BOOKS FROM ENGLAND

 For years, I’ve picked up the English model railroad magazine,  Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modeling Review.    Despite mostly dealing with UK prototypes (occasional US prototypes) it is my favorite, and in my opinion, best modeling magazine out there.   Doug’s Trains in Claymont, Delaware, used to carry them, but haven’t for around 4 years.  I was told there that the publisher died and there was and interruption in publication, but since it’s been published again, Doug’s hasn’t been getting it.  This led me to miss out on a few years of issues (four a year).  I managed to fill in what I missed via eBay, but kept meaning to get around to paying for a subscription, which I did two weeks ago.   It’s 45 pounds a year to get in US - somewhere around $60 a year - still worth it for me.  

The first magazine came via air mail in less than 6 days from ordering it.  While I was ordering from them, I got the few back issues I didn’t have from past few years, and purchased two books - The Crowsnest Chronicles and WDLR Companion.   

The Crowsnest Chronicles is first-rate, and incredibly cheap - 10 pounds, around $13 US.  It’s a nice paper bound 96 page book, with 174 photographs and 25 drawings, diagrams, and plans.   The modeling is outstanding and something to aspire too, but better, the techniques and materials are explained.   It’s the author’s  ramblings of his construction of locomotives, buildings, cars, track, and scenery, for a series of narrow gauge dioramas from the early 1970s to the present, based on a fictional narrow gauge prototype.  It starts out in O scale but ends up in 16mm, which is a popular scale in England to model 2’, or 600mm narrow gauge prototypes.  It works out to around 1/19 scale but the track is pretty much O scale - in US would be like Gn2 or maybe Fn2.  

The second book WDLR Companion, was a bit more expensive, 32 pounds.  It’s about the Western Department Light Rail WWI trench railways.   The same publisher put out a book six years ago called the WDLR Album, which is out of print now.  This book is a companion and stand alone book, with photos, drawings, and interesting history.  Not something I will ever model, but WWI light railways have always been interesting to me.  Carstens, now White River, published Narrow Gauge to No-Mans Land, they might still have available, which is about the US light rail system in WWI.   The WDLR is the British system.  These railroads were operated in dangerous, harsh conditions to supply the front line, and move wounded to the rear.    As an aside, one of these 600mm trench railroad systems was relocated after the war to nearby Ft Dix, and used to transport troops to and from the ranges.   They have I believe a car in their museum still.  

Besides excellent writing and drawings, the quality and layout of these books are first rate.  

BOOK REVIEW - West Floria Rails. Volume 3. Bone Valley Phosphate Operations

 

You know you’ve bought too many Morning Sun books, when you start looking at subjects far from home, west Florida to be exact.   In all fairness, I’d always been interested in the Bone Valley area, but there wasn’t really much out there about it.  For those not familiar, the Bone Valley is in central west Florida, and has the largest deposits of phosphate in the US  Phosphate is primarily used for agricultural fertilizer, but also other things, like giving soft drinks their unique tangy kick.  From a railroad/industrial standpoint, the area would be comparable to the coal regions of West Virginia or eastern PA - lots of trains, in a small area, pulling the same stuff.  The difference would be that the Bone Valley peaked in the 70’s and 80’s, in terms of output, so the locomotives and rolling stock are more modern.  The rolling stock is also very unique and interesting - a mix of open and covered hoppers, with a smattering of tank cars carrying acid.  The hopper cars are fairly specific to hauling phosphate.  

The book is nicely laid out, with good maps (something many Morning Sun books lack).   Excellent descriptions of the photos.  Subject matter not confined to solely locomotives.  Plenty of photos from afar, and also plenty without a locomotive.   Interesting subject, well described.  

WEATHERING CARS - STEP 1 FILTERS

I use my own cobbled together method for weathering freight cars.  Generally, it’s three steps - 4-5 coats of various filters,  oil washes and highlighting, and finally dry powders.    For filters I use Vallejo Air colors, thinned about 3 or 4 to 1 and applied with an air brush.   Generally I do 3-4 coats on body and then turn upside down and do two or so coats from under, spraying upward to simulate dust and dirt from the roadbed.    My go to is a medium grey for the car bodies, and a dark earth for under frames.   The photo shows identical cars, one with three coats of a grey filter, the other nothing.  It illustrates how well the filter fades the bright colors.  

Since I model the PC era, I take into consideration the dates on the cars, and the use of the car to determine how much or how little weathering.  

ERIE DUNMORE CABOOSE BUILD, CONTINUED

This is the Dunmore caboose in O-Scale, almost ready for the paint shop.  

This sandwich bag contains all the laser cut parts to build the above caboose.  Besides these, there are a few Evergreen structural shapes, some wire, and Grandtline AB brake gear.  

