Another Standard gauge Project

Here is another view of my #2 trolley project running on my shop layout. I already found a nice bell for it in my parts box and  I also have a bag of sitting people. 

I'm needing some help since I struck out at York. What I need help with is finding a silver center dome for my 515 standard gauge tank car and a pair of silver # badges for my standard gauge 512 gondola car. Does anyone out there have these items for sale? If so please let me know. The parts dealers in the Orange Hall came up empty, for the second time. I would like to get these two cars checked off my To Fix List.

BTW you need a motorman and NOT an engineer for your trolley. GOOD LUCK with your project! :-)

George Tebolt seems to have the plates.

Larry

Is the dome bigger than the one on the O 815 and 2815?

Maybe check if MTH offers it as a piece part for the Lionel Corp tinplate stuff. Also, keep a lookout on ebay..

Dennis Holler posted:

Is the dome bigger than the one on the O 815 and 2815?

Maybe check if MTH offers it as a piece part for the Lionel Corp tinplate stuff. Also, keep a lookout on ebay..

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm not sure about the O size. MTH at York did not have anything I needed. I miss T Bolt ! I will have to check him out on line.  These two project cars are taking forever or so it seems. 😄

great project

Finally, I got one of my project cars done !! The 520 searchlight car is all put back together and in good working order.  Still waiting to find the parts for my 512 and 515. Since I will be missing the Allentown First Frost show this weekend I will have to wait a little longer to look for parts.

By the way here is a view of the 520 searchlight car soon after I bought it.

One more for the evening. I bought this laser cut wood bridge kit at York this fall in the Blue Hall. It was a total impulse buy, LOL.  An easy kit to assemble and I think it looks pretty awesome. 

JohnnieWalker posted:

One more for the evening. I bought this laser cut wood bridge kit at York this fall in the Blue Hall. It was a total impulse buy, LOL.  An easy kit to assemble and I think it looks pretty awesome. 

Do you know who the manufacturer is?

GwrChurchward posted:

JohnnieWalker posted:

One more for the evening. I bought this laser cut wood bridge kit at York this fall in the Blue Hall. It was a total impulse buy, LOL.  An easy kit to assemble and I think it looks pretty awesome. 

Do you know who the manufacturer is?

Thanks for the like.  All I know is that I bought it from a great guy and the instructions say Harris Hobby House on it. No # or address.  I believe his table was in the last row of the Blue Hall at York. The row furthest from Silver Hall. He also had another design as well but this one caught my eye. I hope this helps you. 

TrainLarry posted:

George Tebolt seems to have the plates.

Larry

I just emailed George to find out if he still carries the nickel plates. Fingers crossed that he has them. As for the center nickel dome for my 515 tank car, no one has it. That project car is going to take longer than I expected. Thanks for reminding me of Tebolt.

Here's yet another standard gauge project. It may not seem like a big deal to some but I've been searching  the train shows for a full year to find  nickel  #512 plates for my gondola car.  It was crazy !! Having parts dealers saying that they had them but just didn't bring them to the show, catch them next time.  They had plenty of brass plates though. Haha  Finally I looked up George Tebolt and found them, ordered them and got them. Boy do I miss seeing George at York. Anyway my nickel #512 gondola car is fixed and checked off the  To Fix List.

#512 gondola car

Another project that has been in the works for a few years. Fixing up a set of Baby State Cars that I got at an auction a few years back. I'm still wondering why I bought them. LOL!! They were painted with a brush and missing parts but at the time I didn't have any passenger cars so I thought what the heck. So I took them apart and sandblasted them and primed  and finish coated them. I also added plexiglass and Willams window inserts to add a little interest to the cars. I also had to add new light fixtures to the cars as well. So much for a quick and cheap project.

looking good!

Some of my projects may seem very small, but when you have a lot of them , each one that gets checked off the list is a major relief.  The 155 Freight Station is now complete. One more 155 Freight Station to work on and then onto another 512 gondola project. My list is actually getting smaller, for now. LOL! For this project the last thing to do was to put the name plates on. When I got it,it had a piece of wood between the base and the base cover. It was a piece of one by material cut to the size of the base cover and screwed in place. This raised the platform up 3/4 of an inch, and it was  painted an odd color. I believe this was done because the three posts are broken at the bottoms and the previous owner had his own idea of fixing the problem. They were also rigged with a piece of coat hanger as well. The whole thing was a bit wobbly to say the least. I removed that piece of wood and added m y own, all hidden from view. All secured and no wobble . It seems to be all original except for the repainting of the base, and now the name plates. This project is now CHECKED OFF

nicely done Johnnie!

