Another Standard gauge Project

Well here is the end result of my new bridge . I got all 11 blocks sanded , quarry screenings glued on , then a white glue wash brushed on and spray painted with gray primer .  

Well here it is 01-05-2021 and I’m still working on my 500 series milk car .  I now realize that I need to mount the tank onto an old box car frame and not the flat car . Reason why are the holes for the flat car stantions , 4 on each side and they are big holes that might otherwise distract from the look I’m going for .  Now I need to rummage around to see if I have a box car that I can dismantle.   As for the tank itself, I have added a set of steps to the ends .  Next up will be adding some handrails on each end and two for the top . I also need to add some sort of bracing inside the tank so I can screw it to the 500 frame . Now  By adding the rails on the top of the tank and not the sides that will give me more uninterrupted space for graphics.  That’s the plan at this hour , ideas change constantly in my head !! I did buy some bright white satin spray paint today , hopefully that will keep me motivated.  

@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:

Lookin' good, really good!

Will it be painted white with large black generic style MILK lettering?

Thanks for sharing and keep us posted!

Joe

Thanks for the compliment Joe  and yes it will be painted white . I will try a Bright Satin White first to see how I like it . As for the graphics , I have not decided on the color , either blue or black .    It's been a fun project so far.  Cheers.

Love your projects!

For your next project down the road, you should consider making an operating Standard Gauge "Bosco" milk car,

and/or a Standard Gauge "Nesquik" milk car.

Bob Nelson

Best adjective would be slow .LOL..  when it comes to projects I’m like a butterfly going from one to another and back again .  I’ve now decided to stick with the flat car because I really like the looks of the break wheel stantions . So the holes for the lumber stantions will most likely be covered . Since my unorthodox application of bondo I have sanded it smooth and applied two coats of the satin white . Before I apply the last coats of paint I will drill the holes for the handrails . Sometime this week I hope to make the jig for bending the handrails . There will be two , one on each end of the car .  Since the tank will be nice and white , it looks like I will have to sandblast the flat car and repaint it too .
Thanks for all your compliments and interest in my projects.  Cheers .

@navy.seal posted:

Love your projects!

For your next project down the road, you should consider making an operating Standard Gauge "Bosco" milk car,

and/or a Standard Gauge "Nesquik" milk car.

Bob Nelson

Hi Bob. Just asking you if you did see my Standard gauge automatic car back on this thread ?   That was a fun project !!

@JohnnieWalker posted:

Hi Bob. Just asking you if you did see my Standard gauge automatic car back on this thread ?   That was a fun project !!

Yes, I saw it.  Nice work!  Hopefully some day I will be able to make my own SG operating milk car.

Bob Nelson

@navy.seal posted:

Love your projects!

For your next project down the road, you should consider making an operating Standard Gauge "Bosco" milk car,

and/or a Standard Gauge "Nesquik" milk car.

Bob Nelson

Here's another possible paint scheme for your next project.

@navy.seal posted:

Here's another possible paint scheme for your next project.

Hi Bob , and thanks for all your suggestions . At one point I had 3 of the Lionel milk cars along with a bunch of other farm related flats and box cars . I sold 99% of them due to me wanting to collect standard gauge.   I’m wanting to keep my current milk car project more in lines with the 500 series that I have like simple graphics and a bright color .  With being said , I did work on the hand rails yesterday and came up with what you see here . Everything is still in a prototype stage . In two of the photos you can see the holes in the flatcar that I want it cover/hide where the stanchions once were . Least of my worries at this moment.

Just a quick update on my 500 series milk car .  I sprayed another coat of bright white satin on the shell . And most importantly I started dealing with the graphics.  I had the photo I wanted to try first printed and cut out .  What I will do next is glue them onto the car and then spray a clear finish on the whole shell .  I’ve also decided that the flatcar itself should be spray painted the same color blue as the cutout .  
I am also rethinking the railing system. So I’m going to experiment on the extra shells I have first .

Still moving forward with a project.  I got the flatcar frame sanded , primed and two coated with the blue .  The trucks have been primed and I’m in need of some gloss black spray paint to finish them .  Next is to glue the milk logos on and then clear coat the tank .

Progress ! I got the two trucks painted gloss black and the rest of the parts are in the tumbler as I type this .  Fingers are crossed that I don’t have to do too much cleaning up of the parts after the second round of using the different cleaning/polishing mediums . I may just get this car done before the end of February !!

And so the saga continues. Just when one thinks he’s in the home stretch,  bam ,  there’s a mess up .  I totally messed up the handrail , beyond repair , so I started over . I cut a new tank , two of them , from a small section of pipe with  22.5 degree ends . Next I rethought the car itself and decided to mimic the real milk tank car . No dome , no steps and no hand railing to mess up .  I also figured out how to hide the stanchion holes and at the same time hold the tank in place . Win win .  I just MIGHT get this project done by the end of ...

