Weekend Update 10/29/17

[OldEastRR]

I like the ice-loading trucks. Those are things that could find use on many N layouts. Ice reefers had to be iced when they had to be, not just when they were in long strings conveniently running past the ice dock. So trucks would bring the ice to the single cars, wherever they were near a paved area. I suspect that single express reefers in the head end of a passenger train that needed icing were served by trucks at a station. There is a photo of one such truck servicing a reefer in the book "Chicago Union Station" by DeRouin. It's even more interesting as that truck bed platform is raised on scissors lifts to match the height of the reefer. I assume that allowed the crew to slide big blocks or dump crushed ice easily into the reefer hatches.
Our trains usually include single express or other special reefers which don't warrant building a huge icing platform for. Icing trucks like these would fit in easily on a layout, next to a station or on a spur where a reefer could be reached. And lettered for various ice companies. Maybe railroads even had their own.

[nkalanaga]

"This place is turning into insane down-voter asylum."

That's why I never look at them!  In fact, I had to look for them, because I had forgotten where they were...

[Teditor]

I didn't even know there was an up and down vote option - for what purpose does it serve other than animosity on the down arrow (which I had to search for), I read what I Like, don't read what I don't wish to, but every post/question/answer is an up vote in reality.
Ted (Teditor) Freeman
From the Land Down Under (that alone justifies a down vote cause that's where I am, way down!).

[SP-Wolf]

Wolf:

I see you removed some of the ladders on your SD-9's...what are you going to use to replace them? When I was a HO modeler, Detail Associates had a ladder kit for the SD7/9 so when I started in N I cut the ladders off of 2-3 N scale SD7/9s only to not be able to find anything that worked to replace them. I would love to be able to finish them some day...

SP Wolf

The SP SD-9's had two ladders on the short hood. If you use the ladder from the original  Micro Trains caboose it is the same width height and spacing.  Your stuff looks great

Thanks, Gentlemen fro the kind words.

My thought/plan is to use BLMA's # 400 early freight car ladders. They seem to match up pretty well with the models ladders.

Regards,
Wolf

[Lemosteam]

No, that would be me again.

Also, the humor is again lost. I compared the 1:1 reefer's board gaps in (that gorgeous photo) to the model in jest. It is obvious to  anybody looking at the 1:1 and the model to see that the boards on the 1:1 item are much closer together.   I was being facetious.   The "  " smileys at the end of my statement should have been a clear indication.  But no - and then there were the subsequent down-votes.  Geez! I thought that more TRW members had a sense of humor. Wrong!   

No worries, I thought the whole furor over the board gap thing was hilarious anyway, hence my post.  Observations, opinions and insults each have their own meaning and purpose.

[nscalbitz]

No, that would be me again.

Also, the humor is again lost. I compared the 1:1 reefer's board gaps in (that gorgeous photo) to the model in jest. It is obvious to  anybody looking at the 1:1 and the model to see that the boards on the 1:1 item are much closer together.   I was being facetious.   ... 

Don't know of the origin of this discussion but looking at distant / low/poor resolution images and making determinations (like color matching) is fraught with pitfalls.
What you can see here are shadow lines, not the grooves themselves...
As any moderately competent  builder/ painter or scale modeller should know, is that time (years) and distance (feet) create an effect that impacts on what the brain interprets. Paint in grooves stays original, or collects dirt, depending upon circumstance. It will/ may look darker compared to higher areas that get 'weather effects'- wind/ rain/  sun in degrees and form.
Manufacturers obviously used to enhance for visual effect rather than scale size things. Could anything be worse than the Bmann shorty coaches? But anything can be toned down if enough (or desired) effort can go into it.
FWIW, dave

[nscalbitz]

Some cars back then, for whatever reason, had fancy boards, with curved edges, apparently because the owner WANTED the grooves to show.  I've even seen at least one picture of a passenger car with the boards grooved in the middle, to make them look like two narrow boards.  Why they would either one I have no idea, given that it would make the car more expensive, but some roads did.

Yes we've seen CBQ (IIRC) heavyweights with steel panels simulated as wooden slats.
No doubt to make them match other cars in a familiar train and maintain a 'look' (that we'd call a brand-entity today) regardless of the cost of doing so.
IMHO, regards dave

[mu26aeh]

Don't know of the origin of this discussion but looking at distant / low/poor resolution images and making determinations (like color matching) is fraught with pitfalls.
What you can see here are shadow lines, not the grooves themselves...
As any moderately competent  builder/ painter or scale modeller should know, is that time (years) and distance (feet) create an effect that impacts on what the brain interprets. Paint in grooves stays original, or collects dirt, depending upon circumstance. It will/ may look darker compared to higher areas that get 'weather effects'- wind/ rain/  sun in degrees and form.
Manufacturers obviously used to enhance for visual effect rather than scale size things. Could anything be worse than the Bmann shorty coaches? But anything can be toned down if enough (or desired) effort can go into it.
FWIW, dave

Pretty sure that all started back here...

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=34320.0

I noticed a couple of "whining and bitching" phrases glancing thru that thread as well.  Did any huff, puff, and walk out then ?

[peteski]

Don't know of the origin of this discussion but looking at distant / low/poor resolution images and making determinations (like color matching) is fraught with pitfalls.
What you can see here are shadow lines, not the grooves themselves...
As any moderately competent  builder/ painter or scale modeller should know, is that time (years) and distance (feet) create an effect that impacts on what the brain interprets. Paint in grooves stays original, or collects dirt, depending upon circumstance. It will/ may look darker compared to higher areas that get 'weather effects'- wind/ rain/  sun in degrees and form.
Manufacturers obviously used to enhance for visual effect rather than scale size things. Could anything be worse than the Bmann shorty coaches? But anything can be toned down if enough (or desired) effort can go into it.
FWIW, dave

You weren't here for the thread that started this (you were just given a link to it by another member). Yes, there can be a model worse than the Bachmann Shorty coaches (and it was brand new tooling made just couple years ago).  Toned down?  No.  The only way to fix it would be to fill the gaps. But that wouldn't look right either. Again, even this is clearly scale fidelity issue, some people find it quite acceptable, while few others - not so much. I'm still planning on revisiting the original thread someday with some additional photos.