WHAT TO DO / Dead passenger car shell.

[eastcoast]

I came to this area for some real serious answers.[:)]

I have sitting in front of me an 85 foot Full Dome Passenger Car SHELL.
This is one that can be found made by most companies. I picked it up on
a junk rack without a bottom or trucks. It is marked for AMTRAK at this
moment. I think it would normally be used as a diner car on the prototype
or something similar.
Are their any suggestions as to how I can turn this into a Street Diner?
I thought about blue board to build it up. Please help my brainblock.
Thanx. Ken

[Anonymous]

Put it on a stone foundation? The December MR had an article about making stone walls out of wood. The trick is to use a soft wood like balsa and use the metal eraser end of a pencil (with the eraser removed) as a stamp to make stone impressions in the wood.

I use the same technique with walls made of Liquid Nails Lightweight Spackling. I lay a piece of a thin plastic on the counter, put a piece of fiberglas screen on it, put two parallel strips of wood about 1/8" thick on the screen and trowel the spackle in between. Then lay another plastic sheet (like Saran wrap) on top and flatten it with a rolling pin. The striips of wood determine the thickness and keeps the thickness even. When dried, crimp the metal end of the pencil a bit and press into the material.

Here's an enlarged sample left over from a first attempt:



Put a floor on top, some stairs going up to a small vestibule and get the coffee perking.

Wayne

[eastcoast]

Thank you Muddy Creek for the suggestion.
I actually went with car siding in metallic tones
and matched the silver to the car itself. Looks
great and have come a long way after all the
research and planning. I was able to super
detail the interior and it will be up front in my
city scene. Thanx again.