Weekly Photo Fun 3/4 - 3/10/16

[bdw9535]

WPMA-17 with CR GP38-2 7993 makes its way thru the yard.

Bruce

[kamerad47]

PRT 5709 & crew towing out bound loads up the Dundee spur to the NJT switch !!! hock: :o

[e-paw]

The conductor backs in the next train at Hercules cement.

   

[Prairie Trains]

[Ralph]

I've been removing the roof walks from some of my Penn Central boxcars to reflect the circa 1966 ICC expectation they would all be removed by 1974...which was later extended. Most PC boxcars I see in videos do not have roof walks so I hoped to make mine look more prototypical. This is a Bachmann car I bought at a flea market years ago for a couple of bucks and updated with Kaydee couplers and metal wheelsets. The weathering on the roof helps disguise vestiges of the holes left after the roof walk was removed. I filled them with Green Putty and did considerable sanding and filing.

[Canadian Atlantic Railway]

That PC boxcar turned out pretty nice. When the roof walks were removed did the brake wheel need to be lowered from the high position of did they stay there until the car was retired?

[doctorwayne]

The brake wheel might be lowered or not: if it were lowered, the ladders would be shortened. If it were left in the high position, the ladders at the B end would remain high, but there'd be a "WARNING: NO ROOFWALK" label affixed near the ladder. The ladders on the A end were usually shortened when the roofwalk was removed - otherwise, they'd get the warning label, too.
I'm not sure who makes the warning labels, but I have used them when I was modelling that era.

Another way to plug the holes left when the roofwalk is removed is to use a solid plug. Some manufacturer's roofwalks had tight-fitting mounting pins: for those, apply some solvent-type cement to them from inside the car, then, when the joints have fully hardened, slice them of directly below the roofwalk and then use a knife and/or files to remove excess material from the protruding stubs, shaping as necessary to match the roof's profile.

Where the roofwalk plugs are a looser fit, use styrene rod or suitably-sized sprue material left over from any plastic kit. You can sand or file it to fit the existing hole or simply drill the hole out larger - a few thou smaller than the plug is best. Use a small brush to coat the plug and the inside of the hole with solvent-type cement, let sit for a few seconds to allow the plastic to soften, then force the plug into the hole. Allow this to fully harden, then trim and shape the protruding portion to suit.

Wayne

[Green_Elite_Cab]

For some Athearn boxcars, Details Associates offers "roofwalk plugs", which I am sure can be adapted to any other car as well, if you want to save the roofwalks, or have lost them.

[Canadian Atlantic Railway]

After reading Wayne's explanation I think I asked the same question before but thank you both for the help. I will need a mix of both as I plan on modeling my Kensington sub in both the 70's and 80's.

[Ralph]

Thanks for the info regarding the brake wheels Wayne. And, it never occurred to me to cut of the pegs under the roof walks and use them as plugs!! D'OH!

[BR60103]

Didn't a lot of cars have the supports left on the roof after the roofwalk was removed? But I don't think they were at the same place as the model's mounting holes.


And now back to our regularly scheduled photo fun ...

[faraway]

Monday morning, time for new pellets

IMG_4831 by faraway52, on Flickr
IMG_4833 by faraway52, on Flickr