Duluth South Shore & Atlantic PS-1 boxcar

Here we have a Duluth South Shore & Atlantic PS-1 boxcar.  This is a model of a 1948 order that has been upgraded at the shops with the new Superior Gateway slogan. DSS&A ordered some small lots of PS-1 boxcars beginning in 1940 through 1957.  Most were single door versions, but the last order was for a 50 foot version with double doors for service to the Celotex plant near L'Anse, Michigan.  This car is an All-Nation undecorated kit I found.  I added details such as brake system, cut levers, air hoses, etc. using detail parts from Scale City Design, Selley Custom Finishes, Walthers, as well as Keil-Line. This car will run on my Proto Hi-Rail layout.  May all of you have a Happy New Year.  
Hope you like the car.  
Bill

CN&W/Omaha Road PS-1 boxcar

Here we have a CN&W/Omaha Road PS-1 boxcar that was made from an older Athearn Kit found at a local model train show.  This boxcar was made from several photographs I have discovered over the years.  The Omaha Road (CMO) was a long time subsidiary of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad.  They had several boxcars and other freight cars lettered for the Omaha Road.  Since I have been modeling the C&NW, I chose to have some Omaha Road (CMO) freight cars on my layout.  This boxcar has details such as air hoses, cut levers, and complete brake system.  I used several detail parts from Selley Custom Finishes,  Keil-Line, Walthers, and Scale City Designs. The trucks are Pecos Valley Brass and the car is to operate on my 3-rail Proto Hi-Rail layout.  Thanks for following our blog and hope you like the car.  
Have a Merry Christmas.  
Bill

GB&W/Western Refrigerator Line reefer car.

Here we have a model of a later GB&W/Western Refrigerator Line reefer car.  This car was built using part of a Walthers Kit as well as other detail parts from Selley Custom Finishes, Cal-Scale, Keil Line, and other part sources.  It has a complete brake system as well as air hoses, cut levers, and corner anchors for the wood ends.   

These wooden refrigerator cars were used by the GB&W for many years well into the 1970's to ship cherries, potatoes, and finished dairy products such as cheese and whey.  They were frequently seen around Green Bay at the Frigo and Woody cheese houses.  This car will operate on my 3-rail Proto Hi-Rail layout.  Hope you like the car and have a Happy Holiday Season from all of us at the Wisconsin - Michigan Lines O scale family. 

Bill

C&NW wood refrigerator car

Here we have a C&NW wood refrigerator car from the late1950's.  These early wood reefers lasted well into the late 1960"s and 1970's handling everything from cheese to fruits to potatoes.  This started as part of an All-Nations kit that was missing several parts.  I added the missing parts and then added the details I wanted for the car, such as air hoses, cut levers, and complete AB brake system.  I had my son Pete do the weathering so it would look appropriate for the late 1950's period I am modeling.   I have made several wood reefers over the years and remember seeing several that were used to handle cheese shipments from the many cheese houses around Green Bay and surrounding communities.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, I am a dedicated cheese consumer even in my old age!!  Anyway, back to the car!  This reefer will operate on my Proto Hi-Rail layout. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a Happy Holiday Season. 
Bill

CWE Gondola

Here we have a composite gondola from an old All-Nation Kit.  This car has a load of gas pipes from the Pittsburgh steel mills.  The car has been detailed with cut levers, air hoses, and full brake system.  The car is lettered for the Chesapeake, Wheeling, and  Erie Railroad which is owned and operated by Tom Patterson of Cincinnati, Ohio.  
Hope you like the car.  
Happy Holidays.  
Bill

Lake Superior and Ishpeming PS-1 boxcar

Here we have a model of the first PS-1 boxcar purchased by Cleveland-Cliffs for their Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad division.  These early cars were delivered immediately after WWII and served for many years in the LS&I area papermills. This car was another old All-Nations model that was given the "Thayer"  treatment.  There were cut levers, air hoses, and full brake detail added to the model.  This model will operate on my 2-rail layout.  Hope you like it.  

Bill

Soo Line PS-1 boxcar

Here we have a Soo Line billboard PS-1 boxcar that was made from an Athearn boxcar found at another train show for a couple of bucks.  It received the "Thayer"  treatment with all old paint and decals removed and the metal serviced to prevent rust or corrosion.  This car was rebuilt with a full brake system, cut levers, air hoses and other detail parts from various sources such as Scale City Design, Selly Custom Finishes, Walthers, and other sources.  The car is painted with Scalecoat Tuscan paint similar to the Soo Line 's early rebuild boxcars.  The decals are Champion and Microscale.  This car will operate on my Proto Hi-rail layout.  Hope you like it, it was fun to build and detail.  

