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Some freight cars for a 1940s Pennsy layout

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Some freight cars for a 1940s Pennsy layout
Posted by jon grant on Friday, October 29, 2010 7:51 PM

Hi all

I've spent the last couple of weeks speed-modelling and weathering a batch of my unused freight cars to help provide sufficient rolling stock for a Pennsy layout - Westmoreland Junction - which is due out at Tyneside (UK) show in a couple of weeks.

The layout has been built by members of the Newcastle Model Railway club, but they're a bit short of freight cars, so I'm taking both the 1930s stock from Sweethome Chicago and some 1940s stuff I had lying around.

First up is a Pacific Mountain resin kit of a Baltimore and Ohio I5-D caboose (ballasted with concrete)


Jon

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Posted by rjake4454 on Friday, October 29, 2010 8:15 PM

All I can say is beautiful work. Its so detailed it actually looks like 2 rail O scale.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Btw, thats quite a large cat you got there too! Big Smile

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Posted by jon grant on Friday, October 29, 2010 8:27 PM

rjake4454

All I can say is beautiful work. Its so detailed it actually looks like 2 rail O scale.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Btw, thats quite a large cat you got there too! Big Smile

I keep finding stray cat hairs on the layout - see pic 1 - I wonder why?Bang Head

Jon

 

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Posted by NeO6874 on Friday, October 29, 2010 8:41 PM

very very nice work Jon. Big SmileThumbs Up 

now if I can only get my layout to look half that good when i'm done...

-Dan

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Posted by jecorbett on Saturday, October 30, 2010 9:02 AM

To me, the difference between good modeling and great modeling is that great modeling looks good in close up photos. This certainly passes that test. Outstanding. I hope someday to be able to do work that good.

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Posted by Hamltnblue on Saturday, October 30, 2010 9:07 AM

Just Wow.  Especially that last photo. Yes.  MRR material to me.

Springfield PA

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Posted by jon grant on Saturday, October 30, 2010 9:18 PM

Next batch of cars are some Bowser X31 series 40ft boxcars and a couple of X32A 50ft cars. The models are repainted models from Bowser, redone with Speedwitch decals.

The cars had been either SAL, T&NO or DTI but I wanted to do at least some Pennsy cars.

Although weathered, I have not added any underframe detail or grabirons yet, but will return to these cars after the Tyneside show. (Apologies for the condensation on the lens)


Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Saturday, October 30, 2010 9:33 PM

A few more finished tonight - a Tichy flat car, Roundhouse milk car and Funaro Phaudler milk tank car


Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Saturday, October 30, 2010 9:48 PM

Lasdtly for tonight, a couple of Tichy single sheath boxcars, plus non-paying guest.


Jon

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Posted by Hamltnblue on Saturday, October 30, 2010 9:56 PM

Keeping busy I see. Yes

What loco's are you using?

 

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Posted by jon grant on Saturday, October 30, 2010 10:13 PM

The Newcastle guys have asked me to bring over whatever large(largish) locos I have, so I'm looking at a B&O 4-6-0, a couple of Trix 2-8-2s, Bachmann 2-10-2 (BRC!!), Erie 2-8-2, an unnamed 2-8-8-2 (possibly a B&O 2-8-8-0 by the time of the show), an NKP Berkshire, NYC 2-8-0, 4-6-2 and Hudson.  I'll probably take a few USRA 0-8-0s as well as they are good haulers

My only Pennsy steamer is a Bowser 0-6-0 which may be too small for the job.

They're short of large soundchipped engines, so it gives me an opportunity to give some of my locos a good run-in around a long layout - Sweethome Chicago is an end-to-end layout.

Diesels are strictly banned from the layout, although the period goes up to 1949, but I hope to sneak in an NYC S1 and HH660, plus a Pennsy F3 A-A set.

Jon  

 

 

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Posted by NeO6874 on Sunday, October 31, 2010 7:31 AM

the B-6 will likely out-pull any of the other locos you named -- bowser locos are incredibly powerful Smile

 

I kinda liked the dust/condensation on the lens -- makes it look like you took the pics on a slightly dreary/rainy day outside, rather than on the safe confines of an indoor layout.

-Dan

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Posted by jon grant on Sunday, October 31, 2010 7:10 PM

NeO6874

the B-6 will likely out-pull any of the other locos you named -- bowser locos are incredibly powerful Smile

Agreed, they're cracking little locos.

 

Next up for some weathering treatment were a boat load of gondolas of varying types.

First up are some Mill gons with some sort of casting loads - these were made from the bits of plastic tube that till receipt paper is wrapped around at store checkouts. Ask a friendly storekeeper to keep them for you.

There are 3 tichy composite kits and a P2K example

Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Sunday, October 31, 2010 7:31 PM

Next up are some more P2K mill gons with rolled steel loads (Walthers), seated on a wooden carrying frame. Can anyone clue me in to how they were actually transported?


Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Sunday, October 31, 2010 8:25 PM

I've also been working on a whole load of 40ft composite and steel gondolas from Walthers P1K, Accurail, Details West, Red caboose and intermountain, although most of them will be running empty due to time constraints.


Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Sunday, October 31, 2010 8:41 PM

Last few shots of gons before I start blitzing 30+ boxcars.

I set up an eighteen foot train of my overweighted freight cars and was happily suprised that the USRA 0-8-0 pulled away smoothly from a standing start - handy, because each of the 14 fiddle yard tracks appear to be at least that long.


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Posted by NeO6874 on Sunday, October 31, 2010 8:42 PM

Brilliant work mate Smile.  I'm still not sire if you're taking us all for a ride, and these are proto shots... (regardless of whether or not you're across the pond).

 

 

-Dan

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Posted by jon grant on Sunday, October 31, 2010 8:53 PM

NeO6874

 I'm still not sure if you're taking us all for a ride, and these are proto shots... (regardless of whether or not you're across the pond).

Thanks Dan, but my proto steam shots tend to look more like these

JonWink

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Posted by NeO6874 on Sunday, October 31, 2010 9:15 PM

I dunno, the extra "stuff" in the second shot looks too carefully placed. it might be a shot of a model.. Big Smile

I missed seeing the A1 when I was in London on holiday (I was there only til the 18th).  Would have been quite the sight to see that heading off from Victoria Station. (I stayed near Charing Cross... so it wasn't even that far out of the way)

 

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Posted by jon grant on Sunday, October 31, 2010 9:29 PM

NeO6874

I dunno, the extra "stuff" in the second shot looks too carefully placed. it might be a shot of a model.. Big Smile

I missed seeing the A1 when I was in London on holiday (I was there only til the 18th).  Would have been quite the sight to see that heading off from Victoria Station. (I stayed near Charing Cross... so it wasn't even that far out of the way)

I've seen Tornado a few times but never had the camera with me. It was also built about 25 miles away from where I live.

Jon

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Posted by NeO6874 on Sunday, October 31, 2010 9:37 PM

Don't have anything that shiny in the area yet... I live a few hours from where the NKP 765 is maintained, and also belong to a group working on restoring the former GTW 4070...

 

she's in pretty rough shape at the moment:

-Dan

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Posted by jon grant on Monday, November 1, 2010 8:05 PM

Very atmospheric photo, dan.

First batch of 1940s boxcars. Although these did'nt require much work to get them ready for the show, some are still missing the odd grab iron and or stirrup steps, but they should pass muster in a moving train. There's still some debate about which Erie herald is correct


Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Monday, November 1, 2010 8:22 PM

More of the train

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Posted by jon grant on Monday, November 1, 2010 8:34 PM

Last boxcars of this train.


Plenty more boxcars to go...

Jon

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Posted by cudaken on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 6:03 AM

 Ever time I look at the layout I am amazed by the details Jon. I like the first set of box cars with the rounded edges the best. Never seen any like them before.

         Ken

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Posted by NeO6874 on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 11:35 AM

I didn't take the photo, it's one I liberated from the internet (though the 4070 isn't in much better shape than what you see there).

-Dan

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Posted by edkowal on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 11:55 AM

jon grant

Hi all

I've spent the last couple of weeks speed-modelling and weathering a batch of my unused freight cars to help provide sufficient rolling stock for a Pennsy layout - Westmoreland Junction - which is due out at Tyneside (UK) show in a couple of weeks....

 Jon

Hi Jon:

As has been mentioned by others, great work.  I buy some of the British magazines at a local hobby shop here in Buffalo NY ( Miami of the North to you New Worlders) & have found that the work done by those in Britain and the continent is generally very much better than what we see in the American general circulation magazines such as Model Railroader.

Granted, what you see published tends to be the cream of the crop, but it's also the case with websites which you can visit, too.  I believe it has to do with the smaller sizes of what each modeller (British spelling) tries to work on.  Whereas we on this side of the Atlantic try to fill a basement, you on the other side tend to work on a diorama sized section of a larger whole.  That and the techniques manuals are better, as well.  At least in _my_ not so humble opinion.

So ends the lecture.  There WILL be homework & an exam at the end of the week.  Hope you all were paying attention.

-Ed K

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Posted by jon grant on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 8:40 PM

I've been working on a few more freight cars tonight, starting with a few reefers from Cannonball, Trix and C&BT.


2 sides of the same car


Jon

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Posted by jon grant on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 8:54 PM

Three covered hoppers - 2 ECW and one Bowser


Jon

 

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Posted by jon grant on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 9:05 PM

Finally for tonight, another 3 boxcars


Jon

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