marshcreek20ftboxcarreview

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

On a side note, the previous test freight car has received some serious modifications. This is the beginnings of some rolling stock for my logging line. This will be the bobber caboose for “Poison Brothers” Logging Co., Ragged Point. The Poison Brothers were a brother team out of Oregon in the late 1800’s early 1900’s that had more or less mastered all known types of steam equipment as it applied to logging etc. My back story is one of the brothers marrys into a family that owns a tract of land, some 10,000 acres from ragged point inland, containing one of the largest growths of redwood and sequoias south of the Oregon border.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Managed to get the undercarriage finished on three of the freight cars. Couplers, trucks and underside details installed.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

The ride of the trucks precludes any details going past the needle beams. I originally had run the brake cylinder linkage all the way forward to the end of the box car where the brake wheel will be. But even this slight height stopped the trucks from turning, basically created a stop. Instead, per the picture above, I've added a small piece of piano wire to the end of the braking cylinder to help finish off the detail. I think they will look pretty nice on the track. I think today I am going to get the couplers attached on the boxcars. More pics to follow.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Weathering

I’ve been weathering pieces as I assemble. For the air brake equipment I dry brushed using an acrylic paint called “burgundy”. I like the slight color contrast as it adds to the layering effect I am shooting for. After the base coat of color dried I washed the pieces in a bath of rubbing alcohol with a couple of swipes black acrylic added in. Toss the wet pieces onto a piece of foil and put in front of the space heater for a few minutes. The rubbing alcohol evaporates pretty quickly leaving the pigment behind. The effect creates realistic oil staining and grim as well heightening all of the subtle cast details on these tiny brass parts.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Air brakes painted and attached. The other car in the previous pics is kinda the practice car for the three I've been duplicating the construction on as I go along. I like the arrangement thus far. I wasn't going to do airbrake lines but things have gone along smooth enough I might add them in along with the brake linkage. The cars have enough "on the track" detail to pass snuff but I am finding the detailing process somewhat addictive.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Some foam blocks from Michaels Arts & Crafts make a quick, nifty little form to hold the cars in place while you work on them. Additionally, you can see in the other pic that I used the miniature wooden clothes line clips and throw away sticks I got from said store to make it a little easier to dry brush the brass parts.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Brake cylinder, air valves and air reserve attached. Currently making a quick paint station with clips to hold the brass pieces. I think I will dry brush them as the detail is so small and intricate.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Brake parts came in the mail today. Just a quick couple of pics.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Finally got around to attaching a set of trucks this evening. They have a beautiful sound when they roll across the track. I was originally concerned about the trucks rubbing on the truss rods. After a few test runs back and forth on the track and throwing a couple of curves in, it would appear that they clear fine so no worries!

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Fox Valley wheels sets arrived today. 100 axels per bag, metal axels and wheels. Most expensive part of the build thus far. The bag will allow me to do 25 cars or combinations (single car on one truck). I will sadly admit I broke the first truck I tried to pin in. I'm generally very careful, the parts are not that flexible so be gentle. Took a couple of minutes but I got a pair together and I must say the metal wheels were well worth the investment. The trucks and axels mated together flawlessly. Additionally they glide across the tracks just as well if not better than a store bought setup. I'll post pics later this week.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

eBay certainly has been handy. I've been able to find a couple of NOS pieces. Cast, white metal brake wheels (the Marsh Creek kit comes with a wood laser cut wheel). Additionally, I thought I would try out the Ho scale AB brake kit by Cal-Scale. It comes with the air reserve and the brake cylinder which are the two main underside details I was looking for. It also appears to have all the other components, so maybe even a little more detailing to add if it can be fit. The twenty foot cars don't have much space under the frame once the trucks are in place.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

While waiting on the wheel sets I finally decided to go ahead and repaint the underside of the cars to get the additional, new details i.e. truss rods, queen posts and turnbuckles. Over all I am pleased with how they turned out. 1.22.17

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Nice link to a .PDF that describes the anatomy of a freight car

http://www.pcrnmra.org/sierra/October-2011-digital.pdf

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Turnbuckles attached. Okay so these are uber small pieces and if they spring away forget about finding them. I simply clipped off the sprue, applied the smallest drop of Tightbond with a toothpick and gently pressed in place from the backside of the rods. The fishing line sits perfectly in place. On a side note, I was worried about the weight of line I originally chose for the truss rods but with the turn buckles in place I think it looks pretty damn good. I am glad I took the time to to do it as it adds yet another layer of depth to the boxcars.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Coupler height gauge and turnbuckles arrived today. The Turnbuckles are freaking small for sure. I don’t plan on cutting the fishing line. Looking at the turnbuckles, they are not cored. They have a frame on one side and then flat on the other. The detail side is shown in the pic. I’m thinking that I’ll file open the other end of buckle and then glue to the line/truss rod. I’ve also been going back and forth about repainting the bottom of the cars now that I have the additional details. I’ve seen some spray jobs online where it looked like the paint didn’t take too well to the fishing line. The coupler height gauge is about what I expected, over all, nicely done and made in the USA! Loud applause…

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Note on the couplers

The couplers come with a shim for height adjustment. I have only dry fitted them at this time per the picture. I am waiting on a bulk wheel pack of the Fox Valley wheel sets to arrive before I begin to attach everything. I also need to order an n scale coupler height adjustment tool as well. I’m still hoping that I won’t have to shim the trucks too much to get them to clear the truss rod details. I’m thinking maybe 1-1.5 mm at most. I hope that this sleight increase in height doesn’t ruin the ride or look of the boxcar or make the final attachment of the couplers difficult.

[marshcreek20ftboxcarreview]

Assembly is a bit tricky at first. I spent probably the better part of ten minutes working thru trying to assemble the first coupler. After I figured out what I needed to do I set up a work space determined to do the entire box. Tools needed for this are minimal but certainly required for successful assembly. A small pair of nippers from my tackle box to cut parts off of the sprue, x-acto blade, tweezers, emery board and a bowel to contain parts. Lastly, not pictured, desk light magnifier as these parts are very, very small. Start by working in pairs and maybe have an empty medicine bottle on hand to put the finished couplers in. Assembly is straight forward per the instructions. Special note, the smaller parts come contained in a Gel caplet. The springs are fragile. I ruined 1 and lost another when it sprang away from me. Use the tweezers to place the spring vertically in the slot created by the stacked components. Use the Flat side of the tip of the x-acto blade to angle the spring on its side in the slot and then apply sleight pressure to compress the spring in place. Twist the tip of the blade towards you to help retain the spring in place when removing the blade. Use the flat side of the blade to flush up the spring if it is proud. After that, simply snap the top cover in place securing the spring and coupler assembly together.