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Monday, August 30, 2021

The Morning Milk & Mail - A First Look

A few days ago in my post, End-of-Year Goals, I described the projects I hope to complete by the end of 2021.  One of those is the set of cars that will become the "Morning Milk & Mail", an all-stops passenger train that leaves early in the morning, handles the mail and picks up the milk on the Pine Branch.  I also have a set of Selley short passenger cars that will become the limited express hot-shot which will make no stops, but I decided to start on these Binkley cars, and the Red Ball (Binkley?) Fruit Car that will run with them. **

Originally I had planned to use a Selley Combine on this train, but then I found the elusive P-35 Binkley "Shorty Combine Caboose" that was marketed as a companion car for their "Oldie" Baggage.  These weren't "Sierra" cars*, or "Overton" cars; at least they weren't marketed that way that I've seen.  Interestingly, if you take the Binkley 1870 Baggage-Mail car and chop it in half right down the middle, you'll get the Shorty Baggage and the Shorty Combine.  Is that what they did?  I can only guess, but I think I'm on to something.  It would explain why the baggage door isn't centered, and why the small baggage door on the combine is so close to the windows.  Hmmm...

What I'm starting with are three cars in varying degrees of completion.  The Fruit Car I purchased used.  It was missing one truck and had some damage.  Close examination reveals it may have taken a tumble to the floor at some point.  I will be replacing the damaged parts and making a few upgrades.

The Baggage is a complete kit - but with incorrect parts.  Instead of the two-part end sills per the instructions, it has a nice set of end sill castings from Binkley made for their Business Car et al.  I will be building it as instructed, making few changes or upgrades.

Finally, the Combine is a real challenge.  Somebody built it years ago and it has seen better days.  Fortunately it only needs a new baggage door and some cleaning.  I will do as little as possible to repair this car with the aim of bringing it up to a better standard of construction.

So many rolling stock 'orphans' I see were built with good intentions, probably by someone just starting out in the hobby making the kind of mistakes we all might make, even being careful.  But these cars aren't the Athearn or Roundhouse plastic shake-the-box kits of my youth, or even some of the more complex plastic kits.  These were kits that summoned the craftsman in the builder, using terms in the instructions like 'measure', 'shape' and 'cut'.  Simple words, but they are qualitatively different from 'assemble' or 'insert'.  They require the builder to think differently, to assess the work and make decisions based on the state of construction and desired outcome.

*Binkley did market a set of Sierra cars, but these were the cast metal bodies from the same molds as the Laconia Sierra cars, later sold by Ulrich and Walthers.  I have a pair of these, have built one, and the other is awaiting construction.  They're narrow enough (for me at least) to be HOn3 cars if riding on suitable trucks...

**At the time I'm writing this I'm waiting on decals for the Four Flats project.  Turns out I didn't have the ones I wanted to use, but thankfully I located some on eBay.  Hated to lose the momentum I had going on that project, but glad to put my energy into this one!

Friday, August 27, 2021

Four Flats - Decks Weathered, Sides Painted and Ready for Decals

 

A quick update to show the decks fully painted and weathered.  The first application of color was a thin coat of Mudstone over the gray primer with a few boards picked out in a lighter tan to show replacement work by the shop.  Next was an all-over wash with Burnt Umber acrylic ink, thinned with Matte Medium and water.  After that dried I applied a black oil wash, cleaning select boards with a pointy cotton bud for variation of the effect.  The black wash seeps into the cracks, defining the boards as well as all the gouges and distressing I had applied earlier.

The sides were brush painted with Brown Iron Oxide.  Brush painting took me about as long as it would have if I had taped off the decks and undersides, strained and thinned the paint, and applied it with an airbrush.  I noticed this time around that my brush work has improved; at least I'm more comfortable with it, thanks to the miniature painting I've been doing lately.  That, and using the Matte Medium and water mix to thin the paint.  This mix makes the paint flow well and settle down without losing coverage or showing brush strokes.  The craft paint I use is too thick straight out of the bottle and benefits from a proper thinning.

