Freight car projects

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Would serious heat - say, a hairdryer or heat shrinker - do any good, or would it just melt it?

With care, it would work, but that's also a more focused heat so if it's just a section that you need to straighten out, probably. But flattening out the whole floor, tougher to do, and then you would still have to block it out flat under weights and let it cool.

I do prefer the hot water method. Folks used to recommend the oven on warm and then weights, but this resin for this caboose is nasty smelling stuff. Hate to even consider the oven, unless I'm looking to replace it... A disposable aluminum roasting pan, 2 sections of glass, and a good weight is pretty easy. Fill the tea pot and get it done!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

This is the resin caboose kit:

[R.K. Maroon]

Are we safe to assume WP means Western Pacific? If so, I am very interested to see this caboose. I associate the WP with bay window cabooses. Here, for instance, is a Bob Jarvis kit-bash that jumped into my hands at O Scale West last year:

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/348shfpocid38959ll586/Jarvis-Caboose-WP-426_01.jpg?rlkey=h3u9wj48bklwyy67ahrlomrs1&st=i4uzjafp

It sits waiting for an Adams and Son FT set in the as-delivered WP scheme to arrive on the interchange track.

https://dl.dropbox.com/scl/fi/eba63k55vy1wz90nsdmyc/Key-Western-Pacific-FT-ABBA-15-1.JPG?rlkey=1gtft6v7y5jbuok0lonsgekl6&st=oyc3wp0i

I can't recall ever seeing a model of a WP cupola caboose.
Jim

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Are we safe to assume WP means Western Pacific? If so, I am very interested to see this caboose. I associate the WP with bay window cabooses.

It's an outside braced caboose - there apparently was a bay window version - would have preferred that myself but this kit is what not.

I can't recall ever seeing a model of a WP cupola caboose.

SN 1632 started out as one of these WP cabooses: https://www.wrm.org/visit/car-roster/fr ... thern-1632

[webenda]

Nice interior photos of SN 1632.

WPRM has a list of WP Cupola cabooses.
https://www.wplives.org/wphistory_wp_eq ... sters.html

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Nice interior photos of SN 1632.

WPRM has a list of WP Cupola cabooses.
https://www.wplives.org/wphistory_wp_eq ... sters.html

Yes, there's a fair amount of information available. Now if only the USPS can manage to actually deliver the decals I bought for this project,

[bob turner]

These are ancient: one on left is Scale Craft, right is Westbrook. Both on Lobaugh trucks. Neither makes it to today's standards - but I wanted a very specific shade of orange, to match my 1939 Lobaugh ice cars. I couldn't find the right color anywhere, except in two unopened 1950s bottles of A-C railroad paints. The orange was P-12 Reefer Orange - absolutely perfect. Both just brushed on - no need to shoot with an airbrush.

The decals are ancient Champ - note that on the Westbrook the black started to migrate with the application of Solvaset. I don't know if that is common, but it almost ruined the work. I could wipe the black off the carbody, and in between the words, but the only way to get the lettering back would be a micro Q-Tip in between the black. Not me.

Somewhere I have one set of more recent decals, with color UP shields - but I couldn't find them last night. I will re-do the Westbrook if I ever find them. For now, these match the long string of orange ice cars behind my Back-Up Malley.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Here's the 4th gondola in the series:











And no more gondolas for a while On to something completely different,

[Rufus T. Firefly]

In the background is that resin kit caboose.....that's been coming along....

[up148]

That looks super. No paint so the build is naked and it looks great. Nice job! I see the lower corner gave you a little trouble.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

That looks super. No paint so the build is naked and it looks great. Nice job!

Thanks! Weather holds I might toss some paint at it....

I see the lower corner gave you a little trouble.

There was no part of this that did not rear up its pointed little head and give me trouble. The entire roof is a replacement....

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Built this one just to be able to use the decals,

[up148]

Another great looking car. One thing about building in wood, the planking of the wood floor really shines through in the underbody photo. And the staining makes the floor look like it was built-up from individual planks. Lots and lots of detail on the underside.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Another great looking car. One thing about building in wood, the planking of the wood floor really shines through in the underbody photo.

Thanks! I got tired of seeing floors that were made from a single sheet of wood a long time ago. While expedient to the building of the car, it always looked wrong. Yes, it's the underside and few will ever see that part of the car, but I will and I know what's there or not.

And the staining makes the floor look like it was built-up from individual planks. Lots and lots of detail on the underside.

That's because they are individual planks (stripwood...)!!! And, I had a pack or 2 of the GL castings for the truss rod anchors that were inside the sides, so those got used up adding that detail to this car.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Something a little different - ACL Phosphate Car









Scratchbuilt from the old HO Ambroid kit plans......decals are a mix of K4 sets to get something close to tolerable.