The Mogollon Railroad

[nachoman]

The first piece of rolling stock I made when I got into HOn3 was this combine. I think I found an MDC standard gauge combine kit on the discount table at a hobby shop that is no longer there. I found some kind of plans for a narrow gauge passenger car in Model Railroader, and some kind of article about kitbashing wood passenger cars in another magazine, and decided to cut down the MDC car into HOn3. I decided to make the baggage end without a vestibule, and somehow settled on a length of 42 feet, and a width of 8 1/2 feet. I mounted a pair of MDC HOn3 trucks underneath. For the record, the Colorado and Southern had a few combine cars with a closed vestibule on the baggage/main end. I think that is where I got the idea.

I was quite proud of my first HOn3 kitbash, or probably any kind of kitbash for that matter. But for some reason, the closed vestibule end looked odd and it just seemed too long. When I later kitbashed another combine from one of the 30' MDC Overton cars, I decided this car would look better if I made it shorter. So, out came the razor saw and it seemed the easiest way to shorten was to cut about 10 scale feet from the baggage end. This placed the baggage doors very close to the end.

I never liked the looks of this car after that. I tried weathering, adding a few details, but nothing seemed right. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and looked at it, and decided some stirrups and some details on the baggage end would help, in addition to some roof line details on the passenger end clerestory. Here is how it looks now, with a few more details to be added.