A Perfect Saturday Morning

Somewhere, there are some coal cars waiting for loads. If I look for jobs around the house, I won’t have to look far. If I look for something to do in the garden, it will surely grab me by the ankle. But today it is raining, and my darling wife took me to the Loutet […]

Coal Cars and Unintentional Braking

The coal cars, as displayed at the Railway Modellers’ Meet, were curiously difficult to get onto the rails. Well, there was no time to fuss, and so, into the box they went for inspection by the 100 or so modellers who came up to SFU. Once home, and after some final details had been applied, […]

Coal Cars Ready for the Meet (Almost)

With house guests encamped in the workshop, I turned my attention to tasks that were appropriate for the dining room table. I picked up some Invisafil fine thread from a sewing store near the hobby shop, and made myself a little crochet hook. The finer thread was much more consistent and less aggravating than teasing […]

Coal Cars Enter the Paint Shop

The coal car project is entering the frantic phase as I stretch to meet the deadline imposed by the Railway Modellers’ Meet. Photos are sparser and messier, and blog posts are dropped in favour of time at the work bench. Once assembled, it is difficult to get into the interior of the cars for detail […]

Alternative Chains

When it comes to chains, like those that wind up the hopper doors, the finest real chain I can find is 40 links-per-inch. Some jewelry is slightly finer chain but those have square links and look better for personal adornment than industrial utility. 40 links per inch scales to slightly bigger than 2-inch chain, and […]

A Marc-Sized Hole

Last week, after several months of illness, Marc Simpson passed away. A year younger than I am, and even worse at saying “no” he leaves all of us reeling. Marc was the clinics coordinator for the Railway Modellers’ Meet of BC, which kicks off online this Thursday. In addition to his committee work, the Friday […]

64 Coal Car Grabs

Yesterday evening, I impressed myself by forming and installing all the grab irons and steps on the coal car bodies. Repetitive tasks like this allow lots of time to think and improve the process. By the time I had finished the ladders on two cars, it was pretty dialed in. The steps and half the […]

Coal Car Progress

Despite all the 3D printing, there is a satisfying amount of traditional modelling in these coal cars. I elected to use cast acetal plastic corner steps (Grandt Line) and air hoses (Detail Associates) along with brass truss rods and cut levers to avoid crunching these exposed parts. The ladders and corner grabs will also be […]

Coal Cars Enter the Modelling Phase

With only about six weeks to go until the Railway Modellers’ Meet of BC, the coal cars I want to display there have finally breached the walls of the computer and started to become real. They’re a long way from done, but it should be straightforward from here on out.

Sand Service comes to Pembroke

24 buckets! My friend Al Lill was speaking to another model railroader last week, who helped around the CNR Victoria roundhouse in his youth. One of his jobs was to fill the sand dome on the little consolidations that plied the Island line, and he told Al that they held 24 buckets of sand in […]