DIGITAL FABRICATION - G-39 and G-38 Ore Jennies continued.....

 

The first G-39 was completed a few weeks ago.  The photo above was from a test run on the Cherry Valley O-Scale layout.  The white car to the right is the prototype G-38.  The G-38 was the original PRR home built “modern era” Jennie.  1000 of the G-38s were built in the very early 1960s, soon followed by 2000 of the G-39s and G-39As.  Much of the two cars are identical, with the exception of the additional 18” of height on the G-39s, the absence of steam lance portholes, and the much larger, pusher bumpers.  The G-39 was built coincidentally with the emergence of taconite pelletized iron ore.  The 70 ton rating of the G-38s couldn’t be realized with the lighter taconite.  With the higher sides, the G-39 could carry the full 70 tons of ore.   In the Penn Central era I’m modeling in O-Scale, the ore trains were a mixture of both versions of the car.  I hadn’t originally intended to model the G38s, but for prototype fidelity, I changed my mind.  Some of the laser cut files need to be adjusted and parts added or eliminated, but overall, much of the work had already been done, and the assembly was similar.   The first G-38 is complete, painted, and partially weathered.  I need to do some final weathering with oil paints and chalks and it will be good to go.  At this time, I have about 24 G-38s and 39s under various stages of construction.  The ultimate goal is around 45-50.    Again, the laser cut parts, the laser drilled holes, and the laser alignment marks, makes assembly easy and fun.    I have a number of other O-Scale projects of similar nature underway - an Erie Dunmore Caboose, a 60’ tank car, an 85’ TTX piggyback flat, and a Seaboard Pneumatic whale belly covered hopper.   I’ll be posting about these occasionally, under the Digital Fabrication heading.   All these cars are being built from scratch, with the intention of production of multiple cars, using digital fabrication to speed, simplify, and add precision to their construction.   They are being built of a variety of materials, primarily plastics, and using a CNC router, a laser cutter, and multiple 3D printers.  

STEEL MILL MODELING AGAIN, SORT OF.... G39 PRR Ore Jennie

 I’d mentioned in one of my more recent posts, that I was attempting to model the PRR G-39 ore jennie in O Scale 2 rail, using a combination of traditional scratchbuilding techniques and digital fabrication.   This is the car I am talking about - 

The PRR built 1000 of the G-39 ore jennies in the earlier 1960s.  They were to augment the thousand car fleet of G-38 ore jennies, that PRR built around 1960.   The underframe, general construction, width and length of the G-39 was essentially the same as the G-38, however, the G39 was 18” higher.  The extra height became necessary with the emergence of taconite ore.  Taconite pellets were lighter and, because of their rounded shape, there was more air space within the load.  The G-38 ore jennies were maxing out in volume, but not weight with taconite.  Adding 18” to the car, increased the amount of taconite that could be carried, up to the weight capacity of the car.  Some other improvements were made, notably, the oversized bumpers at each corner of the car.  These bumpers were to minimize damage at the ore piers by the narrow gauge pusher cars.

 Overall, the G38 and G39s were successful as purpose built cars.  They were four or five tons lighter and significantly shorter than the hoppers the PRR had been using to haul ore.  They had no bottom doors, meaning they could only be unloaded using a rotary dumper.   They were used in service between PRR ore docks in Cleveland and Philadelphia, to the inland steel mills, including my favorite, Bethlehem Steel.  Both the G38s and the G39s survived well into the Penn Central and Conrail Eras.

I am modeling the Penn Central in O Scale, roughly 1968-1976.   How this all started was the purchase of two Alco 630 locomotives.  The big Alcos were concentrated by the Penn Central in and around Mingo Junction, specifically for use pulling mineral trains to and from the steel mills.   I thought a string of these cars would look great behind them.    The only trouble with this plan, was that this car was never offered in O-Scale (it was in HO).  Looking at scratchbuilding 40-50 of these cars, I realized the laser and CNC were going to be important tools, to produce exactly identical parts, allow for the use of tabbing and slots to align parts without measuring tools or squares, etch markings in the plastic for part locations, and my personal favorite, and you will know what I mean if you have ever built a resin kit,  laser cutting/drilling 95% of the holes for the grab irons and other wire parts.  

The car floor is .125 acrylic.  The car sides, rim, steps/ladder verticals, coupler mounts, and underframe parts were made of .060 laser cut acrylic. The ribs were CNC cut from .100 styrene.     There is also some .020 styrene laser cut parts, as well as .020 laser cut polybacker for much of the detail.   Additionally, there is a mix of Evergreen strips and structural members used, along with wire, and Grandtline brake parts.   I’ll get into the actual development and construction of this model in more detail in a later blog or YouTube video.  

