Let us see your Homemade Lionel (or Other) Style Cars or Engines you have Made or Modified

Hi everyone', here's a  scratch built ,"Payroll Car" from a half of an "All Nations ", diner car.  The red side is pieces of balsa wood. It is based on a kit of an actual wood payroll car.  [not sure of the brand] . The trucks are old school "Walthers, cast white metal, with old plastic and metal wheels from various scrap parts.  The actual kit was in a million pieces of small 1 x 1.5" sheets of basswood.  No hint of instructions,  I couldn't figure out how to put  it together, so I designed and built my own version.  Complete with the pay master and RR uniformed police, for security, and the gang foreman...

In case you are wondering why I write in bold'?  It helps me see the print'.. poor eyesight'

Actual 'Payroll Car'

Quarter Gauger, that is an interesting-looking railcar.

Did a little more work today on one of my Williams Brass K4s. So far have cut out 1/8” in the frame between the cylinders and drivers and maybe 3/16” from the nose of the frame. Also cut 1/8”ish from the front of the second course just behind the smokebox. Temp 36” dia freightcar wheels for the pilot and shortened the pilot by abot 3/8”. Today I got around to soldering the boiler back together, not done but in solid and seemingly straight but still a lot of fiddling to go. Looks like it will take my 0-42 curves as is. Its getting there slow but sure.

The cab steps for one of my prewar switchers were missing, as is a common issue...so I fabricated a new step from copper and JB Weld filled it in. This topic is so long, sorry if I posted this before!

Tom  

A minor alteration when my orange cable reels got lost.  Just a couple of YoYos.

Charlie

A MTH NE style caboose converted to two rail, repainted, weathered and has the trucks pushed outward for a prototypical spacing.

Glad to see this thread still going.  I'll have to see if I have pics of some more homegrown cars.

I see Porter09 and another have done inspection engines ...l was planning one, but has seen a photo of a similar, but longer steam coach, and built and posted it.  Think l used a Walthers combine kit. I have a number of "critters", some I'd forgotten, such as an 0-8-0 switcher with Elesco and flying pumps.  Others are a steam dummy, a Lionel 0-8-0 bashed into a Great Western consolidation, pickle plant factory branch cars, etc.  Will have to post photos.

Hello again! I've added steps to the Excelsior. Yes , that is the name of locomotive.

 I also really enjoy  this thread,it's a reminder of model railroader ingenuity at it's finest.

Please keep posting the pictures,it really shows the creative side of the hobby that makes it more than just cookie cutter train running .

Hey Porter09, The Excelsior looks just like the 'executive inspection' cars for the big railways of the steam erra...  Nice job'....

I have posted these railcars before, with the steam coach centerpiece. I will build a Walthers gas electric and maybe an inspection engine to join them.  I have a Mack rail bus and a very rare Sykes rail bus, in brass, 3 railed, l can't quickly find. Both need reverse installed.

Photos:

Now photo of steam coach, also previously posted:

Now will add photos of steam coach, #60 Consol. on the Great Western, with a stand-in tender, built from a Lionel 0-8-0, a switcher maybe built from same source, for my free-lance road, with Elesco, flying pumps, and Vanderbilt tender (as l want all equipped), and a Marx #1829 bashed into a Mikado.  All need better tenders...#60 a scale one, all others good models of varying lengths of coal Vanderbilts.

And the free lance Lionel 0-8-0.

Lionel Standard Gauge  339 cars converted  to M.U. cars that actually run off a live catenary .

Added a cover to one of my 512 Standard Gauge gondola cars.

Here is another standard gauge car I worked on . I took a 513 cattle car and converted it to a lighted poultry car.

Homemade Longer Vanderbilt Tender

Got around to making a second longer Vanderbilt Coal Tender, marked up as a Rock Island.  It is identical to the shorter Vanderbilt Coal Tender except it is 1 inch longer. 

I cut up an old coal tender with the band saw.

Added 1 inch to the side bottom rails from the plastic from the not needed part of the CT and added pieces of tin to strengthen with J B Weld.

A bottom was made from a piece of sheet metal roofing bending the folds in a wood working 4 x 10 inch Columbia vise.

The water tank section was made from part of a 2 inch dia. mailing tube and decking and reinforcing was make from popsicle sticks.  Dark red sealing was from 60 year old model airplane dope.

The crack between the coal pile and water tank was filled in with balsa wood.  A pair of six wheel Williams trucks, one with a coupling, were purchased years ago at a train show just for a large Vanderbilt coal tender.  The tank domed back is from a hair spay can bottom, ground off with a grinder.  See the back up light and hand grab ready for the ladder to come.

A back up light and ladder (made from N gauge track with every other tie cut out) and hand hold were added to give more detail.  The first shorter Vanderbilt CT also got new ladder and hand hold.  The CT was painted with Krylon semi gloss black spray can paint.

Decals were applied and sealed with clear spray paint.  The 50 year old decals had to be sprayed with clear before applying as they disintegrated in the  water.

The new, longer Vanderbilt Coal tender is only one inch longer than the first one and the same length of the longer Lionel 6 wheel CT sold with longer engines.  The big boy CT sure makes the shorter one look stubbier.  The longer CT and the longer Lionel 2065 will not quit fit on my turntable so the get to stay on the layout cruising.

Charlie