Upgrading Plastic – Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads

Detailing an Accurail Fowler boxcar

Manny Jacob sent along his techniques to upgrade the Accurail Fowler boxcar kit. Here’s Manny with the details.

I was excited when Accurail added a Fowler boxcar to their product lineup as this famous Canadian boxcar design can be quickly added to a freight car fleet at an affordable price. I purchased a couple kits to add to my fleet. One car was factory painted and lettered and the other was undecorated.

Tidbits

It’s been hot and humid in middle Tennessee, plus I’ve been in and out of town. I haven’t done much modeling but a couple of tasks were completed. The lead photo shows the M-15 boxcar trucks. Of course, the B&O couldn’t use the same type of trucks on different car sub-classes. It’s just another detail to work through as the models await a decent day for the spray booth.

Updating a Bowser GS Gondola

Bob McGlone shared an interesting model update on a discussion list earlier this year. He added drop bottom doors to a Pennsylvania Railroad gondola. Click on any image to review a larger size.

I’ve always been interested in circa 1900 steel freight cars. I find them fascinating but there are few plastic models commercially available. One model is the HO Bowser GS gondola which follows a Pennsy prototype with 32,700 cars built starting in 1903.

Upgrading Accurail shorties

Dave Parker has been busy upgrading a few Accurail 36-foot boxcar models, adding details to reflect specific prototype practices. Here’s Dave with the details.

For fleet-building purposes, I like the Accurail shorties well enough but, when I considered seeing three or four of them strung together on a layout, I thought “boring!” Yes, there can be some variation in the trucks, and in the center-sill (straight vs fishbelly) but, when viewed broadside, they are otherwise identical.

Alterations

Ready-to-run freight cars have become common model railroad items over the last few decades. Few models have reflected prototypes that can be used for a mid-1920s focus. The lettering often follows a later practice. The Pre-War version of the new Rapido Trains Northern Pacific boxcar comes close to the mark but there are a few alterations required. I made the following adjustments while a new computer performed Windows Updates and software uploads.