Hi Skip,
Thanks!
That's one heck of s story and I don't doubt it's true. What years did you reside "above" Georgetown in the water car? My first trip to the loop was 1977, then 1985 and several other times since. Great place, athough I don't think I've been by since the new mgmt took over a few years back.
I'm glad I got lots of building done when I was younger, but I still do OK in HOn3, knock on wood.
salty4568Do you have a brother/Dad named Ron? I was born in Urbana and grew up in Champaign, went to work for IC and was an early member of SPUR and Monticello museums. Moved west around 1971.
No, I came to the area after I dropped out of college the first time around in 1975. Chanute AFB was my dad's last assignment before retirement. We're from southern Indiana, though, so not related to any local Lehmans.
My wife works with a fellow who's an engineer at Monticello and I know several other folks who volunteer there. You might recall Tery Shearer, who was the longtime operator at Tolono on the IC. He operates here sometimes, which i have to get ready for right now. Certainly stop and see us if you ever get back this way.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Great shots, folks. I recently built a few intricately-detailed plastic kits, and have been thinking of trying my hand at a wood kit -- this post has really whetted my appetite!
Mike, Very nice work. I still have some wooden cars, and also the Sumpter Valley kit you have ..... not started yet. Getting older and eyes aren't so good these days. I did finish an HOn3 model of D&RGW 04432 water car last year, mainly because I lived in the real one for three years at the Georgetown Loop. It was a trial, however, and I have moved up to On30. Do you have a brother/Dad named Ron? I was born in Urbana and grew up in Champaign, went to work for IC and was an early member of SPUR and Monticello museums. Moved west around 1971.E. W. "Skip" LukeRetireded RailroaderNorthwest Washington
doctorwayne mlehman ...A K-val Engineering D&RGW high side gon kit.... I was unaware that K-Val offered their own kits, too. I'm less than 30 minutes from the border, and used to drive down to K-Val fairly often, even though I usually didn't have a lot of money to spend. It was a neat place to just go and browse, and perhaps see some models that local shops never bothered to bring into Canada. Wayne
mlehman ...A K-val Engineering D&RGW high side gon kit....
I was unaware that K-Val offered their own kits, too. I'm less than 30 minutes from the border, and used to drive down to K-Val fairly often, even though I usually didn't have a lot of money to spend. It was a neat place to just go and browse, and perhaps see some models that local shops never bothered to bring into Canada.
Wayne
Wayne,
K-val may have acquired these kits from someone. Note the blacked out box on the top part of the label. It's more obvious in person this covers someone elses' name. A bit of mystery to me, too, but maybe someone knows more.
tin can,
Thanks for your kind comments!
Mike:
Stunning work. Absolutely beautiful models.
Kevin:
That is a beautiful IGN stock car, and lots of folks might think that the IGN is a ficticious railroad.
mlehman...A K-val Engineering D&RGW high side gon kit....
Here are some things on my shelf at the moment. First, an old Tomalco HOn3 D&RGW short reefer kit.
The box may be original, the label definitely is, from back before Tomalco went all Sn3. Some detail on the famous sticks of wood
A K-val Engineering D&RGW high side gon kit.
If you hurry, might be a few still available???
I rather doubt it, but there may be a few sets of those trucks still out there.
I've alays wanted the following kit and a friend gifted me with two recently (along wth the K-val gon kit). I was stunned.
This is not sticks, but plastic castings, mostly.
So I can build 4 cars between the two kits I have.
I forgot to mention that most of my scratch-built cars are from .040 styrene as I completely agree that is a wonderful medium to work with. Still I do like the appearance of a wood built car. A rough estimate on the Piermont would be around 50 labelle coaches, 350 Quality Craft cars, 50 Gloor Craft cars, 200 Ambroid cars and the rest Mainline, Westwood, Sunshine, F&C, Westerfield,Bev Bel(yup they had Quality Craft do several NE box cars for them in the 80's....yellow boxes) and others.
I will part with some excess, but only to builders, not collectors. No more shows.....just a waste of time today unless it is an RTR something.
HZ
Howard Zane...Two years ago I took around 100 Quality Craft, Ambroid and other wood kits to Timonium to see if there was any interest in purchasing them. I had give away prices on them, but absolutely no sales or even interest....
I'm not at all surprised by your experience, as I see similar situations at the trainshows around here, too.
I've built a few wooden kits in the past and done some wood scratchbuilds, too, but sold or gave them all away when I discovered styrene scratchbuilding supplies. Those built-up wood kits and scratchbuilds sold quickly and for good prices, too, so the results definitely weren't bad...I just find styrene to be a more versatile medium,and, for me, much more enjoyable with which to work, and for that reason, seem to get better results.
My last projects building with wood include my layout's benchwork, and the house in which it's located, and some custom-made furniture. Oh, yeah, and cutting firewood.
Kevin,
Thanks for yur kind comment on my cars earlier (and thanks to anyone whose comments I've missed acknowledging.)
SeeYou190I wish I would have been there. You would have had interest and sales.
Oh, me, too! Too far from home for me, though I hear the 'burbs of Chicago have some decent shows. Not much I need these days other than scratchbuilding supplies, vehicles, and that sort of thing. It's a good thing on my budget. And most of my scratchbuilding supplies are art supplies commenly available or possible to reinterpert for model RR use.
That's a little tougher call when building rolling stock. Couplers, trucks, grabirons, and other train things don't show up at the craft store, so some foesight in obtaining the parts required that are tough to improvise.