  Jonnie, I'm right there with you man! I love to keep my engine and passenger car project lots in show boxes... I have a bunch of them.  I need to update my project thread.  I think if You, me and Dave worked on and finished all our projects this forum would be stuffed with posts for months!

yeah but it would use up too much bandwidth and we couldn't have that......

and SOME of us have more projects than the rest of us......

Dennis Holler posted:

  Jonnie, I'm right there with you man! I love to keep my engine and passenger car project lots in show boxes... I have a bunch of them.  I need to update my project thread.  I think if You, me and Dave worked on and finished all our projects this forum would be stuffed with posts for months!

 

WOW !! If all those boxes are projects, you have me beat for sure. It seems that my new addiction to standard gauge is causing my head to spin. I have tried to stop collecting projects for a while but you guys know all to well while looking for a part for one project there's another to be had at the next table. I have three or four more 500 series cars to work on, a few signals, adding new light sockets and new wiring to a few houses, and some Ives street lamps to get to. Plus I have a trolley and a rail bus sitting in boxes just waiting to be worked on again. I think I can do it as long as I check off more than I add to the list. LOL!! 

Lets see some of your projects.

Probably 60% projects, there are three boxes of ho stuff that I'll never use, a bunch of TycoPro sets in the last picture, and I think another couple of those big water boxes has empty Lionel boxes and another has a pile of 2454 style box cars cause I love those things..  I've got some standard gauge projects up in the attic, three automobile projects, and a Partridge in a pear tree.. It's out of hand.  A buddy and I parted out a 63 Ford Falcon earlier this year and I'm glad we did the dirty work at his house, my wife would have killed me! That was worth while though as we doubled our money and I got a perfect grill for my Falcon hardtop.  I'm gonna try not to buy any more projects Jan 1.  not sure how far I'll make it but it's worth a shot.  No new projects and finish old projects...

Dave, I know where you can get some more projects

you have my attention sir....

Here's an older project that I posted a year or so ago. I think I have 5 513 cattle cars so I decided to turn one of them into a lighted poultry car.  My 390E freight train was pretty dark running it in the dark. A light on the engine and a light on the caboose and a whole lot of nothing in between. This is also before my 520 search light car project.  I got the idea from my set of 12 or more 0 gauge poultry train on my buddies layout. I have all but 4 of them.  So now there are two lighted cars mixed in the consist, a poultry car and my search light car. I have also added an extra two lights to my cabooses. A light on each end and one inside.

Well here's another project to check off the list. After building my MU cars and running them at my shop I thought something was missing, a tail light ! I bought the tail light at last years YORK show and I finally got around to installing it. I will be looking forward to seeing it run all lit up. After this I have my 515 tank car to work on, a 512 gondola car to customize and a 517 caboose that needs a light. That's not all, that's just the easy stuff before hitting the other project boxes that I have . Sorry the photos are in the wrong order. 

JohnnieWalker posted:

This is my latest project, its a Pride Lines reproduction of a Lionel#2 Trolley with a McCoy truck and an Ira Keeler drop in open frame motor.  This is its first run ever and my puppy's first intro to trains.  Now I will have to add a head light and a tail light, passengers,engineer, maybe a pantagraph or trolley pole, and some paint.  If I add the pantagraph I can run it on my shop layout which has a live standard gauge catenary wire(rail). If I make a trolley pole I will make a trolley wire system like I saw at York in the orange hall. Either way it will be nice seeing it run from the over head wire/rail .

 My other projects include: finding a pair of silver 512 badges for my gondola car, a silver center dome for my 515 tank car and a silver handrail for my 520 search light car. I also still have to find a photo of a drover to put in my lighted 513 poultry car that I made. Then maybe I can move onto the next standard gauge project! LOL

Pets are so funny and cute when they interact with trains. I think they think trains in motion are animals, maybe a snake. Your puppy, however, was not afraid of, but amused by, your tinplate train.

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

JohnnieWalker posted:

This is my latest project, its a Pride Lines reproduction of a Lionel#2 Trolley with a McCoy truck and an Ira Keeler drop in open frame motor.  This is its first run ever and my puppy's first intro to trains.  Now I will have to add a head light and a tail light, passengers,engineer, maybe a pantagraph or trolley pole, and some paint.  If I add the pantagraph I can run it on my shop layout which has a live standard gauge catenary wire(rail). If I make a trolley pole I will make a trolley wire system like I saw at York in the orange hall. Either way it will be nice seeing it run from the over head wire/rail .

