peterbunce
1880's Colorado Narrow gauge on 45mm track
A new D&RG boxcar.
I have been building one of the Denever & Rio Grande Railroad class 3 boxcars ? this design was built from 1878 to 1883, and numerically the greatest number of D&RG boxcars built to one design. They were sold to the RGS and other railroads in great numbers as newer designs were built by the D&RG.
The vehicle has 24 foot long over the body, and still has the ?porches? or platforms at each end . Paradoxically they were called 25 footers; the early ones had the short wheelbase (3foot 2inches ) trucks, but later builds had the 3 foot 7 inch wheelbase which can be produced easily from the Bachmann/LGB American freight truck. Confusingly there are a couple of designs: I have modeled the earlier style, the later design has a couple of springs in the centre, instead of the single one -that allowed the capacity to be raised. These vehicles were with others part of the 'Rolling Stock Trusts (a posh name for a series of mortgages each of 1million dollars) to pay for the huge expansion of rolling stock etc., needed for the massive expansion of the railroad - from 1881! There were in all 6 of them, mostly for freight stock.
The body is made of my usual material: PVC solid foam, mostly 5mm thick ? with the interior having supports for the roof, which is 2mm thick plasticard On the inside of the floor are a couple of ?lead flashing? weights glued roughly over the bogie pivots. The doors including the smaller end door, which was used for loading timber into the vehicle on longer lengths than could otherwise be loaded, are from 3mm thick sheet. All the body/roof and doors are scribed with an Olfa cutter.
Having glued on the roof the trim between the roof and sides are covered with some plasticard trim. The handles for the doors are from 1.2mm plastic covered wire; the steps (unusually they are on both ends) are from black plasticard and tiny bits in white added to them; ? each step has 7 pieces. The brake staff is 1.5mm wire with an Ozark brake wheel and ratchet. Before fitting the roof walk add the supports for it and paint the location for it, and the underside of the roof walk also ? its easier that way. I make the supports from small pieces of 2mm thick plasticard the end ones are full width the others one piece per side ? when dry sand the tops flat. The end ?porches? are thicker pieces of PVC foam, scribed to replicate a couple of planks. The air(brake) pipes are from bicycle spokes bits and the pipes themselves are bits of wire sheathing with a piece if single copper wire (from 3) inside to keep the shape; the ?chain? is twisted 5 amp fuse wire glued in position, with a tap from plasticard.
The underside of the floor is simplified, it has four ?end to end? supports made from strips of wood: the truck bolsters are cut from the Bachmann flatcar that also provided the trucks; if required adjust the height with extra strips of plasticard. The straight air brake cylinder is from bits of tube and strip from the ?bits? boxes.
The tie rods have turnbuckles on them, unusual for my models, so I used a couple from a the above Bachmann chassis, bend them slightly to get the right bends on them and glue them to the cross beams and the floor, having first marked it as to where they should run, the ends of them in the full size vehicle appear on the ends of the ?porches ? the detail (one disc and one piece of 1.5mm square plasticard ) are added there. There is also a couple more washers and bolt heads each side of the central coupling pocket but those are square again plasticard as is the central oval shaped coupling pocket - then paint the lot black ? after a tip from David Buckingham I use (emulsion paint) tester pots from a local Wilkinson?s store (£1.00 each) much better value! I will also use them in my figure painting.
Bogies or trucks ? are modified Bachmann ? carve off (I use a sanding drum) the centre detail and replace it with the new from your plan (I use a 1st Edition ? now there is now a second edition of the book ?A Century of D&RG Narrow Gauge Freight Cars 1871 to 1971? by Robert Sloan, and my scanner & photocopier to produce full size plans. The bogie plans are there but a bit difficult to read. Brake shoes and supports are added ? they are very close to the railhead when fitted ? my supports are flexible PVC (though plasticard would also do the thickness is 1.5mm; they support the cross beams that hold the brake shoes themselves ? those beams are tilted upwards slightly with tiny strips of 1.5mm plasticard on the front edge of them. Brake shoes are generic, and 2mm thick, paint the curved face of the brake shoes before fitting them as you will not be able to do it when the bogie is re-assembled, to also make life a bit easier also paint the sides at the same time.
Transfers are not yet done ? they still have to be worked out! When designed the will be made by Stan Cedarleaf.
Here are a few photos of the new vehicle. For some reason ? I suspect the very poor winter light, the ?finished paint? colour in the photographs is terrible ? it should be a deepish red brown ? I used Anita?s Bark Brown colour.
the boxcar being built showing the inside.
Two (terrible colour) views of the finished except for transfers vehicle
The ex Bachmann bogies after modifications, one being upside down to the other.
It is now being lightly weathered, and the computer is being called into action having found a pair of fonts for some lettering; meanwhile either a flatcar or its grown up cousin, gaining some sides and ends for a 'gondola' (open truck - but its a long one at 30 feet) is being built.