I think what's happened is that the big auction site covers the needs of most modelers who like to build old school stuff. Maybe people only expect brass or the latest and greatest RTR in a show nowadays, but I'd be looking for the guy with the stack of old kits.
Howard Zane I had give away prices on them, but absolutely no sales or even interest.
.
I wish I would have been there. You would have had interest and sales.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Great thread......for us dinosaurs. There was once a time when model rails actually builit their trains including locos. The pride of accomplishment in building a car from a basswood kit is far worth the effort. I once even belonged to a club where everything had to be built except for brass locos. Presently I have around 1000 kit built cars on my pike.....mostly from wood kits, scratchbuilt from wood, or flat resin kits such as Sunshine, F&C, and Westerfield. Only problem with a resin kit is if you build it quite well, it looks like a high-grade plastic RTR car when finished. There is a certain wonderful appearance of piece of wood rolling stock that to me is just great. On the record I cannot build a wood kit to look as good as a production Plastic car.....but it is mine and I built it!!
I still have around 1500 unbuilt wood kits from about every manufacturer that once was. I do plan on eventually building them when can no longer make it downstairs to the train room or become really decrepit. I'm just "crepit" now.
Two years ago I took around 100 Quality Craft, Ambroid and other wood kits to Timonium to see if there was any interest in purchasing them. I had give away prices on them, but absolutely no sales or even interest. My.... what this new crop of millennials are missing. 1500 car kits???? You bet! I never claimned that my groundhog was fullly cooked. Then again I suspect that somehow they procreate,
This is an Ambroid 70 ton puplwood car I built for Boothbay Railway Village
I also have built a couple Concord Car Shops HOn30 box car kits, buut can not find photos today
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Heartland Division CB&QMike L.... Your narrow guage models are outstanding. Each one is well made and has details.
Thanks GARRY!
That;s a fine looking caboose. I've always wanted to try a Silver Streak kit, but haven't come across one yet when the money was right to bite. I need to keep my eyes open.
Everything I have is packed so no pics. Have lots though as I used to restore wood car kits, still got all the parts in a box from the move. The most difficult part to get is the proper size Z bracing, seems every manufacture had a different size. Sometimes you can trim one of the mouldings down but making your on Z in HO is something that takes alot of skill (unless you just need a small peice.
Thanks everybody for particpating in this thread.
Mike L.... Your narrow guage models are outstanding. Each one is well made and has details.
Kevin... I like the old stock car. Looks real.
David .... Your wood caboose looke great with its outside frame.
....
Here is an old Silver Streak models caboose I made. Although, it is really an SP caboose, I lettered it for GN.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
mlehmango narrowgauge, where vintage kits are not only available, but are in current production. These cars are all built from LaBelle kits
LaBelle also makes standard gauge - HO and O. Building LaBelle HO cars many years ago was a good introduction to scratch building.
Paul
I built this from an Ambroid 1 of 5000 kits back in 1963. It still runs. Irontown was going to be my freelance road name back then. I call my current layout a B&M branch line and I haven't bothered to reletter this caboose.
The only effect of aging is the interior light bulb stopped lighting many years ago and I made no provisions for changing the bulb, short of disassembling the whole car. So it doesn't light.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Mike, Those are some really beautiful models.
This is my oldest wooden train car kit. I built it about 20 years ago from an Ambroid "1 of 5,000" kit. I like it so much that it is just one of six pieces of equipment I still have that are lettered for prototype railroads.
This kit was much easier to build than the Westerfield stock cars I have.
I intend to reletter it for something fictitious and get it back on the rails.
Since I model the Tonopah and Tidewater circa 1915 a lot of my models are based on wood kits. I find them to be quite enjoyable to build.
If you want to go kit, go narrowgauge, where vintage kits are not only available, but are in current production. These cars are all built from LaBelle kits. A pair of Silverton Northern boxcars.
An endview.
A SN gon.
Those kits were built pretty much stock. The passenger cars below are modified, which is very easy to do. RPO/express #123 has an extra long roof, which I arranged an extra long piece of roof stock for when I ordered ths kit from Rick at LaBelle.
This version of the car, RPO/express #62, had the more standard non-overhanging roof used on most of these head-end cars by the Rio Grande.
Another current/vintage mfg is Rio Grande Models, which makes kits in HO, O, and S. Here are a couple of Rio Grande MOW side dumps, OR and OS, from RGM kits.
If youre not into NG, RGM also makes a variety of kits, mostly metal, that build into off-track machinery. Here's an Austin-Western road grader.
An RGM flanger kit was the basis for this model of SRR #2.
Finally, a few pics from my bash of a LaBelle combine kit into a fairly close version of the Silverton RR's Red Mountain. Modding the windows.
A view inside the completed car.
An outside before paint.
The finished car without decals.
I just put up a few ancient kits on eBay that I had acquired at an auction with other misc stuff. Not sure if I should can post a link, but you can lookup ebay username restorator. One is a Red Ball, one an Ambroid and the last is an Athearn in a yellow and silver box. Older than any I have seen before.
I have a fair number, but need to take some photos.......if I get some time, I'll post a few.
Sheldon
I have several that are still kits plus some I have built. But everything is packed for my move.
I have a Quality Craft Northeastern caboose, but it's still parts in the box.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I like the article in December MR about building wooden freight car kits. I still have several cars made from wooden kits.
Here are examples..... These four cars were made from Quality Craft kits of long ago. ... Two piggyback flat cars and two trilevel auto rack cars.
If you have some old freight cars made from vintage kits, please show them in this thread.
Thanks.