 My other projects include: finding a pair of silver 512 badges for my gondola car, a silver center dome for my 515 tank car and a silver handrail for my 520 search light car. I also still have to find a photo of a drover to put in my lighted 513 poultry car that I made. Then maybe I can move onto the next standard gauge project! LOL

Pets are so funny and cute when they interact with trains. I think they think trains in motion are animals, maybe a snake. Your puppy, however, was not afraid of, but amused by, your tinplate train.

Thanks for the comment. Little Jagger is not so little now,62 lbs. and almost 8 months old. I have been running a few trains on the floor to prep him for the Christmas floor layout I set up at my brothers home. Happy to report he did awesome ! 

Took my MU cars to my shop this afternoon and ran them to see how the tail light looked. I give it a thumbs up. Next project is ?

This wasn't in the queue but managed to get done sooner than later. Not quite finished, I need to pick up the Lionel name plate for it at the next show. I got all these parts for $25.00 !!

JohnnieWalker posted:

Here's an older project that I posted a year or so ago. I think I have 5 513 cattle cars so I decided to turn one of them into a lighted poultry car.  My 390E freight train was pretty dark running it in the dark. A light on the engine and a light on the caboose and a whole lot of nothing in between. This is also before my 520 search light car project.  I got the idea from my set of 12 or more 0 gauge poultry train on my buddies layout. I have all but 4 of them.  So now there are two lighted cars mixed in the consist, a poultry car and my search light car. I have also added an extra two lights to my cabooses. A light on each end and one inside.

I love this idea,i want to make one with a 200 car,just need to find a cheap one,thanks for the super idea 

Thanks Terry Hudon I hope you find one soon. It was a fun project that added some new interest to the train. I have a few other cars that I'm customizing that I'll post as I get to them. Only requirement is you show us what you did. Good luck.

JohnnieWalker posted:

Thanks Terry Hudon I hope you find one soon. It was a fun project that added some new interest to the train. I have a few other cars that I'm customizing that I'll post as I get to them. Only requirement is you show us what you did. Good luck.

will do ,I found a donor,,,where did you get the chicken panels from?

I took one out of one of my 14 O gauge poultry dispatch cars and photo copied it. I then cut each row of chickens and spaced them accordingly to the openings on the car. once I did that I again photo copied it and created a new chicken panel. I also taped the photo copy to a piece of plexiglass  and then mounted it in place.

Checking them off the list one by one . Here is my latest project, a covered 512 gondola car. I found a 500 series box car roof and decided to cover one of my six 512s with it.

Finally DONE !! I have been slowly working on this 515 tank car for over a year and a half. The last items to go on were the nickel name plates. 

Here is a project that I worked on not that long ago. While in my shop looking at my shop layout I thought it would be nice to see a few garages next to the villas and bungalows. I cut a 4x4 down to 2x3 blocks with a 90 degree roof. I added brick paint I bought at York , corrugated paper from a hobby store for the roof and I drew the windows and doors and made copies of them to glue on. Then I did the artwork of plants and vines. They may not be to scale with the houses but they do have a slight tinplate look to them  . I think that’s why I like Standard Gauge so much.

Something else that I’ve slowly been working on. It’s a 392 tender that I’m pairing up with my Lionel green 390 steamer. The last thing to do to it is to add a Dallee bell and whistle sound system. And that includes adding two roller pickups . I’m looking forward to finishing this project soon. I had the tender paint made at a local auto body paint store. I took the green 390 boiler in and had them match the color. I also added another hole for the drawbar to move the tender a little closer.  The painting process was clean and scuff up the gun metal paint, add two coats of green then 3 coats of clear gloss.? Next step is to cut the soup can down to make a speaker box and to glue and wire it up. An up date hopefully soon.

G'luck with the tender. Did you ever make a "chicken clucking" sound Mp3 module for those poltry cars?

ChooChoo1972 posted:

G'luck with the tender. Did you ever make a "chicken clucking" sound Mp3 module for those poltry cars?

Thanks for the luck on the tender. Creating the sound box for the speaker now. A soup can is the perfect size for a 2 1/2 inch speaker. 

 I'm still playing with the idea of putting sound in the chicken car. That project is on hold right now, too many other projects going on at the same time. Six of them in fact . My main goal is to get this tender done first.

So here is the green 390E and its new green 392 tender. I also installed a Dallee sound system in the tender, a selection of bells and whistles . You will notice that the tender sits closer to the engine by 1/4 inch and I also added rubber "coal" to the lode.  I think I can check this project off the list.  

