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.
Last week I shared disappointment after completing an underframe and realizing a major error. The image is above and the KC brake system is on the wrong side of the centersill. It is pointed in the proper direction, jut not in the proper location.
I send a big Thank You to the readers who shared comments on The Blahs post last week. I started work on a couple of box cars the next day. I also broke out some stored equipment and ran a coal train on the Salt Lake Route club layout in nearby Nolensville on Monday evening. The lead image shows the coal train en route from Ogden to Los Angeles. Continue reading “Pushing ahead”
I’ve seen and heard lots of good comments on the new Accurail HO scale, 36-foot, double sheathed, box car kits. But many people seem puzzled on building the underframe. As an Accurail kit, we have come to expect parts to fall together easily. This kit is no exception; there are just a few more parts to carefully set into place. Follow along on a tutorial to help you assemble the underframe on these fine kits.
Continue reading “Accurail 36-foot box car underframe tutorial”
The new Accurail HO scale 36-foot box cars kits are being released. I recently picked up two undecorated car kits with the fishbelly center sills and corrugated metal ends. It’s exciting to open the box on a new model for the first time, especially a model that fits into my modeling focus. Let’s take a look at this new kit.