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There's this amazing wonder material called...............................wood.

La Belle actually sells kits for trolleys made of wood,   

Ok, now that I've worked out my snarky reply for evening........

Actually, I scratchbuild trolleys, freight motors, traction freight cars, etc and have been contributing that information on a column in another publication now for over 5 years - "O Scale Trains".  I try to convey just the information that you're asking about as I provide a serialization of one project after another.  And, I work in wood, styrene, resin, and even brass (not etching though)...just about nay material that does the job right.

La Belle kit:

Scratchbuilt snowplow:

Tommy posted:

The big expense is the trucks. Lately Q-car has discontinued many varieties.

Well, a set of trucks with the drive runs ~$135.  Then again, these are all built to order by hand and Quentin is both very knowledgeable and helpful in making choices regarding gearing and side frames.

As for expense, if I were building on the clock for someone at my current hourly rate, the trucks are cheap.

Tommy posted:

With the LaBelle wood kits how did you seal and paint the wood? Spray? Enamel? Sealer? How many coats? Source of paint? Thanx. Nice work.

On the LaBelle wood kits that I've built I use spray shellac.  Two or three coats works fine.  What's nice is that it seals the wood without losing the wood grain.

Stuart

 

Tommy posted:

With the LaBelle wood kits how did you seal and paint the wood? Spray? Enamel? Sealer? How many coats? Source of paint? Thanx. Nice work.

I have never sealed a wood car, kit or otherwise.  Never found it to be necessary.  One thing that I do however is to brass wire brush cars to remove all of the dust and debris prior to painting.

I paint almost entirely by hand - Floquil, for the majority of cars.  Usually 2 coats.  Details and all might be done by hand using Polly Scale.

I will spray some if the car is a uniform and simple color; usually that's limited now to underbodies and that's a satin brown and a flat black.

C.M McMahon posted:

Quentin does a remarkable job with the trucks and provided that the sideframes exist, can make nearly anything. The only things that I have seen discontinued are the magic carpets.....

I thought that NWSL actually brought out a new and improved version of the Magic Carpet drives.

Bobby Ogage posted:

MWB, your models are fantastic and thanks for sharing them. I am going to try layering card stock (file folders) to build a car body.

Thank you very much!

Layered cardstock - sort of like the Joe Fisher method of building passenger cars wherein 3 layers of strathmore would be oriented to cross grain the paper for stability and strength while also getting 3 dimensional depth, etc.?

Should be very interesting to see how that works.  Please take lots of photos and share them here!

mwb posted:
Bobby Ogage posted:

MWB, your models are fantastic and thanks for sharing them. I am going to try layering card stock (file folders) to build a car body.

Thank you very much!

Layered cardstock - sort of like the Joe Fisher method of building passenger cars wherein 3 layers of strathmore would be oriented to cross grain the paper for stability and strength while also getting 3 dimensional depth, etc.?

Should be very interesting to see how that works.  Please take lots of photos and share them here!

Yes, impressive models for us lesser mortals! The file folder method rings a bell with me. I did a hand-shaped wooden roof and layered menu-card sides for a Milwaukee 800 streetcar many moons ago; layered the sides, allowing for the window-framing - it is a great effect. The compass-point riveting is very.....uh....therapeutic.

Still got the roof.....but dunno if I will re-visit that project. Ambroid glue, shellac, wood and wire: will retro-style model-building make a come-back?

Is Current Line / Wagner still operating, or is Q-car the go-to supplier these days?

Last edited by Firewood
Firewood posted:
......... will retro-style model-building make a come-back?
It never really left but was just pushed into the background.
 

Is Current Line / Wagner still operating, or is Q-car the go-to supplier these days?

Current Line exists, but not functionally - Q-car is the go to supplier and last one standing.

I plan to fabricate one or more of the Kuhlman built cars used by the New York & North Shore Traction Company on Long Island. As can be seen in the picture, Kuhlman cars have curved window tops.

