Boeing 737 cars

[myrail]

QUOTE: Originally posted by zgardner18

Wayne,

Thanks for letting us see your picture. Your setup looks great! Tell me, how did you model the Fuselage and the back car? Heck, how did you model the whole thing?

Zack,
Building this project will prove to be very difficult for you as it was for me and I worked for the company at the time and it still was very difficult. I started the project in 1998 with the idea of building the 737-700 fuselage, an 89’ load car and a 68’ idler/canopy car. And if I was successful with the fuselage the rest would be easy. Hahaha!

What I really needed to build the fuselage was a Layered Object Manufacturing machine (LOM). It takes actual cuts from a digital mockup representation or a CATIA model and lays very thin slices of paper down onto a pallet then peels off the excess around the edges of the cut and then after about 24 hours of run time you have a beautiful model.

Well I didn't get to use the LOM machine but my fuselage is carved from a piece of basswood. Its wood that wood carvers prefer and it is very stable wood. I bought two 18" long blocks and I had the two sides planed to 1.70" wide for the width of the fuselage and 1.816" thick for the height and cut the length to 13.31 inches long.

Then I made templates not from CATIA but from some layouts I found in a book. I either enlarged them or reduced them to get the right size height and width I needed for the contour on the forward and aft ends. I cut the templates out and glued them temporarily to the basswood and marked around the edges. Then I removed the templates and rough cut the profiles using a band saw. Then you just have to sit down and carve and carve until the piece is fairly shapely like a fuselage. I finished the carving and used 80 grit sand paper to start the finishing process. The pilot windows are the hardest and you should have a really sharpe knife for that. I didn't do any of the passenger windows mainly because I didn't care about modeling an airplane. I just wanted the cars with something that looked like a fuselage sitting on it. And that is about all there is to it for the fuselage.

Its late and I'll tell you more later, OK?

Best regards
myrail

[Anonymous]

I stand corrected. I was visualizing the era I am modeling (1990's-present). I for got the 757's are out of production within the last year or so. When I said "Seattle built" I was speaking of final assembly for the most part.

Sorry for the confusion.

myrail-That is a great looking model you have made.

Mike in Tulsa
BNSF Cherokee Sub

[zgardner18]

Wayne,

Please tell me that the cars were easier to build. If I can't make the fuselage then I still want to make the cars. I have already bought the 89' flatcars from Athearn now I just need the small flat car and build the parts for them. I saw those cars empty mostly, so I probably could settle for no fuselage if what you say was hell making them is correct.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mike Rehling

I stand corrected. I was visualizing the era I am modeling (1990's-present). I for got the 757's are out of production within the last year or so. When I said "Seattle built" I was speaking of final assembly for the most part.

Sorry for the confusion.

myrail-That is a great looking model you have made.

Mike in Tulsa
BNSF Cherokee Sub

Mike, Just to let you know what does what up here if you want to make your models accurate. The 737 fuselage and parts are shipped from Witchita, KS to Renton, WA where the plane is assembled and made ready to fly. The 737 is then flown to Seattle (Boeing Field) where it is painted and final touches done, the customer takes posession in Seattle. The 747,767, 777, and soon the 787 are all assembled, painted and delivered at the Everett, WA facility (which is the worlds largest building by volume). Boeing would be a good industry to model as there is a lot of rail traffic (especially in the early days) and is a very important indsutry to not only the State of Washington, but the rest of the country as well. The buildings are visually appealling and would look cool on a layout.

[myrail]

The 737, 747, 767 and 777 railcars just might be absolete in just a year or less now with the new 747 Large Cargo Freighter taking to the air on 9/9/06. This plane is big enough to handle the new 787 so why wouldn't they ship the other models by air. Better get your photos and modeling done now why there is still time guys.

http://www.wingsairpower.com/mobile.php

myrail

[TrainFreak409]

The 737, 747, 767 and 777 railcars just might be absolete in just a year or less now with the new 747 Large Cargo Freighter taking to the air on 9/9/06. This plane is big enough to handle the new 787 so why wouldn't they ship the other models by air. Better get your photos and modeling done now why there is still time guys.

http://www.wingsairpower.com/mobile.php

myrail

That thing is nuts! But I don't think that the 747 LCF will completely replace rail transport. It would be more economical for Boeing to use the LCF to transport goods from Taiwan and Italy to the States, and have rail travel take over from there, while the LCF goes back to get more.

