New 50 Foot Boxcar

The 50 foot boxcar is one of the most prevalent pieces of freight rolling stock found in North America.  When I got into 3D printing of T-gauge models, the 50-foot outside braced boxcar was the first model I made.  Since that time, the original has "lost it's shine" as they say!  I wanted more detail and more options.. so earlier this year a re-design was done.  The model was made hollow, which makes it a candidate for powering.  This is important because in T-gauge, the locomotives typically will struggle to pull more than 3 pieces of un-powered rolling stock.  If the goal is modeling 20-car freight trains--or there-about--powered revenue equipment is needed.   In addition, the choice of doors was improved by offering three types:  A plug door, a "Youngstown" door and a "Superior" door.  These make it possible to model a wide variety of boxcar prototypes.  Thirdly, the roof detail was improved.  Other details--such as a brake wheel or grab irons--can be added by the modeler.  I've contemplated making etched brake wheels just for this reason!

Here's the model from Shapeways, after washing in warm soapy water and a gentle scrub with stiff bristle artists brush, then a few thin coats of "Mr. White Surfacer 1000".   Note the un-finished door parts on a sprue in the background.

This prep work does two things:  1.) It fills in some of the roughness of the 3D printed surface;  and 2.) It provides a white surface, good enough to decal on with my home-made clear decals.  

The surfacing paint is actually a very thin putty mixture;  It can be gently sanded between coats to make a more smooth surface as well.  The white color is needed because the ink-jet printer used for my decals cannot print white (nor can any other normal ink-jet).  Therefore, the white lettering or graphics are clear on the decal, and the background (the model) must be white and seen through the decal.  Many of the colors printed also need a white background to look proper.

Next, the door was installed.  I used the plug-door choice.  The part was held in place with a bit of thinned Krystal Klear (I really like this product for my T-gauge modeling!)  I used this as an adhesive so if I wanted to change it--a quick soak in warm water would release the door.  

Note: Evident here is the bottom sill being just a bit too thick (back to the drawing board to fix).  In the meantime a little sanding will fix that!

I wanted to model a plug door boxcar, and the P&LE would be an appropriate "fit" for my Etna layout.  Here's the prototype: 

After a bit of trial and error getting the size and spacing right, I got the decals straight.  The application consisted of three parts;  The left panel, door, and right.  Micro-Sol was used to get the decal to snuggle between the ribs and into the door.  Any exposed white areas were touched up with a bit of green made from PC Green, mixed with some blue and reefer white to get the right shade of green.  The roof still needs to be painted of course.  

Here is the decal artwork if you want to make your own!  Feel free to use for your own non-commercial uses.

  

BG Tower has some details added.

BG Tower needed a few items to complete it, such as the staircase.  Scratch building a staircase in 1:450 scale was a daunting idea, so I turned to our ship-modeling friends for some help.  Gold Medal Models (outstanding products!) makes a detail set for the USS Arizona in 1:429 scale that includes several detail parts that will work in T, among them several stairways. These aren't -exactly- what I wanted being based on an all-steel prototype, but close enough and good for effect.  

Above you see the length of stairway and a platform.  The prototype rests on a couple wood beams;  I found some scrap brass to create these.  Note: on the final model I installed "X" braces made of thin styrene.  If I was smart I would've installed them at this stage.  I added them later.

Some very finicky work with super glue and all was installed. 

I also needed a smoke jack;  The construction drawings call for a masonry chimney, but BG actually just has a steel tube flue.  I used a cut-off shaft from a thumb tack, and a small bit of brass shaped with a ball-point pen to be somewhat concave ACC'd on top.  The figure is part of a 1:450 Queen Elizabeth 2 sailor set, repainted into blue from his dress whites.

When installed, the ground level will go up to the top of the white foundation.  

Mountains of Foam

The layout is slowly progressing.  I've added a backdrop/divider along the middle of foamcore, and started roughing in the hills using the tried & true foam layering technique.  I'll be shaping them a bit and covering with a thin coat of drywall mud/spackle as it moves forward.

  This is the Etna-Allison Park segment, with Pine Creek winding through the scene.  At the right side of the image, I'm hoping to recreate the Bryant Road area, a somewhat iconic scene on the P&W.  Here's a Google Earth image of the area:

Here's an image from track level:

.. and on the model from approximately track level at the same location:

It needs a bit of shaping of course, the hills will be more rounded and flattened.  And covered in trees of course!!

BG Tower and Techniques

My layout will require a great number of structures.  I also hope to model the prototype relatively faithfully.  I have been concerning myself lately with how I will accomplish this in light of the dearth of T-gauge structure kits.

