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Post by raymbo on Apr 3, 2015 17:42:59 GMT -5
A friend who models the L&N in HO has been bitten by the hernia gauge stuff and he will be taking delivery of his brand new L&N black and cream F7 sometime in late May or early June and he wanted a caboose to go with it. I thought about getting a general laser cut offset cupola caboose kit from a supplier but looking at the photos of the kit there were a number of items the L&N had on theirs that were not on the kit, so I decided to build one.
I got my hands on a couple of original L&N plans that I had printed on 36" X 48" paper and set up the frame so the car body would fit it rather than trying to make a prototype frame.
I found out from Kevin Sprayberry in Georgia that he had a contact to have the sides, ends, cupola, window sashes, doors, and carlines laser cut out of birch 1/2 inch cabinet plywood. What resulted is a car body that is very L&N and it went together like a kit. Some of the components needed some extra work such as the roof rafters and the floor. Since we had some of the components cut incorrectly I decided to use them for the interior partitions of the car including bunks, seats, conductor desk, cabinets and the toilet.
The roof is removable but the way the L&N made their end ladders requires some removable hand rails to the ladders to get the roof off. It turned out to be easier to not secure the end ladders to the roof end and use the hand rail to stabilize it.
The floor is a 1/8 inch birch plywood drawer bottom with the floor boards laser cut into the wood. It dado's into the sides and the ends are also dado cut at the sides so it all fits together nicely.
The end railings were first made with 3/16 inch diameter brass rods but were found to not be correct and I rebuilt them using steel rods. The rods were cut to length and chucked up in a drill press, and with the rods turning I tapered them down to a #5-40 thread size so nuts could be put on the top railing to hold it in place. The end beam is a solid piece of steel 1/2 X 1 but the plans showed that it needed to be 1-3/8 high so another piece was welded on later to accommodate the end platforms. I cut those out of oak furniture grade lumber from Lowe's.
Paint is standard spray can stuff from Lowe's. The L&N had published a color chart for their equipment and it called for the car body to be the bright red, end steps, ladders, grabs, and safety railings were to be safety yellow while the roof was box car red. It is a striking color scheme for sure.
The graphics will be vinyl and they will be installed next week. I will post a couple of finished photos on the layout once it is 100% complete. The graphics place I have contracted with are using some O scale decals from Mullet River Models, which are accurate for the font and sizes needed for the lettering. I thought about using a paint mask but decided to not go that route again with the ever present potential for bleed through at the laser cut board marks on the sides. Besides, vinyl can be removed if necessary.
Here are a few photos of construction in progress.
Here is a B&W of 993
Frame with end railings complete. We are hoping to eventually get swing motion caboose trucks for this car from Jack Trumble once he gets things rolling again.
Steps and railings were finished. I made the steps using 16 gauge steel and once all the pieces were roughed out I welded them together with a light bead at the top and cut the radius for the truck clearance with a right angle grinder.
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Post by raymbo on Apr 3, 2015 17:46:24 GMT -5
Here are some more progress photos of the Little Woody.
The car body is set up on the frame and I am in the process of setting the carlines for the roof.
It is starting to look like an L&N caboose.
The end railings, ladders and grabs were now installed. I made the grabs to fit in drilled holes so they could be removed for painting. The end railing and ladders are welded to the end beam. |
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Post by raymbo on Apr 3, 2015 17:49:57 GMT -5
Here is a photo showing the completed car. All that is left is the graphics, and when they are in I will post another photo of the car out on the line.
Thank you all for your interest.
Finished 03 April 2015
Finished 03 April 2015 and ready for the graphics.
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danl
Gandy Dancer
Posts: 3
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Post by danl on Apr 3, 2015 18:57:16 GMT -5
Ray,
Your RR models are spectacular (as was your HMS Surprise), and this caboose is a great example. But this time I'm not lettin' you off the hook on scale realism....
If you really want a detailed caboose, that old stove has to be puttin' out some smoke every now and then.
So....if you can refer me to a stove plan, i'll make a smoker that looks exactly like a scale stove.
Let me know if interested.
Really would love to find a way to visit again. Really enjoyed the last time there.
Best,
Dan
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Post by raymbo on Apr 3, 2015 20:48:19 GMT -5
Dan, I will have to do some research to learn what kind of stove the L&N had in their crummy's. The Soo Line used a square type similar to what the Great Northern used, but I do not know what type the Loose and Nuts road used. It may have been a pot belly.
This would be great, and a smoker would really set this thing off.
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danl
Gandy Dancer
Posts: 3
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Post by danl on Apr 4, 2015 10:55:17 GMT -5
Dan, I will have to do some research to learn what kind of stove the L&N had in their crummy's. The Soo Line used a square type similar to what the Great Northern used, but I do not know what type the Loose and Nuts road used. It may have been a pot belly. This would be great, and a smoker would really set this thing off.
Heres a pic of a stove from L&N caboose #565 from Springville TN, 2008.
I can't model anything close to this elaborate, but could get the general shape and features.
Another pic of a similar stove is attached for a full view.
Best,
Dan |
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Post by raymbo on Apr 4, 2015 12:15:48 GMT -5
Dan, that's it for sure. This would be perfect.
There are some nice ones available that are 3D printed but too costly for what we are doing. It would not have to have all this ornate detailing as it could only be seen when the roof was removed, which isn't going to be all that often.
R
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Post by silversanjuan on Apr 6, 2015 12:45:38 GMT -5
Beautiful caboose. What's your work time on that?
Todd
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Post by raymbo on Apr 10, 2015 15:34:46 GMT -5
Todd, I really did not keep a record of time on this one. I will guess about 40 hours or so.
10 April 2015
Here are some builder's photos of the finished car. I used stencils to put the lettering on, these were far superior in quality than what I tried to use from a well known graphics vender I bought from in the past. These stencils were made with vinyl and were extremely well adhered to the car body. I used Reefer White paint from Floquil to mist on very lightly and built up with seven coats so as to not cause the paint to bleed at the board grooves in the siding.
Stencils applied and the car is masked for painting.
Builder photo of the side of the car.
Builder photo of the end of the car.
The rebuild date and repack date are birthdays of the owner of the car and his wife. The build date is my birthday.
You all have a great day. It is for us.
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Post by Ed Hume on Apr 11, 2015 16:49:37 GMT -5
That's a great looking Caboose Ray!
Thank you for sharing it with us.
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Post by raymbo on Apr 11, 2015 17:12:53 GMT -5
Thank you Ed, I really appreciate you writing. I have watched your progress on your magnificent Shay, my work is amateur compared to yours. We enjoy this hobby for sure but I am not one to count rivets.
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