P5se Camelback’s EOY Challenge

[P5se Camelback]

Thanks for the head's up, Pete! I do appreciate it!

My guess is that no matter what I would get for artwork, I would be shooting it up, "cleaning it up" and then reducing it to 200% of HO size. I have dealt with production artwork for years for such things as control panels, regulatory labels and the like, but I have never gone through the process of having model railroad decals produced, although I did generate several pieces of artwork for them a number of years ago (back in the late '70's, actually.)

My original artwork was set by hand, one letter at a time, at 400% and then reduced to 200% of final HO size, the size that had been requested by Donald B. Manlick, a custom decal producer back then. (I don't know if he's even still in business ... I haven't seen one of his ads in years!) This is one of the pieces of artwork I produced back then, the Herald for my Lehigh Susquehanna & Western ... I just never got around to having the decals made ... everything went into storage before I got around to it!



If I can find a good "camera service" (Kinko's, Office Depot or some place capable of producing what I would call "camera-ready art,") I should be in great shape as far as sending Rail Graphics what they would need.

I'm hoping that this artwork deal happens ... the lettering on the N scale model the fellow on the Reading Modeler built looks pretty good! Plus, I would send my LS&W artwork in for sets of those at the same time!

BTW, I did invite him to visit us and consider becoming a regular here ... as I always do on other forums!

[P5se Camelback]

Well, the Squadron Green Putty/plastic cement mixture dried/cured overnight so I pulled on my Optivisor and set about the task of filing down the putty to reveal a nice surface on which to add some detail and coat with some Floquil primer. The results of the first application were not what I was hoping for ...



After working the putty down to the surface of the casting, it’s pretty obvious that this is not going to be a quick “smear it on … sand it off” process. There will have to be at least one more putty application to get the smooth surface that is needed.



So, I’ll mix up another batch of the “Putty Butter,” squeegee it on and while it sets up, I’ll rummage about in the garage for a scrap piece of lumber on which to lay out a fixture to use to fabricate the “railing” that stands near the center of the car. I may get started fabricating the brackets for the AB Brake Valve and the Air Reservoir that sit on the top surface of the car, as well.

So …I’m off! The clock is ticking, the deadline approaches and I still have much to do! [… and I’m hoping that I hear soon that decals are on the way!]

Omigod! Looking at that last photo, I realized I have to engineer some way to mount a pair of Kadee couplers! (groan … there’s always something that jumps up to bite you!) O.K. … I’m sure I can handle it!

[Gary S]

I was just about to ask you how progress was going. Another coat of the green stuff and some sanding oughta cover it. While it is drying, may as well build up the rails and be thinking about the coupler mounts.

What about the paint on the axles? Did you ever find out if they are metal or plastic?

[P5se Camelback]

Gary, that is the biggest mystery! The wheels are definitely brass but there is the tiniest magnetic attraction. It's confusing. Before I stripped the paint off I though they were nickle silver, but I was not thinking about the age of this kit when I thought that ... however, the slight magnetic attraction was clouding my identification. The axles had major magnetic attraction, again, not something I expected, especially since they sit in a die-cast Zamac "channel" and are captured by a brass plate.

Almost all of the paint is stripped off the wheel sets (photos next time ... I keep forgetting ... the wheel sets are still out in the garage on the paper towels next to the little aluminum disposable loaf pan that I was using to hold the lacquer thinner when I was stripping all of the kit's parts.) I am still puzzled as to the material ... I'm just hoping whatever it is, the wheel sets are insulated on one side. I think they must be ... plus there is a "groove" in the axles about three sixteenths of an inch from the back of one wheel on each axle. I have been hoping thaqt the groove is an indication of some sort of insulation. I'm thinking maybe they are made from an early metallic alloy know at the time as nonconductium.

This is an old kit, produced by a very small, limited run, cottage industry kit producer in Philadelphia. We must all recognize that back at that time, much of the hobby's kit suppliers were part of a small, but growing cottage industry. There were the biggies; Varney, Mantua Ambroid, Northeastern, and a few others, but much of what was available to the model railroader came from small manufacturing facilities in the garages and basements of private homes. Plus, there was a lot more scratch-building going on then ... a bit of careful page-turning through some of my Model Railroader Magazine issues from the forties and fifties will attest to that. There was very little RTR and what there was, was very toy-like and aimed at the "beginner" (read that as, "young child.")

Owing to that, "standards" were pretty much non-existent except for the following of electrical convention. I'll be very happy if the wheels are insulated from each other (somehow) and I can use the set that came with the kit, at least for now!

[P5se Camelback]

As I mentioned in the first post of this thread, none of the detail parts for this model were in the box when I bought the kit as a teenager back in the sixties. I am still working with the Squadron Green putty to get the smoothest possible surface on this low-tech casting, but since time is marching on, I am beginning to fabricate some of the detail parts.

The first details to be addressed were the Auxiliary/Emergency Reservoir and the AB Valve. The Tichy Train Group AB brake set is a “some assembly required” set so the first step was to attach the Dirt Collector to the AB Valve …



And then I drilled the three 0.020 holes for the break lines …



The next most visible detail is the handrail. I decided to use music wire for the handrail as it is a detail that will be prone to be bumped and I didn’t think that brass wire would be up to the task.

