Along the Right of Way ...

One for my Friend Jim...

Milepost 603

When I was still at THE COURIER, I sometimes took day-long business trips with my supervisor Jim.  If we were gone over the lunch hour and were within about 100 miles (give or take) of a White Castle, that's where we would eat.  Now not everyone likes White Castle's little Sliders (mini-burgers) but that wasn't a problem for me.  So we'd go in and down our lunch then move on.

In my previous post, I mentioned Clever Paper Models, www.clevermodels.net and their many offerings for the paper model builder.  But it was only after I read through their blog (yes, us bloggers do read each others' postings) that I realized that they offered this model of an older White Castle restaurant.

As seen by the photo above, this is a much older building than the ones we are used to seeing today but there is little doubt that this is a White Castle.  I just wonder what time frame this building came from as I see that hamburgers are only a nickel at this particular eatery.  That no doubt goes back a long, long way.

There are several models on my layout that have a story behind them.  Unreal Real Estate reminds me of our former neighbor.  Merkel Munnitions was built by a friend of mine for his layout and later sent to me upon his passing.  Then there's the root beer/malt shop named after one of my YMCA friends.  The point is that when we get all caught up in this prototype modeling thing, we effectively screen ourselves from the real fun of remembering friends & associates with a structure on our layout.  After working with Jim for over nine years, I won't forget him.  Yet, it would be nice to take a look at a simple model on my layout just like this one and smile a little... thinking of Sliders & fries and some of those day-long business trips.  Pass the ketchup, please...

Hey!  There's even one available in O scale.  Now THAT would look great sitting in his office, wouldn't it?

dlm

Clever Paper Models

Milepost 602

In the spirit mentioned earlier of looking for one thing and finding something else, I offer Clever Paper Models.  I was looking for something on the Web (frankly, I don't remember what) and happened upon this site.  The models looked good and I was even more impressed when I realized that they were all paper models.  I'm not sure that paper models have caught on here in the US like they have elsewhere, but I'm told that they have long been a mainstay of modeling in other countries, especially in England, the European continent and in Japan.  But if these models are any indication, you may soon see them at your local hobby shop.

Their web site at www.clevermodels.net is chock full of really nice looking models.  Most of them are railroad & industrial structures but they do have some commercial buildings like the one pictured here and they even have some small locomotives & rolling stock.  Now I'm not sure if I'm ready to endorse the use of paper models for rolling stock but if one really had to have a certain car... well, paper would certainly be one option for them to pursue.  In addition to the kits, they also offer various textures including wood siding, roofing material, windows & doors and most other details that one would need should they want to strike out on their own to build something other than the models offered there.

If you want to give it a try, they even have a couple of free models there that you can download, print off and try building yourself.  I will admit that I tried and have since developed a new sense of appreciation for the work done by others that is pictured on their site.  No, my first paper model attempt won't be pictured here.  Let's just say that it takes patience, sharp Xacto knife blades, patience, a steady hand, patience and... more patience.  One thing is for sure... if you do want to give the freebies a try, do yourself a favor and read the hints & tips provided there as well. 

When you think about it, most original models were done with wood.  Then came some cast metal stuff and we moved to plastic.  The computer revolution brought us to laser cut structures (back to wood in most cases) so there have always been a variety of media for model construction.  And paper has been a part of that ever since pre-printed car sides were glued onto otherwise wooden cars.  But these aren't your father's paper sides; they are well designed, well thought out and well executed models that can hold a prime location on your pike.  MODEL RAILROADER recently ran an article about buildings made from photos; these will certainly rival those if assembled properly and with a little bit of... patience!.

dlm

Which Came First; the Prototype or the Model?

Milepost 601

Back in the late 1950s, Mantua was one of the major players in the emerging HO scale model train market.  They quickly earned the reputation of producing top quality locomotive kits and nicely detailed rolling stock... most of the time.  But model railroad enthusiasts were somewhat perplexed and were no doubt scratching their heads when this little gem appeared on the market.

