A removable flat car load

I enjoy having removable loads on open cars.  In the past I've used removable scrap loads in gondolas, removable coal loads in open hoppers, and removable lumber loads on center beam flat cars.  Links to these posts below.

• Removable loads for center beam flat cars
• Removable scrap metal loads for gondolas
• Removable coal loads for Micro-Train hopper cars

This time I wanted to have loads that could be removed from a flat car after it has been offloaded at the team track in Lovelock.  I had some nice Fine N Scale cast resin crates and came up with the idea of crated farm machinery and parts.  With a bit of research I was able to determine that a major John Deere facility was in East Moline, Illinois and in my era would have been served by the Burlington Northern.  No BN flats in my collection so I used a CB&Q which was one of the BN predecessors.

To create a false deck I cut a section of Evergreen V groove siding to fit the length and within the post holes on a Micro-Trains 50 foot flat car.  The pattern closely matched the existing pattern on the deck of the car.  This sheet is only .020 thick so would not add a noticeable thickness to the deck.  One section was cut off at each end of the sheet and glued to the car deck with ACC so that the remaining sheet would fit within those two end pieces. 

The crates were painted with Vallejo Iraqi sand and after that dried, were given a light wash with Model Master black detail wash.  I was able to make some 1970's era John Deere decals from a photo on the internet and applied those to the sides of the crates.  Both the false deck and the deck of the flat car were painted with Model Master box car red which is a very close match to the original paint on the flat car.

To hold the false deck in place from side to side I made bars from staples and inserted them into the stake holes along the sides of the flat car.  Only three were needed as the brake wheel stand will do the job in that corner of the car.  They are hardly noticeable so shown here before being painted to match the rest of the car.

HO scale 2x4 wood was cut and stained with Model Master brown detail wash and glued to the deck with canopy glue.  The crates were also secured to the false deck with canopy glue.

Here is the finished project.  The false deck with the load rest securely between the sections on the ends and the rails along the sides but can be lifted off the car by picking it one of the crates. Not much to weather on a flat car but I did weather the trucks in the same way shown in my previous post on the covered hopper.

Weathering can make an old freight car seem new again

Sometimes a long neglected, ordinary looking freight car can seem like a new acquisition after a bit of weathering.  I purchased a set of 3 Delaware Valley cylindrical covered hoppers decorated for Union Pacific at a train show many years ago.  While they've had their share of running on Ntrak setups, they have been a bit neglected for the past 10 years or so on my current layout.  This first photo is an example is of one of these cars before any weathering.

And here is one side of one of these cars after a bit of weathering.  These cars are from the early 1960’s so by the time of my late 1970’s era on my layout they have been on the road for some time and I weathered this one to reflect that.  The techniques I used were detail washes, dry brushing, and weathering powders.  I added the data plaque in the lower right hand corner, and finished with a spray Dullcoat.

Here is the other side of the same car.  When I started this weathering project I attempted to fade the lettering using Micro-Sol and a pencil eraser as this had worked well on some other cars.  This time it was taking off the paint and not just the lettering’s so I stopped after doing a small test area.  Then I masked off the area where the paint was removed and sprayed on a gray color to represent an area where this cars has been repaired.  This can be seen in this photo at the top of the “P”.

Recently I have found an quicker and easier way to weather the trucks.  First I brush paint them with Vallejo gray primer.  After the primer has dried, I apply Vallejo flat brown again with a brush, then after that has dried, I apply black weathering powder.

Here are some side by side comparison shots of these cars weathered and un-weathered.

I have mostly been timid about weathering but have been happy with the results on the ones I have done.  As I am not buying many more freight cars these days, when I do weather a car it makes it seem like a new car again. 

Trying out IgMakes 3D printed products

Recently I learned about the IgMakes line of 3D printed N Scale items from watching a video on DJ's Trains Youtube channel.  These looked quite interesting and fit in with a scene I was thinking about building, so I ordered a few items.  These were solid, not too delicate, and were reasonably priced.  As a bonus, they also threw in a set of 4 cows.

There was no support spikes or flash to trim so the first step was to wash in warm water and spray them with Vallejo gray primer.  The pickups were solid similar to how a cast resin vehicle kit is so I was able to drill a hole in the bottom and use a nail to hold them while working on them.

The grain loader was painted and detailed following some images I found on the internet of some similar equipment.

The Mack R-600 truck was also finished according to some photos I found on the internet.  I use silver, orange, and red marking pens to color the finer parts.  The windows are painted gun metal and the tires are Mission Models tire black.  After the whole model gets a coat of semi-gloss, the tires get a final coat of Testors dull coat.  

The opened top grain trailer.  The wheels and rear bumper are a separate piece and that made painting and detailing easier.  License plates are from a Microscale decal set.

With the pair of Chevrolet pickups I finished them in two different colors with white roofs.  Following instructions on a video from IgMakes, I tried a light weathering wash on these.  It did bring out the door seams and other details but I think it makes them look duller and dirtier than I wanted.

On one of the trucks I added some side boards and a load of cardboard cut from brown packing paper.  This was inspired by my high school experiences of going after school with a friend who had a similar truck to collect cardboard and sell it at local mill.  

I found these to be quite nice and reasonably priced kits that were fun to work with.  I am sure to be ordering more and look forward to any new model kits they release in N scale. 

Check them out at: igMakes models and miniatures