Changing a simple coach

[nkp_174]

Here are a few pictures of my less eye-appeasing trussrod iron:





I used 0.015"x 0.060" brass flat wire stock to form them. I notched the end, bent the middle, drilled the holes, and then wrapped the end around some 0.015" brass wire. I then flattened the end of a trussrod, drilled a hole in it, and pinned it into the round part of the iron.

[modelsof1900]

Rus, thank you also very much for your honouring comments.

Michael, I’m not sure if the eye-end if these anchors should be hanged in the air? I think that it will be mechanically and physically better when the first nbw casting to the eye should be positioned as close as maybe to the eye? And I think that this nbw must than fixed directly through flat ends of the anchor to the bottom or a frame beam. However this is my view to this problem or did you see other arrangements on pictures or drawings?

Here a more picture showing a few more details …



… and I see also that a too heavy enlargement shows all my inaccuracies and problem zones (would say my wife) at lower center. However I will show you that all under-floor mounted parts are fixed additionally by nbw castings or by small bolts which altogether are glued and in most cases also riveted through the floor including the original steel weight sheet. And I do not even know how many drill bits I have lost drilling all the small holes for these bolts.
Wayne you are right, gluing alone is not the best solution for fixing these many small parts and in most cases I fixed the parts first on this mechanical way and after I filled the small holes and gaps with ac glue. I would be sure that I must not make repairs in a later building phase or in times when model will be in use on a layout.
Sorry for my long explanations. But these are all things that you all know even from their own experiences.

[nkp_174]

Michael, I’m not sure if the eye-end if these anchors should be hanged in the air? I think that it will be mechanically and physically better when the first nbw casting to the eye should be positioned as close as maybe to the eye? And I think that this nbw must than fixed directly through flat ends of the anchor to the bottom or a frame beam. However this is my view to this problem or did you see other arrangements on pictures or drawings?

Many cars had that type. There are excellent drawings of it on pgs 110 and 256 of John White's Am. RR. Pass. Car. Here are photos of a car at Mid-Continent with such an iron:
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Many other cars at MC have such hardware, but you can't see it as clearly in the photos. The tell-tale sign is the s-curve before the bolts fastening it to the side sill.

The same style is shown repeatedly in the 1888 Car Builders Dictionary...I'm sure that you'd approve of Forney's description...for it includes a line about how it was inadequate!

Wayne you are right, gluing alone is not the best solution for fixing these many small parts and in most cases I fixed the parts first on this mechanical way and after I filled the small holes and gaps with ac glue. I would be sure that I must not make repairs in a later building phase or in times when model will be in use on a layout.
Sorry for my long explanations. But these are all things that you all know even from their own experiences.

Like an article I read in an old gazette: a mechanical pin protects against one of two weaknesses that CA has: shear. The other is heat...and isn't really much of a problem unless you bake your models.

[Sumpter250]

Like an article I read in an old gazette: a mechanical pin protects against one of two weaknesses that CA has: shear. The other is heat...and isn't really much of a problem unless you bake your models.

I was well aware of the shear "weakness", I hadn't heard about the problem with heat.
Another useful tidbit of information I can add to my resources.

And I do not even know how many drill bits I have lost drilling all the small holes for these bolts.

.....and you are most certainly not alone in that loss!!

[ocalicreek]

Bernhard,

Excellent work, as usual!

Where did you find the information on the placement of underbody details? I have an old Northeastern wooden passenger car awaiting underbody details - in fact, I have the Cal-Scale parts in the box with the car, but have held off installing them because I'm not sure where they should go. Apart from buying an expensive book on B&M passenger cars, I have not found any other source online for where to place these parts. Any suggestions?

OH, and I absolutely love the window guards on the end windows. Very nice touch.

Galen

[modelsof1900]

Galen, thanks for your commendation.