It is a Clearance Car.  It's purpose was rather simple... it was put in a train and if there were any obstructions that might affect the operation of the train, it would run into them.  This could be a tunnel that was too low, a bridge that was too narrow or even a model structure that was placed too close to the track.  Whatever it was, the Clearance Car would immediately tell the model railroad operater that he/she needed to move the obstructing object.

Well, that was all fine and dandy but come on... really... What self-respecting railroad would have such a Rube Goldberg contraption on their line?  Surely, the engineering department knew enough to make tunnels & bridges wide enough and to not set things like loading platforms too close to the track.  No doubt, those who tried to model the prototype were left scratching their head for sure.

My mother used to tell me that when you were looking for one thing, you would very often find something else that you have been missing.  So I set out today looking for a Nickel Plate photo book that is part of my collection but cannot be found.  While thumbing through one of the books I have, I ran across this picture...

Why, I do believe... it's a track clearance car!  And it would appear that it serves a very similar purpose... to make sure that the large load immediately behind the car doesn't run into anything that may damage it.  Once again, the "real thing" exists which just goes to show you that there is a prototype for (almost) everything!

Actually, the train appears to be a special movement that is carrying some kind of unique load.  The locomotive is followed immediately by the "clearance car."  This seems to be built on a standard flat car; note that the sides of this car don't look uniform and neither does the roof.  Next comes a gondola that is probably simply serving as an idler car.  This no doubt allowed for stopping distance should the clearance car detect a problem.  The special freight itself follows with a passenger car.  I'm guessing that this passenger car would hold the staff that was accompanying the special load to wherever it was headed.  Finally, the train is followed up by a caboose.  Remember, we are talking about the days when cabooses were standard on almost all freight trains.

So the next time you see one of those really strange freight cars at a swap meet or listed on Ebay, don't laugh too hard as there just might be a prototype for it... or at least something close.  Like I say, you never know what you will find Along the Right of Way...

dlm

Number 600

Milepost 600

Wow!  This is post number 600.  I guess that is a real milestone considering that I've been doing this for... five+ years now.  But 600 is a huge milestone in many areas... in baseball, there are only a few players who have hit 600 home runs in their careers.  What?  Baseball?  Well, it's America's pastime... but then again so are trains.  So what does 600 have to do with railroads?

Dubbed one of the finest steam engines ever built, the Norfolk & Western Class J 4-8-4 locomotive was produced in their Roanoke shops to power their crack passenger trains.  Unlike many other lines, the N&W had to fight mountainous terrain while keeping their passenger trains on schedule.  This was the answer provided by their design engineers.  Semi-streamlined and sleek, the Class Js powered those passenger trains through the Appalachian Mountains until the end of steam.

Here is number 600 again sitting along side of two other very good engines built/ operated  by N&W.  To her immediate left is a 2-6-6-4 Class A which was designed to haul hot freight over those same mountains.  And, when it came to power over speed, the Class Y, the third loco in the photo was the answer, hauling long strings of coal laden hoppers through the mountains to all parts of the system.  Yes, the N&W did turn out some mighty fine steam engines.

Back in the 1980s, the Norfolk & Western pulled one of the Class J locomotives, the 611, from their transportation museum and returned her to service pulling railfan trips all over the system.  This included a stop in North Findlay (Mortimer) as the train made its way across northwest Ohio on the old Nickel Plate Road.

Here's a not-so-good photo of 611 as she heads east on the old NKP mainline near North Findlay.

2012 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Norfolk & Western and Southern merger, creating today's Norfolk Southern Railroad.  In addition to the Heritage Locomotives mentioned in an earlier post, rumor has it that the NS will once again be running steam as part of the celebration.  Stay tuned for more on that.

So, whether it's blog posts, home runs or locomotive numbers, I guess 600 is a good one indeed!

dlm

Another Tower for Train Town

Milepost 599

Last time, I told you about the problem I had properly aligning a smokejack in a hip roof for a tower.  Well, here's the model that the roof was for.  We have discussed towers previously to the point that I think you are well aware of their importance to the railroads during the 1950s that I model.