This is the first completed car - technically Version 5.0.  There were some very minor corrections made and construction of the first ten cars of Version 6.0 are underway.    Looking at more prototype photos while designing and constructing the model, I realized that Penn Central ore trains were a mix of G-39s and the older G-38s.   The ratio was typically 2-1, with the 39s being the more prevalent car.   Being that the G-38 is similar or identical in many aspects,  a slight redesign of the CAD files enabled me to make the G-38 also.  I still have to work out the ladder, end details, and the 32 steam lance portholes.   Despite this cars simple appearance, it is very difficult to model, especially the ladders and end gear.  I believe this is because you are dealing with sloping sides, ladders that joint on the corners, and partially rest on poling bumpers, that are themselves extremely angular.   I hope, as I build more, these elements go faster.  

MODELING THE PENN CENTRAL ERA - JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT TRAINS.....

I have a vast model railroad and train magazine library that stretches back to the 60’s, so it was surprising for me that in posting about my PRR/PC G-39 Ore Jennie project on an O-Scale 2-Rail forum, someone suggested and older article in Rails Northeast magazine.   What the heck is/was Rails Northeast?  Well it turns out that it was a railfan magazine published during the 1970s, into the early 1980s.   During my college years, 1984-1988, my railfan activities really picked up and the monthly, Railpace, another north/mid eastern railfan magazine (still published today) was eagerly waited on.   So it looks like I just missed Rails Northeast by coincidence of my age and interest.   

What a great magazine,  especially for anyone modeling the 1970s and early 80s.   Compared to Railpace, it lacks color photos, except for the cover sometimes, but inside is a good mix of railroad news AND drawings, maps, operational information and schedules,..etc..   A lot helpful to a model railroader.  

O-SCALE DIGITAL FABRICATION

I’m convinced, that as niche suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors continue to close up shop in the model railroad world, digital fabrication will be our salvation.  There are already a number of fabricators offering excellent parts and kits, in steel mill modeling, and On30.  In smaller scales, where Shapeway type parts are sort of economical, there is a vast array available.    Being a modeler that likes to build whatever prototype I want or see, laser cutters, 3D printers, vinyl cutters, CNC mills and routers, .etc just make things easier.   Having a robot cutting out your parts is time saving, and free’s you up for the more interesting assembly, and finishing, however, it’s not just about saving time cutting parts.  For me, where digital fabrication really shines, is in it’s precision, repeatability, and the ability to tab or mark precise part locations.   I’ll get more into all the details in future blogs, but to be sure, buying the machine is the easy part.  Without good CAD/CAM skills you’ll be handicapped quite a bit, although more and more 3D files are becoming available for free or low cost, so maybe not.    I have a laser cutter, two 3D printers - one filament and a new resin machine, and two CNC machines.   Again more on this in the future.  For now, a few O Scale projects I’m working on - an Erie DUNMORE Caboose, and a PRR G-39 Ore Jennie.  Parts are laser cut from a mix of acrylic, styrene, and Polybacker.  

O-SCALE ADVENTURES - CABEESES

In O-Scale, I am modeling the Penn Central/Penn Central era (1968-1976).  What is available in O-Scale (O-Scale, scale, ie not Lionel Tinplate type products) in plastic is fairly limited, especially compared to HO Scale.  Weaver and Atlas both produced plastic 1:48 scale locomotives, and freight/passenger cars.   Weaver is out of business now, although Atlas has produced a few of their products under their Trainman line.   There is a smattering of other plastic kits and a few resin out there, but most are steam/transition era, leaving, scratchbuilding, or semi-scratchbuilding in the form of wood/metal kits made be Athearn/Reynolds, or the Quality Craft/Ambroid/Gloor Craft lines.   The later all seem to have produced the same products, I just don’t know the exact lineage/order of these companies.   Another manufacturer, Lykens Valley Models, also produced wood kits, abet, more primitive than the Ambroid-Gloor craft kits.   All these manufacturers are long out of business, but kits can be found at eBay and train shows.  On Ebay, especially for some reason in the past two months, sellers tend to list these at very high prices and the bidding is robust.   Shows are a better source and I rarely pay over $20 for one of these kits.   Since the heyday of these companies was likely the 70s and very early 80’s, the “modern cars” they were producing kits were, are perfect for Penn Central era.   Many of the kits are fairly unique prototypes that should add some nice diversity to my freight manifests.   A quick list of some of these kits I have -  86’ Trailer Train piggy back flat with trailers; 86’ high cube box;  C&O Coil car; 89’ auto rack flats;  shorty corn syrup tank cars;  the giant Publicker tank car; all-door boxcars; Railbox type cars; 63’ mechanical refer; bulkhead flats;  heavy duty well flat car;  and then there are the cabooses.

Small portion of wood kits.

I must admit, I also have been buying these type of kits in HO, “for my old-age”, but haven’t built any yet.   I have a half dozen O-Scale freight cars underway in various stages of construction, but for some reason I’ve grown an interest in cabooses of late, and am currently building four, along with a caboose like flanger.  Getting the wood pieces in the box to look like steel is the real challenge - lots of sealing/sanding, and you still have an imperfect surface.   Even the prototype wood sided cars are not great, as the scribes on the siding are too deep.   I’m experimenting with substituting styrene or acyclic for the wood parts.  The full size plans and metal castings, more than justify the cost of the kit, and the wood can be used elsewhere.    I decided to keep things cheap and fun, and I’m building the caboose kits with the wood and other parts in the box.  

Gloor Craft PRR ND four wheel cabin car,; Quality Craft Erie wood-sided caboose; and  Ambroid Nickel Plate caboose.    Various stages of construction.

Building these kits has been a bit of a learning experience, but hopefully mistakes are only made once.  I would highly recommend trying one of these.  Some patience is required, but many hours of fun, for low cost.    None are complete yet, but I’m in the weathering phase of the Erie caboose.   All these cabooses, even the four wheel PRR were technically still around during the early part of the Penn Central era.   Photos of the Erie (Erie-Lackawanna) caboose from the late 60s show a pretty weather worn, beat up car.  It looks like they had been relegated to MOW trains.  

I’m not happy with the Erie decals, but working on camouflaging them.

CORONAVIRUS MODELING

It’s been over a year since my last post.   Life has usual been a blur of work and other things, until the Coronavirus ground the economy to a very slow crawl.  My business has been affected severely since 90% of the work we do is residential.   For the first time in over thirty years of business I have had to lay off employees, all of them to be precise.   I can afford to keep the lights on for four months or so hopefully I’m back in operation by then, however, with the react to the stock ticker government response, I’m fairly worried we could be looking at a slow bleed for longer.  I’m sure all the billionaires and their corporations that pay slave wages will make out fine.   Small businesses like mine,  always get shit on.  With or without the virus, I’ll keep on paying forty times the tax rate that Amazon does.

Well, now that I’ve aired the dirty laundry, and as the boys from Monty Python say, “always look on the bright side of life”, there is an upside - more time for model railroading.

I think in my last post, I talked about my expansion into O-Scale.  I joined a local O-Scale 2-Rail club last winter.  The Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club has been located in the basement of the Grace Episcopal Church for 56 years.   I had never been much of a club person, preferring to do my model railroading in my basement, alone, or with the help of my son.   I’ve been presently surprised, and have been having a fun time with a great group of model railroaders.   Having a specific meeting night every week has more or less “forced” me to play with trains - not a bad thing.   With owning your own business, there always seems to be something you could be doing, especially when your shop has months of backlog, and it’s easy to just work more hours and forget about the fun things in your life.   With Cherry Valley, I almost always get in three to four hours of model railroading a week.  Sometimes its just running trains, sometimes working on the layout, and plenty of times just shooting the shit about trains, etc.   Those of you who know me personally, know I’m pretty skilled at the last item.  

What about steel mill modeling?  Unfortunately, I haven’t worked on my layout much - why?  Besides the time issue,  honestly, it’s covered with O Scale cars and locomotives that I am building, painting, decaling, and weathering.   To be fair, I went a bit overboard gearing up for O Scale, and have purchased at least 90 cars or car kits and probably a dozen locomotives over the course of a year and a half.   I’m also doing what I have never really done in HO scale - for each locomotive or car, I’m painting, decaling,  weathering, weighting, coupler height adjusting, decoder installing, before it gets brought to Cherry Valley.    As most of you know, my basement is really small, so the only place I can set my rolling stock is on my HO Steel mill layout.   O Scale cars and locos are twice as long, high, and wide as H.O., but that also mean four times the volume.    I’m building a work room/ O Scale shelf layout in an old garage attached to my house (not really a garage - 7’x20’)   When this is finished, I’ll be able to move all my work up there, and also have space to properly work on my large HO steel mill structures.

Moving on I am going to try to update this blog more regularly.  If I go back in it’s history, the times I was most prolific with the posts, were also the times I did the most modeling.   I’m also going to post some of my O-Scale modeling in this blog.  The techniques and methods are transferable to any scale.   I’ll title the posts with O-SCALE EXPLORATIONS, so if you don’t want to read, you can skip.  I’ve posted photos some of my O Scale freight car weathering projects.

Everyone stay safe and healthy.