The finished product.  On to the next project.

Now here's an on again off again project that I've been working on. It's a glass top station for standard gauge. As usual, like most of my projects do, it has morphed into something unlike my original design/idea. here are some of the beginning stages of the station. More photos and videos to come.

Another group of station photos. This project started some time in late February early March, building it and designing it as I go. 

More progress photos of the Glass top station  

Fantastic!

There are now two videos for the station showing different stages of being near done. They can be viewed on my youtube channel.   Just google   glass top standard gauge train station and you should see the videos.  up next is wiring up the lights, then installing the finials, adding a few billboards and then some sitting people. Photos will follow soon. 

what a great job! what did you use for the brick? also are those posts and beams from an erector set?

The number of subscribers to your YouTube channel increased overnight by over 14%.

stevin posted:

what a great job! what did you use for the brick? also are those posts and beams from an erector set?

 The brick paper I bought at Hobby Lobby, a craft store. After I glued the paper down and it dried I coated it with clear laquer to protect it and to give it a little shine . The four posts are made from erector beams, two for each post.  Most of the erector parts came from the YORK train show. My buddy usually buys everything and anything in the "junk" box. 

George S posted:

Fantastic!

Thanks for saying so. It's been a lot of fun building it. All I had was an idea in my head and the glass. The next thing you know...

My Lionel green 390E with a MTH 392 tender repainted to match the engine on my test track. Also there's my new acquisitions  a 438 and 437 switch and signal towers.

JOHNNIEWALKER,

Real nice paint job...would like to know your process on how you got such great results!

Sunrise

JOHNNIEWALKER,

Your ideas and creations are fantastic.  Going back through this post I saw your standard gauge poultry car.  Do you till have the file for the chickens and would you be willing to share?

Joe

Sunrise Special posted:

JOHNNIEWALKER,

Real nice paint job...would like to know your process on how you got such great results!

Sunrise

First off thanks for the compliment , I do appreciate it.  The engine was painted by Lionel and I took the boiler to an auto body shop and had them match the color. I had them make me a spray can of the green, which was a flat green and I also had them make me a clear gloss top coat. I sprayed the tender 3 times with the green and I sprayed 5 coats of clear on. My prep work consisted of using  a scotchbrite pad to scuff up the gunmetal paint and then wiping it down with a clean rag. I just had to make sure I didn't over spray it each time, light coats is the trick. then I waited a full 5 days before I even considered putting it back together. That was the hard part for me,LOL. 

Joe Lyons posted:

JOHNNIEWALKER,

Your ideas and creations are fantastic.  Going back through this post I saw your standard gauge poultry car.  Do you till have the file for the chickens and would you be willing to share?

Joe

Thanks Joe.  I don't have any files for the chickens. All I did was I took one of my 13   O gauge chicken cars apart and I photo copied the chicken inserts a few times. Then I cut them into strips to match the remaining slats on the new poultry car.  Once I did that I taped them onto another piece of paper and filled in the gap with black marker. Basically it is the old fashion cut and paste way of doing things since I'm not the best  at using a computer.  It really wasn't too hard or time consuming to do. I also high lighted a few of the chickens with colored   pencils to make it more tin plate looking.  Good luck to you if you are going to copy it.  

So here is a project that started two years ago at York.   I bought a Highway flasher from All About Trains in the Orange Hall, a unit that was designed  and built to  flash like a real signal.  After installing it in the Lionel flasher and liking it a lot I decided to get two more the next year.   When I finally got to his booth he was sold out !  Jump forward two years, I reached out to All Aboard Trains  and bought two more, one for my American Flyer signal and one for my Marx signal.   With some slight modifications to the American Flyer signal , I now have three different and cool flasher signals for my future layout.  

Really cool.

Another signal almost done. Just need to pick up a new bulb at York this fall to finish this one.  I will also be placing this signal on a wooden block to raise it up for a more of a standard gauge look.

Here are a few photos of the signals in their renovation state.

Thanks for letting us know about this kit.  I ordered one.  It just came today and I used it on this Marx crossing flasher.  It's great.  Thanks.

Merry Christmas , 12/26/18  although it’s not 100% done , my glass top station made its debut this Christmas season.  What’s left ?  Finish wiring up the lights in a clean and organized way , add 3 finials and add some signs .  Plus fabricate a set of steps .  The plastic people need some attention as well.  Reposition some limbs and some paint shold do the trick . 

JohnnieWalker posted:

That's really beautiful! 