I considered 3D printing and brass etching, both of which would require a great deal of design work, plus the manufacturing would need to be done by a third party with a slow turn-around time.  On the other hand, there are a variety of ready-to-print structure plans available, such as those from ScaleScenes or Model-Builder.  These can be re-sized into T-scale and printed in my own work-space.  The printed structure technique actually makes a great deal of sense in T, because at a 1:450 reduction,  texture and relief is less visible.  They are "pre-decorated" and inexpensive to boot.  

Some of the commercial structure designs can be used as-is or modified for my layout, but I will still require quite a lot of custom buildings.  Not that this is a bad thing!  In fact this is one reason I like T gauge;  I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to build something new and unique.  I've gotten quite handy with photo editing software, due to my work on T-gauge rolling stock, so making my own structure artwork seemed doable..   

One reason I wanted to build BG tower was to get some practical experience modeling both printed structures, plus creating my own plan.  I had a copy of the B&O standard plans to refer to, plus some photos of the landmark spot from my railfanning days in Pittsburgh.  At 12x12 feet, BG is a small structure as well and relatively uncomplicated.  So I decided to model the tower as my first project.

First I created the design from the plans and photos.  This required about 6 hours of photo editing work, inclusive of making test prints.  I used the prototype photo as my "pallet" for textures and colors, doing a lot of "cloning" and cut/paste from the photos.   I am modeling the tower as it was in the 70's, so the paint was faded and appearance rather weathered.  Here's a pic of the work in progress:

I normally just print my rolling stock art on letter paper to test the size and appearance.  Here is the finished design image:  (Free to download for non-commercial use.)

The material for the walls and roof was the subject of some consideration.  At first, I just printed on plain copier paper for a test model, and frankly it looked pretty good!  

However, I knew thin paper wouldn't hold up over time--to changes in humidity and bumping as I work on the layout.  I considered thin styrene sheet, which would be relatively strong, and which I could  possibly print on directly, or apply a "sticker" or decal of the design to.  My experiments yielded the following:  Styrene sheet cannot be printed (easily at least) in an inkjet.  Clear stickers didn't seem crisp and sharp enough when applied to the white styrene sheet.  I tried printing directly on post-card weight cardstock and I was happy with it.  The jury remains out on the decal technique because I was happy enough with the cardstock.  It seems like less trouble than styrene+decals would be.  However, for a structure with more textures, that may be a good alternative... stay tuned!

The cardstock walls remained flat and unbowed, printing was crisp and bright.  I'm confident that with proper sealing there won't be issues with bowing or warping.  My biggest concern was the corners.  My technique is to cut out the structure as a long horizontal strip, and fold along the corners.  I lightly score the outside of the corners to make a crisp fold, and brace the inside with square or angle stock.  The only issue is the white exposed strip on the outside of the corner itself; and that the edge is not really sharp.  Painting cures the exposed white strip of card;  Experimenting a bit, I found I can also flow a fine line of cement along the outside edge to fill it in.  I used thinned Krystal Klear actually--just because I had it on hand.  Even though it's actually a bit rounded, it looks better than the un-filled edge, and when painted looks fine.  Here's a photo where the technique is visible in the reflection on the roof hip, galvanized iron hip roll on the original prototype.   All vertical edges were filled this way, and all edges on the roof. 

Below is one more photo of the mostly finished structure;  It still needs a staircase.  I am hoping to use etched brass from a model ship detail kit and add various other details such as a smoke-jack and train-order board.  A shot of Dullcote will seal it up.

All-in-all I'm quite happy with how it turned out and the technique!  As I do more I'll post updates.  

-Jesse

A Small Structure Project Begins

Ok, that's an over-used pun in this scale..My apologies.   

This past weekend I received from the B&O RR Historical Society my copy of the B&O Standard Plans for MOW & Construction, an important resource material for my B&O theme layout.  Since one of my "must haves" is a model of BG Tower in Etna (below), the plan book will be particularly useful--it contains a section devoted to B&O towers.

The plan book contains all sorts of other goodies to make sure I've got things right--bridge, tunnel, road and ROW plans, etc. 

I also took a couple dozen photos of the area in Etna around the old Tippins Machine works, which was served by the B&O and PRR.  I plan to also model this complex although in a compressed way.  This is the site of the old tower--right where the telephone pole is currently.

Here's a photo looking RR east, from the site of the old station, towards what was "RC Etals" if I recall correctly.. Maybe the M fell off?

Finally, a photo of the Tippins plant from Bridge St., showing the typical curtain wall construction.

