2021 Strasburg O Scale Show – October

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Today was the Strasburg O Scale Show. The show was well attended. Besides the regular crowd, were even a pair of modelers up from Texas who stopped by and spoke with me at our table.

The show was well attended, there were a couple of dealers that did not show. Leaving the appearence open tables. I heard different whispers about health concerns for some of those individuals. I only hope that all are ok.

Rich Yoder did the honors of auctioning off the Nighthawks Cafe model. The model was built from a kit offered by Wit and Wisdom Models, Dave Vaughn’s company and built by Martin Brechbiel.

The proceeds benefit the Strasburg Fire Company where the show is hosted. We should all remember that they have had a rough year with the pandemic canceling the different shows and events that they normally host throughout the year. 

This was a great opportunity to buy a very nice model and help a great organization.

There was a lot of buying going on during the show. I was glad to have sold the last of my Red Caboose GP9’s. They are wonderful models but were not built yet for my modeling period. I’m happy to say that all have found new homes.

For the Reading modeler, there were a few models in the show. I did see an Overland T-1 and an SGL G3 on the tables. I even saw a Reading Camelback painted as an LNE switcher go home with one of the guys from our group.

Paul Yanosik brought some new models to share with me. He is in the process of upgrading some of the details on his first CNJ Baldwin builds. He also brought along some photos from their construction. And he shared with me a cab which was in the process of being converted from an EMD F7 into a Baldwin cab. Thank you Paul.

A New O Scale Manufacturer

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Photo from the Yarmouth Model Works Website

I can’t believe I actualy wrote that headline. It’s great news!

Yarmouth Model Works has released their first O Scale resin rfeight car kit. It is a model of a PRR X31f boxcar. Owner Pierre Oliver hinted about the kit last Spring and now it’s here.

The kit features a one-piece resin body casting, a 3D printed roof pattern, laser cut running boards and 3D printed details. The kit sells for $165.

For those that are not familiar with Yarmouth Model Works. They are an HO manufacturer of resin freight car kits and detail parts. I hope we might see some O Scale detail parts offered in the future also.

I’ll let you know more about this kit when it arrives here in South Jersey.

2021 Strasburg O Scale Show – August

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The Strasburg O Scale Train Show was today. In past years, the August show was often the lightest attended of the three shows that John Dunn and Rich Yoder host each year. Not so this year. It was well attended and buying and selling was at a good pace throughout the show.

They had on display a model that will be auctioned off at the next Strasburg Show, on October 16th 2021. The proceeds will benefit the Strasburg Fire Company where the show is hosted. We should all remember that they have had a rough year with the pandemic canceling the different shows and events that they normally host throughout the year.

This will be a great opportunity to buy a very nice model and help a great organization. The model is built from a kit offered by Wit and Wisdom Models, Dave Vaughn’s company and built by Martin Brechbiel.

On the model front, there were a number of Reading models on the tables, I saw two Weaver Crusader sets with the locomotive on different tables. I also saw the SGL G-3 Pacific and set of five cars. Another dealer had the two car add-on set on their table, while a different vendor had the “Wall Street” add-on car.

As usual I shared a table with my friend Michael Rahilly. Here is a photo of Michael and his daughter Lauren.

One of the things I often hear at train shows is that people attend them now more to catch up with old friends then to buy a bunch of trains. I heard this from more than one attendee today. I was glad to have some time to catch up with a few of the guys that were in the local club back during my time there.

Michael MacEwan, who didn’t have a table at this show, but was hanging out at our table with Michael. As always the conversation always circled back to talking about PRR B6sb’s.

Another former club member was Dave Richter sitting at the end of his tables.

Here at the end of the show was Dave Vaughn talking with Rick Trinkle who was in from Colorado.

One last old fried was also on two different tables at the show. This was a book my brother and I put out back in the late 1980’s. It was a reprint of a Reading Company photo book on the Reading and CNJ 55 Ton Welded Steel hopper Cars.

WB: Still Working on Weaver Gearboxes

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Still working on the Weaver gearboxes for my GP7 project. I have to say, putting those little 2-56 nut on the screws that hold them together is a real pain. I know with all the Weaver models that have used them, they had to have come up with a way to easily put them together. Me I’m still trying to find an easy way to hold the nut and start threading it onto the screws. Haven come up with one yet that keeps the nuts from hitting the floor a half dozen times.

