I am looking to make custom loads for several centerbeam flat cars, and have a couple questions. What I would like to do is cut blocks of balsa to represent the lumber, then wrap them in paper to represent the plastic covers seen on real loads. Then I will place these on the car, and use EZ-Line or a similar material to represent the tie-downs on the car. My questions:
What would be an appriopriate size of balsa wood to cut into blocks? If I am unable to acquire EZ-Line, what material would be a good substitute? Finally, where can I purchase 1/32" black tape? I have seen this used in articles, but have never seen a roll of it in person.
Thanks for any input!
For what it's worth, Jaeger has made lumber loads for flat car in HO and I believe that includes loads for Centerbeams. The Jaeger loads have wood blocks and pre-printed lumber wraps, you wrap around each block and then stack them on the flat. It might be worth buying even one of them and you could measure the blocks Jaeger uses if you want to homebrew more loads.
I have several Walthers 72' Centerbeams but am using the plastic "clam shell" loads which Walthers manufactures for those Centerbeams - you simply insert each side and the snap together - they are printed with popular lumber company names. Those could potentially be cut down to fit 62' Centerbeams such as those produced by Front Range, McKean or the more recent ExactRail cars.
Cheers, Jim
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
NS78 Finally, where can I purchase 1/32" black tape? I have seen this used in articles, but have never seen a roll of it in person.
That stuff is called graphic chart tape. One supplier is Chartpak. I have not seen it at the local artist/office supply stores as I don't believe that there is much call for it anymore with all the computer graphic programs. However, you can find it at Amazon under various names. Here is one link: http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Black-Matte-64-648/dp/B000CCJPCA/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_1_0/179-0172635-3345804
If you do a Google search, search for "chartpak graphic tape 1/32".
I make loads to sell (not lumber). I started out using the EZ-Line. It comes in two diameters. I think I was using the heavier diameter. It comes in a couple colors. I got mine at a train show, but the people selling it are called Berkshire Junction. Their website is www.berkshirejunction.com. The EZ Line works well if you stretch it a bit when you make the connections, as the line will "unstretch" to remove any excess slack. You have to be careful using CA to make your attachments, as too much will cause the line to curl. I think they might have a warning about this on their website. If not, you can call them and ask which type CA they recommend (thin or gap-filling).
I encountered two downsides to this product. The first was that you have to be careful wrapping anything as it tends to twist. I think that its cross section is not actually round, but more of an oval. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like to me. The second issue is that whatever they use to dye the line seems to want to come off on one's hands.
So now, rather than the EZ Line, I have been using Coats and Clark extra strong upholstery thread. This is a nylon product. The color I use is black, #900. You can probably find this at the local JoAnns Fabric store. Make sure you look for the 40% or 50% off any item coupon. This seems to work well for me, but you have to make sure you have it tight as it will not unstretch like the EZ Line.
riogrande5761 I have several Walthers 72' Centerbeams but am using the plastic "clam shell" loads which Walthers manufactures for those Centerbeams - you simply insert each side and the snap together - they are printed with popular lumber company names. Those could potentially be cut down to fit 62' Centerbeams such as those produced by Front Range, McKean or the more recent ExactRail cars. Cheers, Jim
I too use the Walthers Center Beam loads and have cut them down to fit the McKean Cars.
I glue a piece of styrene in the end for the Load and you need to cut down the center pegs inside the Walthers load to let them come together if one uses them on a Bulkhead Flat.
On cut off pieces - I also cap them with styrene and scribe lines on the end sheet and weather it with a bit of black or dark gray for a shadow effect. These then are placed at my many Lumber yards as background lumber stacks!
The printed sides of the Walthers load are too good to waste!
I am working on placing magnets inside the 72ft loads so I can make the loads easily removeable for a loaded and unloaded cars for Operations!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
Depending on the weight of the car, you may want to use something heavier than balsa wood. That will solve a common problem with open cars of where do you hide the weight?
Size is what fits snug once you wrap it with paper.
