Passenger Car Roofs

Try Northeastern Scale Lumber

https://northeasternscalelumbe...ar-parts.html?page=4

As far as I know, Northeastern only makes clerestory roof sections and has not brought back into production any other passenger car roof.

A bow-ed roof could be fabricate. Some thought would be needed to create rafters. The end hip effect would be challenging. Tar paper or metal effect with tissue paper applied with liberal white glue once the structure is in place.   Edge of the roof, where it attaches to the walls, some type of a drip edge detail. 

Not an easy project.  IMO. 

But its a long cold winter day. 

Mullet River laser cut caboose kits had a lot of this roof detail.    

So.........there will be many roof sections created this week in Boston?

Streamlined car or heavyweight? If heavyweight, monitor or arch roof?

Streamlined. It seems like if someone had the tooling, they could be easily massed produced, just initial setup would be pricey.

Northeastern has the tooling and did offer it at one time, but for some reason has not brought it back the marketplace.

There does exist some perception that O scale modelers are not building models much any more...........  Call up Northeastern and see what they wnat to make you a few 100 roof sections,

Lou Cross of Right-O-Way also makes passenger cars.  They are actually upgraded Box Car Ken models.  After he took over the line he obtained the cutter used to make the originals.  You might be able to talk him into selling you some of his stock.

He does not have a website so you have to either call or write him.

Jay

If all else fails check the upcoming "modernized heavyweight" coach on the Golden Gate Depot website  that will soon be arriving. I should be receiving a number of extra roofs from these cars as I usually do for other GGD plastic heavyweight cars.

I have them for sale at the Sunset/GGD display at many 2 rail shows. My read is you would need two so you can splice them to fit streamlined "flat" roof ends vs heavyweight tapered roof ends.

Not sure if the roof is hollowed out or if it is flat bottomed. If hollowed you would need to make up a spacer at the ends to fill the void from the roof to the top of the car side.

I did a Milwaukee streetcar roof from scratch many moons ago out of pine trim: only had to putty one low spot. Once the tissue paper was on and painted it looked great. 

I would look for wood trim pieces at your builder's store that are close in profile, and start rasping away. Mistakes are cheap, even more so if you find scraps.

Will,

 If you can find them, the old American Lightweight Car Company kits can be used as the perfect core for the Union Station Pullman Standard streamlined car sides. I purchased several C&O P-S car sides from Union Station and already had collected several of the American Lightweight Car kits for future construction as I figured no one will ever produce scale built up C&O cars. The American Car kits provide the roof, ends, and many details including underframe equipment. The only trick is to just substitute the Union Station car sides for the kit sides and construct the car according to the American Lightweight Car instructions. The Union Station sides and especially the fluting is much superior to what comes in the American Lightweight kits.

I have a coach built up and painted primer gray. Unfortunately due to recent hip surgery I can't climb the stairs to my train room and take a picture of it to post right now.

As far as I know the only source for the American Lightweight kits is ebay. They show up from time to time. P&D used to carry them and may still have some.

Ken

I have successfully made arch roofs from white pine. It helps to have a table saw.

I thought he asked if anyone makes roofs for streamline cars not war stories about how we made roofs from tumbleweeds and snowballs!

Jay

Streamlined Walthers kits had wooden streamline roofs.  I never liked them as I could

not get them to look like metal, while I had no problem with hearvyweight roofs.  I

may not even have one of those kits, as I avoided the streamline versions.  Micro-Mark

just has clerestory roofs, BUT streamline floors??  However, they have a refrigerator

car roof that looks close to a streamline roof contour in the end view.

He did ask whether these roofs were commercially available.  Somebody said no, and we branched out a bit.

That's a good idea. I have a few of those cars on order. How much would you be selling the roofs for?

I thought about the Walthers, but I don't want it to look like wood.Most of the ones I've seen on eBay were pretty grainy. I'll have to check out the American Lightweight CC kits. Those sound good.

Wood roofs can be made to look like plastic with lacquer-based sanding sealer.

IF you wanted to make one you could use balsa covered with Silkspan, sanding sealer, and paint.  While you're at it you could build a model airplane or two

Everything you'd need is available at LHS that carry RC planes.

Eddy Wichman, "Route of the 400", might have what you are looking for.  They would be plastic for streamliners.  He will probably be in Chicago for the March Meet.  Ted Schneph might be able to to tell you how to find him.

You might try a search for "Wichman" right here on OGR. I think Eddy was the topic of a previous thread. If that fails, if you can get/have access to back issues of the late "O Scale News" Eddy used to advertise there.

Othrt options:

Someone good with a router might be able to get you where you want to go.

Some of the old kits had wooden roofs.

Lots of possibilities depending on how handy/desperate you are!

Good Luck!

Simon

Not sure yet. Have to wait until the cars come in and make sure the builder did the extra roofs he was supposed to. The cars are built and are being painted now.

I'd look for the old ICC kits PS LW kits , they're all styrene and you should be able to fit the Union Station sides to them with a minimal amount of fuss. They show up on E-Bay, OSYS and the occasional show table.  

I spent a good portion of the day working on a wood roof for my Lionel 2400 series passenger car. It is coming along pretty good but more shaping s need. I plan to spray it with a semi-gloss clear coat that I have then paint it silver by brush. I took a roof off another car and looked at it and it didn't seem to be to hard to make a mold and form some sheet plastic over it to make a roof. Too far along now. I have looked at shows but haven't seen anything even close. I might end up making this car in to a diner.