Bill 

Rock Island PS-1 boxcar

Here we have a Rock Island PS-1 boxcar with the early billboard lettering found on several of the Rock Island's PS-1 boxcars.  This is another All-Nation kit that had some needs for restoration and I decided to strip the model down to the bare metal and start at the beginning.  I used Scalecoat boxcar red paint along with Champion and Microscale decals.  I added the air hoses, cut levers, and complete air brake system to the underside of the car.  This car will be used on My Proto Hi-rail layout.  
Hope you like it..  
Bill

Green Bay and Western PS-1 Boxcar

Here we have another prototype model from my layout that I built a couple of years ago.  In 1959, the Green Bay and Western upgraded 25 of their PS-1 boxcars to use to transport Auto parts to the Ford assembly plant in St. Paul, MN.  The GB&W along with the Ann Arbor set aside these cars to transport parts as a premium service.  I found some pictures of these cars and made the decision that one would fit my fantasy layout plans.  This car is another All-Nation boxcar kit I had in my project cabinet and I decided to build it for this model.  Using the photos I had I added the necessary details to the car such as cut levers, air hoses, and a complete brake system.  I found the correct red paint and decals are Champion along with some Microscale decals.  The white circles along with underframe was an early form of road crossing safety markings, which were beginning to be found on many railroads during the late 1950's and 1960's.  They were made using a small wood toothpick dipped in white paint with a gentle touch to the side of the car to avoid smearing.  I hope you enjoy this car as much as I did making it.  Thanks.  Bill

Union Pacific double door boxcar

Here we have a scratch built Union Pacific double door boxcar.  This car was made from an old photograph I found from the early 1940's.  I decided to use the earlier lettering from the late 1930's through 1940's.  This car is loaded with Celotex panels being shipped from the Upper Peninsula to various markets in the U.S.  The car has complete brake system with air hoses, cut levers,  and assorted additional details.  This car will operate on my 2-rail O scale layout.  Hope you like the car.  

Bill

Rock Island 50 foot double door boxcar

This week we have a model of a 50 foot double door boxcar from the Rock Island.  This is a former Athearn boxcar that was found in a box of trains I purchased a few year ago.  I found I had some Rock Island decals laying in my project drawer and a 50 foot boxcar which I did not have any plans for it.  After doing some research about the Rock Island, I found they had a few of these early 50 foot PS-1 cars.  I made the decision to make it one of the upgraded cars from the late 1950's and give it a load of Celotex panels coming from the Upper Peninsula.  The car underwent the usual "Thayer" treatment and was given Scalecoat Boxcar Red and the decals were Champion.  There is complete underframe detail long with cut levers and air hoses.  I used Selley custom Finishes, Scale City Design, and Walthers parts to complete this model.  Thanks for visiting our blog and hope you like the models. 
Bill 

Louisville and Nashville O scale boxcar kit

Here we have another O scale boxcar kit the has been upgraded with new paint and decals representing one of my favorite railroad - the Louisville and Nashville.  My folks moved to Louisville in 1963 and we lived near the Crescent Hill grade coming out of Louisville on the East Side. I often heard the L&N trains coming up the grade in the evening hours from my bedroom window.  In later years I would go to South Louisville and watch trains switch the old Strawberry yard as well as the new Strawberry yard, which today is known as Osborn yard.  Many fond memories I have made over the years with the L&N.  Anyway on to the boxcar!  This boxcar was given the "Thayer" treatment by having the sides stripped of the old paint and lettering and then a new coat of Floquil Boxcar Red was applied and then the lettering is from Champion.  I added details to the car to include cut levers, air hoses, and a comlete brake system.  This car is another one for my 3 rail Proto Hi-Rail layout.  Hope you like it.  Thanks Bill

Colorado and Southern Athearn Boxcar

Here we have a rebuilt Athearn Boxcar that is lettered for the Colorado and Southern subsidiary of the Burlington. This boxcar was another car found at a train show that was in bad shape.  It was stripped to the bare metal and repainted as a C&S car with grain boards added for service in grain loadings.   The decals are Champion and the paint is Floquil Boxcar Red.  I have added detail items such as cut levers, air hoses, and a complete brake system to the bottom of the car.  This car will run on my Proto Hi-rail layout.  Hope you like it.  Bill

Morrell Meat Reefers

Here we have a nice wooden meat reefer with Morrell markings.  I had some Morrell Decals and found a picture of an early Morrell Meat reefer and thought this would be a great model to build.  The car started as a early Walthers wooden reefer kit to which I added several detail items such as cut levers, air hoses, brake detail.  The kit came with a K type brake system and I converted it to a AB system using the photographs I was able to find of these early Morrell cars.  The trucks are Auel Andrews trucks with the early ribbed wheels.  I had a lot of fun building this car and used information I was able to find on the paint scheme commonly found on Morrel; reefers during the late 1950's.  I hope you find this car to your liking.  I certainly enjoyed building it and it will run on my Proto Hi-Rail layout. 