Once the sides had dried I gave them a coat of gloss varnish from a rattle can and have allowed that to dry/cure for over 24 hours.  I gauge the time to let it dry based on how well I can still smell the odor.  Not scientific, but it hasn't failed me yet.  Today I spent some time laying out the spacing for the decals and selecting what I will use from the Rail Graphics freight car lettering sets.  Funny thing - they didn't make a Flat Car set for the 1900-1920 period, so I'll have to cobble together the relevant data from other types of rolling stock.  I also spent some time looking at historic shots of other prototype flat cars to get ideas for what to include and how it might look.

Thanks for reading, if you made it this far, and check back soon for the next Four Flats installment or click on the tag in the list on the right to read any of the previous posts.  As usual, open the pictures in another window or tab to see them larger.

Thursday, August 26, 2021

End-of-Year Goals

Yes, I know it is only August.  But August is nearly over, the kids are back to school, and the Chinese Pistache trees are beginning to blush.  So, I'm looking ahead to what I'd like to accomplish by year's end.  The Fall brings birthdays for my wife and both my boys as well as the holidays.  Not sure if we'll make it to Thanksgiving in Nevada this year, due to the virus, the weather, or both.  

All that to say, I'm trying to be realistic about what I might accomplish.  The Trail Drive of Christmas 2020 stretched well into the Spring of 2021.  I do have a tendency to fall prey to the planning fallacy.  That said, here's a look at what I'm thinking I'd like to accomplish.  All are projects in need of completion:





Firstly, the 0-4-0 Shifter.  I started this project not long after I got married...in 2001.  It is time to complete it.  Back when I started I had planned to use incandescent micro bulbs for the headlights.  I need to decide if I'm going to keep them or find suitable LEDs.  Next, the Ice Factory.  I have all I need to complete this scene, it is just a matter of chipping away at it.

Finally, the Fruit Car and the two passenger cars are going to become the Ocali Creek's Morning Milk & Mail train, an all-stops out-and-back on the Pine Branch.  Once completed the 2-6-0 will pull this until I detail and repaint the 4-4-0.  Not that this train will actually go from anywhere to anywhere on the railroad as built - I'll need staging wings on the main line to make this a reality.  Until then it'll run loops just for fun.

I'd also like to get track painted and weathered, and perhaps some scenic contours roughed in, but I'm not going to put that on the list.  Same with installing the passenger station scene or streets.  And of course, I'm going to finish the Four Flats first.  I'm in no hurry, but I'm ready to set some goals again and work towards them.  This post is, in a way, going on record and staking my claim.  Here's to a productive Fall!


 

Monday, August 23, 2021

Four Flats - Shakedown Run!

 

Three of the four flats in this short clip have only been assembled, minus brake wheels and a couple minor tasks yet to do under the deck - adding a brake rod and additional weight.  However, at this point they are fully operational as you can see.  The car with the gray deck is the pathfinder model, built first to see how the rest should go together.  Up next, final assembly, priming, and then on to painting.

Oh, and if you want to know more about the engine pulling this train click on the 2-6-0 tag in the labels menu, likewise click caboose to learn more about the caboose.

Friday, August 20, 2021

Four Flats - Distressing Decks

The first image is a comparison shot I made to share on my Instagram account.  On the left is the wooden deck that comes with the kit.  Note the wood grain running perpendicular to the grooves.  Note the places where the grooves between the "boards" didn't quite go far enough.  Even if I were to cut in the grooves, then stain this and weather it, the single-piece construction would be blatantly obvious thanks to the out-of-scale wood grain.

The brownish piece on the right is card that I've scribed to match the board size of the kit-supplied deck.  Already at this stage it is an improvement.  The "grain" of the card stock runs parallel to the direction of the boards.  I could simply stain this piece with various browns and grays and it would look great.  However, I prefer to prime cardstock first, especially in this case, to avoid as much warping as possible.  This isn't Strathmore.  It's more like shirt cardboard.  I'm not even sure where I found it.