While this one follows the general paint scheme I have of gray sides & green roofs, it is not a model of any particular tower that I'm aware of.  While each one seemed to have its own little characteristics, they all had things in common... usually two stories high, usually lots of windows for visibility, etc.  This one is a little different in that the stairs are on the left as you face the tower.  This was an "oops" as I forgot to reverse the artwork for the pattern.  I didn't realize this until after I had eveything cut out.  So I was faced with the choice of doing the one wall over again or just changing things up a little and having the stairs on the left.  You can see which route I took... the easy one!  :)

Speaking of stairs, this is the next major hurdle that I need to overcome.  The railings on the stairs are all made for a certain stair "pitch" so if your model uses something else, the railings look out of line.  The railings around the landings & platforms are also very tricky as there isn't much surface to glue things to.  If you look closely at this one, you can see that I have a little skill development ahead of me.  I guess they are OK but could be better.  I'll work on that in the future.  In the meantime, this tower will no doubt be put to use guarding an interlocking, crossing or some other appropriate place on my railroad.  One of these days, I'll build something with more than four sides but for right now, I am having fun knocking these out.  As always, I encourage you to give them a try.  they are fun & easy... and will allow you a sense of pride and accomplishment when you see YOUR tower on your line.

On a very personal note...HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JANET!  We celebrated number 38 on June 15!

dlm

A Little Modeling Trick...

Milepost 598

I recently built a tower with a hip roof on it.  I was reasonably pleased with the way the roof turned out but realized that I had forgotten to include a smoke jack in it.  So I took my trusty Xacto knife and went to work boring a hole in the roofing material where I wanted the roof to be.  That was simple enough.  But the hard part came when I tried to get the smokejack to stand straight up in the roof.  No matter what I tried, it wanted to lean one way or another.  While I realized that this "could" be the way that many of them were, it wasn't what I wanted so I went to work, thinking about a way to resolve this.

Here's my solution:  Since the smokejack was only going to be a piece of round plastic shaft, I cut a piece of it about four inches long.  On one end, I quickly filed down a point that would easily go into some scrap foam insulation board I had laying around.  Next, I used a square to line up the shaft material then pushed it into the foam so that it was perpendicular.  I carefully placed the roof over the shaft and added a few drops of plastic cement.  After letting this sit for a few hours, I gently & carefully removed the shaft & the roof together as one properly aligned piece.  I added a little scrap plastic on the inside of the roof for additional bracing, trimmed both the inside and outside to length, painted the visible part black and I was done.  Where's my Easy Button??!?

dlm

A Little Devilment...

Milepost 597

Whenever a group of people get together and have known each other for a while, it is only a matter of time before someone in the group decides that a little prank is in order at the expense of another of the group members.  So it was that your esteemed host stirred the pot among friends with the following orneriness.

One of the crew members of The Pirate and his Crew is my friend Dave.  Dave is modeling the old Toledo & Ohio Central with a rather narrowly defined time frame in mind, back in the late 1920s.  The other thing that you need to know about Dave is that he has an aversion to hopper cars; just flat out doesn't like them.  Well, as soon as you learn that a person has such a weakness, it is time to zero in and keep him stirred up.  That is the origin behind the mine artwork shown above.

The picture is from the box that the mine kit came in.  In reaserching the restoration project I happened upon this art work.  The old AHM kits were all done this way; much nicer in my opinion that the photos that later adorned boxes of other manufacturers.  But back to the story...

Down in the lower left corner of the image, there is... of all things... a T&OC hopper!  Well... it wasn't really there  until after some unnamed person modified the artwork ever so slightly with some image editing software.  Here's the original...

Needless to say, it took only a minute or two to turn the KO&G into T&OC to give poor Dave fits.  Upon sharing the artwork with others in the group, they immediately piled on, telling Dave that this was "proof" that he needed a whole string of his dreaded hoppers... and a mine too!  We haven't heard much about the hoppers lately but I have a sneaky feeling that there are some other jabs headed his way as well.  The publication of this post will be the first confession that he has been duped.  But if he doesn't read this on a regular basis, it's just one more reason why he should!  A little fun is just that, a little fun.  Just be sure that you can take it if you are willing to dish it out.  Back to model railroading next time...

dlm

 

Bigger Shanties

Milepost 596

A while back, I showed you some small shanties that I built that were among my first efforts at those little mainstays of 1950s railroading.  They were everywhere.  They were small offices, they were watchmen's shanties, they were even small phone booths.  But sometimes, the shanty needed to provide a little more space so bigger ones were called for.  Hence the ones you see pictured here.

