Howdy!
Doctor Jeff mentioned he had not heard of Sierra Southern Products. I had not either until I ran into this kit
at my local hobby shop. Often the shop owner buys entire estates from modelers who have move on the
great train yard in the sky. I find plenty of old kits at the shop and you never know what will turn up.
So, when I saw this curved trestle kit it was hard to pass up for only $7.99. I mean, I don't model narrow gauge
and I don't even have a need for a curved trestle at the moment. But hey, why not?! It's only $7.99.
I have to be careful with what I buy at the LHS since many of these kits have been opened before and some have
even been started already. Plus, there are times when what it's in the box doesn't match the kit that should be
in the box. Some surprises are not always desirable.
Thus, I opened the kit and studied it contents. I think I may have a very nice find here.
Let me first give you a peek at the kit's box.
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What is in the box?!
Jaime
I was initially greeted by a card explaining how I could have a free bent for a trestle if I chose to build
two of the kits. Wow! That is great customer service. I wonder will I ever find a second of these....
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Anyone out there have one of these? We could go halfsies on the free bent.
I suspect there were at least 110 of these kits manufactured. I have # 109 and it would be irresponsible of the
kit maker to produce an odd number when there is an offer that involves two kits.
There is a full size sheet of paper with instructions.
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Here you see a full size template for the bents.
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And here you see a full-size template fior how to arrange the stringers for the track.
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Inside the box the rest of the scale lumber is found conveniently bagged into separate labeled bags.
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And here is where the kit got really interesting to me. There is a tube of glue and razor blade in the kit!!!
Here is more of the lumber.
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And here is a sheet of sanding paper.
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I may have to go read the instructions to determine if the glue and razor are meant to be part of the original kit.
Jaime
The kit instructions mention how the kit comes with sufficient glue to build the trestle. So,
I have to assume the unopened tube of Wilhold glue is original to the kit.
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Alas, the glue inside the tube is hard as a rock! Oh well.
The razor blade is not mentioned in the instructions and it is quite rusty on the "FREMONT OHIO" side.
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The other side is in much better shape and bears the manufacturer's stamp, "CRESCENT INDUSTRIAL".
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The tube of glue claims it has no fumes and it is non-flammable and permanent. Exactly what a modeler requires
to build a fine trestle for a great layout.
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The tube of glue is stamped with a price of 19 cents. Should I go back to the LHS and ask for my 19 cents back?!
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The glue tube has handy cap.
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I took the razor blade in the box and sliced open the tube of glue.
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That is hardly drying clear in my book. So it goes.
For $7.99 I'd say this was a great find.
Jaime
I look forward to seeing the build Jamie.
Interesting trestle.....I'll be looking in also Jamie. :)
Pretty neat find. :) Should make for an interesting model. I'm in for the ride as well. ;)
Nice find! I'll be following along as well.
Jaime,
That's an old kit...that glue was invented in 1968... the antique store in town had that original 10 cent tube of Wilhold glue for sale for 5.00.
Will follow along.
Tommy
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on February 08, 2021, 11:35:45 AM
Jaime,
That's an old kit...that glue was invented in 1968... the antique store in town had that original 10 cent tube of Wilhold glue for sale for 5.00.
Will follow along.
Tommy
I could have made my money back by eBaying the tube of glue... Oh well, too late. I sliced it open to satisfy my curiosity.
I'm amazed how there has been a lot of kit makers that came and went and left behind a bunch of cool unbuilt kits.
Jaime
Hey jaime:
Looks interesting and I shall be following along. Always enjoy your builds.
Karl
Fascinating that it had glue and a razor blade in the box. Looks like a find. Looking forward to your building it.
Jeff
Looks like a winner Jaime. I'll follow along.
Just don't cut yourself with the rusty razor blade!!
Jerry
Jaime,
I've been lurking here so now it's official. I'm following along on this one.
Tom ;D
Jaime...
Pretty cool find............
There are a lot of time capsules out there and not on e-bay.
For kits such as that I have had really good luck with Franklin tite bond with the red label. There are blue and green but they are for water resistance and don't clean up well.
When I get squeeze out I resist rubbing it off right away. I let it get doughy so it does not clog the grain when scooped up with a x-acto blade.
I use alcohol and aniline dye for such models and it really sees left behind glue. Scooping up later works but it is painful to wait. We have this irresistible urge to do something right away.
see ya
Bob
Thanks all for the feedback.
I've started on the kit and so far there is no big demand for model railroading voodoo. This is an exercise in precision and patience.
I'm putting some photos together so I can have something substantial to post.
More as it develops.
Jaime
I've been trying to find time to get started on this one and finally found sone time during the ice
storm of 2021. While motorists are piling up in hundreds out in the highways and byways, I'm toasty and
warm at my workbench.
I wasn't sure if I should stain all the wood in this kit in advance or do it as I go along. So I
did what any crazy fool would do and I read the instructions. Staining/painting the trestle is the last
step in the instructions. I'll stick with that.
The kit includes two templates the modeler is to assemble in order to build the kit. Is that what
nowadays the computer geeks refer to as "meta"? The first template to build is the one for the deck of
the trestle. The deck is comprised of several sections and the kit gives the modeler a choice of the
following radii:
- 18" radius
- 24" radius
- 30" radius
- 36" radius
I went with the 18" radius. I wanted something that screamed narrow gauge. Tight curves and all are for
sure narrow gauge.
I am cheap and like to save as much of the kit materials as possible. Even though the kit provides a
sturdy card the modeler is to use for the base of the tempalte, I did not want to muck that up so I
photocopied the templates and glued the copies to a piece of taskboard I have in my stash of junk. Here
is a photo of that
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The kit even includes dimensional lumber to use as blocks to build the template. That is nice. I am
starting with the tempalte in the foreground (trestle deck) even though I have already glued both template layouts.
The effort is to glue the pieces of wood in the shaded areas on the template. Something like this:
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I was puzzled by the sections that had two blocks next to each other and I read in the instructions how
the cut line for the stringers is in between both of those blocks. So I made sure I could fit my razor saw
in between the blocks. The kit includes a razor blade for this task.
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The kit comes with incredibly accurate dimensional lumber with no fuzz at all. I dare say it rivals any
of the kits made today and even leaves a few way behind. Everything one needs except stain/paint is
included in the kit,
Once the template is ready one begins to set up the deck stringers in place and then glue the ties on top of
the stringers.
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Continuing with my efforts to economize I noticed the stringers are way longer than required. So I
set up my jig to maximize what is included in the kit and save the extra material for other projects.
That is where I am at the moment. I should be able to build 7 deck pieces with the material included in the kit.
For $7.99 I'd say this is most definitely a great find.
More as it develops.
Jaime
Nice looking progress.