George

Here is a project that I have been putting off for a few years, 8 or so.  My good friend and I bought a box , a large box of bottle brush trees at York one fall . We actually gave some away to another great friend for his help at York.  Anyway not long ago we finally divided them up .  They were sitting under the train  table for all those years. My guess is 98% of them did not have bases and they needed them , so my next project was born.  #1. I cut a few size disks using hole saws in my drill press. #2. Primed them. #3. Sanded them. #4. Added two coats of dark red semi gloss finish.  #5. drilled holes #6. Hot glued the trees in place.    It wasn't a fast project, but well worth it.  Now that I have mine done I'm now working on my friends half of the trees.  

Another standard gauge project under way . This project came to me not long ago ,  I was at a local train show and spotted an Ives telltale and thought I should have one . The price for it was too much for my budget and seeing what they have been bringing on eBay I thought I would never have one .  Low and behold I had a base for a standard gauge lamp post in my junk/project box and the wheels upstairs started turning . I went to my local hardware store where they have a fine assortment of brass rod , tubing and sheets in various sizes .  I picked out an assortment of brass tubing  and then went to the lamp parts  section and picked out two finials .   In my box of assorted pieces and parts I found a dozen or so jewelry clasps and a length of chain .  With the help of my Dremel , some J B weld and some solder this is what I've come up .  Next up is to paint it , except I kind of like it in this stage .  One of the best things about standard gauge to me is , I get to build stuff !

You inspired me to make a telltale also.   How tall is you make your's?  On mine the arm is at 10 inches and the top of the post is about 12 1/2.  My finial is also rather tall but I couldn't find a shorter one in the local Menards. I'll keep looking for something shorter. My chains may be a little short and the arm may be high but it's only for looks and I didn't want it to get caught on any cars. I've got a 219 crane that I was afraid it might catch.

Finally done !!! And it wasn't so hard .  My home made tell tail finally got painted yesterday and is now off the to do list .  My problem is that I have so many ideas in my head I seem to be like a butterfly jumping from one  project to another before finishing the one I'm working on .  It's a bad habit of mine .  The glass top station is still a work in progress . Yesterday I not only got the tell Tail painted , I finally bought the 3 finials that will finish  the station . Next project is ??? too many to choose from .  

that looks great! and nothing wrong with jumping projects...while you wait on parts for one, you move one....waiting for paint to dry...onto the next....

Steamer posted:

that looks great! and nothing wrong with jumping projects...while you wait on parts for one, you move one....waiting for paint to dry...onto the next....

Thanks for saying so .  As of right now I have at least 5 projects to either be finished or are in the drawing stage. Some simple and some not so simple . I've been following one thread on this forum about making standard gauge power trucks,  I need three for my future projects .

Johhnie,

I tried to search up the thread on making standard gauge power trucks but could not find it.  Would you mind posting the link to it?

Thanks.

Joe Lyons posted:

Johhnie,

I tried to search up the thread on making standard gauge power trucks but could not find it.  Would you mind posting the link to it?

Thanks.

Hi Joe.  Try searching        Making a standard gauge railbus . That is where a few members have been discussing the motors .  I hope this helps you .  I'm not the best at posting links. 

Found it.  Thanks.

Pete in Kansas posted:

You inspired me to make a telltale also.   How tall is you make your's?  On mine the arm is at 10 inches and the top of the post is about 12 1/2.  My finial is also rather tall but I couldn't find a shorter one in the local Menards. I'll keep looking for something shorter. My chains may be a little short and the arm may be high but it's only for looks and I didn't want it to get caught on any cars. I've got a 219 crane that I was afraid it might catch.

Hi Pete. Sorry for the delay in answering your question .  I kind of put my train projects on hold for a while and never checked my post.   So from the table top,  my cross arm is 9 &  3/4 inches high , and the bottom of my chains are  6& 1/2 inches from table top to the bottom of them .  Once this tell tail gets placed on a layout I can shorten the chains as needed .  I only have 500 series  freight cars  and a set of Stephen Girard passenger cars so my clearance is limited to those sets .     I'm pretty lucky to have an old school hardware store between where I live and my shop.  They have been a great place to find all my nuts and bolts ,  brass tubing and finials for my projects .  Glad they are surviving with two huge box lumber/home stores less than  4 miles away.