This time, I used board & batten siding for the walls.  Again, I dipped into my supply of Tichy doors & windows for those castings and the scrap box provided roofing material.  I used the same technique as described earlier... lay them out on the computer, print the plans on label paper, stick that on the siding and then go cutting away.  The other nice thing about doing them this way is that the plans are the same and easily duplicated.  If I were doing them one at a time, they wouldn't have the same look as they do here.

The first two are my more or less standard gray with green roofing material.  That roofing material is Plastruct HO shingle stock.  It is a little thinner than the siding material and is also very easy to work with.  I'm not sure where the green shanty will go but it is a little different in both color combination and roofing material.  I had an old station that I had picked up for almost nothing at a train show (a dollar I think) because I needed one wall from the kit.  Well, you guessed it... the rest of the parts went into the scrap box and in this case, provided the needed roofing.  I'll tell you about the red one in a future post but the roof for it is corrugated metal roofing from Evergreen that has been weathered.

If there is sufficient interest, I'll share my process for cutting the window & door openings in the siding.  This was a real stumbling block for me and took me quite some time to get past.  These sheds have helped me develop that skill until I'm now "reasonably" comfortable with cutting them easily, quickly and "...close enough for me."

dlm

Ray's Country Store

Milepost 595

My friend Ray has been at it again.  He built this neat little country store in N scale for his father's layout.  Ray can move from scale to scale rather easily; I can only think about some of the projects that he can pull off.  But the best part is that most of the parts needed for this little gem were in his scrap box.  He did have to get N sized windows & doors but that was about it.

To hear Ray tell it, one day his dad was looking at a Nickel Plate book and ran across the above photo.  He liked it as well as the scene in general so Ray decided he would knock one out for his day.  It must be nice to have a son like that... talented AND so thoughtful!  :)

dlm

 

Railroad Storage Sheds Along the Right of Way

Milepost 594

There was a time in railroading where storage sheds were everywhere.  To start with, section houses were everywhere and the crews that manned them needed tools & supplies, hence the sheds.  Today, a lot of those crews have gone away as more and more automated track maintenance is getting done, making such manual labor obsolete.  So too have the sheds disappeared; partially from the diminished need for storage and partially from the problem of supply theft.  Either way, you don't see sheds today like you used to.

But we have a unique opportunity when we model to move to a certain point in time and try to recreate that time with our models.  So since my railroad is loosely set in the 1950s when a lot of track work was still done by hand, I need sheds!  So... I built sheds as you can see here.

These sheds were relatively easy to build since I didn't follow a particular pattern for them.  As I recall, they are approximately 12x16 scale feet in size.  The windows were just windows that I had in my Tichy window stash.  The doors are simply pieces of scribed siding that are on a "track" made of strip styrene.  There is a loose paint scheme of lighter gray walls, darker gray windows and green roofs.  Do note however that one roof is still a rusty corrugate metal one.  I'm guessing that before too long, the elements will get to it and it will be necessary for the maintenance crew to replace it with green rolled roofing material just like the others.

I've mentioned this in the past but I try to lay out my buildings on my computer first.  I have some simple software that allows me to draw the walls then I also have templates for the doors & windows in my stash.  A simple cut & paste and the windows are in place.  The finished plans are then reversed and printed onto Avery label stock.  This goes on the back of the wall material and I go to work cutting along the lines to get the walls with the window openings in place.  It works for me and seems very simple.

For whatever reason, I've been doing a lot of little sheds lately; you will be seeing more of them in the days & weeks to come.  But consider giving things like this a try... the siding cost about $5 and the windows were about a quarter each.  A lot of fun for just a few dollars if you ask me...

dlm