Enjoy
Yours Peter.
I have been building one of the Denever & Rio Grande Railroad class 3 boxcars ? this design was built from 1878 to 1883, and numerically the greatest number of D&RG boxcars built to one design. They were sold to the RGS and other railroads in great numbers as newer designs were built by the D&RG.
The vehicle has 24 foot long over the body, and still has the ?porches? or platforms at each end . Paradoxically they were called 25 footers; the early ones had the short wheelbase (3foot 2inches ) trucks, but later builds had the 3 foot 7 inch wheelbase which can be produced easily from the Bachmann/LGB American freight truck. Confusingly there are a couple of designs: I have modeled the earlier style, the later design has a couple of springs in the centre, instead of the single one -that allowed the capacity to be raised. These vehicles were with others part of the 'Rolling Stock Trusts (a posh name for a series of mortgages each of 1million dollars) to pay for the huge expansion of rolling stock etc., needed for the massive expansion of the railroad - from 1881! There were in all 6 of them, mostly for freight stock.
The body is made of my usual material: PVC solid foam, mostly 5mm thick ? with the interior having supports for the roof, which is 2mm thick plasticard On the inside of the floor are a couple of ?lead flashing? weights glued roughly over the bogie pivots. The doors including the smaller end door, which was used for loading timber into the vehicle on longer lengths than could otherwise be loaded, are from 3mm thick sheet. All the body/roof and doors are scribed with an Olfa cutter.
Having glued on the roof the trim between the roof and sides are covered with some plasticard trim. The handles for the doors are from 1.2mm plastic covered wire; the steps (unusually they are on both ends) are from black plasticard and tiny bits in white added to them; ? each step has 7 pieces. The brake staff is 1.5mm wire with an Ozark brake wheel and ratchet. Before fitting the roof walk add the supports for it and paint the location for it, and the underside of the roof walk also ? its easier that way. I make the supports from small pieces of 2mm thick plasticard the end ones are full width the others one piece per side ? when dry sand the tops flat. The end ?porches? are thicker pieces of PVC foam, scribed to replicate a couple of planks. The air(brake) pipes are from bicycle spokes bits and the pipes themselves are bits of wire sheathing with a piece if single copper wire (from 3) inside to keep the shape; the ?chain? is twisted 5 amp fuse wire glued in position, with a tap from plasticard.
The underside of the floor is simplified, it has four ?end to end? supports made from strips of wood: the truck bolsters are cut from the Bachmann flatcar that also provided the trucks; if required adjust the height with extra strips of plasticard. The straight air brake cylinder is from bits of tube and strip from the ?bits? boxes.
The tie rods have turnbuckles on them, unusual for my models, so I used a couple from a the above Bachmann chassis, bend them slightly to get the right bends on them and glue them to the cross beams and the floor, having first marked it as to where they should run, the ends of them in the full size vehicle appear on the ends of the ?porches ? the detail (one disc and one piece of 1.5mm square plasticard ) are added there. There is also a couple more washers and bolt heads each side of the central coupling pocket but those are square again plasticard as is the central oval shaped coupling pocket - then paint the lot black ? after a tip from David Buckingham I use (emulsion paint) tester pots from a local Wilkinson?s store (£1.00 each) much better value! I will also use them in my figure painting.
Bogies or trucks ? are modified Bachmann ? carve off (I use a sanding drum) the centre detail and replace it with the new from your plan (I use a 1st Edition ? now there is now a second edition of the book ?A Century of D&RG Narrow Gauge Freight Cars 1871 to 1971? by Robert Sloan, and my scanner & photocopier to produce full size plans. The bogie plans are there but a bit difficult to read. Brake shoes and supports are added ? they are very close to the railhead when fitted ? my supports are flexible PVC (though plasticard would also do the thickness is 1.5mm; they support the cross beams that hold the brake shoes themselves ? those beams are tilted upwards slightly with tiny strips of 1.5mm plasticard on the front edge of them. Brake shoes are generic, and 2mm thick, paint the curved face of the brake shoes before fitting them as you will not be able to do it when the bogie is re-assembled, to also make life a bit easier also paint the sides at the same time.
Transfers are not yet done ? they still have to be worked out! When designed the will be made by Stan Cedarleaf.
Here are a few photos of the new vehicle. For some reason ? I suspect the very poor winter light, the ?finished paint? colour in the photographs is terrible ? it should be a deepish red brown ? I used Anita?s Bark Brown colour.
the boxcar being built showing the inside.
Two (terrible colour) views of the finished except for transfers vehicle
The ex Bachmann bogies after modifications, one being upside down to the other.
It is now being lightly weathered, and the computer is being called into action having found a pair of fonts for some lettering; meanwhile either a flatcar or its grown up cousin, gaining some sides and ends for a 'gondola' (open truck - but its a long one at 30 feet) is being built.
Enjoy
Yours Peter.