My thoughts are 4 layers of file folder material laminated for each of car sides:

  • The inner most layer be a backing for the side windows and contain the boarding doors;
  • The 2nd layer will have the lower side window sashes;
  • The 3rd layer will have the upper window sashes;
  • The 4th layer will be segmented into horizontal strips for the letter boards, and the two side panels below the windows.

I plan to kit bash the floor, trucks and PS2 electronics and perhaps the roof out of an MTH Brill car. 

I will post progress photos.

 

NY & North Shore Traction [2)

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Bobby Ogage posted:

I plan to fabricate one or more of the Kuhlman built cars used by the New York & North Shore Traction Company on Long Island. As can be seen in the picture, Kuhlman cars have curved window tops.

My thoughts are 4 layers of file folder material laminated for each of car sides:

  • The inner most layer be a backing for the side windows and contain the boarding doors;
  • The 2nd layer will have the lower side window sashes;
  • The 3rd layer will have the upper window sashes;
  • The 4th layer will be segmented into horizontal strips for the letter boards, and the two side panels below the windows.

I plan to kit bash the floor, trucks and PS2 electronics and perhaps the roof out of an MTH Brill car. 

I will post progress photos.

Just my 0.02; depending on the file folder thickness, I would try a dry-run and see how the layers stack up. You might find it necessary to use differing thicknesses of Bristol / Strathmore board in combination with the file folders, perhaps as an inner backing layer.

I am currently re-working a wood Mid Western Hobbies flat into a Russell Car Co(Ridgeway, Pa) flat of the sort that Buffalo & Lake Erie Traction had. I am doing it as one of their "Auto-Ferry" cars, that they ran with a freight motor and used to transport people and cars when the NW Penna and Western NY roads were impassable from mud. I've ordered a Wiseman Model T  to ride on the car.....

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Last edited by C.M McMahon

There are some pretty good full size plans available on e-bay under the heading " O scale trolleys" .They run around $5.00 and show various types. Attached is a static model I built from their plans of an open Summer Trolley all out of basswood available at Hobby Lobby and Pieces of brass wire. Has Atlas trucks but could easily be powered with Q trucks.

Geo.DSCF1933

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Thimmaker:

Very nice job.  How did you get the curve at the base of the uprights?  It came out really well.  I am doing a smaller open trolley from the same company's plans and will need to make curved bases. 

BTW, for once we 3-railers get to carp about 2-rail track:  the prototype for these cars were the electric cars the New Haven Railroad ran in Nantasket Beach (Mass.) and Hartford-Bristol (Conn.) service.  They were powered by a shoe running atop a live center rail.; hence the lack of a trolley pole.  The center rail was flatter than normal T-rail.  The center rail system was problemmatical and after a few years was replaced with line-side poles carrying a trolley wire.

BRUCE

I used 1/32 basswood for the seats. Glued two 1/4" dowels about 8 inches long to a piece of plywood spaced to apply pressure to the seat ends, put glue on the center seat supports, and set the seat ends against center support and pressed them down between the dowels. Trimmed the ends later. I always use titebond 2. Sketch attached.DSCF1936 The brass handrails were bent by making a die out of 1/16 alum. sheet and squeezing them in a vise so they are all alike. Geo.

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O Scale traction is alive and well. If you  want to be a part of it , scratch building, RTR trolley cars, subway cars, comuter cars, new, used, custom built, parts and I could go on. Be sure to attend the New York Model Transit Association's  transit convention and trolley meet.  June 4th at Rutgers University in New Brunswick New Jersey. Want to learn about the subject? Many of the leading dealers and manufacturers will be present to answer questions and show off there wares. Many of The  top O Scale traction modelers will be there. Want to see trolleys, subway, commuter, trains running  on modules? Do you like memorabilia, Hardware and displays? All others scales will be participating as well. Do not miss this event. The proceeds will go to the Shore Line Trolley Museum. For more information go to the NYCMTA web site ,nycmodeltransit.org/meet details.htm

See you then,

Nate

 

 

 

 

 

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