Improving Intermountain AAR 70-ton Flat Cars

I started this post in June of 2019...Yep. Another flat car project.

The Intermountain AAR 70-ton flat cars are really well done models of an important prototype (including a New Haven one), and I have several of them. The only issue I have with them is that the laser-cut wood decking is a bit too thick, and tends to delaminate and curl. One option is to thin out the deck and glue it better. But I also wanted to experiment with doing a board by board deck, which should be a simple enough project with this model.

Despite the decking curling at the ends, it takes a bit of work to remove. It's installed using double-sided tape. I peeled them off, then scraped off any tape that was left.

I didn't have any 2" x 6" styrene strips at the time, so I started with the wood strips I had handy. I used my always on-hand Aileen's Tacky Glue to glue them in place. 

This process was working OK, but I have found that I really prefer working with styrene. In addition, the laser cut deck has boards of several different widths. I tried to find some prototype diagrams or information that would verify this, but I haven't been able to do so. So I decided to go with Intermountain's research and replicate that.

I built a simple jig to help keep things aligned using a couple of pieces of Masonite glued to a Masonite base. I have some passenger cars to scratchbuild/kitbash and this was built to prepare for that (coming soon!). 

I found that I needed to do a few pieces then glue them, otherwise they wouldn't stay in position for long. As you can see, I built them alongside the Intermountain deck after cutting all of the pieces using the Chopper.

I also ended up building it in two halves (unintentionally, actually, but found that it let me file to fit around the bolster and figure out what width the final piece needed to be). I also installed stakes in the stake pockets on one side, to help in alignment and trimming the stake pocket slots.

It's a good fit. 

I did finish the wood deck as well, even though I may not use it. I also made the end pieces, but I haven't cut out the curved area for the drop brake wheel or the deck stake pockets yet. I also didn't make nail holes yet. Instead, I'm going to have a friend make some castings. I'll modify the castings to make a final master to make several, since I'll need a few. If they come out well, In the meantime, I have a few more that need to have their decks removed.

More Rivets!

Modeling buddy Bill Gill contacted me after he saw my post on rivets with yet another technique he has developed. I have to reiterate this is one of the main reasons I like blogging, getting new information, techniques, and ideas from others. It's also great to hear from Bill, who I first met at RPI, and with the current state of the layout still in limbo (plus the pandemic) I miss seeing him a few times a year.

This is an Athearn flat car he modified to match a D&H flat car for the NEB&W at RPI.

There are 2 replacement rivets over the grab iron, 8 rivets between the first two stake pockets, then vertical rivets (3, 4, 8, and 3) noted by the arrows. I have to say his are more precisely placed than mine are on the flat cars I just did...

Here's a look at the finished and weathered car with a marble load.

He never had luck with harvesting rivets, and the smallest Tichy ones are still quite large. At the time the Archer rivet spacings didn't match.

How did he do it? I'll let him tell you:

The rivets on these cars are tiny dots of thick cyanoacrylate applied to tiny needle pricks that located the precise spot for each rivet. I printed the patterns on  a piece of Scotch Magic tape and applied that to the side of the car to use as a guide for the needle marks. It took a little practice to get the feel for how much pressure to apply to the needle (held in pinvise) to get consistent size/depth, but that came quickly.

Then a bit of practice applying just the right amount of CA. A tiny dot of CA was picked up with the needle point and carefully lowered until just the bottom of the droplet touched the tiny divot.

If I got too much CA on a spot, a quick, flat scrape with tip of #11 blade removed it and I made another needle poke before trying again. It sounds more tedious than it is once you get the feel for it.

One improvement I made on later projects was to use JB Weld epoxy instead of CA. It has a much longer working time and was easier to wipe off when I goofed. It also settled better to a more uniform looking rivet head than the CA, which sometimes set pretty quickly.

I'd had a terrible time trying to harvest and use Athearn rivets, The smallest Tichy rivets were a lot bigger than the rivets on the Athearn flat cars I was trying to match and (at that time anyway) none of the Archer rivet spacings matched the Athearn spacing.

I got overly optimistic and tried this method for applying a double row of staggered rivets along the center of a tender's sides. Too many rivets to be absolutely consistent in size and spacing.

But I managed to gently scrape those off and sand away the needle marks with just a little work with 600+ grit wet dry paper. I then found some archer decals that worked ok although I wish they were just a tiny bit larger and kept the same spacing.  

Thanks for the tip, and fantastic model work as always, Bill!

A Pleasant Surprise

I thought that the finished product would have far more impact than the build-up...

While we have discussed this in the past, my buddy Craig Bisgeier texted me one day a couple of weeks ago and said he wanted to see if he could make this smoke stack. He has been doing a lot of 3D printing recently, and he knew this was going to be an important piece for the layout.

Craig's an excellent modeler and had a website long before me, but also hasn't updated it in years. But he's been active posting things on Facebook. He models the Housatonic RR in 1892.