To begin fabrication of the handrail, I needed first to build a fixture to hold the 0.025 music wire while it was being soldered. A piece of basswood was all I could find (hardwood, even pine, would have been a better choice but there was none in the garage) so I laid out the handrail with a very sharp pencil and drilled a pair of pilot holes for a couple nails. After driving the nails in and securing them with a drop of Zap-CA, I grabbed the Dremel and using a cutoff wheel, removed the heads and points of the nails.



I then added a couple of “sticks” to hold the middle two verticals in place while they are being soldered to the main handrail …



It was at that point that I realized the main handrail piece needed to be “captured to keep it from moving during the soldering process …



I then fired up the soldering iron to “middle heat,” added some resin flux to the joints and soldered the pieces together. …



After everything cooled, I carefully lifted my new handrail out of the fixture …



After taking a few measurements from a drawing found on the Web …



... I cut the verticals to length …



And then … the money shot! The first test fitting of my Scale Test Car’s new handrail!



O.K. … I’m pleased with the results. A little cleanup and it will be ready for final attachment.

The next installment will deal with the poorly cast “access doors” on the sides of the car, which seem to follow the Pennsy prototype but beyond being really bad castings, they are incorrect for the Reading Company’s # 91210 Scale Test Car.

Now hang on … from here on it’s going to get a little dicey! Some very small pieces will be involved! I'm probably going to have someone check my sanity when this is all over!

[tetters]

Nice job on the handrail BiL! Keep up the good work.

[nachoman]

Very nice progress . And by the way, we won't need to check your sanity. We already know you are insane

[Gary S]

Oh yeah! I'm pumped to see the progress. Handrail looks great. Those Tichy brake parts are some kind of detailed. I haven't seen them before.

Now, on the "access doors", why would a scale test car need them? Wouoldn't the thing just be a huge hunk of metal?

[e-paw]

great stuff
Keep the pics coming.

[doctorwayne]

Now, on the "access doors", why would a scale test car need them? Wouoldn't the thing just be a huge hunk of metal?

Gary, I think that scale test cars had a number of larger, fixed weights, and also some smaller removeable ones - there's some info on the original scale test cars HERE (scroll down to Page 116 for the stuff pertaining to railroads, plus a photo).
The car's weight could change over time due to brake wear, repairs, etc. and they were required to be periodically re-weighed on a calibrated scale to ensure that their weight was as-stated on the dimensional data - otherwise, they'd be useless for calibrating other scales. According to the info in the link, a scale was required to be accurate to within 200lbs. when measuring a weight of 50 tons. The access doors would allow these smaller weights to be added or removed to/from the test car, keeping its weight accurate.

Wayne

[BR60103]

I think a scale would have to be tested at other weights than the maximum of the car, so assorted weights are removed to check the midpoints.
And I think that the cars didn't have air brakes so that there would be no wear from that factor.

[P5se Camelback]

... Gary, I think that scale test cars had a number of larger, fixed weights, and also some smaller removeable ones ...
The car's weight could change over time due to brake wear, repairs, etc. and they were required to be periodically re-weighed on a calibrated scale to ensure that their weight was as-stated on the dimensional data - otherwise, they'd be useless for calibrating other scales. According to the info in the link, a scale was required to be accurate to within 200lbs. when measuring a weight of 50 tons. The access doors would allow these smaller weights to be added or removed to/from the test car, keeping its weight accurate. Wayne

Thanks, doctorwayne, that's what I thought I remembered, but I wasn't totally sure (I don't trust my memory to be 100% accurate any more.) So while I was out looking up something to reinforce my memory, You answered the question for me, and I thank you for taking the burdon off! Seriously!

I think a scale would have to be tested at other weights than the maximum of the car, so assorted weights are removed to check the midpoints. And I think that the cars didn't have air brakes so that there would be no wear from that factor.

Actually, the minimum weight for a Scale Test Car is 80,000 pounds. That is it's calibrated weight, as checked on a calibrated master scale. The small doors are used to add weight to make up for wear of the brake shoes and wheels. They have weathertight seals and are closed tight and have special locks to discourage tampering.

In reality, some Scale Test Cars did have fully operating brakes. The Reading Company's cars, one of which I am modeling, is an example of such a car, as is illustrated by the first photo of this thread, the inspiration for this entry into the Challenge.

[Gary S]

docWayne, thanks for the info.

[rrinker]

THAT'S what I need to do for the music wire actuators for my servos - drive a pair of nails into a scrap of wood the proper distance apart. I've been bending them with needlenose pliers (heavy ones) and I finally figured out the exact place on the jaws to clamp the wire to get the right bend but a fixture would be easier. Of course now that 3/4 of them are done...

--Randy

[P5se Camelback]

Um ... :oops: ... ah ... :oops: ...

... I tried bending the music wire with the fixture, but I found that ...

It is an Assembly Fixture, not a Bending Jig!

I, too, used a pair of round needle-nose pliers to bend the music wire. They are visible on the right of the fixture in this photo ...



They are fairly small, but the end of the jaws have the right diameter ... after making the first 90° bend, I placed the wire in the fixture and grabbed the wire where it touched the top of the righth-hand nail, removed it from the fixture and made the bend. Then I put it back inthe fixture and ... it was bent exactly the right amount, exactly in the right place!

The rest was accomplished as I indicated earlier ...

And now I'm struggling with a bunch of tiny little pieces (that look tiny even under my Optivisor) as I attempt to fabricate a pair of those latches on the round access doors ... Grrrrrrrr!