peterbunce
1880's Colorado Narrow gauge on 45mm track
Hi,
I have just about finished a new boxcar for the shippers to and from ?Sycamore Creek?
This one is a 30 footer and the prototype was built in 1884; so it is close to the end of my (self imposed ) period; and is longer than the ?normal? length of Denver & South Park boxcars which is 27 foot. I used the plans in Ron Rudnick?s book on the DSP&PRR freight stock, and enlarged it to FN3 via my scanner.
The it was a search through the stockroom (well its a passage to my workshop!) for something to make it from - its is made mostly from 5mm thick solid foam PVC board, I have some that is colored red, and as the finished color is red oxide it was a good time to ?try it out?. The doors are set slightly ajar but are fixed and the sides are one piece.
.
Due to its longer length I added behind the (3mm thick) doors a piece of scrap to hold the sides apart. This is not PVC foam board but a very peculiar rigid plastic ? that needs to be used up ? I am also using it in bases for my Horse drawn vehicles ? its called ?Altuglas?, and I think it?s a cast resin ? I got it a good price (nothing) and for some jobs its good ? I used it as the base of this boxcar for example. All the steps and handrails are from 1.5mm brass rod.
The truss rods (correct with no turnbuckle) are from pieces of bicycle spoke which are fitted onto scratchbuilt queen posts ?they were a bit fiddly to make with the very small pieces x 4! The boxcar has modified Bachmann bogies, and uses the bolsters from the donor Bachmann flatcar which also donated the brake cylinder as well. The underside has been simplified as it will not normally be seen. To add some more stiffening to the underside of the floor I added some softwood strips; then the lot was painted black; I have a matchpot from Wilkinson's seeing that B&Q have stopped them, this is emulsion paint, but will have a coat of varnish added for protection of the paint. The donor flatcar has also donated its deck for boardwalks for my buildings ? so there was not much of it that was discarded!
The roof is from 2mm thick styrene, and the decals are from Stan Cedarleaf in the USA? the lettering being larger than the normal size. After adding the decals I lightly weathered it to dull the bright white of the lettering, the roof has the most the bogie trucks having about the same amount.
Rather than write any more words, here are some photos of the build ?
the inside with plenty of bracing!
a close up of the corner - using up some of the scrap - all the vehicle is glued together with Evo-stik
The body, temporarily on the original bogies with another (of an earlier design and shorter by 4 scale feet) of my boxcars.
The underside before painting, the truss rods from bicycle spokes can bee seen. The lower ones 'twist' has been seen and also is now 'fixed'
A rather poor photo of the modifications to the bogie sides - the wood additions still needed to be cleaned up at the time of the photo, and the 'wisps of excess glue were removed before painting.
Here is a photo of three of my vehicles on the trestle, and all have different heights! The outside frame vehicle was built for carrying Charcoal is virtually the same size as standard gauge - it is a scale 31 foot long.
A final photo - the darker one is the original size (26ft) long, and was finished to be well worn with a darker colour paint.
The new one I have finished it as almost new - with just a small amount of weathering , principally on the roof.
I have just about finished a new boxcar for the shippers to and from ?Sycamore Creek?
This one is a 30 footer and the prototype was built in 1884; so it is close to the end of my (self imposed ) period; and is longer than the ?normal? length of Denver & South Park boxcars which is 27 foot. I used the plans in Ron Rudnick?s book on the DSP&PRR freight stock, and enlarged it to FN3 via my scanner.
The it was a search through the stockroom (well its a passage to my workshop!) for something to make it from - its is made mostly from 5mm thick solid foam PVC board, I have some that is colored red, and as the finished color is red oxide it was a good time to ?try it out?. The doors are set slightly ajar but are fixed and the sides are one piece.
.
Due to its longer length I added behind the (3mm thick) doors a piece of scrap to hold the sides apart. This is not PVC foam board but a very peculiar rigid plastic ? that needs to be used up ? I am also using it in bases for my Horse drawn vehicles ? its called ?Altuglas?, and I think it?s a cast resin ? I got it a good price (nothing) and for some jobs its good ? I used it as the base of this boxcar for example. All the steps and handrails are from 1.5mm brass rod.
The truss rods (correct with no turnbuckle) are from pieces of bicycle spoke which are fitted onto scratchbuilt queen posts ?they were a bit fiddly to make with the very small pieces x 4! The boxcar has modified Bachmann bogies, and uses the bolsters from the donor Bachmann flatcar which also donated the brake cylinder as well. The underside has been simplified as it will not normally be seen. To add some more stiffening to the underside of the floor I added some softwood strips; then the lot was painted black; I have a matchpot from Wilkinson's seeing that B&Q have stopped them, this is emulsion paint, but will have a coat of varnish added for protection of the paint. The donor flatcar has also donated its deck for boardwalks for my buildings ? so there was not much of it that was discarded!
The roof is from 2mm thick styrene, and the decals are from Stan Cedarleaf in the USA? the lettering being larger than the normal size. After adding the decals I lightly weathered it to dull the bright white of the lettering, the roof has the most the bogie trucks having about the same amount.
Rather than write any more words, here are some photos of the build ?
the inside with plenty of bracing!
a close up of the corner - using up some of the scrap - all the vehicle is glued together with Evo-stik
The body, temporarily on the original bogies with another (of an earlier design and shorter by 4 scale feet) of my boxcars.
The underside before painting, the truss rods from bicycle spokes can bee seen. The lower ones 'twist' has been seen and also is now 'fixed'
A rather poor photo of the modifications to the bogie sides - the wood additions still needed to be cleaned up at the time of the photo, and the 'wisps of excess glue were removed before painting.
Here is a photo of three of my vehicles on the trestle, and all have different heights! The outside frame vehicle was built for carrying Charcoal is virtually the same size as standard gauge - it is a scale 31 foot long.
A final photo - the darker one is the original size (26ft) long, and was finished to be well worn with a darker colour paint.
The new one I have finished it as almost new - with just a small amount of weathering , principally on the roof.
