Built these two early last year; used Southern 36' kit and ordered additional sides and 40' roofs to make the 40' versions. 165906 is the 36' car.
A Westerfield kitbash! Cool! Don't think I've seen one of those written up before. Good work!
dave
Biggest challenge was getting the double sheathed resin sides to match up so the joints were hidden. The GM&O boxcars (formerly M&O) lasted until the early 1960's. The Southern 40' cars were originally double door automotive boxcars that the road modified into single door cars.
Howdy Charlie, nice work. mike
When I started hanging around the tracks, a lot of boxcars still had roofwalks. But I never saw any new enough to show creosote on the planks.
Quote from: jbvb on March 06, 2025, 09:23:17 AMWhen I started hanging around the tracks, a lot of boxcars still had roofwalks. But I never saw any new enough to show creosote on the planks.
It's to resemble unpainted wood; roofwalks were left unfinished so they weren't slippery in rain and snow. Only exceptions I know of are ATSF, SP and UP added sand to wet paint on the roofwalks
Here's some examples I use when painting wood roofwalks.
The boxcar on its side uses 3 short boards between each support. Another uses long boards staggered. And one uses parallel joints but a mix of long and short boards. What I recall from taking unnecessary risks as a teen was the long boards staggered.
Quote from: jbvb on March 06, 2025, 01:40:29 PMThe boxcar on its side uses 3 short boards between each support. Another uses long boards staggered. And one uses parallel joints but a mix of long and short boards. What I recall from taking unnecessary risks as a teen was the long boards staggered.
Of course, that set of photos show's "There's a prototype for everything". ("Long board staggered" makes the most sense to me.)
dave
Quote from: jbvb on March 06, 2025, 01:40:29 PMThe boxcar on its side uses 3 short boards between each support. Another uses long boards staggered. And one uses parallel joints but a mix of long and short boards. What I recall from taking unnecessary risks as a teen was the long boards staggered.
Little bit of research I've uncovered is the NYC and Wabash both used the short board roofwalks- at least on their rebuilt boxcars in the late 1930's. What I found interesting on the overturned boxcar is the car cement pealing off.
I don't recall seeing anyone else pay this much attention to roofwalks. I don't recall any paint on those i trespassed on, but I had no idea that was the plan.
Back in the 19th century, there was a debate on painting roofwalks. The argument against paint was "too slippery", the argument for was "lasts longer." I think in a lot of cases sand was mixed in with the paint to help provide traction.
dave
Some nice examples.
Here's the prototype information and GA drawings on the models