Picked up an HO MDC Roundhouse old-time truss rod wood caboose kit cheap at a swap meet. We talked about this a while back and you fellows directed me to several options for wire because the railings were missing. I’ve successfully added rails and even hand grabs on the cupola. Ladders were in the box, but they’re lame. They’re bowed plastic ladders, for one thing, and for another they are too thick and flat. I was up at the Northwest Railway Museum yesterday staring at a Northern Pacific wood caboose in the same number range as this kit, and the ladders are round pipe, both rail and rung.
I found metal ladders for sale on ebay, but they all have flat steps, not rungs. I would make a couple of ladders myself if I thought I could do it, but as far as I can tell it would require microscopic soldering of rungs to rails, and I know I just don’t have the skill for that. Plus each joint would be a big knob of solder.
So two questions. Do you know of metal ladders for sale anywhere that are round instead of flat, and with the big curve at the top for heaving up onto the roof? And if you make your own caboose ladders, how do you do it?
This prolly wont help you, but I had to 3D print mine. Same reason as you, couldnt find any that matched what i was looking for.
If molding wasnt too big or bulky, the ladder itself wasnt right design, shape, or size to fit specific model. I needed many, so soldering was out of the question too.
Tis why I like 3D printing, it fills the niches open in model railroading. We cant have everything all the time, which is just fine. I feel it gives printing a good place to fit in, in this case.
Gidday Matt, I see that there are available commercial HO scale ladders, but as I needed some for a specific project, I made my ladders the way that you don’t want to, which is fair enough.
As Wayne said. Either going to have to solder your own. Or buy general purpose ladders and cut them down to what you need. There is a chance you could find them tho. Would require much digging and emailing through manufacturer that make similar cabooses Might be able to get them as parts that way.
Thanks guys. Not a lot of great news, but thanks. Bear, I now recall that jig post you linked and being flabbergasted by the beauty of Wayne’s caboose ladders.
The way I see it, I have several options. First, I know a guy with a bank of 3D printers who would happily make some for me, even design them (he loves the computer work). Second, my LHS guy has baskets of Grandt Line and Classic detail parts for a buck a piece. For that matter, there are always bins of knick-knacky stuff like ladders and brass detail loco parts at all the swap meets I go to. And third, I suppose I might be skilled enough at soldering to make just enough joints to add some length to some shorter metal ladders I see online. I don’t really see myself doing rung-by-rung construction, though.
Thanks for tip, Kevin. I had a look. Prices weren’t that bad, it’s the shipping that kills. But I didn’t see any that had the full loop up and over, and also I didn’t see any that looked like they had round rungs.
Some have these “extensions” that curve up as if to attach to something, but they end in mid air and I don’t see how those would ever work on a caboose. But even Precision Scale’s flat-rung’d types are preferable to plastic ladders, which always look too thick and tend to bow, like the ones in my kit.
Not sure what I’ll do. Considering following in the Path of Wayne, but it freaks me out just thinking about trying such tiny, fine work.