Search the internet for something like "lumber load wrap" or similar. There are loads out there you can print.
I use 0.5 mm black elastic line that beadworkers use for strapping. You can find it at Michaels, HL, etc. Set one end on the back- or under-side of the wrapped load, wrap around, then fix the other end. I use CA with an accelerator shot to make it go quick and easy.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
NS78, that's exactly what I did for my Mckean/Front Range Centerbeams. I used a solid piece of wood for each side and my printed paper gets wrapped around it. I designed my print-outs (I did mine with the Bennet Lumber logo I saw in an issue of RMC on the WI&M) to have black lines to act as seperators. Probably won't hold up under ultra-close inspections, but looks good in a train.
cmrproducts, by chance, do you have a write up on cutting down those walthers centerbeam load to fit the Mckean cars?
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
I make my own wrappers. I have produced many wrappers, (Georgia Pacific, etc) that I am willing to send to you. If you are interested you can email me at igoldberg1@comcast.net and will reply with the zipped attachment.
Ira
I just checked Walthers website and did a search under Jaeger and came up with 4 pages of loads, including those to fit Walthers 72' Centerbeam and McKean 62' Centerbeam. Again, Jaeger uses precut wood blocks and provides the paper wraps. They are a kit but you could measure the supplied wood blocks to cut your own.
Packer NS78, that's exactly what I did for my Mckean/Front Range Centerbeams. I used a solid piece of wood for each side and my printed paper gets wrapped around it. I designed my print-outs (I did mine with the Bennet Lumber logo I saw in an issue of RMC on the WI&M) to have black lines to act as seperators. Probably won't hold up under ultra-close inspections, but looks good in a train. cmrproducts, by chance, do you have a write up on cutting down those walthers centerbeam load to fit the Mckean cars?
I just held the load up to the car and marked it to make the cut.
It just happened to line up real close to the factory line of the end of one load and I just used a standard modelers saw to cut through the plastic.
Sanded the edge a bit and then had some scrap styrene and cut and fit it to the end and glued that to the load.
Once the Glue was good and dry I filed the edges again and weathered the end so it would not be so white.
It is pretty straight forward - deciding where to do the cut is the most critical thing.
I would echo riogrand's suggestion as to buying a Jaeger load in the appropriate length for your car. I have assembled over a dozen of these for McKean centerbeams. The kits are fun to work with and you can get a feel of the assebly to do your own. The self stick vinyl banding supplied will almost do two complete loads. I still have quite a bit left for other homemade uses. Jaeger also offers the loads for bulkhead end flats.
One project done years ago was a roughsawn or cull unwrapped load for a Mckean centerbeam (note, the black centerbeam has the Jaeger wrapped loads). The unwrapped load is basically a 1/2' block of pine notched at nominal lumber lengths and veneered w/ pine strips held w/ Walther's Goo. The ends are short cuts fastened to hide the block.
Love running a string of these w/ plug door plywood for my '72 Chessie freight Hope this helps and look forward to seeing your loads
Love running a string of these w/ plug door plywood for my '72 Chessie freight
Hope this helps and look forward to seeing your loads
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Thanks for all the replies, this has given me a much better idea what I'm doing.
To answer the size question -4' wide.4'tall-by 8'-12',- 16' long will get you in the ballpark.
One of the best loads money can buy comes from JWD Premium Products.
While these loads isn't cheap they look good on today's highly detailed centerbeams which require realistic loads..
http://www.jwdpremiumproducts.com/servlet/Categories?category=HO+Freight+Car+Loads-DUHA%3ALumber+Loads
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
JWD ain't cheap is an understatement! $54 for a 63' centerbeam and $64 for a 72' Centerbeam. I think I"ll stick with my Walthers wrapped lumber or Jeager if I need loads for my ExactRail Centerbeams. From 4 feet away, the Walthers wrapped loads look fine and I already have 5 and only 3 Walthers Centerbeams so far.
riogrande5761From 4 feet away, the Walthers wrapped loads look fine and I already have 5 and only 3 Walthers Centerbeams so far.
