Monthly Archives: May 2021

WB: Something Old and New

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Well I got the Locomotive Workshop Baldwin kit home and took a good look at it. It is mostly complete. You can’t see the parts bag behind the body etching. The nose casting are softer then I remember from other kits. They will require some work to fit the four pieces together.

I’ve built other LWS kits in the past, to say they are basic is an understament. I had a friend refer to them once as a scratch building project disguised as a kit.

I’ve wanted to build the CNJ DR 4-4-1500 “Baby Faced Freighters” for a long time. This would give me the two nose castings I would need for the project. I could just use them as is and build the freight units, but I still think I want to build the double ended passenger unit. So I’m planning build one nose up and have resin castings made for the project. At any rate, it’s not at the top of the project list right now. Back into the box to wait a little while before starting that project.

I’ve been working on pair of GP7’s recently. I’ve managed to find a pair of the Atlas O GP7 shells. I am replacing the long hood assembly of a Red Caboose GP9 with the Atlas O GP7 long hood to build my GP7’s.

I am working on the drives first. I’ve been acquiring the parts for this build for a while now. Even before I bought the Atlas O shells.

I started with the P&D replacement drives for the Red Caboose GP9. The two drives have been waiting their turn on the workbench for a while. Funny that when I examined the gear towers of the drives. The top gear of both towers in one drive had cracks. Not a problem as I had planned to replace the gear towers anyway.

I am using the FineScale 360 Gear Tower and also a set of Right-O-Way conversion wheels and truck castings for the P&D EMD Blomberg truck. This conversion set might go back to when these parts were sold be Protocraft.

Since you have to disassemble the truck to install the conversion parts, I thought it would also be a good time to install ball bearing on the axels. You can see one of the ball bearings on the axel below. I’m using a FR133-ZZ Flange Mini Ball Bearing from Bearings Direct.

The model’s bearing in side frame have been modified to fit the new ball bearings on the axel ends. Next step is to paint and reassemble the trucks.

Renninger’s Model Train Meet

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I attended the Renningers Model Train Meet in Kutztown, PA. This is an all scales train meet with free admission and free parking. The show is held partly outdoors and partly under cover in to long barns with open sides. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day. I wonder what this would have been like in bad weather.

The show was well attended and unlike many O Scale Shows, there was a nice mix of young and old modelers at the show. So yes, there are young people interested in model trains. They just don’t always go to O Scale Shows.

There was a mix of scales represented, lots of 3-rail, S Scale and a smaller amount of HO scale. For the few 2-rail O Scale modelers in the crowd that I had the chance to talk to, there was not much to offer.

A number of vendors had railroad hardware on their tables, a lot of lanterns, some railroad signs. Including one vendor with a Reading oval whistle sign, that was very tempting. But that was not why I was there.

I was there to meet a gentleman I spoke with back at the Strasburg Show who was delivering a long out of production kit to me. It is a Locomotive Workshop kit for a CNJ Baldwin Double Ender (CNJ Baldwin DRX-6-4-2000).

I first saw one of these kits on a table at the O Scale National in Stamford, CT. about twenty years ago. I passed on purchassing the kit back then, and I have not seen one for sale on a table since. If you have ever experienced a Locomotive Workshop kit before, they really can be just a pile of parts that do not always fit together.

My original thought was that I wanted to build the CNJ Babyfaced Freight units and this kit would give my the two noses that I would need for the project. Now, I’m thinking the kit is for a unique locomotive. I might want to built the kit as a passenger unit also. Either way at this point, I want to assemble a nose casting and make resin copies of it for either or both projects.

Since I was in Kutztown, I had to visit the ex-Reading station downtown. With the weather being so nice, I took the opportunity to be out photographing some of the local buildings with one of my view cameras.

Before heading back home for the day, I drove up to Kempton, PA to see some of their ex-Reading passenger equipment. I had some questions about the steps and end details on the cars. Turns out they had a pair of the coaches and a combine sitting out near the station on the Wanamaker Kempton & Southern.

WB: In An Orange Box

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As a Proto48 modeler, I don’t often pay attention to what the 3-rail manufacturers are doing. Last year was no exception, but Lionel did list a new offering for Reading modelers that almost got past me. They released a new model with all new tooling for a Reading passenger car. Actually for two cars, a combine and a coach.

The cars are based on Reading prototypes built by Harlan and Hollingsworth. The cars appear to be a Reading coach class PBn and combine class CVm. Numbers for those cars:

  • Coach PBn 1100-1175, 1200-1284
  • Combine CVm 589-592

For 3-rail models, they are surprisingly nice. The body appears to scale out closely to published drawings. The roof contour is very nice, the details on the roof maybe be a little exagerated. The main issues I could find with the cars were:

  • Underbody details
  • Steps too steep
  • Roof vents undersized
  • Lack of end details to allow for the oversized coupler to have about
  • Two batten strips on the side of the cars, instead of four on the passenger cars and three on the combine
  • The car diaphragms are oversized

The two above images show that the steps do not go far enough into the car. Also they show the lack of end details like the uncoupling bars, safety chains, steam and air lines.

There may also be a question of how many roof vents are typically on the combines. Some further sorting through photos and equipment diagrams is needed to answer that question.

I’m pleasantly surprised by this offering from Lionel. The cars are much nicer than I was expecting. They will need some work but are a good starting point to build a nice model.

Lionel is offering three different two car sets. Manufacturers price is $379.99 for each 2 car pack. Prices do vary with different retail outlets. I would suggest shopping around. I picked up my cars at a much better price.

WB: Some New Stuff

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Jon Cagle of Southern Car & Foundry has released a new freight car kit, a 1932 ARA Boxcar. This makes me excited on two levels, first I’m happy to see a freight car kit manufacturer back with a new release in O Scale. And second, this is an important car in freight car development.

If you have built one of SC&F’s kits in the past, you know they are the best kits being made today. The castings are out of this world.

The ladders and yard steps are etched metal.

The instructions are lengthy and well detailed. This should make for interesting reading tonight. I’m really impressed by this kit. Looking forward to building it.

On a different front, Pierre Oiliver of Yarmouth Model Works teased out an image of a PRR X31f O Scale body this past week. I reached out to Pierre and he confirmed that he will be releasing this as a kit later this Summer. I’m looking forward to that release and hope it is the first of many new O Scale kits to be produced from this established HO resin freight car kit manufacturer. This is very promising.