Latest Projects: A Boxcar & Two Gondolas

[TomPM]

These are my latest projects that I finished. They are all bluebox kits that I assembled and weathered.

Here is the TP&W boxcar

List of Materials
Bev-Bel/Athearn 40’ Boxcar (247-3)
Kadee #5 couplers

Weathering:
Drybrushing: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613)
Wash: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613) 2 parts; Folk Art Licorice (938) 1 part; thinned 5:1 with blue windshield washer fluid
Sealer: Testors Dullcoat

Trucks:
Paint: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613)
Drybrush: Americana Burnt Sienna
Sealer: Testors Dullcoat

Wheels:
Paint: Americana Burnt Sienna mixed with Folk Art Bright Peach (682) 1:2
Sealer: Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer-Matte (CS200306)

 

[TomPM]

Now here is a Lehigh Valley gondola

List of Materials
Bev-Bel/Athearn 50’ Open Steel Gondola (2367)
Kadee #5 couplers

Weathering:
Drybrushing: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613); Americana Burnt Sienna
Wash: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613) 2 parts; Folk Art Licorice (938) 1 part; thinned 5:1 with blue windshield washer fluid
Sealer: Testors Dullcoat

Trucks:
Paint: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613)
Drybrush: Americana Burnt Sienna
Sealer: Testors Dullcoat

Wheels:
Paint: Americana Burnt Sienna mixed with Folk Art Bright Peach (682) 1:2
Sealer: Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer-Matte (CS200306)

 

[TomPM]

And lastly here is a L&N gondola

List of Materials
Athearn 50’ Gondola (01738)
Kadee #5 couplers

Weathering:
Drybrushing: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613); Americana Burnt Sienna
Wash: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613) 2 parts; Folk Art Licorice (938) 1 part; thinned 5:1 with blue windshield washer fluid
Sealer: Testors Dullcoat

Trucks:
Paint: Folk Art Charcoal Gray (613)
Drybrush: Americana Burnt Sienna
Sealer: Testors Dullcoat

Wheels:
Paint: Americana Burnt Sienna mixed with Folk Art Bright Peach (682) 1:2
Sealer: Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer-Matte (CS200306)

 

[davidstrains]

Nice looking work Tom. They should look good in a string on your layout.

 

[K.V.Div]

Nice weathering job Tom, Those cars definately look like they have been working for their keep on your road.
Cheers!

Terry

 

[shamus]

Excellent work Tom

Shamus

 

[brakie]

Tom,Great looking cars...Nice weathering.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Three more successes!

You know, I'd never even imagined that my Athearn stuff could look that good. Very, very nice work.

 

[Matt Probst]

Nice job Tom. I especially like the LV gondola. It's neat how weathering will really bring out the details in the cars. (rivets & bolts etc. ).

Matt--Hershey, Pa.

 

[ezdays]

Tom,

I especially appreciate the list of materials you used to create these excellent works of art.

Thanks,

Don

 

[farnham]

Thanks, Tom for those weathered cars. I have an Athearn Lehigh Valley 50 ft. boxcar kit. One question, don't the workers wipe off some of the numbers so they can be read-- and if so, which numbers? Also, is that rectangle on your Lehigh Valley car (and mine too) a bar code?

farnham

 

[TomPM]

Thanks everyone!

Also, is that rectangle on your Lehigh Valley car (and mine too) a bar code?

farnham

From what I have been told it is some kind of bar code. Apparently there was a time that readers were installed in some yards that could read the codes as the cars went by to keep track of them. It did not work too well because the cars got dirty and the bar code could not be read by the readers.

 

[MasonJar]

Tom...

Great to see this How-To back in circulation - an oldie, but a goodie

Andrew

 

[doctorwayne]

Nice work, Tom, particularily the LV gondola. The ACI (Automated Car Identification) labels were part of a system called Cartrak, which was supposed to keep track of equipment, including locomotives. As you noted, it failed because the labels weren't kept clean enough for the scanners to read them.
As far as wiping off dirt from reporting marks, it would most likely be to either identify the car for making out a waybill, or for determining if a car was suitable (without restrictions as noted in the equipment register) for the intended lading. The capacity data (Load Limit) might be cleaned to ensure that a car is not overloaded, or the dimensional data otherwise checked to determine the suitability of a car for the particular lading. Cars were required to be reweighed every so often, and when necessary, the appropriate data would be re-stencilled on the car, often over a patch of fresh paint.

I did this car based on a photo, although there was no information as to whether it was the result of a good cleaning job or a repaint. I'd guess the latter.

Wayne

 

[spitfire]

Nice work Tom - just goes to show you how much good weathering adds to a model. :thumb:

Val

 

[Ralph]

I'm not familiar with the TP&W but I like that rocket logo! I'm especially fond of your subtle dusting of the Dixie gon. Nice work as always Tom! Hmmmm, how long before they're seen rolling by that old water tower? :thumb:
Ralph

 

[TomPM]

Ralph

If I remember correctly TP&W stands for the Toledo Peoria & Western. (If I am wrong someone please helpops: ) The line is located in the upper Midwest. I don’t know a whole lot about it. I bought the boxcar when I was in a buying frenzy and not paying attention to what I was getting. About two years ago I went through my rolling stock and narrowed my focus to the lines that I am currently concentrating on. As a result I sold the TP&W boxcar pictured.

I don’t know if you noticed the post was started almost 3 years ago! The LV and L&N gondolas have made several appearances before the Water Tower. I am sure they will make some more soon.

 

[farnham]

The real story

Thanks Doc, and everybody! I'm really glad I joined this site-- seems I'm getting more and wider information and encouragement than I could get from being a club member for a decade!

I'm thinking maybe today if they wanted they could use something like the EZ-Pass that gets cars through tolls-- Where is the Niagara Peninsula, BTW?

The patch on yr car-- breathtaking weathering-- it's unbelievable that it's not real!-- looks to me like a wipe rather than a repaint (you mean a repaint and restencil?), since a corner of the area is not wiped and yet the stencil shows through-- but what do I know?

Reporting Marks means everything written on the car? So you are saying that the wiping was for a particular purpose and not a general part of cleaning and maintainance. That is great information. And how and how often are freight cars cleaned if at all? Also, when they repainted something and restenciled, would it be the same color paint or, at times, any color?

farnham

 

[Art67]

Great job, Tom. I really need to check out those paints. The weathering looks fantastic.

 

[Ralph]

Ralph
I don’t know if you noticed the post was started almost 3 years ago! The LV and L&N gondolas have made several appearances before the Water Tower. I am sure they will make some more soon.

Well color me observant! sign1
Ralph