Get a load of this (Part 2)...

[doctorwayne]

Here are a few scrap loads for those empty gondolas.

This car is carrying the scrap motor parts that were left-over after making the coils of scrap wire in Get a load of this...(lots of photos)

Scrap axles and wheel rims from Rivarossi passenger cars.

Miscellaneous scrap, including blackened brass cuttings and wire left-over from other projects, broken couplers, a few disposable lighter parts, etc.

More miscellaneous junk: lighter parts, broken trucks, pen parts, etc.

This TH&B car is carrying a load of metal stakes from Athearn flatcars. The chemical blackener turned them grey-green.

Another load of mixed scrap from various sources. Prototype scrapyards pay better prices for sorted scrap (all one kind of metal) and steel producers often demand that certain types of steel scrap be kept segregated.

I hope that these carloads will give you some more ideas for making your own loads.

Wayne

 

[jr switch]

Wayne, your scrap loads are fantastic. I really liked how you managed to put a few dents in the sides and edges of the gondolas. And, once again, I'm very impressed with your weathering-------John R

 

[trainnut65]

You know i seen the dents in the cars to and thought how cool it that. Yea i like the loads thay look great.

 

[cnw1961]

Wayne, your gons with their loads are breathtaking. I am always impressed how much attention you give to detail :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: .

 

[Glen Haasdyk]

Thanks for the ideas Wayne, It just goes to show that scrap loads are all around, you just have to know where to look.

 

[radar]

Great ides here wayne I'm going to throw anything away any more! need to get me a couple of gonds how did you dent yours?

 

[doctorwayne]

Thanks to all for the kind words. As a couple of you mentioned, there are all sorts of things that we usually throw away that make good scrap loads, such as dummy couplers, Kadee draft gear boxes, mangled springs, wood and wire trimmings, plastic wheelsets. All of those plastic steps and grabirons that I replace with metal parts go into the scrap bin, too, along with detail parts that get mangled accidently. I also save my trimmings from strip styrene, those pieces that are too short and would get lost if you tried to save them for another project. If they're big enough, I drag a razor saw over them to get some exaggerated woodgrain, then they all go in a box. When I'm sitting around, wanting to do some modelling but not having enough time to really get into a project, I mix up a suitable wood colour and brush paint all the little pieces: these become the little bits of blocking and dunnage that are left in a car after it's unloaded, or that get dropped on the ground around a loading dock.
Radar, I dented the gons using a large soldering iron, but I sometimes get impatient, and actually touch the hot iron to the plastic. This is good for doing a sharp crease, but the idea is to merely soften the plastic with the heat, then use a suitably-shaped tool handle to actually make the distortion. Don't use your fingers, as the plastic does get hot!! (So I've been told. ) You can also use a candle flame to soften the plastic.

Wayne

 

[Herc Driver]

Just to second the good doctor's soldering iron admonition...don't touch the side of the car with the iron - it will melt and smoke a lot.
(Boy what was I thinking - oh that's right - I wasn't). stooges8

 

[Ralph]

Terrific looking gon loads Wayne!!! Do you leave the material loose in the gons or do you glue it somehow?
Ralph

 

[shaygetz]

I was having fun figuring out just what were in them gons when I realized you had already described them. Rats...took all the fun out...:thumb: An' I got all but the flatcar stakes right, too....took my braggin' rights away, you did...

 

[doctorwayne]

Ralph, like all of my loads, the scrap is loose in the cars. I usually leave these cars loaded, even when they go off the layout and back into their boxes, but that will change when I start actual "operations", as opposed to just running trains.
Bob, maybe I should've done a "where's the .....?" contest. That thing in the near end of the NYC gondola that looks like a piece of furniture with shelves has even got me puzzled. I know that it's brass, and I think that it may have been a box for housing light bulbs for the switcher that's pushing the string of cars. When I built the diesel {it's an Athearn SW-7 (erroneously labelled a SW-1500 by Athearn at the time) rebuilt as an NW-2}, my plan was a full set of lighting, including headlights, warning lights, rooftop flasher, cab lights, step-well and truck inspection lights, and class lights, using fibre optics and all controlled by micro-switches. With a full cab interior, a hood-filling can motor, and several ounces of lead ballast, there was no room left for any of that. Nowadays, I even take the factory installed lighting out of my locos, in favour of added weight.

Here's a look at the loco:

Wayne

 

[Ralph]

Wayne, did you see the article in a recent Model Railroader about a guy who made gon scrap loads out of metal (he'd form them into shapes using simple tools) and used a small magnet to load and unload his cars as part of his operations?

Fabulous looking switcher! That unit come fully loaded!
Ralph

 

[doctorwayne]

Wayne, did you see the article in a recent Model Railroader about a guy who made gon scrap loads out of metal (he'd form them into shapes using simple tools) and used a small magnet to load and unload his cars as part of his operations?
Ralph

I didn't see the article, Ralph, but it would make a neat industry.

Fabulous looking switcher! That unit come fully loaded!
Ralph

Thanks, Ralph. I did the NW-2 conversion following an article in MR, but I decided to add a few "extras". The air intake on the front of the hood has scratchbuilt shutters behind the intake screen, which is made from tulle (not the Jethro kind! ), and all of the handrails are built-up from brass wire. Lots of detail goodies from many sources, but, as noted, no lights. The 53 has a BIG Sagami can motor, a GSB cab interior, and pick-up shoes (you can see one of them between the wheels of the truck beneath the cab in the side view). She's also been re-geared with an Ernst gearset.

Wayne

 

[Renovo PPR]

Very nice and so simple. I take it that you bent some of the cars to give them that real life look in addition.

 

[Glen Haasdyk]

That is a really good looking switcher. Better than a P2K even. I'm waiting for warmer weather to paint mine. Could you tell me what paint the green is?

 

[doctorwayne]

Glen, the paint is SMP Industries Accupaint, the green is CNR Green #11, and the yellow is CNR Yellow #11. The switcher was painted around the same time as I started painting CNR stuff for my good friend cn nutbar, and I liked the colour. Unfortunately, the green went on a bit rough, leaving a pebbly finish on some parts of the hood. Once I got used to working with this paint, though, I think that it gives one of the nicest finishes possible. The first few passes with the airbrush make you think that it's not going to cover, but eventually it all comes together beautifully.
In case you're not familiar with the paint, it's lacquer-based (they claim that it's ready to spray right out of the bottle, but I find it a bit too thick). They do sell a thinner, although my old stand-by, lacquer thinner, works fine. The finish is a low gloss, perfect for decaling. The company also makes Accucals decals, in my opinion among the best for doing locos (the only type that they offer), but these can be hard to find. They make very good sets for both CNR and CPR diesels, in several versions, and these sets will each do several locos.

Wayne

 

[Glen Haasdyk]

Thanks Wayne, Most of my painting has been with either Laquers or enamels but I've never worked with Accupaint, mostly only Floquil. Mostly I work with enamels since they're easier to find where I live. I thin them with automotive enamel thinner since it makes the paint dry really fast and you need very little of it to thin paint for airbrushing. I find that every paint that claims to be airbrush-ready still needs to be thinned a bit more for proper airbrushing.

I have used the Accu-cals for my CNR Geep-7s and I'm very happy with them, as long as I use a very good decal setting solution.

 

[Spawn of Chaos]

This and the other thread like this need to go to the Academy.

 

[TruckLover]

WOW Wayne, more great Loads, you are really helping ME out sign1

Thanks for the FANTASTIC pics and for all the ideas :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: