. The "halfway" method, as employed by yours truly, meant that I had to add strip styrene to "complete" the box in the place where I had removed it earlier. See the presentation for more detail.

I also wish to strongly hint that one need not go to the extremes that I did. A fine model with significant detail may be created with less effort.

During the clinic, I intimated that I would do both 0.005" styrene as well as brass to provide two different avenues for the braces in the end panels on the sides. In practice, the 0.005" styrene versions proved far easier to make. I abandoned the brass versions midstream. I suspect that Mylar would be a good compromise.

Most of what follows will be photos with some accompanying text and/or commentary. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to post them in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

I posted this image because it serves as a basic view of the underbody components, but is also before paint was applied, allowing the viewer to more easily identify the various materials. These various items are covered in greater detail later in this post. Note that I left the operating rods for the drop doors in place... they're not visible from the side and removing them would have been more effort than worthwhile.

This is the basic view of the side. Note that I used styrene for the side boards. I recommend using the resin side boards as they are quite nice (courtesy of Bill Welch) and the styrene added no appreciable improvement.

I believe this view of the end provides a good view of the various materials used. I will note here that the discs and rivets used on the brass stiles and for the towing loops rely upon the RP Toolz punch and die (see post about this useful tool here).

Brakes can be confusing to model. I hope that this image is worth a 1,000 words. I do not know if this arrangement is 100% correct for this prototype. My assumption is that the arrangement would have been the same for tight bottom cars like this as well as for the drop bottom versions that the L&M retained, as the shops would have liked such consistency (I assume). This arrangement would not foul the drop doors on cars with drop doors so it is what I chose to model.

For the reservoir mounting arrangement, I replicated something I recently saw on a vintage prototype gondola. I have no idea if it is correct for this car, but I wanted to try it. 

Similarly, I am unsure if the dead lever was arranged as shown here, but I wanted to try this arrangement in model form. You are welcome to try something different. I used 0.0015" brass in several places on the model. I have a large sheet. I simply cut what I need and then make the necessary bends to meet the application. It is so thin that it can be easily cut in one pass with an Xacto knife. Erroneous bends can be flattened easily and the material simply re-bent. I glue it with Walthers Goo thinned 50% with MEK followed by sparing application of ACC to strengthen the joints.

The towing loops are rather self-explanantory. The corner braces proved to be simpler than I had envisioned. I created strips from 0.005" styrene that are 6 scale inches wide. I glued them to the car sides. I then created strips from 0.005" that are 0.030" wide. These were glued on edge against the edges of the strips that I had glued to the sides. I ran some ACC into the joints where the strips were glued to each other. I created the "scallops" for the lower right grab after I had glued the strips in place. The lower right grab shown (as well as the lower ones on the ends) was made by trial and error. All the grabs on the model were created from 0.010" wire. NOTE: the corner braces should extend all the way up to the top steel side member. I ended mine adjacent to the member, as shown.

I opted to use the lever hand brake included in the kit, but used wire for the "staff" portion. I simply drilled a hole through the hand brake and threaded 0.015" wire through the part.

Watch for another post very soon showing the steps to completion, including modeling the trucks with Huntoon bolsters.

Here is a parts list for the project:

Givens

• Intermountain USRA Composite Gondola body and details
• Cast resin ends and sideboards
• Strip styrene (for floor boards)
• Decals

Extras

• Styrene - 0.005” plus various strip
• Brass - 0.0015"
• Wire - 0.008”, 0.010”, 0.012”, 0.015”, 0.020”
• Nut-bolt-washer details (Detail Associates)
• Eye bolts (bent from wire, although there are commercial options)
• Chain
• A-Line sill steps
• AB brake components
• Grab irons (ones on model shown herein were bent from 0.010" wire)
• Pressure retaining valve (Precision Scale part used; most brake sets include one)
• Angle cocks/air hoses
• Angle cock/air hose brackets (Yarmouth Model Works part 507)
• Rivets - both from Archer Surface Details and as harvested from models
• Trucks - Tahoe Model Works ARA 40-ton used; no currently available commercial offerings with Huntoon bolsters as used on prototype so I "made" my own
• Couplers
• 0-80 and 2-56 screws
• Paint

Building the Litchfield & Madison Gondola continued

I have finally completed building the Litchfield & Madison gondola that was part of my clinic (link to presentation file) at the 2018 St. Louis RPM. These photos illustrate the model. I will be adding extremely detailed posts over the next couple days to highlight everything I did to build the model, including how I modeled Huntoon bolsters, as seen in-progress here (the white rectangles visible between the truck sideframes). If you were unable to attend the meet, but would like a set of the key parts, they can be ordered via this link.

Kitbashing a Litchfield & Madison Gondola

The presentation file for the clinic I moderated at the 2018 St. Louis RPM, Kitbashing a Litchfield & Madison Gondola, can be accessed via the linked clinic name. The file will be updated as I complete the model.

St. Louis RPM 2017

A Santa Fe GA-43 converted covered hopper from Sunshine mini-kit by Clark Cooper - a car sitting in my stash - inspiration!

Before my hiatus from attending most of the RPMs circa 2010-2015, I had been a (mostly) regular at the St. Louis RPM held each year in Collinsville, Illinois. At that time it was generally a vendor and modeler-centric event with one clinic running at any given moment, in the corner, behind a curtain. Models were clearly the focus of the event.

Tom Palmer brought a large group of cars from Texas... mostly resin

Fast forward to my first visit in several years during last summer's event in August, 2016. Things could not have been more different. Gone were the concrete floors with black mats and the clinics held behind a curtain. Also, the crowd had doubled in size.

Early TOFC and early covered hoppers from Ben Bartlett

For 2017, the decision was made to add a second track of clinics so there were two running simultaneously. The number of attendees grew, as well, to 550+. The model/vendor room is now the size of a modest exhibition hall. All this has combined to make the event the "RPM National". 

A variety of models from Rick Mink

The photos here are not intended to be the top models at the event nor are they included for any other reason than they caught my eye. The modeling was top-flight and the general sense of mutual admiration was palpable. There were a lot of talented people at the event and the models clearly illustrated that point. As abundant as the number of models was the generosity in sharing peoples' talents and skills. Everybody was happy to humbly share their skills and techniques through a seemingly infinite number of on the spot show-and-tell sessions. There was a lot to absorb.

Crazy realistic weathering by Don Schnurpfeil

Lastly, the organizers were first-rate at assembling a great group of clinicians, vendors, and attendees and keeping the trains running on time. They did an excellent job of welcoming everyone and providing information to keep even the first-time attendees up to speed.

Another great weathering job, this one by George Malcolm

I highly recommend putting this on your calendar. It is well worth the visit. The facility is ideal, the hotels circling the venue are convenient, and the plethora of nearby restaurants the cherry on the sundae. See you next year!

New technologies abound... a 3D printed SP C-40-3 kit from Bruce Barney

A selection of fine models by Gregor Moe

Three models by Mike Wise and Bill Giese... love the Quanah Route cars!