Four Flats - Pathfinder Primed

The first of four flats has been fully assembled and has received a coat of primer.  From above I sprayed gray to provide a good base for weathering the deck boards, while the underbody and sides (and trucks) received my favorite freight car base, Dark Walnut.  This rattle-can paint is nearly black with just a hint of brown, like the really good extra dark chocolate I eat.  Makes a nice starting place for a dirty black coated in road dirt and wheel spatter and all the accumulated crud picked up in service.

 

It may be hard to see in this shot, but I've added two things to the underbody beyond what the kit calls for.  First, I used the metal remnants cut from the detail castings plus some other metal sprue I'd kept just for occasions like this, to add some weight.  Not much, but every fraction adds up.  Secondly I added one wire from the K brake valve to simulate the rod leading to the brake wheel and ratchet.  I thought about adding brake levers and other rods, but decided it looked busy enough as is.

 

By the way, I haven't abandoned the Suydam Ice Factory kit entirely.  My attention has been on painting minis for my Star Wars Legion core set (one unit of troopers complete, another unit of rebels nearly there!) as well as starting a Binkley shorty baggage car, and a variety of other household tasks.  With so many aspects of life being externally influenced right now, I need my hobby to be flexible enough to accommodate my whims and shifting interests.  And it does.

Four Flats - The Ulrich Truss Rod Flat Car Project - Couplers

For a while now I've been collecting HO scale Ulrich Truss Rod Flat Cars, sometimes listed as "Old Flat Car" or just "Flat Car" by the manufacturer.  Strangely, these often command a high price on eBay, for such a small thing and being so old.  They're not particularly rare, or all that detailed, but I suppose they do weigh a bit more than an injection molded flat car due to their metal sides, ends, bolsters and details.  Perhaps it is the name - often associated with quality kits, and maybe some nostalgia from folks who remember this kit from their childhood.

For such a common car in use from early railroading days through the 1930s, there are surprisingly few manufacturers who make them.  Ulrich is long out of business and as far as I know the only other makers of similar cars are also "fallen flags", with Bachmann having been the most recent entity to offer a truss-rod flat of similar size.  IHC/AHM made one, but it is shorter, probably 34 feet, while the Ulrich car is 40 feet and the Bachmann Silver Series 41, I think.  Bitter Creek makes a 34' kit that comes less trucks, couplers and decals.  Campbell may have offered one, and JV did as well, but these are even more rare.

I also don't know if the Ulrich cars are based on any particular prototype.  I do know that Tony Thompson used one as an SP Maintenance of Way car as it was a close match for his prototype.  Being a freelancer, the prototype matters less or not-at-all; I'm just happy to have some.  My typical m.o. is to troll eBay for "truss rod" and see if these cars will show up in a lot or for sale by someone who really isn't sure what they've got.  That's the best chance of getting one for less than an astronomical amount.  If the listing includes the words "vintage" or "craftsman" and the car is still in kit form, expect to pay too much.  As of the writing of this post, there's one on eBay for $19.99 plus $5.66 shipping.  This is too steep for me.

Anyway, on to the build.  For this post I'm focusing on the couplers.  Ulrich's design is based around a multi-piece knuckle coupler that you had to assemble, complete with tiny springs.  I guess it is compatible with Kadee couplers, but I'm replacing it with Kadee's scale-head, whisker-spring coupler.  In order to make it fit I had to file the Ulrich coupler/end beam/bolster casting opening ever so slightly.  Then, I cut down a Kadee coupler box leaving the round post and a bit of the flat to which that's attached.  Once this post is placed into the Ulrich coupler box over the cast-on peg, the coupler operates as intended with little-to-no slop.

Up next...when wood won't work.

Pig at the Crossroads

 

When I first saw this pig, only two days before I took this photo, it was yellow.  According to the folks with me, the last time they saw it, it was a different color altogether.  I was so taken with the idea that people regularly repaint the pig that I failed to notice the swine was standing in the parking lot of a hobby shop!  This statue is located outside Crossroads Hobbies and Crafts of Salem, on West Main in Salem, Virginia.  Here are the rules (open in a new tab for a closer look):

If you're ever in the area, do drop in and patronize this neat store.  Products run the gamut from craft supplies and Warhammer to model trains and puzzles, plastic models and even art supplies.  I purchased some figures on one day then went back another day to stock up on styrene sheet.  On both occasions the staff were friendly and helpful.  Oh, and there's a great big Maine Coon cat that has the run of the place.  

How did I end up in Salem?  Helping my Mom and her two cats move into an apartment there.  From her balcony you can just catch a glimpse of Norfolk Southern's lines into Roanoke, both the old N&W line and the former VGN line.  With no rail service in Ukiah, it was refreshing to hear trains again.  It was also nice to be back in a brick-and-mortar hobby shop.

I haven't been idle the past few weeks, but merely wandered away from blogging.  Plenty to keep busy with at home, then a dozen days in TN and VA helping Mom move and get settled.  More to come soon.