This was one of two stacks for Russell & Erwin, and was built in the late 1800s. The Sanborn map indicates it was 175' tall, but doesn't give a diameter. I estimated 15' wide.

I have several photos:

This one is a crop from a 1947 Kent Cochrane photo and the first one I had.

I don't remember where I found this color one, looks like it's in the '60s.

This is a shot of it being knocked down, but I don't have the date.

It's also visible in the 1955 Thomas Airviews aerial shots:

It took him about 15 minutes to make a rough drawing:

It turns out it's an 8-pointed star, which also means it would have been much easier to build than I originally thought. It's basically two squares, rotated within each other. 

The question was what we wanted to do about the flare at the top. It's quite noticeable in the 1947 photo. All of the other photos are later, and while it seems odd that they would have removed some of it, Dick says that if it was weakening, with bricks coming loose, it wouldn't have been a big deal to strip it back a bit for safety. So we decided that the full flare was the way to go.

The next question was how big to make it. As I noted in an earlier post, I wanted to go big because it looked more appropriate. In this case, it's a question not only of it towering over the trains, but it's quite visible towering above the building while looking down the tracks from New Britain Yard:

Jim Karl 1949

We decided to scale it down just a little bit, making it 21" instead of 24" tall. This will work better visually since I'm missing an entire city block between the yard and the stack, so it won't look too tall from that angle.

The next day he had finished the drawings. The flare, of course, was the biggest challenge. That was why he had reached out, he really wanted to take a crack at such a complex drawing, since the whole thing is tapered as well.

The next picture was the printing underway:

We decided that it would probably be better to use N-Scale Architect brick sheet instead of trying to print it with the brick pattern. I got more pictures throughout the day...

As you can see, he had to print it in sections since it was too large for the printer to do in one pass. This was another reason why I thought the brick sheet would work well, it would help hide the seams and strengthen the joints.

I started with the curved portion, curling it tightly to take away some of the tension. Since I don't have any rubber bands, I used twine to keep it secured. I used some Liquid Fusion polyurethane glue, I also experimented with styrene cement, and found that it worked well, especially if I applied a liberal amount to the stack first.

For the stone around the base, I had some flexibile Chooch material on hand. I decided to try to thin it as much as possible using the Dremel:

I also found that I could use the Dremel to roughen up the top edge and blend it in better. Then it was a matter of cutting out pieces of brick sheet for the stack itself. Since it would require three courses of brick sheet from top to bottom, I decided it would be easier to work in halves. I glued the two lower pieces together, and the two upper pieces. Once they were sheathed, I could glue the two halves together and then finish the sheathing in the middle. This also meant that each joint was in the middle of  a section of brick sheet.

The flare was tricky. I first did a couple of sections up to the top just below the flare, then worked in smaller pieces. I decided that the seam was hard to work with that way, so I then just started working with a full length piece. As it turned out, it wasn't that tough. I cut out the rough shape, held it in position to trace the curve on the the back, then cut it out. A good amount of styrene cement and finger pressure and it went pretty quickly. I tried to ensure that the last pieces would be added to the back in case I couldn't make those seams as clean.

My go to brick paint right now is a Rustoleum dark red plastic-safe primer in a spray can. I had drilled a hole in the base so I can eventually mount it over a piece of dowel mounted into the benchwork so it won't fall over. I used a piece of threaded rod and clamps to hold it while painting:

It was in the 50s, but I brought it in to dry as soon as it was sprayed. My method for applying mortar is to brush on full strength acrylic unbleached titanium white paint. This is thick, like from a tube. I then just wipe off the excess with a paper towel while it's still wet.

I then did a quick weathering with Bragdon Powders, as an initial attempt with Pan Pastels came out with a bit of a sheen. For the stone base I used my usual technique of a paint pen and stippling Pan Pastels while wet. I then used a fine brush to "paint" with Pan Pastels to provide a little more variation and highlight the seams between the stones. They look more gray in the photo (the lighting isn't great here either). In person it has more of a brownstone effect which is what I was looking for.

I'm happy with the current effect, and will see if I need to make any adjustments once I have scenery and structures.

Actually, more than happy, it's an amazing model and without Craig I wouldn't have it here at all.

What else? Smoke Stacks

One day Chris mentioned that if I were to build the tall smoke stack to scale, it would go to the ceiling. I hadn't gotten around to checking and just had a Walthers smoke stack as a stand in.

So, what are we looking at? There are three smoke stacks that will be on the layout. Two at Russell & Erwin, and one at Stanley Works.

These are the two at Russell & Erwin. The Sanborn maps give the heights, but not the width which I estimated using the scale on the map. Despite the appearance at this angle, the star-shaped one is taller. These are 10' x 150' on the left, and 15' x 175' on the right.

What about the Stanley Works one? In one of my clinics I pointed out the really long ladder, which is what I think might have inspired Chris to point out I'd have to build the things.