  

T Track Technique

Arguably the most important component of a model railroad is the trackage.  It is a major scenic component, but must also be very functional.  T-gauge has major limitations with track, caused both by the operating considerations and the small market.  Eishindo makes the only track system for the scale, so we must work with what they make.  It's a decent track system, in my opinion, but has it's flaws.  Being 1:450 of the real thing, and therefore severely compressed, concessions are made in order to provide reasonably reliable operation and durability.  Some components are grossly oversize.  For example, the railhead itself is about 0.5mm wide--about 8" to scale.   This gives good electrical contact area, and also is not too easy to accidentally bend or break.  Similarly, ties are too thick, and spaced too far apart (about twice what is found in a North American prototype.)  Even so, with proper painting and installation, it can look--as with most things in T-- "good enough".  As I like to say,  "it offers a reasonable representation of the prototype."  This is my mantra in T-gauge!

Since most--or all--of my track will be Eishindo flex-track, I experimented with a few different techniques to get a decent appearing, reasonably fast-and-easy to install system.  After a few experiments, I landed on a system using uncured butyl rubber (AMI Instant Roadbed).  My roll of old AMI roadbed is light gray, 1/8" thick (about 3mm) and comes in a 30-foot roll.  It is a semi-soft material that flexes easily, can be painted, and (importantly) retains shapes pressed into it.  AMI went out of business, but you may find some old rolls at your LHS or, you can buy butyl rubber rolls from auto parts stores where it's sold as air conditioner sealer, or roofing patch.  You will probably need to paint it because most of what I've seen is black, but that's ok.  You can even press T-gauge ballast into it if you wish.  Below is my technique for your consideration:   

First, I cut the rubber lengthwise into strips about 12mm wide using the x-acto knife.  Next, I cut these strips again lengthwise in half, but I bevel the slice about 45 degrees.  Once you peel them apart, This way you end up with two "halves" of the ballast, which (similar to cork roadbed) can be butted up against each other with the beveled edges out representing the slope of the ballast. 

Using your center line as a guide you can then install the ballast on the layout. 

The next step is the track itself.  I use the gray tie flextrack.  The gray flextrack actually looks like old faded ties or concrete ones.  I paint the whole system (rail and ties) roof brown.  You could also use rail brown.  Previously, the track will have been bent to shape, and once dry you just press it into the soft ballast roadbed.  I use my thumb but a small block of wood can be used to try ensure the rail is level.  

The track system at this point looks pretty good, and you may like it just as it is.  (You would still want to spray the whole thing with Dullcote to keep dust from sticking to the balast.)  In my case, it didn't look quite good enough, and I wanted to finish it off a little more to add realism.   This is again pretty fast and easy:  First I give the ballast a wash of light gray.  This blends in some of the flecks of brown in the material.  Next, using a medium grit sanding board, I press the shoulders of the ballast to a more prototypical profile,  I try to eliminate any large bumps which would not exist in the real world.  It also imparts a very fine granular texture.  A prototype photo is always a good thing to consult when doing this.

The final finishing steps are to dust the whole system (using a photo as reference) with a little white or light gray weathering chalk.  This added more white highlights which I wanted.  If you were modeling an area with a flange greaser or engine facility, you can add black, or an area that sees a lot of sanding even more white or tan-- whatever you deem fit.   Then, very importantly, seal the whole thing with a good coat of Dullcote (flat lacquer).  The rail heads will need a good polishing with fine sandpaper.  That's it!

  

P&W Layout Progress Report

The P&W layout is pretty simple, but it will still have plenty of challenges for me.  It is essentially just a loop with some siding/yard trackage.  The loop will be single track, although the prototype was once double tracked in the area modeled.  I'll be using Eishindo flex track for the majority of the layout, and am seriously considering not even installing working turnouts due to their relatively poor appearance and performance.  I may upgrade when and if better ones come out or if I get the gumption to scratch-build them.  

Here we see the basic platform of the layout.  It rests on a 2" slab of pink foam, with layers of foam core hot-glued on top.  The base layer of foam is stiff enough to support anything I'll be adding.  This layout will be extremely light!  More foam--just plain blue insulation sheet--will be added to build up the hills.  A backdrop/scenic divider will split the layout down the middle from top-to-bottom in this photo.

Above we see the general track plan.  Going from railroad east to west, starting at top left going counter-clockwise:  Trains will emerge from Schenley Tunnel in the divider to cross a through truss bridge--a "modelers prerogative" compressed representation--across the Allegheny River.  Trains will pass above the Willow Grove Yard area that will be modeled at bottom left, then through Etna and BG Tower, and the Tippins Machine works.  Passing Etna the railroad crosses over Pine Creek meandering along the track going west towards Allison Park, where it will duck into a tunnel in the divider.

Here's a bit closer view of the basic surface with flex track pinned to test the track placement.  Pine Creek meanders in and out of the scene a couple times.  I will get lots of practice with water modelling on this layout!

Finally, a track-side preview shows how the curves seem prototypically broad even on this small of a layout.  Ya gotta love T-!  All this in 2x3 feet!

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