Caboose Projects

[Norton]

Thanks Sarge. Will keep an eye out for one. I guess I can post this here as its two railed.

https://o-gaugeforum.com/attachment/download/51669

https://o-gaugeforum.com/attachment/download/51667


Pete

[up148]

Russ's kits were nicer and brought better money than than Kemtron kits, at least back in the 90's. I thought he improved end castings and was the first (IIRC) to offer the preformed wrap-a-round shell. He also offered built up models as I bought one once and they were nice. Somewhere in there was a company called Pilings/Pillings, who offer these UP passenger car kits as well.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

............there was a company called Pilings/Pillings, who offer these UP passenger car kits as well.

Possibly John Pilling who also was a traction modeler and did produce various kits and other sundries??

[sarge]

Been working out in the car workshop out back over the last few days and taking my breaks with a cuppa in one hand and a soldering iron in the other.

Here's where we are this afternoon, ready to run the brake gear.



Pete, your links don't seem to work for me; something about my having to be a member of OGF to view them.

[Norton]

Sorry, I don’t have a photo posting site and was hoping the links would work. I may have get on one.




More photos here.

https://ogrforum.com/topic/new-york-cen ... 7746589277

Pete

[bob turner]

That is a good looking NYC Caboose. Provenance?

Oh - I see! Great work! I agree the 717 was pretty good, but nowhere near that good. Williams did a brass version which rivals the 717, and I have a Walthers version which pales in comparison, but has that charm.



Me too - the links require an ap or something. But Norton's link worked and is worth the time!

[sarge]

Glenn's kits (Mullet River) are some of the very best of the wood-kit genre. They are complicated and full of tiny bits, enough to intimidate the uninitiated by just looking in the box, but they go together well, the instructions are good, and the result is a first class representation of its prototype. You just clear the workbench for space to work, lay out a nice sheet of tempered glass for a work surface, take a breath, and take your time.

Well done, Pete!

[sarge]

Meanwhile, the NYC 19000 car is well-represented in the scale by the efforts of the brass makers and importers. We have the Max Gray version done by KTM, which was a nice job in its era and needs no apology today. Next out the gate was the Custom Brass car, and the best of the lot was from Precision Scale.

The first two came without trucks, as was the standard of the era. That presents a bit of a problem in that, while T-section Bettendorfs themselves aren't that unusual, the spring arrangement with a boxed half-width leaf-stack makes this version a bit scarce on the ground. I still think there are plenty of these cars that would get retrucked in a heartbeat if that version was to be made available, either cast or 3-d printed.

Here's the Precision version:

[Norton]

Rich Yoder announced some trucks a few years ago including T Section Bettenforfs. He was showing coil spring trucks and I asked him if he would do leaf spring versions and he implied he wasn’t aware they even existed so I sent him some photos. Crickets.
I used San Juan Car Co. trucks with PSC leaf springs.

Pete

[healey36]

Hmmm, terrific examples of wood-sided cabooses. The workmanship is remarkable.

When we cleaned off The Old Man's workbench, we found this partially completed Ambroid kit (O-10 NKP Wood-Sided Caboose) in his stash. It's been sitting here now for some 25 years, waiting for someone to finish it:



Not sure how one might glaze the windows after painting, or indeed if the windows are even complete. Still lots of bits in the box, though.

Purchased from Gilbert's in Gettysburg probably 40 years ago (at least), for the princely sum of $12.00.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

..........a nice sheet of tempered glass for a work surface.......

An excellent work surface; I scored a stack of the old secretary desk glass desk surfaces and regularly have 4 in play in my shop.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Not sure how one might glaze the windows after painting...

Usually the roof or floor is left removable, or those window castings are not put in place until they are painted separately and glazed.

Maybe you can pry them out - glue might be dried up enough to permit that w/o damaging parts.

[healey36]

Not sure how one might glaze the windows after painting...

Usually the roof or floor is left removable, or those window castings are not put in place until they are painted separately and glazed.

Maybe you can pry them out - glue might be dried up enough to permit that w/o damaging parts.

That's a good idea; he had attached the steps, but those fell off a few years ago.

I know Sarge has mentioned a technique using PVA to make window glazing, but I've only tried it on a small repair of a 1/72-scale model airplane canopy. This would be much larger.

[sarge]

Micro-scale has a glazing formula you use the same way as either PVA or canopy cement, basically stretching a bubble across with the stuff on a brush. You have to cover the brush and span the width of the opening as you pull it across. Let it dry, then hit with clear gloss lacquer to toughen it up.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

That's a good idea; he had attached the steps, but those fell off a few years ago.

Good sign that - glue is probably dried out and the window castings will probably pop out with a little persuasion. Paint them separately, glaze, and reinstall once the car body has been painted.