Bill

Special Edition Boxcar: ASARCO Boxcar

Here we have an interesting boxcar that most of you probably have not seen or even heard of before this posting.  Back in 1951 the ASARCO corporation bought 250 PS-1 40 foot boxcars for their various operations throughout the United States and Mexico. The order was split 125 cars to be manufactured in the US and 125 cars to be built at the Pullman Plant in Mexico City.  Back in the mid-1960's Richard Meyer made some ASARCO decals for the Mexican cars that ASARCO operated between their manufacturing plants in Mexico and their giant smelter in El Paso, Texas.  Since I was employed by ASARCO until I decided to retire a few years ago, I thought it would be a neat thing to model one of these rare cars for my O scale layout.  So here it is!!!  The car is a former All-Nations boxcar that I found again at another train show.  The car was in rather bad shape and needed a lot of TLC.  I stripped it down to the bare metal and the rebuilt the car using several detail parts from Selley Custom Finishes, Cal-Scale, and Keil-Line.  I chose to add Lionel Operating trucks so it could operate on the Proto-HiRail layout I have.  The paint is Floquil boxcar red and the decals are Champion as I mentioned earlier.  If you look closely you will see the bilingual decals and markings for both English and Spanish as was common for these cars when operated out of El Paso to various ASARCO plants in Mexico.  For the History buffs who follow this blog, ASARCO is still in business today as a subsidiary of GrupoMexico and operates copper, gold and silver mines as well as the Copper Basin Railroad in Arizona.  Hope you like the car and the little story that goes with it.  Bill

Check out my Caboose!

Here we have a Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha (Omaha Road) caboose. This car is a scratch built caboose I made using some dimensional information as well as photographs of several of the CMO cabooses found in many of my C&NW books.

The caboose has a complete interior based on Photos of similar cabooses on the C&NW.  I had a Walthers caboose frame and several detail parts that I collected to do this caboose from Walthers, Selley Custom Finishes,Cal-Scale, and Scale City Design.  There is a complete brake system on the underframe as well as air hoses, cutlevers, ladders, and brakewheels.  The paint is Floquil Caboose Redand the Decals here are made from Champion decalsI had in my inventory.  I used several photographs of these CMO cabooses to get the proper yellow paint applied.  This car will operate on my 3 rail layout.  I hope you like this caboose and we have more blogpics to come soon.  

Bill

Pennsylvania N5 caboose

Here we have a Pennsylvania N5 caboose with the post 1955 lettering and the Bendix Trainphone system antennas  that were prevalent on Pennsy equipment during the 1940's and 1950's.  This caboose began life as another broken model in the bottom of a box of trains found at a local train show.  After stripping the metal parts and painting them with primer, I began to rebuild the car to look like an upgraded N5 caboose.  This is one of the early Walthers kits and it was missing a few parts, which I was able to find online.  The end railings and details are hand fabricated from plastruct parts and brass wire. The caboose has Kadee couplers and Walthers swing motion caboose trucks similar to those found on some Pennsy cabooses.  The antenna system is a Cal-Scale kit with K&S brass wire for the remainder of the antenna line.  The remainder of the caboose was detailed with Selley Custom Finishes, Keil-Line, and Scale City Design parts. The paint is ScaleCoat and the decals are Champion.  A final coat of Testors Dullcoat finishes the car.  I model the C&NW and the Milwaukee Road, but I have a "soft" spot in my heart for the Pennsy having seen many of their trains coming into Louisville, Kentucky, as a teenager when my folks moved to Kentucky from Wisconsin.  
Hope you like the model.  
Happy Railroading  
Bill  

Pennsylvania X-33 Automobile Boxcar

Here we have a scratchbuilt Pennsylvania X-33 Automobile Boxcar in its as delivered paint scheme.  This car was built using parts from an old Crestline/Walthers boxcar kit the had been scavenged for parts.  I found this in a box of trains a bought and decided I could do the sides and underframe through scratchbuilding.  I found several great photographs of these cars and used them for my guide in building and lettering them.

The car has Kadee couplers, and Cal-scale, Keil-Line, Selley Custom Finishes, and Walthers ends and other parts to complete the car.  The underframe has a complete brake piping system along with the linkage.  The paint is Floquil and the decals are Champion.  I used a marking wheel on poster board to make the rivets for the sides.  The round roof was in the box of trains and I cut it to the proper length for this car as I did the underframe piece. I had a lot of fun with building this car and it was built to operate on my 2-rail layout.  Hope you like this one too.

Milwaukee Road Baggage

Here we have a model of a 1948 Milwaukee road streamlined baggage car.   This model is scratchbuilt from various materials such as wood brass, plastic, and cardstock.   The detailing parts are Keil-Line, Walthers, Selly Custom Finishes, and Cal-Scale.  It is painted in Floquil Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray with Decals from Champion.  This car will operate in my 3 rail version of the Copper Country Limited and will reflect the growing use of Milwaukee Road trains for handling storage mail as well as express shipments.  Hope you like this one too.