ATSF 50' Boxcar

[supagav]

Hi guys,

I have been pretty quiet over the last few months with work and family commitments seeming to swallow most of my time! Finally got a chance to get some train stuff done so I just wanted to share a recent project with you. It's another USA Trains 50' boxcar with a few small details added and a pretty thorough weathering job! Hope you like it

Thanks for looking,
All the best,
Gavin

 

[supagav]

Here are a few more shots...

 

[supagav]

Another shot of the side showing the rust spots:

 

[supagav]

A shot of the end showing the new brake hoses I added:

 

[supagav]

A few more photos of the other side of the car:

 

[supagav]

...

 

[supagav]

some close ups of the car sides:

 

[supagav]

Thanks for looking guys,
All the best,
Gavin

ps: a big thank you to Lisa for setting this forum up

 

[Richie]

Hi Gavin
A great weathering job on this 50ft box car Really like the way you have done the rust bubbles :applause: Nice to see you back :wave:

 

[supagav]

Thanks Richie Good to see you too!

All the best,
Gavin

 

[whatlep]

Fantastic job - looks the poodle's privates! :applause:

 

[chris m01]

Nice

 

[Doc R]

Well done Gav, an excellent job as always, and good to see you back. I know you had some lengthy explanations of your techniques on GSM, but perhaps you could add some tips here: how you did the rust spots, what kinds of paint work best for you, materials used for brake pipes etc. I'm sure we'd all appreciate it - I certainly would!

By the way, do you have any links to sites where you can get good shots of original US rolling stock?

 

[MR SPOCK]

looks better than real superb job

 

[Doc R]

ROSS - 4/11/2009 3:39 PM

Pictures? Plenty to Google on Google. Here's your starter for 10
http://usrailroadpics.fotopic.net/

Oooh, excellent, thanks. I'll have a good browse!

 

[spike]

Excellent job

 

[GarryH]

Good pics on that link.......cheers guys :applause:

 

[supagav]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the kind comments, it's really nice to hear I'd be happy to share some of my ideas, I'll take some fresh photos and write it up.

As for resources, here are some of the main sites I use:

http://www.boxcars.us - Boxcars and Freight Cars of North America (pretty good site, pics vary in quality, search by reporting mark ie: ATSF for Santa Fe, UP for Union Pacific, SP for Southern Pacific etc.)

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net - RR Picture Archives (another good site, loads of pics for all current RRs and fallen flags, mostly diesels but some rarities and oddities.)

http://espee.railfan.net/espee.html - Espee Modelers Archive (all SP related stuff but absolutely wonderful! Almost every loco SP owned is covered with details and photos of all the numbers in each series including rebuilds and upgrades.)

http://tankcarhomepage.railfan.net/ - Modern Tank Car Homepage (a site dedicated entirely to... you guessed it... tank cars! Mostly modern equipment with some great shots for reference)

I also use a lot of books, particularly those from Morning Sun who publish the Color Guide to Passanger and Freight Equipment series of titles. These are fantastic with a separate book dedicated to all the major roads in the US, feature a section for each car type. These are available from the wonderful folk at Steam Powered Video:

http://www.steam-powered-video.co.uk

Hope this helps? I'll post up some more photos as soon as I can.

Thanks again,
Gavin

 

[supagav]

I took some more photos this morning, so here is a short explanation of some of the modifications that I do to a standard aristo boxcar. They are just a a couple of very easy additions that can really transform it from the normal as-new condition into something that has a lot of realism and character.

Here is an underside shot of an SP 40' boxcar before I've attacked it!

 

[supagav]

The next step is to remove the coupler bar with a razor saw and file it down. I then add a set of metal wheels, firstly painting the wheel fronts a brown rust colour.