So here is one of my projects that has finally gotten under way.  Not sure why , because there is another a third way done on the work table as I type this .  I may have gotten the bug  after seeing a few recent posts about motors and homemade engines  and a video of a small diesel engine I think made by McCoy.  I have always thought a Standard Gauge diesel switcher would be great to have pulling my 500 series  freight cars . So, I bought an O gauge Alaska  switcher on eBay (shell only ) and used it as a model .  As you can see it is a rough interpretation of the Alaska switcher , but a start.  The prototype was made out of wood in my shop ,next is to sand it and paint it . At that point I will decide on any changes  and then attempt to recreate it in brass . Which I've never done before .  In the two photos you can see the shape I was going for and the size compared to a repro #2 trolley .  I have a long way to go .  

POC914NUT posted:

I'd recognize that mug anywhere

Maybe I have too much time on my hands and Not sure if anyone else has done this , build a scale model of the layout you want to build.  This is what I hope to get off the floor and onto a platform one day.  This  standard gauge layout measures 16'x6' and is approximately 3' tall and  The model is 12"x32".  Each of my structures are within a fraction of an inch to being scale. My eyesight is not what it once was .  There are  two home made stations, each being 3' long , a homemade water tower made from an old coffee can, a sand tower and a forest lookout tower.  This simple layout is basically a figure 8 with a  connecting loop around it .  The long straight run will have ten (10)  101 single span bridges all connected to be a 140 inch bridge .  I got a large box of them at a local auction a few years back.  Not shown on the model are my villas ,bungalows , street lights ,signals, home made telephone polls and trees .  Anyway, its been a fun little project to do and it has kept me in the dreaming state like a kid again.   I currently don't have the space for it , I do have all the frame work and supports for it from an O gauge layout many years ago. 

Here is a list of whats in the photos above.

1  165 magnetic crane

1 laser cut bridge ( painted yellow, bought at York )

1 coffee can homemade water tower

1   3' glass top homemade station

1  437 switch tower

1  124 city station

1  436 power station

2  155 freight stations 

2  120 tunnels 

2  280 girder bridges

1  300 hellgate bridge

4   92 floodlight towers

2   438 signal towers

10   101 single span bridges

1  marx freight shed

1  marx switch tower 

2  494 towers ,  one being a sand tower and the other a forest lookout tower.

1  cookie tin diner

1   3' tin roof station 

1  lighted water tower . 

A small update on my Standard Gauge Glass Top Station . After its debut on my 2018 Christmas  floor layout I boxed it up although I still had some finish wiring to do on it .  Well I cleaned it and got all my wires soldered and wire shrink wrapped . Is it done now you may ask , no . I think I need to add two more benches to the backsides of the ones already there , then it might be done . Today I will look in my shop for any scrap angle iron  to use for the benches . 

02-14-2020 While in my shop yesterday I came across an old project that I kind of forgot about .  Here are two different standard gauge grade crossings I had made a few years back , one for straight track and one for a  O42 curve track.  I do have  5 or 6 straight pairs not painted or stained in a box that I may find myself selling .  I know I've said this before and I will probably say it again , the best thing about standard gauge for me  is ,I get to build stuff .

Here is a project that needs some attention . 15 single arm and 3 double arm Ives lamp posts that are in need of repair .  There are a few that have been rewired and work , few being the key word . I will be purchasing some 24 gauge wire this week in prep for my job of rewiring these lamp posts . I also need to re solder two arms back onto the posts , re solder  two lampshades  and paint a few that are in no way to my liking .  I also have 4 more lamp posts that have broken arms where the lamp hangs  .  Not sure what the future has in store for them . 

Not quite done , but excited that I've gotten this far on yet another Standard Gauge Project .  I have had this idea in my mind for a few years after I made my Standard Gauge Lighted Poultry Dispatch Car.  An operating standard gauge milk car .   The tinkering and prototypes were endless events .  So here is a start to the photos I took along the way .  I started off with a MTH 514 refrigerator car I got off ebay . 

Next was to remove the spring loaded doors and fir them onto the new car. surprisingly enough they are almost an exact match . The 3 rectangle holes are the new holes for the doors to some what snap into .

This was the first mechanical unloader I used .  I took it from one of my cars and rewired it so it worked like new .

Here is my first prototype of the operating track that needed to be made . The white base is PVC board cut to shape and thickness . The track is a standard size straight section , one of a few  I had bought from USA Track .  This proved to be not a good idea , I ditched the base for another design , still using the track . 

These pieces of plexiglass were designed to sandwich the axles  and be bolted to the cross bar on the trucks . They were also designed to use the old style of electric slider shoes , but I ditched that idea as well . 

Here you can see the new base and the two pieces of stock steel I used for my electric . At this point I was still experimenting with basically everything . 