In this next image is the pathfinder car with its deck primed, and the other three card decks in various stages of distress.  Note the dental tools and Xacto knife I use to add nail marks, cracks, etc. to the boards.  I particularly like the tool with the conical heads, as it is useful for pressing down on a board to make it lower than its neighbor, as well as making drag and scuff marks to imply something heavy has been shifted that dented and gouged the deck.

This last shot is a close-up of the pathfinder model's deck, ready for some color and weathering.  My plan is to paint and weather the deck, then the sides, all brushed on by hand.  I just need to remember what shade of brown I used on the Ocali Creek box car I did a few years back as I want to match it. Honestly, I know I took a picture of the car with the two colors I blended and for the life of me I can't find it. 



Monday, August 16, 2021

Found out about Flynn

A few posts back Russ Bellinis and I were chatting in the comments about Bill Flynn.  Russ's suggestion to check one of Bob Chaparro's SoCal groups was right on.  A quick search of the messages on the Model Railroads of Southern Calif group produced this post from January 23, 2006:

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of longtime PRR
modeler Bill Flynn of Tustin, California. Bill passed away on
January 21 due to complications from several cancer surgeries.
Arrangements are being coordinated by Saddleback Mortuary.

Bill's Southwest Subdivision/PRR was a showpiece model railroad with
its four-track mainline, detailed scenery and many scratchbuilt
structures. This railroad first started in Bill's two-car garage.
As we all do, Bill came to the conclusion he needed more space
to "do things right" so he fill-in his seldom used swimming pool and
built a layout room over the former pool site. And he did it right.

Bill also was a strong supporter of the Cajon Division/NMRA and
hosted many open houses for division, region and National
conventions. He was a friendly face at many local meets. He will
be missed.

Bob Chaparro
Moderator

Well said, Bob.  George Sellios has said that really fine modeling is inspiring.  Bill Flynn's railroad inspired me.  Here are some images I took of Bill's pike back in April 2004.


While these two overview shots of an under-construction railroad give a sense of the scope, it is in the smaller scenes and finer details where Bill's talent really came to the fore.  My favorite area was a small town at the end of a branch line on a narrow peninsula.  It inspired Pinto on the previous incarnation of the Ocali Creek back when it was still set in Appalachia, and to a lesser degree influenced design choices I made at Ocala Springs (Pine Branch Park), my current railroad under construction.





I still learn something every time I study these photos.  That, to me, is the mark of a great model railroad scene (and a hallmark of many great Disney attractions).  There's always something to catch your interest and it may not be the same thing each time you look, though it may have been there all along and you just didn't see it before.


Saturday, August 14, 2021

Scenes Seen Waiting for a Bus

 From our (20th Anniversary) trip to San Francisco:




We spent three full days riding buses all over the City by the Bay and the weather was sunny and glorious.  Those big electric buses can really get up and move when they need to - even climbing hills - so you'd better hold on tight!  My only regret was that we didn't get to ride either the streetcars or cable cars.  The cable cars were running and, for a limited time, were free!  However, service was intermittent.  We had planned to ride the streetcars along the waterfront but for some never-explained reason they were replaced by buses that day.  Oh well.  We'll be back.  

It is good to be home and when the un-packing dust settles, I'm getting right back to the flat car project.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Four Flats - A Twisted Tale of Truss Rods

 

Well, really, there's no twist.  I just assembled the truss rods according to the original kit instructions, using stock kit parts.  If there is a tale, it's that I almost used fishing line and Tichy turnbuckles instead, but that would have meant routing out a channel for the line, which would have really slowed down the build.  One of the cars I purchased was mostly assembled (guess which one), and I liked the way the original rods and turnbuckles looked.  I did have to replace the brass turnbuckles for one of the kits, but I had some in my stash of parts.

I know I mentioned a few posts back that I'd be talking about when wood doesn't work.  That's still the plan, but lately the whims have been having their way and I've built coupler assemblies and truss rod bits instead.  Eventually.  Maybe next time.  We'll see.  I want to paint and weather the primed deck on the pathfinder model first...