Turn of the Century Varnish

[Specter3]

As it turns out there is nothing Passenger wise between the wooden Roundhouse cars that represent 1880 or so and the start of the true steel heavyweights of about the WW1 timeframe barring the Bachmann metal 60 footers(they had a prototype, but it wasnt popular). Starting in the 1890s and cars started reaching nearly 70 feet in length and right at the turn of the century steel versions started being produced. According to some internet research(everything you read there is true right?) wood cars on steel frames were still being built through WW1 but with the cessation of hostilities and the increasing use of autos nearly all were retired by 1930 or so. So for those folks that want to model the early 20th century, arguably some of the most interesting railroading times ever, you are stuck with poor choices if you want to have some interesting passenger trains rolling around. I would like to end up with some models that would represent these kind of scenes:(all these pics are from the out of print 3 part book on New England railroading that costs a fortune)





Here is a side shot of a brand new car in the mid 1900s. It is probably steel but it still has open ends like the wooden cars it is replacing. 



There are not many 70 foot cars out there. There are certainly not many that I would be willing to buy and slaughter to try my first kitbash of a passenger car. So I will pull a close enough is what I can get and see if I can't hack up a few of those Bachmann metal cars to give the flavor of bar that I am looking for. Here is the start of this little project.





Here is the original end



The ends of these cars are bowed out like the transit cars(Chicago I think) that they are modeled after. So that is something I may have to try and either heat up and flatten or figure out what I am going to do otherwise. There is an observation car that has an end like this that I am looking for on the bay to hack up and see what it's end looks like. Ultimately these cars are not really long enough but they are the fodder I have for now.

[mcjaco]

I'd love to see the WoT or MT heavyweights done as wood sided cars too. 

[spookshow]

I made a couple of 70' wood-sided cars by splicing together bits and pieces of Athearn and MT cars. Would love to see someone make some RTR cars, though. It's a big void in need of filling.





Cheers,
-Mark

[Chris333]

You could just splice together 2 MDC overland cars. They would match your B&W photos.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Personally, I'd love to have some correct Strasburg cars.

[bbussey]

There might be a market for the an MTL wood-sheathed car or early steel simulated-wood car, possibly a diner or parlor, which could utilize the common MTL parts.  But I don't see a truss-rod car as being a viable model.  The best option is kitbashing Athearn/MTL hybrid models, as Mark has done, or etching/laser-cutting new sides for more variety.

[mcjaco]

Soo ran wood cars right up until the end.  Most of the heavyweights were rebuilt from these, some still had the truss rods.

[strummer]

I made a couple of 70' wood-sided cars by splicing together bits and pieces of Athearn and MT cars. Would love to see someone make some RTR cars, though. It's a big void in need of filling.





Cheers,
-Mark

Nicely done!

Mark in Oregon

[up1950s]

Truss rodded cars were found on circus trains and MOW rosters .

[Specter3]

I have been shown a couple nice examples of spliced cars and based on that I am going to try it with some of these cheaper Bachmann cars. If it works ok then I may hack up some of the Roundhouse cars when I find some.

[absnut]

I did these several years ago when I needed some 70 ft. wood coaching stock for my mostly B&M layout. B&M ran these right into the 50's. Basic components were MDC Overland stock except for the BAR tool car which is two MDC Overton baggage cars spliced.  The MEC wood coach with closed vestibules is two MDC Overlands and the vestibules from a Lima heavy-weight.













I did a "how-to" thread on another forum but I am not sure it is permissible to link to it here.

Edit: Just got permission:

http://www.nscale.net/forums/showthread.php?7548-Bashing-a-68-wood-open-platform-coach

[pjm20]

Truss rodded cars were found on circus trains and MOW rosters .

This. Karen how bout some new circus cars? 

[jmlaboda]

"Personally, I'd love to have some correct Strasburg cars.

Just so you know that a number of SRC cars are not in their original or last revenue configuration.  They have become masters of tailoring a car's configuration to suit their needs just as railroads did over 100 years ago.  As for built dates the roster's range is from around 1896 to 1913 but its also noteworthy to mention that while many New England railroads bought open-platform cars during the years mentioned many other roads around the country were purchasing vestibuled wood and even early steel sheathed cars.

Some of the last open-platform cars were built for commuter service and featured all steel construction (except for the roof, which remained wood even on some heavyweights) and include cars built for Chicago & NorthWestern, Burlington and Lackawanna (the Boonton coaches being the best known).

A recent addition to my passenger car reference library, the book A Century of Pullman Cars Volume II The Palace Cars by Ralph L. Barger, really has proven to open my eyes in regards to early vestibuled cars and car lengths in general with some of the earliest wide vestibuled cars being built in the early-1880 and included coaches early on.  I was fortunate to find a copy at a great price but I have seen this book go for 4 to 5 times as much as I paid.  For those who would want to build cars from that period I would highly recommend it.

[GaryHinshaw]

I did a "how-to" thread on another forum but I am not sure it is permissible to link to it here.

By all means, please share the link.

[FrankCampagna]

Are you planning on modeling the Central New England?