At this point I cut 4 kerf cuts in the steel and slightly bent them at each end so what ever I used as an electrical pick up would roll or slide up onto them .  So there would not be a big bump I counter sank the screw heads into the steel . The 4 screws holding the steel to the new PVC board are nutted and J B welded on the underside .

The first unloader needed to be raised up alittle so I cut more of the PVC board to fit inside the car .  Also needed was to drill out for the the truck pin , the coupler box , the electric holes for the connecting wires and the counter sink holes for holding everything in place .  I must have cut half a dozen of these bases .  Also you are seeing two different roofs .  I took one of my spare roofs and cut the curved lips off , I tried to cut only one but the roof sat crooked on the car , so I took both off to make taking the roof off easy .  I placed  6  small earth magnets  on the car and they hold the roof on pretty secure ! That was my solution to remove the roof so I could reload easily .

You can see the size of the strong earth magnets on the car . I added two more to what you can see .  The roof was painted with a rattle can I had sitting around .  You can also see in the one photo how the flat steel electric "rails" are sloped at each end .  At this point I still did not know how I was going to get the electric up into the car ! Lots of experimenting and prototypes for sure . 

I added a spring to the first unloader to help pull back the electric plunger .  This unloader worked but not as well as I would have liked .  So back to tinkering and pulling my hair out !

These two photos show where I ran my two pieces of PVC board through my table saw to make room for 4 magnets . These 4 magnets , 2 in each corner hold the track PVC to the unloading platform PVC . They are held in place with more J B weld .  I did this because I am not sure where I would want to place this accessory on a layout . Maybe have the car unload at the freight station instead . Plus it made it easy to work on . 

Here is where I gave up on the first unloader and I took apart another   newer automatic milk car  to retrieve its unloader .  This one needed a lot more measuring  and more holes  .  I'm in way too far to give up now LOL. 

Finally installed and tested . Here I added a spring to help pull the man back inside . This spring also helps with pulling the one piece that pushes the milk can to the man . 

Here you see pretty much the finished track and platform look like .   The two electrical posts have two spade connectors screwed down for testing only . once done and on a layout they will be wired to an operating control button .  The flip side shows you the two connections to the flat stock steel rails . 

Well here is my final solution to getting the electric up into the car . I bought an electric pickup for an O gauge engine and cut it in half .  I drilled a hole in each one and mounted them to the plexi glass truck plates I made .  The little nuts and bolts that hold them in place also are used to hold a wire that is routed up and into the car body.    IT WORKS !!   

Now its not over yet . Just because it works on my work bench doesn't mean it will work on a layout . My fingers are crossed that it does !!  I will have to take it over to my shop and squeeze it in  next week .  

  So now I have 3 farm related 500 series  Standard Gauge Cars , the 513 stock car, a 513 illuminated poultry dispatch car and now an automatic milk car .  Stay tuned for more adventures .

Great projects! That’s so fun!

George

George S posted:

Great projects! That’s so fun!

George

Thanks George ,  building and kitbashing projects for standard gauge has been a lot of fun for me .  I have a few more ideas  for a few more cars ,  maybe an automated ice car  or  a merchandise car  .  What I would like to do next is make a small diesel  switcher . I have  3 steamers right now , a MTH 384 and 2 Lionel 390s  so a small switcher would be nice .  I made a mock up of it out of wood .

Here's an interesting thing , at least to me . I did not know or realize that the 101 had this type of paint job . I have noticed the two different greens for the arches  but never took notice of the bases . While I repaint a box load of these bridges I got at an auction , I am going to keep a select few with this paint intact .  Kind of wish all my bridges were painted this way , I think it's kind of cool. 

JohnnieWalker posted:

Next was to remove the spring loaded doors and fir them onto the new car. surprisingly enough they are almost an exact match . The 3 rectangle holes are the new holes for the doors to some what snap into .

Where did those spring loaded doors come from?

Bob Nelson

@navy.seal posted:

Where did those spring loaded doors come from?

Bob Nelson

Hi Bob 

So sorry  for the delay in getting back to you . I totally missed the alert that you posted a question for me .   The answer to your question is from an early  Lionel automatic milk car . There are two versions of  the Lionel milk car doors , and these were a perfect match for what I was doing .  Lucky for me , I had one early milk car and two later model milk cars that I could use for pieces and parts.   The later doors if I remember  correctly, have an unusual spring configuration and mounting system .  It was a lot easier to mount the early doors and use the unloader from the later version .  I don't remember the #s of the milk cars and I just sold the body  shells on Ebay two days ago .  I hope this helps you .   Cheers 

Love the milk car - have you got a way to load the cans through the roof, or must it be removed?

