04-02-2012, 02:33 AM
This post will wrap-up my Challenge attempt, although I'll continue to work on these boxcars and post my progress here. All eight boxcars have had their sides lowered and the side ladders removed. I've started re-attaching the rivet strips to the top of the sides, but since I have only one Athearn boxcar floor, progress is slow. After coating the mating surfaces with lacquer thinner, the rivet strip, with the original roof still attached, is positioned atop the shortened sides, then elastic bands are wrapped tightly around the assembly. The floor prevents the elastics from collapsing the car's sides.
Once the cement has set, the roofs will be removed, leaving the rivet strip with the car sides, and then new roofs will be attached.
Removing the side ladders:
![[Image: NewYearsChallengePhotos225.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Freight%20Cars%20-%20Part%20II/NewYearsChallengePhotos225.jpg)
The lowered car with the rivet strip (and original roof) re-attached:
![[Image: NewYearsChallengePhotos228.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Freight%20Cars%20-%20Part%20II/NewYearsChallengePhotos228.jpg)
To summarise my Challenge progress, all three of the CPR "Miniboxes" were re-done, and one totally new one built - it wasn't originally part of the Challenge and was done for a friend.
Of the twenty-or-so in-service cars requiring brake gear, all but one was done. The lone unmodified car is a Varney model of a Pennsy X-31, with factory paint for Illinois Central's "Mainline of Mid-America" scheme, probably too modern for my '30s-era layout. It also has a fishbelly underframe, something not used on the Pennsy prototypes.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it.
Except for the Athearn cars mentioned above, all of the cars shown at the beginning of this thread have been completed, along with a kitbashed tankcar not included in my original post. Also, one of the in-service cars that that was retro-fitted with brake gear ended-up getting a complete re-build, as a fellow Member noted some discrepancies in the original car.
All this activity had me checking for other things which needed attention, and I found three boxcars which needed re-weigh data added (shown in the Challenge thread, even though they're not officially part of it). I also repainted the wheels on a dozen-or-so freight cars, then decided to re-paint and re-letter a recently acquired caboose - the cars with the re-painted wheels aren't shown, but the caboose is.
Not shown in the Challenge thread, but done within the same time frame, was a repair to a brass steamer for a friend - this included adding all-wheel pick-up. I've also started painting nine cast resin automobiles which have been sitting around daring me to finish them - they're not done yet, but getting close.
Even though I've officially failed my Challenge, I'm certainly glad that I decided to participate, as it motivated me to get to work on stuff that's been sitting around too long. Once the Athearn boxcars and the automobiles are done, I hope to keep things rolling and perhaps get some locomotives off the shelf and into service. Or maybe scratchbuild those ten cabooses, or perhaps some baggage cars....
Wayne
Once the cement has set, the roofs will be removed, leaving the rivet strip with the car sides, and then new roofs will be attached.
Removing the side ladders:
The lowered car with the rivet strip (and original roof) re-attached:
To summarise my Challenge progress, all three of the CPR "Miniboxes" were re-done, and one totally new one built - it wasn't originally part of the Challenge and was done for a friend.
Of the twenty-or-so in-service cars requiring brake gear, all but one was done. The lone unmodified car is a Varney model of a Pennsy X-31, with factory paint for Illinois Central's "Mainline of Mid-America" scheme, probably too modern for my '30s-era layout. It also has a fishbelly underframe, something not used on the Pennsy prototypes.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it.Except for the Athearn cars mentioned above, all of the cars shown at the beginning of this thread have been completed, along with a kitbashed tankcar not included in my original post. Also, one of the in-service cars that that was retro-fitted with brake gear ended-up getting a complete re-build, as a fellow Member noted some discrepancies in the original car.
All this activity had me checking for other things which needed attention, and I found three boxcars which needed re-weigh data added (shown in the Challenge thread, even though they're not officially part of it). I also repainted the wheels on a dozen-or-so freight cars, then decided to re-paint and re-letter a recently acquired caboose - the cars with the re-painted wheels aren't shown, but the caboose is.
Not shown in the Challenge thread, but done within the same time frame, was a repair to a brass steamer for a friend - this included adding all-wheel pick-up. I've also started painting nine cast resin automobiles which have been sitting around daring me to finish them - they're not done yet, but getting close.
Even though I've officially failed my Challenge, I'm certainly glad that I decided to participate, as it motivated me to get to work on stuff that's been sitting around too long. Once the Athearn boxcars and the automobiles are done, I hope to keep things rolling and perhaps get some locomotives off the shelf and into service. Or maybe scratchbuild those ten cabooses, or perhaps some baggage cars....
Wayne