OVT&L's Ballast Car

Last month I posted a photo or two of the OVT&L's tie and rail car. Here's its companion, the ballast car. I plan to build a couple more of these, except the others will be based on a 26' frame (identical to the tie and rail car frame) instead of a 21' frame and the gon body will probably be full length.
 

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Thanks, guys. :)

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the entire train right now. When I get some free time to set up a shot, I will. But I do have these photos which I took a few months back. Obviously, several more cars, including the one above, have been added to the train since these pictures were taken.

10WheelerWorkTrain2w.jpg


WorkTrain26w.jpg
 

RailRon

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Nov 23, 2002
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Another one of your great little models! :cool:
Casey, I love your mixture of mechanically precise and exact modeling which - just the same - shows the charming decay of a small backwoods railroad. (From that standpoint, this ballast car looks if it came straight out of the OVT&L car shops. ;))
Thanks for sharing it with us!

Ron
 

pcentral

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Hey Casey,
I agree, very nice indeed! Those are just the kind of rolling stock I want to build for my garden railroad. Something the guys in the carshops would build (on a small shortlines' budget) to work for what they needed. How did you paint the ballast car? I like the color and weathering.
Steve
 
Thanks again, everyone. :)

To answer the questions:

Steve, the paint on the ballast car was fairly simple. I sprayed the frame (it's actually white metal) with Floquil Earth. After that dried, I semi-drybrushed it and the ballast gon with Apple Barrel's "Indian Red" acrylic craft paint. (I use a lot of Apple Barrel/Plaid/Ceramcoat/Americana craft paints; they're easy to find and very inexpensive!) Finally, I lightly dusted the whole car with raw umber and gold ochre chalks.

As for the weathering on the trucks, this is also a simple process. I pour approximately 1/8" of alcohol in a small jar. Then I scrape two or three different rust-colored chalk sticks into the alcohol until I have a nice rusty "slurry." Using a soft, round brush, I paint the slurry on the trucks and springs (also the coupler heads). If it looks too heavy after it has dried, I use a stiff bristled brush to remove as much as necessary.

I also use the slurry mix to "rust" rivets, nail heads, corrugated roofing, etc. It's quick and easy.;) :)