Getting correct information about brakes for a specific car is a heavy problem. You are right.
I own a few books with general information about brakes; in most cases there are pictured brakes of freight cars. Because I model in 1900 era the K-brake is the typical brake of that time – as freight as passenger cars. This arrangement is that what I realize in most cases and also the most brake detail sets (Tichy and others) contain a drawing of this brake system.
The most information which I have read are printed in John H. White's books “The American Railroad freight car” and “The American Railroad passenger car” and a few other old books and reprints of railroad car architecture. Because I do not know the specific construction of one of the specific car that I model I try to find a typical brake construction fitting the car type that I model in that specific time. So I did never built a 100 percent exact model however I “constructed” my own model adding details which could use in similarly manner to this model.
In case of this passenger car I must find a brake system including a handbrake which contains two brake end stands and that will work also in times after 1900. I found a few solutions in my books and somewhere I found in a book also this brake system that I realized. That what I nowhere found is the solution with the release spring for handbrake however I know also that such a spring must exist. I know also that most sketches of brakes are simplified working depictions. I have seen very seldom good pictures of a complete brake system and I know also that the internet does not deliver good information of American rail car brakes and it does not deliver infos about different mechanical brake systems or I can not find these dates – and so, Galen, we have the same problem. The internet gives millions and millions of information however specific information are heavily to found. So I try to build my models with a healthy mind and a bit physical know about mechanic. And I'm a critic model builder against my own ideas and constructions thinking again and again what could be the sense of this and that and how could been the construction of specific parts and systems - before the modern times. However physics did never changed.

Here also a more addition, especially for Michales’ (nkp_174) modeling jobs.
I made a small sketch of these truss rod anchor which you could use and where the fixing points for nbw castings are positioned behind to the body bolsters and where the body bolster works as additional fixing block for these anchors.



The sketch is drawn after suggestions from the book “the Railroad Car Builder’s Pictorial Dictionary of Matthias N. Forney, a 1974 reprint after the originally publishing 1879 by The Railroad Gazette. I hope that this can be a help for you.

Adding:
A more document of railway car construction is a reprint of "Railway Car Construction" by William Voss, origianally printed in 1892 with a few sketches about brakes, freight as passenger cars. However this book did not contain many aspects about so called "power brakes" or more modern air brakes. I know that "my construction" using this cross-lever connecting both hand brakes to one power point is a development after 1900 and so it is not documented in this book.

[nkp_174]

I've been studying various pictures since Bernhard shared that sketch, and I think that I was wrong...there does usually appear to be a bolster under the bend. It'll make construction of those pieces easier...but more importantly, they'll be correct. Bernhard and I came away with different conclusions using some of the same materials (1879 Car Builder's dictionary, White's books)...largely because I missed the label on the car bolster.

In addition to the 1879 version, there is are 1888 and 1906 versions. If you have any interest in railroad cars built in this era, I highly recommend checking out the appropriate dictionary. The 1906 version is out of this world...with photos and larger-than-O scale drawings. Dimensioned drawings are provided for many different parts on passenger, freight, and MOW equipment.

[Mileswestern]

Now THIS is the kind of superdetailing I love to watch unfold! I can't wait to see what's next.

[ocalicreek]

Thank you, Bernhard, for your thorough reply! I too would love to model it just exactly as it was, but mostly strive for the right look. I appreciate fine detailing (such as your work) but am also desiring an operating layout and recognize the compromise you alluded to of either owning/building really detailed rolling stock & equipment or having a layout more than a shelf layout or something small. Right now all I have is a shelf layout and am working on a small loop, so I can afford to spend more time enjoying the detailing work. Thanks again,

Galen

[modelsof1900]

Wayne,

I would like to make a short addition to my roof construction, a mixture of plywood and styrene. Yes, I started with a plywood construction because my first intuition was to build the roof from balsa wood that I could grind to the wished shapes in a very short time. However I have had my misgivings about the stability of such roof ends and after discussions with friends I changed to the styrene sheeting – after formed plywood parts were glued below of original roof. I know that a solid styrene construction would be the better solution however it was too late for correcting all. My styrene sheet for roofing is .050 inch thick and so I would have a good material for a solid construction. You are right with your idée – however gluing styrene using a lacquer thinner that is a new idea too me. But you said I love to build with wood so that working with styrene is a very new experience to my.

However here I would like to add new questions without any idea. Exactly for this roof I plan to give it a surface imitating rain insulation as the original cars have had it before metal sheeting was come a standard. I think that there were to ways for insulation; using tear paper or more yet using tared jute or linen. I will like to use a very thin cloth like silk or a synthetic material that I will glue in strips on roof and where the borders will have small overlaps.

Wayne and all you experienced modelers,
did you built such a roof insulation in your model building career? Remember please that I will like to do this building an HO-scale model. I would try also a thinned lacquer for fixing the fabric to the plastic roof and I hope for seeing a small raw surface after fixing. Or should I use very thin paper for this? I think that I will make a few tests with different materials and various fixings however I would like to use your experiences if they should exist. What do you think?
I’m very interested to get your answers. Thank you very much for your answers and opinions.

[doctorwayne]

Bernhard, I've done a "canvas" roof using facial tissue, although mine was applied over a styrene roof with moulded-in "board" detail. Unfortunately, I didn't apply enough layers, with the result that the board detail still shows through.

For your plain styrene roof, though, it should work well. Separate the tissue into single plies, and cut it into strips of a size suitable to the roof which you're trying to duplicate. I think that the canvas could be applied either as long pieces along the length of the roof, or as short ones running cross-wise, but I'm not absolutely sure.
Cut the pieces larger than needed, so that the excess can overhang at the eaves. Place the tissue wherever you wish to start, and hold it in place while you apply some lacquer thinner, using a fairly wide brush (1/2" or 3/4") to one end. Once you have some thinner applied, the tissue should stay in place by itself. Continue applying thinner to the entire sheet, brushing outwards from the areas already done. Add more tissue as required, overlapping the previously-done area by a few scale inches, until the entire roof is covered. You can add additional layers of tissue if you wish, either immediately after finishing the first layer or after the first layer has dried. When you are satisfied with the appearance (don't worry if you have a few small wrinkles, as the real ones weren't always perfect, but, if you don't want wrinkles, brush them out before everything hardens) set the roof aside until everything hardens - usually several hours, as multiple layers of tissue require multiple applications of thinner. When everything has set hard, use a sharp blade to trim away the excess hanging over the edges, then paint the roof as you normally would.

I don't have a photo of the car which I did, but if you need it, I'll try to add one later. By the way, if the roof which you're working with has already been painted, sand it sufficiently that the lacquer thinner can penetrate down to the plastic beneath.

Wayne

[Steamtrains]

Bernhard...Back in the days when the government did not try so hard to protect us from ourselves, we used to use a VERY thin paper and a substance then known as "dope" to cover model airplanes (stick & tissue construction...). I believe the materials for this might still be found. The so-called "dope" was an acetone based adhesive, and smelled much like acetate based glue. Perhaps these materials might still be found in Germany..??

[jim currie]

i use a different tack than doc i use patteren paper left over from wifes sewing patterens , in the past i have used onion skin typing paper bet its getting hard to find , have also been expermenting with used dryer sheets they are a bit thick .0035 to .005 but they give a wonderful texture to the finished roof, they also have very good tear restance.
if you use then be shure to wash then to get the last bit of fabric softener out.
jim

Gus that paper was called silkspan or that was the brand i used havent seen it for a long time.

[modelsof1900]

Wayne, Gus, Jim,

thank you very much for all your friendly hints and ideas. It was my second choice modeling with thin layers of tissues but I will test it and in case of disappointment I can grind down it after trying and hardening - and will make a second or third attempt.

Thanks again however I will give the car an interior lightening including a function decoder before I will cover the roof. The decoder shall control the whole short passenger trains’ lightening so that I can control each car independently by other one. My idea is well planed (I think); I hope to give this model a well workable 8-wheel current transmission for an uninterruptible lightening. And an interior decoration must follow also. The ideas are growing and more growing and I hope for finishing in this year yet!

[jbaakko]

Man, thats one amazing model Those underframe details make me want to re-do the Copper Range cars I'm working on. Where did you get them from?