Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
I picked up a drill press stand for my vintage 1970s era Dremel Moto-Tool a couple of months ago. I found one at a decent price on EBay and bought it to do a better job on the bolster holes. I had used the Dremel for this task previously in a free-hand mode, but some holes were drilled at a slight angle introducing a slight lean to completed models. I needed to do better.
Westerfield Models is holding a National Train Day Sale through to midnight on Monday, May 21, 2018. There are a few purchase options and codes to save some hobby dollars when you stock up on a few kits. Westerfield honcho Andrew Dahm sent an announcement to his email newsletter list last week. If you have not received the info, or if you have misplaced the newsletter email, I recommend dropping an inquiry to westerfieldmodels@gmail.com for the sale details and codes. You will need the purchase codes to save some cash.
Check over your freight car kit stash and drop a note to Andrew at westerfieldmodels@gmail.com for more details on the National Train Day sale. Then review their website for what you need. It’s always a good time to pick up a few new resin freight car kits.
I recently came across an email thread by Doug Forbes and this interesting Illinois Traction wood coal gondola model. This is a 3D printed model that Doug created using computer software. Doug’s original interests began with the Illinois Central but he has gravitated to the Illinois Traction System for a unique kind of model building. He enjoys putting together freight cars that are out of the norm. Continue reading “HO wood coal gondola”
I journeyed to metro-Philadelphia last week for the RPM Valley Forge railroad prototype modeler meet. A winter Nor’easter was threatening but passed through a couple days before the event. I arrived on Thursday afternoon to participate in an operating session that evening.
Fenton Wells has presented an interesting kitbash at a couple recent RPM meets. He shares his tips and techniques to transform an Accurail 36-foot boxcar into a Southern ventilated boxcar. Click on any image here to view a larger size.
Ventilated boxcars were once a common element of the freight car fleet. Several southeastern railroads had thousands of ventilated boxcars on their rosters to move fruits and vegetables from packing plants to wholesale grocers in northern areas. Distinctive screened doors and end vents set them apart from typical boxcars. Most of the ventilated boxcars were older cars of double-sheathed wood construction, thereby standing out all the more over the years as the national freight car fleet modernized with taller steel-sheathed cars.