It also didn’t help that I was trying to use older gearboxes from an older donor Weaver drive for the second unit. It turned out getting them open was difficult. Someone had placed a drop of ACC on the treads and nut to keep them together.

Progress has been slow, but I still haven’t painted the trucks yet so it’s not really holding me up yet.

WB: Something Old and New

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Well I got the Locomotive Workshop Baldwin kit home and took a good look at it. It is mostly complete. You can’t see the parts bag behind the body etching. The nose casting are softer then I remember from other kits. They will require some work to fit the four pieces together.

I’ve built other LWS kits in the past, to say they are basic is an understament. I had a friend refer to them once as a scratch building project disguised as a kit.

I’ve wanted to build the CNJ DR 4-4-1500 “Baby Faced Freighters” for a long time. This would give me the two nose castings I would need for the project. I could just use them as is and build the freight units, but I still think I want to build the double ended passenger unit. So I’m planning build one nose up and have resin castings made for the project. At any rate, it’s not at the top of the project list right now. Back into the box to wait a little while before starting that project.

I’ve been working on pair of GP7’s recently. I’ve managed to find a pair of the Atlas O GP7 shells. I am replacing the long hood assembly of a Red Caboose GP9 with the Atlas O GP7 long hood to build my GP7’s.

I am working on the drives first. I’ve been acquiring the parts for this build for a while now. Even before I bought the Atlas O shells.

I started with the P&D replacement drives for the Red Caboose GP9. The two drives have been waiting their turn on the workbench for a while. Funny that when I examined the gear towers of the drives. The top gear of both towers in one drive had cracks. Not a problem as I had planned to replace the gear towers anyway.

I am using the FineScale 360 Gear Tower and also a set of Right-O-Way conversion wheels and truck castings for the P&D EMD Blomberg truck. This conversion set might go back to when these parts were sold be Protocraft.

Since you have to disassemble the truck to install the conversion parts, I thought it would also be a good time to install ball bearing on the axels. You can see one of the ball bearings on the axel below. I’m using a FR133-ZZ Flange Mini Ball Bearing from Bearings Direct.

The model’s bearing in side frame have been modified to fit the new ball bearings on the axel ends. Next step is to paint and reassemble the trucks.

Renninger’s Model Train Meet

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I attended the Renningers Model Train Meet in Kutztown, PA. This is an all scales train meet with free admission and free parking. The show is held partly outdoors and partly under cover in to long barns with open sides. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day. I wonder what this would have been like in bad weather.

The show was well attended and unlike many O Scale Shows, there was a nice mix of young and old modelers at the show. So yes, there are young people interested in model trains. They just don’t always go to O Scale Shows.

There was a mix of scales represented, lots of 3-rail, S Scale and a smaller amount of HO scale. For the few 2-rail O Scale modelers in the crowd that I had the chance to talk to, there was not much to offer.

A number of vendors had railroad hardware on their tables, a lot of lanterns, some railroad signs. Including one vendor with a Reading oval whistle sign, that was very tempting. But that was not why I was there.

I was there to meet a gentleman I spoke with back at the Strasburg Show who was delivering a long out of production kit to me. It is a Locomotive Workshop kit for a CNJ Baldwin Double Ender (CNJ Baldwin DRX-6-4-2000).

I first saw one of these kits on a table at the O Scale National in Stamford, CT. about twenty years ago. I passed on purchassing the kit back then, and I have not seen one for sale on a table since. If you have ever experienced a Locomotive Workshop kit before, they really can be just a pile of parts that do not always fit together.

My original thought was that I wanted to build the CNJ Babyfaced Freight units and this kit would give my the two noses that I would need for the project. Now, I’m thinking the kit is for a unique locomotive. I might want to built the kit as a passenger unit also. Either way at this point, I want to assemble a nose casting and make resin copies of it for either or both projects.

Since I was in Kutztown, I had to visit the ex-Reading station downtown. With the weather being so nice, I took the opportunity to be out photographing some of the local buildings with one of my view cameras.

Before heading back home for the day, I drove up to Kempton, PA to see some of their ex-Reading passenger equipment. I had some questions about the steps and end details on the cars. Turns out they had a pair of the coaches and a combine sitting out near the station on the Wanamaker Kempton & Southern.