Getting closer to being finished . Hope I didn’t just jinx myself !   Anyway , here are a few photos of the second attempt of the 500 series milk tank car .  I’m liking version two much better .   What’s left to do is to add drawings of doors on both sides , which I will copy from some other tank cars . Possibly add two grab railings, one above each door , add Milk Tank Car graphics, clear coat it and add the break wheel stanchions .  Now along the way I had yet another idea concerning the milk tank car , I will do a test run on one of the prototypes,  it’s to add two lights behind the large milk emblems .  As Pablo Picasso once said “ I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else .” Stay tuned for more progress reports . Cheers .

One step closer to being finished.  A simple task that can be checked off the punch list on this 500 series milk tank car.   I now have the two doors glued into place and I’m liking how it’s turning out . Looking forward to seeing it with all the other farm related cars .  Cheers .

I'm really enjoying following your progress on all these builds. Very inspiring.

@Will posted:

I'm really enjoying following your progress on all these builds. Very inspiring.

Thanks  Will .  I feel a bit honored when I get a message like yours or from others  saying they are going to do what I have done . Wether it’s a direct copy or a variation, it’s all about  the sharing  of ideas and info .
So on that note , here is the latest update on the Milk Tank Car.  I added two grab rails to the doors .  I think this is the last of the add ons . Next up is the naming of the car .
    SERGEANTLAW FARM  Milk Tank Car. SERGEANTLAW  is the name of the family farm in Scotland and I want to bring a piece of that history to my trains .  

Well, I am O gauge and have been inspired by your operating milk car to try one with a pre-war 814R ( haven't started). Now I am considering a butter dish, although I may buy a Flyer Bordens and convert to Lionel latch. Has anyone switched couplers on this car?

@Will posted:

Well, I am O gauge and have been inspired by your operating milk car to try one with a pre-war 814R ( haven't started). Now I am considering a butter dish, although I may buy a Flyer Bordens and convert to Lionel latch. Has anyone switched couplers on this car?

Good evening Will .  Having two project cars going on simultaneously is half the fun LOL.  If you go back in my thread you will read that I used two different automatic milk cars .  I believe it was the 3472 car doors I used and the brown roof 36621 car for its unloader . and now I forget , I'm thinking one unloader uses the magnetic cans and the other not . Apparently there is a difference in the cans .    As for the  American Flyer butterdish car, I would think you could find one on eBay and just remove the tank and mount it on a 812 gondola car frame . That is if the butterdish car is the same length  or a little shorter .   Keep us posted when you start your project car(s) . Cheers

Well here it is the 12th of March and I’m still plugging away on my milk car .  Now that I have it named the next two steps are to reinstall the break wheels and clear coat it .  The end is insight .

So here it is , 99% done . I just need to screw the body to the flat car itself .  I am waiting patiently for my clear coat to be 100% dry before I flip it upside down to do so . Now I need to decide what project to take on next .

Nothing really new here except a photo of my slowly growing farm train .  Leading the way is the automatic milk car, illuminated poultry dispatch car , the milk tank car , stock car and caboose.   I want to add two more cars , a flat with a Ford 8 N or 9 N Tracktor  and possibly another illuminated car .  At some point I will have to start my homemade diesel switcher project to pull it .

Looks great!

I wanted to take a break from tinkering but that idea fell flat on its face .  I just jumped right into the next 500 series farm car , the Pork Dispatch Car .  I need to see if I have any trucks in the attic with roller pickups , I need two of them for this car and another for my caboose . I prefer two pickups on any lighted cars . So here are a few photos to start with .

Photo Update on the Pork Dispatch Car. The next step is to cut and position the pigs to fit between the newly removed stock car slats . I do it the old fashion way , cut and paste , touch up with my markers and then photocopy.  

Fun! Where did you get the pigs? I'm curious why you raised the lights off the floor of the car. Seems like a lot of work for little reward. To get them more centered? Assuming the pig prints are translucent, I'm not sure you would notice a difference. But I always enjoy your projects and get inspiration from them.

@Will posted:

Fun! Where did you get the pigs? I'm curious why you raised the lights off the floor of the car. Seems like a lot of work for little reward. To get them more centered? Assuming the pig prints are translucent, I'm not sure you would notice a difference. But I always enjoy your projects and get inspiration from them.

Good morning Will and thanks for your kind words .  First off the pigs were photo copied from the Lionel  19822. O gauge Pork Dispatch Car.  I took my car apart and photo copied two of the plastic pig panels .  As with the illuminated Poultry Car I made a few years ago I will mount the new photocopied pigs onto a   10 3/8 x 2 1/2 x 1/8 piece of plastic and then attach it to the inside of the car . As for the lights , I raised them off the floor because the lights are just over the washer and cotter pin that hold the truck on .  It keeps the two lights more in the center of the graphics.   Plus I like to tinker , leading up to the engine I want to scratch build . Thanks for following my projects.  

Ahh, I thought they looked familiar. Now I see your perfectly logical reason to raise the lights. Looking forward to seeing the finished project!

