In Model Railroader at least. The November issue has color photos and nicely drawn plans for a steel Erie milk car. All the info one needs to build the car from scratch. And it's a car that I might even build, I like milk cars. Construction would be stright forward except for the Viking All Steel Corrugated Roof. Lettering could be done with ordinary decal sheet of just plain letters.
In the old days, MR would run an set of plans like this in every issue. This is the first one I have seen published in MR for many years.
Keep it up.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I totally agree with you dstarr, there needs to be more of this type of information in the magazine!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
David,
Yes, I enjoyed the article, too, although I think there's been a few other plans recently, if irregularly.
It's not a prototype that's directly useful for me, although I suspect those same trucks are the ones I need to build my Sparrows Point DSS&A caboose kit (ex-DL&W, trucks available from Bethlehem Car works, IIRC). It is a prototype that works well across the eras, behind steam or diesel, in express, milk, and MOW service.
But you always learn something from studying drawings. Not long after I started reading MR as a kid, I started taking "mechnical drawing" -- what us old geezers studied instead of CAD in the days of pencil-powered information. I had three years in high school, but was already familiar with the basics. Dad had studied in college to be an industrial arts teacher, before Uncle Sam took him on a long world tour during the Cold War. The drawings in MR tended to be a lot more interesting and advanced than the simple stuff we studied at school or even in dad's old text books, so were always a special treat with each issue.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
THat car ad the the cranes were nice articles, but I don't model that railway. Perhaps MR should two articles at a time, one for the west coast and one for the east coast.
SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide
Gary DuPrey
N scale model railroader
I'm another one who was very pleasantly surprised to see the return of scale drawings to the magazine. I don't think that particular car is one that I would model, but that's not the point. MR used to publish drawings on a regular basis, often with two or more drawings in a single issue. Over the course of a typical year, the magazine exposed us to detailed info on a variety of types of equipment from a variety of geographical areas and a variety of eras. Seeing that stuff helped to broaden our understanding of the RR industry in a clear, visual, almost tactile way. I always looked forward to the drawings every month, and I hope this is a harbinger of things to come.
This month it's an Erie car. Next time it may be something more immediately useful to you or me. And the time after that, it will be useful to my best friend. So it's all good.
Neil, are you listening?
Way back when I was "gaff". R/C modeler Mag. had plans for building a scratch build glider with a six foot wing span. I took it on and that was the beginning of a lot of scratch built plane building for me. I would get another subsciption in a heartbeat if they would put plans for rolling stock or buildings or whatever in each month.
I like Garys idea of one Eastcoast and one Westcoast, however I would really like plans for pre diesel vs; post diesel. Since there is so little pre diesel stuff on the market, that would make my subscription renewal a three year one.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Now that people have mentioned it, I recall over the years many line diagrams for various (then) contemporary diesels, for example the EMD SW1500, linked with articles concerning the prototype (pretty much like the Erie Express Reefer mentioned). I must have a few such articles in my clippings library-folders, will need to check. IIRC the windows were always blacked-out, don't recall if they normally had white reflections lines or not.Remembering the first line drawing article I ever read in the first Model Railroader I ever purchased, it was the Milwaukee Transit streetcar in the November 1976 issue, the correct issue date I found using the Magic of the Trains magazine index. Reading the other articles in that issue (which I clearly recall reading cover to cover to cover again and again), I see Jim Hediger had an article on modeling ConRail rolling stock (I think he did some engines too, black with "CR" in the slanted lettering - the ur-MR patch job article). Hmm, from April interception of the prototype* to a November article on detailing ConRail - not too shabby for 1970s Magazine publications not named Time or Life.
*Some Dumb-a** kid, 11 years old, watching a TV on April fools day 1976 in the electronics department of a Long Island Gimbels department store while his parents were shopping for something else. Story came on the TV about this "New" railroad in New York and the North East US. Wonder how that all turned out, and whatever happened to that kid anyway...
ETA: I just checked my clipping library, the last one I had involving locomotives was the Green Goat, from 2006 (this drawing had black windows). The majority of the clippings I have of this ilk are from the 1990s, including SW1000, SW1500, Dash80-C, SD80MAC and so on. Also have a Viewliner from the late 1990s, so MR didn't shy away from such diagrams, maybe we just didn't notice...
They used to show you the techniques of scratchbuilding too, not just a drawing. Even how to roll a brass boiler. I've been teaching my son for a while now. It would be nice to have more current tools and techniques to learn as well.
Richard
dstarr In Model Railroader at least. The November issue has color photos and nicely drawn plans for a steel Erie milk car. All the info one needs to build the car from scratch. And it's a car that I might even build, I like milk cars. Construction would be stright forward except for the Viking All Steel Corrugated Roof. Lettering could be done with ordinary decal sheet of just plain letters. In the old days, MR would run an set of plans like this in every issue. This is the first one I have seen published in MR for many years. Keep it up.
Des Plaines Hobbies, sells a Viking Roof that fits the IMWX 1937 AAR Boxcar and could be used for your car. They are $2.00 for a roof but their shipping and handling charges are high so it would be best to have a large order.
Rick J
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Train Modeler They used to show you the techniques of scratchbuilding too, not just a drawing. Even how to roll a brass boiler. I've been teaching my son for a while now. It would be nice to have more current tools and techniques to learn as well. Richard
That one was a good series -- and the plans were GOOD then too -- 2 page wide foldouts on the heavier "magazine cover" paper.
These plans aren't terrible, but they're not as easy to read when the whole thing is crammed onto one page.
Hope that MR keeps these articles up ...
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
I think RMC had a lot more scale drawings & scratch building ideas.I think F&C use these plans to make their resin castings. They also had a great series about"Essential Freight Cars". with great pictures of well detailed models. By the way, just got my JULY-OCT. issue today. It is on "better" paper as they say. hope they extend the subscriptions, but would cut them some slack since it's a new venture.
I got plans for a bridge out of a RR magazine once and they told you how many times to blow the size up on your printer for all the different scales. It worked perfectly.
BATMAN I got plans for a bridge out of a RR magazine once and they told you how many times to blow the size up on your printer for all the different scales. It worked perfectly.
I guess, if you don't have a printer....You can just ''blow them up'' eh?
Just Kidding! Try Your hand at scratch building interiors in white metal casting trucks 1/87....my specialty.
Take Care!
Frank
dti406 David, Des Plaines Hobbies, sells a Viking Roof that fits the IMWX 1937 AAR Boxcar and could be used for your car. They are $2.00 for a roof but their shipping and handling charges are high so it would be best to have a large order. Rick J
I did not know that. I'll keep that in mind. I have a few other projects in the pipe ahead of scratch building a milk car, so it might be a while before I get to it.