WB: In An Orange Box

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As a Proto48 modeler, I don’t often pay attention to what the 3-rail manufacturers are doing. Last year was no exception, but Lionel did list a new offering for Reading modelers that almost got past me. They released a new model with all new tooling for a Reading passenger car. Actually for two cars, a combine and a coach.

The cars are based on Reading prototypes built by Harlan and Hollingsworth. The cars appear to be a Reading coach class PBn and combine class CVm. Numbers for those cars:

  • Coach PBn 1100-1175, 1200-1284
  • Combine CVm 589-592

For 3-rail models, they are surprisingly nice. The body appears to scale out closely to published drawings. The roof contour is very nice, the details on the roof maybe be a little exagerated. The main issues I could find with the cars were:

  • Underbody details
  • Steps too steep
  • Roof vents undersized
  • Lack of end details to allow for the oversized coupler to have about
  • Two batten strips on the side of the cars, instead of four on the passenger cars and three on the combine
  • The car diaphragms are oversized

The two above images show that the steps do not go far enough into the car. Also they show the lack of end details like the uncoupling bars, safety chains, steam and air lines.

There may also be a question of how many roof vents are typically on the combines. Some further sorting through photos and equipment diagrams is needed to answer that question.

I’m pleasantly surprised by this offering from Lionel. The cars are much nicer than I was expecting. They will need some work but are a good starting point to build a nice model.

Lionel is offering three different two car sets. Manufacturers price is $379.99 for each 2 car pack. Prices do vary with different retail outlets. I would suggest shopping around. I picked up my cars at a much better price.

WB: Some New Stuff

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Jon Cagle of Southern Car & Foundry has released a new freight car kit, a 1932 ARA Boxcar. This makes me excited on two levels, first I’m happy to see a freight car kit manufacturer back with a new release in O Scale. And second, this is an important car in freight car development.

If you have built one of SC&F’s kits in the past, you know they are the best kits being made today. The castings are out of this world.

The ladders and yard steps are etched metal.

The instructions are lengthy and well detailed. This should make for interesting reading tonight. I’m really impressed by this kit. Looking forward to building it.

On a different front, Pierre Oiliver of Yarmouth Model Works teased out an image of a PRR X31f O Scale body this past week. I reached out to Pierre and he confirmed that he will be releasing this as a kit later this Summer. I’m looking forward to that release and hope it is the first of many new O Scale kits to be produced from this established HO resin freight car kit manufacturer. This is very promising.

WB: Finally Some Progress

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This week I was finally able to get some Dull Coat sprayed on some recent work. Amazing how wet is has been around here when I have had time to work on these cars.

Remember that car that followed me home from the Strasburg Show? well it has been taking a bath.

The Black and the decals came off quickly. But there was a layer of red primer on this cars that was rather stubborn.

But it slowly coming off. The car is cleaning up nicely.

On the possibility of finding an elusive Locomotive Workshop CNJ Double Ender Kit that I mentioned before. The gentleman has located the kit, put a price on it and has agreed to sell it. He wants to hand deliver the kit to me at an upcoming show. I can do that. One step closer.

WB: A Model Returns

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A strange thing happened to me at the Chicago Show in 2019, a PRR B6sb followed me home. First is was priced so well, I couldn’t pass it up. That was mostly because it had a very bad paint job.

After spending some time being converted to Proto48 by Carl Jackson, this fine looking model came home with me on Saturday. During the time the model was with Carl it had the chance to take a bath in his stripping tank. It needed it!

Now that all that ugly paint is gone, it revealed a couple of things the bad paint was hiding. It appears the previous owner had a mishap with the tender. The railings appear to have been damaged at one time. A repair attempt has resulted with too much heat being applied, which caused the rear tender deck to seperate from the side. There is also a little separation along the top rim of the coal bunker. So, I have some repair work to do before I can think about painting this model.

Next up was another model that came home from this past weekend’s show. It’s an RY Models Reading welded 55 ton twin hopper. It also is suffering from a case of bad paint. This time the issue was in the weathering attempt.

This is a good reason why you learn to paint and weather freight cars using a $20 Weaver car, not a brass model.

My first thought was to try to salvage the paint by just cleaning up the weathering. Better sense took over, rather than try to fix the bad weathering, I’ll just start over. So into the stripping tank for this one. I can say that with a little help from a toothbrush every few hours this model is now almost back to brass. I figure it will be done later today.