I took this photo in 2015. It was demolished on March 18, 2018, so I now know it was built in the '20s, it was made of steel (I thought it might be iron), and was 12' wide and 196' tall. It's also separated from the power house by a bit, which is good since it's all that will fit on the layout.

So, how do those compare with the Walthers model? The Walthers one is 1.25" x 10.5" or a scale 9' x 76' or a bit short. 

To scale, the Russell & Erwin ones should be 1.3" x 21" and 2" x 24" tall.

The Stanley one is 1.65" x 27" and as it turns out, the outer diameter of 1 1/4" PVC pipe is 1.65" so here's a mockup:

I left the Comet and caboose projects in place to help with the scale. To give an idea of how undersized the Walthers model would be for these specific industries, here it is next to the scale sized one:

The question is, of course, do I build them to scale? I think I'll try. If I decide to scale it down, how much would I reduce it? I'm not sure. The two Russell & Erwin ones, of course, are very obvious in the Cochrane photo I cropped above and tower well above the train.

I'll need to put a bit of a taper on this one for Stanley Works, and then either carve or make a wrapper for the steel plates, along with Archer rivets. And a lot of (Tichy?) ladders. For the shorter of the Russell & Erwin ones, the same approach with either a styrene or paper brick wrapper should work. As always, the challenge will be the star-shaped brick Russell & Erwin one. I've pretty much decided the best way is to 3D print it. It's just a question of seeing if any of my 3D printing buddies can do a 2-foot tall smoke stack in one piece.

Glad I'm not modeling O-scale!

What else am I working on? Embassy Diner

 A small but signature structure on the layout will be Embassy Diner. It's located next to the tracks on Main St. and is right at the front of the scene. It's a typical 'railroad car style' design, but there isn't a commercial model that will work here.

Despite its location, I don't have all that many pictures of the diner:

This is from 1930:

I think this one is from a little later (it's from a very low resolution photo):

They aren't great, but they are from a different angle than I have for others, and the second one shows the relationship to the crossing gate very well.

The next photo I have is from 1960. I don't know when the lettering on the side changed but I'll probably use this style.

It's the best photo I have. Like the station, there's a shoeshine set up, but this conveniently has a cover so it will be pretty easy to model.

I don't have a date for this later photo, but the coloring has changed:

Although the crossing gates aren't visible, I'm pretty sure this is the last paint scheme it had based on this photo after it is abandoned:

Again, I don't have a date, but it's past my era regardless. I don't know who the photographers were for any of the pictures.

Using the rough dimensions (40' x 10-12') from the Sanborn map, I decided to put together a sketch drawn to scale. I estimated other dimensions based on an 80" tall door on the side.

I thought the windows looked too square (and still do), so the ones on the right are 1mm narrower than the ones on the left. I then decided to play around with the trick of drawing an 'x' on the original drawing and this one. Although the perspective is different, the points where the lines cross will be in line on either.

Despite my imprecision, the cross points pretty much line up where they should, which means my sketch should be pretty close to correct. Looking at the larger version of this picture, the bottom of the windows should be about shoulder height based on the figure walking in the door on the end. The 1930 photo shows the windows to be more square than they might look, but they still look like they should be a little narrower to my eye.

I estimated the windows to be the same width as the door, or perhaps slightly narrower. I made the door on the side 28" wide. Narrowing the windows 1mm more might make it look a little better and I may do that.

Based on the door height, it appears that the set of windows next to it is 80" wide. Also using that 80" measurement, I got an estimate of about 4.4" for each strip in the awning. That gives me an overall dimension of almost 11', which is a good match to the 10'-12' estimate I had based on the Sanborn Map.

So that's my sketch so far. It will be pretty easy to construct the basic building of styrene, although I may have one or two of my architectural experts double-check my math first. Although this is one of those situations where I may just eyeball some tweaks to make the windows more rectangular and the end a little wider. In theory, though, this should be pretty accurate. In the absence of other evidence, I'll probably put four windows on the far end (or make a blind end and one with windows). I think I may try the photographic paper for the cinder block foundation as well.

Now I just need to figure out what the colors were...so I asked on one of the New Britain Facebook groups. Naturally I got a bunch of answers. Pale yellow with red lettering or a variation was mentioned by several. A couple mentioned green lettering. White and Blue. Maroon and yellow.

Then I remembered it would probably show up in a Kent Cochrane video, c1953-6:

It's the only color reference I have and clearly a maroon red in color. While I don't have the exact date that the automatic gates with flashing lights were installed, the photo dated 1960 has them, and this is the older manual gates so this is clearly earlier.

Because of the photos of the building abandoned, I thought the darker color scheme was the last one.

A little more digging shows that in the 1955 Thomas Airviews photo it is a lighter color:

That would indicate that the Cochrane video was earlier than 1955, and this is correct through at least 1950. Because the Cochrane video was filmed from an RDC, it must have been sometime between late '52 (probably early '53) and before it was repainted c1955.

So it looks like this is the best photo I have for the appearance in my era: