Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
After adding updates to the RPM Event Calendar page, I realized the first half of 2017 is pretty busy! First up is the Prototype Rails event in Cocoa Beach, Florida. This early January meet comes at a great time for those with Polar Vortex experience to trek to warmer weather. The presentation schedule has been posted, so check out the details. It’s never too late to make plans to attend.
It has been awhile since I tackled a resin freight car kit, so I dove into a Westerfield box and got something rolling. I’ve long wanted to build one of the Canadian Pacific 36-foot, single-sheathed Fowler design box car kits. There were plenty of prototypes rolling around in 1926. The kit built quickly with only a couple of head scratching spots. I liked it so much that I also built a kit for a similar 40-foot Fowler design clone! Follow along on the latest resin freight car kit build.
I hope all those who model the 1920s through the 1940s have heard about the recent Tangent Scale Models GATX tank car release. Two of the paint and lettering schemes follow early 1920s practices and a few car numbers are available in each of those decorated styles. A couple of these models should be hitting my doorway soon.
Harold Oakhill has been busy with a fascinating project. He shares the following update.
I recently finished assembling the first two Delaware & Hudson Seley Hopper “kits” that have been produced with the help of Dave Campbell, Ray Breyer, and Aaron Gjermundson. These were displayed at the recent RPM Chicagoland meet in Lisle, Illinois.
I had a moment recently to take my time and review model images from the recent RPM Chicagoland meet. I found there were quite a few models representing prototypes built in the Teens and Twenties, but wearing later era paint and lettering. One of the prime examples leads off this blog post.