MOW Challenge: Rio Grande Southern B&B Bunk Car 0260 in HOn3

[Dave V]

RGS 0260...assigned to the Bridge & Building Department after discontinuation of steam passenger train service (in favor of the Galloping Geese) circa 1933.  Built new in 1896 (the RGS's only new coach) by Jackson & Sharp.  I'm building it as it appeared in the 40s/50s.  B&B crews lived in these cars (coaches 0252 and 0256 were similarly reconfigured) and they often had their families with them...hence the curtains.



As a basis I'll be using the Model Railroad General Store (former E&B Valley) HOn3 D&RGW open platform coach kit.  The 0260 is about a scale foot longer than the kit but I won't be lying awake at night worrying about it.

[Dave V]

Sigh...  I need to hold off a second on this.  Over lunch I was browsing the Friends of the C&TS Dorman photo collection on my iPhone (an amazing resource, BTW, if you're into Colorado narrow gauge) and I can't find a picture of 0260 prior to 1950...and she was still lettered as coach 260 in 1939 (and there's a lot of debate over when the RGS coaches would have been repainted from their Pullman green/gold letter passenger scheme to the MoW/B&B oxide red with white lettering).  I'll see what I can find in my books at home, but it's quite possible 0260 (260?) looked like a plain old coach in my 1938-1946 era...in which case I'll need to go another direction.

[Dave V]

Hey, got closer to my answer!  RGS Story volume IV, pp 86-87...  0252, 0256, and 0260 have their partial window boarding and are behind RGS 41 descending the Ophir Loop on Bridge 46D.  41 is wearing the sunrise herald and still has her twin pumps which places the photo prior to the 1946 overhaul and repaint.  I’m good to proceed as planned!

[wcfn100]

Glad you found it.  I actually was just looking through my RGS story books to see if there was anything (I think you said you didn't have all the volumes).  Everything indexed was from the 50s and 60s.

Jason

[Dave V]

Eventually I want to do the 0256 and the 0260.  I also plan to bash the 252 as a coach (had single versus double pane windows) as she appeared behind #25 on the 1938 Barriger special.  She was most likely mineral red with white lettering (in MOW service) but still configured as a coach.



But first things first, the 0260:

https://ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com/search?I_DSC=rgs+0260&I_DSC_AND=t&_ACT=search

[Dave V]

The bones of the project...

[Dave V]

I got part way along on this project, but I was overcome with the desire to actually build the layout upon which this will roll, so I'm bowing out to focus my attention on benchwork and tracklaying.