I like your little switcher too - ought to get someone to make you a 3D printable model.

Jim

@Jim Waterman posted:

Love the milk car - have you got a way to load the cans through the roof, or must it be removed?

I like your little switcher too - ought to get someone to make you a 3D printable model.

Jim

Hi Jim 

I had to make the roof removable . Its held in place with tiny earth magnets  and is quite secure . If you go back and look at some of the photos I posted about it  , you will see  that the unloader mechanism is way short in height to easily load the cans .  I still need to test run it behind my 390 on my shop layout . 

As for my little diesel switcher , I hope to get started on it this year .  I always thought that one of the Big manufacturers should have made a small diesel switcher . A little bigger than the McCoy "George".   Right now I'm figuring out the power source for it . I bought a LGB motor and wheels set up for it . I have the bridge rectifier it my parts bin  and my wheel puller ready .   I will post photos when this project gets moving . 

And thank you for the compliment  !!  Cheers !

Some projects end up taking longer to do than others , and this one is still not done .  But it is getting closer to being checked off the To Do list .  Here are my 10   101 bridges I have been working on over the summer and into the fall . Instead of adding all the corner posts , today I cut 18 blocks of wood to be screwed between each bridge section .  I need to prime then sand then add two coats of semi gloss finish to them . I also need to drill holes in the tops of them for the wooden finials .

Johhny --  This looks great, I am looking forward to seeing it running!   - Andy

An update to the bridge project .  All the blocks have been cut , drilled , sanded and primed .  I’m not sure what color I should paint them , go have an original post color matched or go through my boxes of quarts of paint that are sitting around ?

It’s never ending ! And I don’t want it to end !!  I have the bridge project on one burner , my standard gauge diesel switcher project on a back burner , my Ives street lights on another back burner plus a few projects up in the attic . But there is yet another project on a front burner and it’s my version of a milk car .  I’m using 3” plastic pipe cut to 9” , 22.5 degree angled ends and PVC board cut to 1/4” thick for the ends .  I have a prototype started and my fingers crossed it turns out like the image in my head .😄In the end I’m hoping to have a nice farm train .   The bottom cradle supports need to be resized so they won’t over hang the 511 flat car sides .

Here’s an update on my milk car project(s) .  I’m making a few at the same time since all I have is an image in my head as to what I want . I’m happy to report that they are turning out how I expected . Fingers crossed they continue to be what I have envisioned.  I need to go up in the attic to see if I have any 511 flatcars to use !!

Update on my standard gauge milk tank car .  I found one 511 flat car with stanchions in my box of cars up in the attic for my test car . I’m still figuring out how to mount the tank to the car . Anyway , there are 3 coats of primer sprayed on the tank and 4 holes drilled for the grab rails .  I made a simple jig to bend the stainless steel rod that I’m using for the grab rail , then drilled 1/16 holes for them to fit into . I’ve been on the laptop searching for dairy emblems to use and have earmarked a few .  So far it’s turning the way I want . 👍

Here's a dairy emblem you should consider.

Bob Nelson

@navy.seal posted:

Here's a dairy emblem you should consider.

Bob Nelson

I will consider it , thanks for the suggestion.   It will be a tough decision because of the huge selection to choose from.

I now have a small dilemma .  The size of the tank used for the milk tank car . As you can see it looks quite large for a 500 series car .  Now I can drop it down so it rests completely on the flatcar , which might be a solution or It may look better sitting on a 200 series flat car .  With that being said , I will make yet another prototype using a smaller diameter pipe .  I will continue to finish the few I’ve started and possibly sell them .  
On another note,  my bridge project is all but done . There are 4 brass wood screws in most of the wooden posts to hold it all together . I say most because I made it sectional , each section being  two bridge spans .  This bridge is just over 11 feet long !!  Perfect for my floor layout .

That bridge came out great! Really like the milk car too.

Jim

@JohnnieWalker posted:

I will consider it , thanks for the suggestion.   It will be a tough decision because of the huge selection to choose from.

If you narrow it down to two choices, put one on each side.  Nobody can look at both sides at the same time.

So I thought my bridge project was all but done , I stand corrected.   While the bridges were on the floor all connected a thought popped into my head, wonder what this bridge would look like raised up ?  While cleaning up my shop I came across a few 4x4 butt ends and at that moment I thought these would be a good height .  They are 8” long x 3 1/2” tall x 2 1/2” wide .  I’ve started to cover the sides with quarry screenings ( a bucket of it that’s been in my shop for a few years ) .  Stay tuned for more progress photos and other projects ( Milk car 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 !!