Fourth photo update on my 500 series Pork Dispatch Car.  I cut and pasted my pig cut outs on a template that I made to match the cars cross bracing and floors . You can see at the top of the first photo how curled it became after glueing the pigs onto the paper . Next was to photocopy it and mount it to the 1/8 inch plexiglass.  Then , like the poultry dispatch car , I drilled four holes in each side of the car and plexiglass and bolted the graphics in place .  This is where the project comes to a standstill. I don’t have any trucks with roller pickups on them or any parts to do so . I’ll have to order these parts and wait till they arrive . I’m really liking how it’s turned out so far and look forward to seeing it amongst the other Farm cars .  

Just a little teaser as I wait for my roller pickups from Henning’s Trains .  I need to swap out the one bulb on the left side of the Pork Dispatch Car, it a bit bright .  Right now the Pork car is hot wired to the track .

Here’s one I didn’t expect to do , adding a few extras on to an Ives 3235.  Next up is actually taking it apart and figure out why it doesn’t run .
I added two Lionel pantographs, two air tanks, a ladder and screen to the center two window openings .  I’m copying an Ives engine I saw last fall at the Allentown train show .

Slowly getting back into the swing of things here .  This project has been shifted from the back burner to the front too many times to count . What it is is a Pride Lines repro of a Lionel #2 Trolley with an Ira Keeler motor fitted into a McCoy frame . For starters I had to eliminate the front and back sections of the McCoy frame because the side frame rails squeezed the wheels too much . That’s why you see the brass square stock now . With that done the motor  runs freely other wise it was like running with a brake on .  Today while quarantining from having a case of Covid I soldered  3 of the 4 steps back into place . And much to my delight I found the passengers I had bought for the trolley .  So next up is mounting the power truck/motor frame to the body . Once that is done I will disassemble it and paint it .  

Projects on top of projects! Here is one that I’ve had in the back of my mind for quite a few years now.  It all started when I saw a photo of an old Standard Gauge layout  that had the old rubber roadbed on it . I thought Wow ! how cool is that ?!  During my times at various train shows I would come across some old worn and torn sections with a hefty price on them .  Then I thought , if it’s so expensive, try to make it myself.  So here is my early stages of making my own rubber roadbed for standard gauge track.  First step is to make the wooden prototypes.

@JohnnieWalker posted:

Projects on top of projects! Here is one that I’ve had in the back of my mind for quite a few years now.  It all started when I saw a photo of an old Standard Gauge layout  that had the old rubber roadbed on it . I thought Wow ! how cool is that ?!  During my times at various train shows I would come across some old worn and torn sections with a hefty price on them .  Then I thought , if it’s so expensive, try to make it myself.  So here is my early stages of making my own rubber roadbed for standard gauge track.  First step is to make the wooden prototypes.

Nicely done - very convincing. 

Have you made any curved pieces yet?  I would be interested in seeing the jigs that you use.

Are you concerned about wood movement on the crossing (and curves)?

@JohnnieWalker posted:

@Mallard4468 posted:

Nicely done - very convincing.

Have you made any curved pieces yet?  I would be interested in seeing the jigs that you use.

Are you concerned about wood movement on the crossing (and curves)?

Thanks for your kind words . I have not made any curves at this time , but plan on it . In fact my plan is to mold a 1/4 circle first then an 1/8 curve ( standard gauge 042) . 8 sections to make up a circle.   I don’t have any photos of a jig . What I will end up doing is drawing it out on the 1x material with a homemade protractor i have for my router .   As for the wood movement you mentioned I’m not sure what you mean.  The wood roadbed sections I posted photos of are what the , hopefully,  rubber sections will look like . I need to build a box next to fit the would prototypes . 4 sides and a bottom, with an inch surrounding the roadbed on all sides . Then I can pour the silicone over the wood roadbed.  That will eventually become my mold for making the rubber roadbed.  If this works .  Fingers crossed!!  I know this will cost some money but so will be  buying the original stuff, so why not try to make it ? The size and shapes I want are different from what the originals are .  At this point it’s still all an experiment.  An idea that is slowly taking shape . I will post photos of the curve section when I make it .  Cheers .

@Strummer posted:

I see you had help...😊

Mark in Oregon

My helper alright ! When he was a tiny pup I had him wander around my floor layout . He was not afraid of the movement or noise of the trains .  

@JohnnieWalker posted:

...As for the wood movement you mentioned I’m not sure what you mean.  The wood roadbed sections I posted photos of are what the , hopefully,  rubber sections will look like . I need to build a box next to fit the would prototypes . 4 sides and a bottom, with an inch surrounding the roadbed on all sides . Then I can pour the silicone over the wood roadbed.  That will eventually become my mold for making the rubber roadbed.  If this works .  ...

I misunderstood your process - I thought that you were planning to make all of your pieces from wood, but now I understand that you are making molds.  Since you are using solid wood (rather than plywood), the pieces will expand and contract across the grain with changes in humidity.  They may also cup or warp if one side is left unpainted.  However, if they are only being used to build molds, you might be done with them before wood movement is an issue. 

Here's an article regarding considerations for wood movement:  https://www.thisiscarpentry.co...ntent-wood-movement/

You guys can find a couple of my Standard Gauge projects here:

https://www.warrenvillerailroa...-honor-of-my-brother

JohnnieWalker,

I love your roadbed project!

Unique and most creative, thanks for sharing it