That is true from 4 feet away or on a moving train but,up close and personal like on a ISL,well,suffice it to say I'm not overwhelmed with the looks of those plastic lumber loads.
I'm with Jim on this one. When the loads are more expensive than the cars, they are definately off my list of wants/needs. The only exception might be a die cast machine of some sort but that would even be questionable.
Brakie, I usually follow your line of thinking, but here it shows you definately have more liesure money than I do.. Go for them, Guy...I'll leave them for you, unless you are looking for a present to send me..
Johnboy out.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Yes, the Walthers wrapped loads are not going to look as good as a $64 JWD load, no doubt about that. Populate 4 or 5 or more cars with JWD loads - that would be a budget buster - heck I balk at even paying $55 for a highly detailed freight car although I have one or two. I like detail having been spoiled by Exactrail, Tangent, and Genesis freight cars. But 2 feet is about as close as I can get without reading glasses!
Anyway, for a close up and personal, I'm thinking a Jaeger load, if carefully constructed, would look pretty good and not break the bank!
last mountain & eastern hoggerBrakie, I usually follow your line of thinking, but here it shows you definately have more liesure money than I do.. Go for them, Guy...I'll leave them for you, unless you are looking for a present to send me..
Actually I have 3 centerbeams and I wanted decent loads for these highly detailed Atlas cars.
After much thought I decided(and it was not a easy decision) to make three one time purchases and build them where they are removable just in case I add one or two more Centerbeams.
It took around 6 months to buy these loads since each purchase drained my monthly hobby budget.
riogrande5761JWD ain't cheap is an understatement! $54 for a 63' centerbeam and $64 for a 72' Centerbeam. I think I"ll stick with my Walthers wrapped lumber or Jeager if I need loads for my ExactRail Centerbeams. From 4 feet away, the Walthers wrapped loads look fine and I already have 5 and only 3 Walthers Centerbeams so far.
Jebus those are expensive. I'll rarely spend that much on an engine, let alone a car.
BTW, how are those exactrail centerbeams in terms of operating performance?
PackerJebus those are expensive. I'll rarely spend that much on an engine, let alone a car.
All depends on what you savor for viewing in your modeling. If your focus is on realistic rolling stock, a nice load on an open high quality car is like paying for the paint job on a nice brass loco. Some collect them to look good in a case, all shiny and new, while others want to paint them and make them look scruffy before running them -- at considerable expense. YMMV
I like my detailed poison too Larry, and yes, sometimes I bust my budget when I like something enough.
Loads are something I've been getting into during the past year as they really make freight cars look nice.
As for the ExactRail cars, I only have two right now and a third on on the way - haven't tried running them yet as my layout is under construction. Hopefully in the coming weeks I can try them out.
riogrande5761Loads are something I've been getting into during the past year as they really make freight cars look nice.
I use a lot of Evergreen ABS plastic for loads with scale 2x4 or 4x4 spacers and chart tape for banding.
I seen some black and green straws at Kroger..Those would work for black or green pipe loads.
I have use balsa wood wrapped with plastic for bulkhead lumber loads.I use strips of white or black trash bags cut to size for the wrapping.
last mountain & eastern hoggerloads are more expensive than the cars
Russell
To me those commercial loads are too expensive if I can make one that looks just as good for next to nothing. For example, for loads that are covered in plastic suche as plywood for sheetrock. I have designed my own covers from actual manufacturers which I print and cover plastic block with. I do use the grphics tape to represent the stapping. They look as good as Jaegers and other commercial products and cost less than fifteen cents each.
caldreamer I have designed my own covers from actual manufacturers which I print and cover plastic block with. I do use the grphics tape to represent the stapping.
That's well and good if one has the equipment and the needed skills..I have neither so,I do what I must do to get the best end results.
Expensive yes,but,those Atlas Master centerbeams demands a realistic load to compliment the details.