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I have found a great way to make pulp wood loads for gondolas and bulkhead flat cars,including the 63 foot bulkhead flats. I use the small branches off of birch,oak,maple,and my favorite the pine tree. I first start gathering a few good handfuls of branches from a forest. The best way is using the branches off of the Christmas tree once it is dried out. I take one of the branches,break it in half and trim off one side so that it is even. I then lay the branch over the gondola and make a small cut in the wood.The mesurement is about 1 inch in length. Once I have made a good size pile of wood pulp,its time for the assembly. I find a good piece of very stiff and thin cardboard like that used in the Walthers freight car kits to work great for the base.The mesurement for the 40 ft gondolas is 5 and 1/2 inches,and the 50 ft gondolas are 6 and 1/2 inches in length.The next step is assembly.I put the piece of cardboard in the gondola and start the process of building the pulp wood load. If you have to use Elmers wood or white glue,use it sparingly,as it will run all the way through the wood load and make the floor of the gondola very messy. I use a simple and inexpensive hot glue gun.this works great.it gives me a few seconds to set the logs in place,and it dries fairly quickly. If you have any logs that show the white part of the wood, I'd leave those for the top row as these will make for interesting features.First step is to apply 2 lines of glue in the center of the cardboard,and then place 3 pieces of the cut logs in an upright position on each end of the gondola,followed by a row of logs on the cardboard.Now you have the foundation. Place 2 more lines of glue, and set another row of logs on top of the last row ,till you have an ample height of about 1 and 1/4 to 1 and 1/8 inches. Once the load is completely dry , gently and carefully remove it from the gondola. If you have difficulty in getting it out,use an X -acto knife and run it along the inside edge of the gondola to remove the load,then use a piece of coarse sandpaper,and sand down the edges of the wood.Usually a few seconds should do the trick,till you can place and remove the load easily. On the bottom of the completed load,I use a black marker and write the car initials and number. As for the bulkhead flat cars and those that have the sides on them,which are the 63 foot cars, use the same principal as for the gondolas,but DO NOT use the cardboard as a foundation.Instead use it as a base to build the loads for the flat cars. The bottom of these loads should be completely bare,so as to take them in and out of the cars. The exact height for the loads should be no higher than 1 and 1/2 inches. In regards to the 63 foot flatcars,about 5 sets of 1inch by 1 inch in length and 1 and 1/2 inch in height is recommended for these. Happy modeling!!![:D][8D][^]
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