Post by Beekster on Jul 7, 2024 12:20:02 GMT -6
The improvised gondola is awaiting a cool morning to spray clearcoat before final assembly. So this weekend I've been working on making a Maintenance of Way shed out of a retired 40' steel boxcar. Old units like this are sometimes pulled off of their frames & trucks and plopped on the ground to be used as an improvised shed for whatever the MoW crews need. This project was inspired by a similar one that's included in one of the model railroading digital downloads I've purchased from Kalmbach publishing.
I started with this, all in for $8.43 off eBay:
This ready-to-run relic from the 1970s is about as simple as dirt, and rather underwhelming in detail. For example, the catwalk across the top of the car shouldn't be molded solid but should have daylight showing underneath except at the few points where there is a support. The molded ladders on the sides and ends are also solid. The article I'm using as reference shows a boxcar with the catwalk and ladders removed. I can't quite do that much to this subject.
This is what it looks like after pulling the combined floor/frame and trucks away from the car body. You'll note that I have also shaved the ladders from the sides because that was easy to do and I've puttied up the area and sanded smooth. The car came without a brake wheel, which was no problem because this would have been removed anyway. After this image was taken I shaved off the rungs from the ladders. I decided not to try to remove the rails; doing so would inflict too much damage on the rest of the molded detail. The floor/frame piece has wooden plan detail molded on the bottom. Since the car will be on the ground, that isn't necessary. I laminated several strips of .030" styrene to make a new floor. which is seen here oversized before I began cutting & sanding it down to size. The car body also had a couple of places on the inside perimeter that were molded thicker to fit into locating slots on the floor/frame piece. I shaved those away so that the new floor would fit.
These MoW sheds had the freight door openings sealed with plates (Wood? Metal? Can't tell...) and at least one side needed a personnel door. A couple of windows were also fitted to allow some natural light. The article shows two windows on the opposite side of the car from the personnel door, but I imagine that window numbers and placement are infinitely variable depending on what the railroad needs. Is it wired for electricity? I have no idea. This image shows work in progress. The freight door openings have been sealed with styrene, and on one side a personnel door from Pikestuff has been added. I installed it off-center for some visual interest. The blue tape marks the location for a Pikestuff window, and the dimensions were determined by measuring the size of the mounting flange on the window itself.
Working with small drills, a Dremel with a cutting wheel, a scalpel, and a file I opened up the car sides and squared up the openings for the windows and glued them in. I also cut out some material from the laminated floor so that it clears the door plugs fitted inside
This is what it looks like at the moment. I will sand the bottom of the car smooth whereupon it will be ready for cleaning and paint. I will shoot the interior and floor with gray primer and probably leave it at that. The exterior will also be primed, but I've not decided on a final color yet. This will eventually be marked for the railway, and the name & colors for that is still up in the air. So this one will likely sit in a primered state for a while. Just before final assembly, I will cut two pieces of clear styrene for the windows and glue them inside with clear parts glue.
I started with this, all in for $8.43 off eBay:
This ready-to-run relic from the 1970s is about as simple as dirt, and rather underwhelming in detail. For example, the catwalk across the top of the car shouldn't be molded solid but should have daylight showing underneath except at the few points where there is a support. The molded ladders on the sides and ends are also solid. The article I'm using as reference shows a boxcar with the catwalk and ladders removed. I can't quite do that much to this subject.
This is what it looks like after pulling the combined floor/frame and trucks away from the car body. You'll note that I have also shaved the ladders from the sides because that was easy to do and I've puttied up the area and sanded smooth. The car came without a brake wheel, which was no problem because this would have been removed anyway. After this image was taken I shaved off the rungs from the ladders. I decided not to try to remove the rails; doing so would inflict too much damage on the rest of the molded detail. The floor/frame piece has wooden plan detail molded on the bottom. Since the car will be on the ground, that isn't necessary. I laminated several strips of .030" styrene to make a new floor. which is seen here oversized before I began cutting & sanding it down to size. The car body also had a couple of places on the inside perimeter that were molded thicker to fit into locating slots on the floor/frame piece. I shaved those away so that the new floor would fit.
These MoW sheds had the freight door openings sealed with plates (Wood? Metal? Can't tell...) and at least one side needed a personnel door. A couple of windows were also fitted to allow some natural light. The article shows two windows on the opposite side of the car from the personnel door, but I imagine that window numbers and placement are infinitely variable depending on what the railroad needs. Is it wired for electricity? I have no idea. This image shows work in progress. The freight door openings have been sealed with styrene, and on one side a personnel door from Pikestuff has been added. I installed it off-center for some visual interest. The blue tape marks the location for a Pikestuff window, and the dimensions were determined by measuring the size of the mounting flange on the window itself.
Working with small drills, a Dremel with a cutting wheel, a scalpel, and a file I opened up the car sides and squared up the openings for the windows and glued them in. I also cut out some material from the laminated floor so that it clears the door plugs fitted inside
This is what it looks like at the moment. I will sand the bottom of the car smooth whereupon it will be ready for cleaning and paint. I will shoot the interior and floor with gray primer and probably leave it at that. The exterior will also be primed, but I've not decided on a final color yet. This will eventually be marked for the railway, and the name & colors for that is still up in the air. So this one will likely sit in a primered state for a while. Just before final assembly, I will cut two pieces of clear styrene for the windows and glue them inside with clear parts glue.