[myrail]

I can see it replacing the 737 since it rides totally uncovered. Skin quality is a big deal with airlines and every time there is a ding in the skin it costs $$ to repair. If it can't be repaired the $$ come off the list price. A million off the list price a time or two would make it worth while to ship by air to the company.

We don't know how much can be loaded onto the LCF per flight but it could probably handle all of the shipments that leave the KS plant on a weekly schedule keeping it busy.

Shipping by air may not be as economical as by rail but have you noticed all the graffiti on some of the canopy cars? Given the chance these so called artists could do there work on the 737 as well.

 

[mtrails]

I don't have much to include of modeling this topic, but I wanted to share a couple of photos of  my own of these fueselages being transported through Montana.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=132147

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=73832

 

Regards,

Jeremy

[Anonymous]

The LCF will NOT be used for anyother fuselage. It is designed and built to only transport  787 fuselages. The LCF cannot have any other cargo in it period. It is also cost prohibitive to transport the "cheap" 737s on such an expensive platform.

[railroadboy]

COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[myrail]

Some really good shots you have taken there. Keep up the good work.

myrail

[myrail]

Boeing has contracted to operate the LCF plane with Evergreen who will be using it to transport other items as/and when needed to pay for it.

An enterprise such as Boeing requires a leaner operation characterized by the efficient use of assets, high inventory turns, excellent supplier management, short cycle times, high quality and low transaction costs or it can't survive. To think they made it to do only one thing is not "LEAN" to the company. Becoming a Lean company is vital to reducing costs and improving the way Boeing builds assemblies into airplanes to remain a world leader.

myrail

[G Paine]

Herpa Wings makes various passenger aircraft in scales 1:200 to 1:1000. They have a couple 737s in 1:200 which could be close enough for N scale if you did not look too hard. Check the Promotex site at http://www.promotex.ca/

[pimpz26]

I've modeling HO and N scale for many years.  Never had anything to to add to this board.  I have found alot of very useful info, so "Thank you to everyone"

 

I have had this site on my computer for quite awhile.  Even though these loads and rail cars are not of the 373 planes, non the less, they are still really neat.

 

http://southern.railfan.net/flat/cars/loads/wing/wing.html

[kjd]

I found this thread looking for something else and wanted to share my effort.

http://members.trainorders.com/pmack/fuselage/800.htm

I am using an Accurail flatcar and I carved the fuselage.  I am working on a scratchbuilt tail car now, which is what I was looking for info on.

Paul

Hillsboro, OR 

 

[Greatplains Railroader]

For the plane i've found models at my lhs that are close to the right size 1/150.

I too have been wanting to model these cars.

[zgardner18]

I found this thread looking for something else and wanted to share my effort.

http://members.trainorders.com/pmack/fuselage/800.htm

I am using an Accurail flatcar and I carved the fuselage.  I am working on a scratchbuilt tail car now, which is what I was looking for info on.

Paul

Hillsboro, OR 

 

Paul,

As the one that started this thread I would first like to say Hi and thanks for joining but I've seen your work before, have you been here before?  Anyway, I think that you are onto a great start and by far more along than I am.  I viewed you website and think that you have a good talent for modeling.  Will you email me because I would like to pick your brain on some of you work. 

Zak

[GraniteRailroader]

One word of caution that I must say, do not even think of standing outside Boeing property to take photos of the trains. This is frowned upon and your pics confescated all thanks to the stupid terrorists.

Who are the ones taking the photos away? Under what grounds? What laws are being broken giving anyone the authority to do this?

You really think a Boeing plant is a greater target then say, the Pentagon, Empire State Building, the White House, etc? You can still go take photos of them and you don't get in trouble..... 

If they were so worried about the Boeing plant, then all the sub-contractors to Boeing would be "watched" for people taking photos as well. Guess what? They aren't. How do I know? Because I worked in one of them for two years while in high-school.  

If some security guard ever approached me about taking photos and wanted them, I know I'd tell them where they could go real quick. It may be frowned upon by Boeing, but off their property you would have no authority. 

 

 

[kjd]

Zach, I sent you a note about modeling the 737s. 

At the risk of derailing the thread and sending in careening into the weeds faster than Acela trying to run on a Milw. branch, realizing things are not like they used to be, knowing your rights and responsibilities as a citizen and a photographer and being respectful will probably get you a lot farther than telling someone where to get off.

Paul

[philo426]

  Here is my O gauge fuselage car