Just picked up three Roundhouse 60’ trailer train flat cars. I haven’t had these in years but remember the trucks rub the frame.
What brand of metal wheel trucks fit old run Roundhouse cars with no frame rubbing problems ?
Yet,another question.
What company manufacturers wooden deck for these flat cars ? I’ll be darned if I can remember.
Thank you.
Patrick
I used I-M metal wheel sets on mine. I have no problem with the stock trucks. I did ream out the journals with my Micro Mark ‘tool’. And for the decking, I use American Model Builders #325 wood deck kit. The cars are rather light, is I weighted them with #9 birdshot…
Jim
The stock trucks work fine with ExactRail or Intermountain wheelsets. You can use undersize 33" wheels to prevent rubbing on the underbody. If you want to use 36" wheelsets, you may either have to shim the bolsters or remove material from under the car, probably regardless of which trucks you choose. You might also have to adjust the coupler height.
On the above car I used dry-brushed acrylics to weather the deck. It’s a suggestion if you can’t find the wood decks, or want to try a lower cost option for finishing the model.
I have been weathering plastic “wood” flatcar decks using techniques in an article by Matt Snell article in the November 2014 issue of Model Railroader (I also recommend Lou Sassi’s flatcar article in the June 2009 Model Railroader). I have added a few refinements of my own.
After masking the car sides and ends, I first paint the decks using rattle cans of Krylon Ultra-Flat Camouflage Khaki (8141), followed by a flat gray primer, with Testors DullCote following that.
Snell distresses and chips the outer edges of the “wood” deck boards by dragging an angled sharp edge of a rough wood workshop type file against the edge of the deck boards, and makes deep scratches into the deck by pushing the tip of that file parallel to the deck boards. It sounds violent and in a way it is; for delicate kits such as Proto2000 and Intermountain this is best done before assembly before the fine details are added. For some flatcar models, but not the MDC 60 footer, the decks are a separate casting from the car body itself.
I wanted a bit more control over how the edges of the deck boards were distressed, particularly when weathering detachable decks. Remembering from benchwork construction how (painfully) sharp the threads are on #6 coarse thread black drywall screws, I gave one a try, and found that scraping the threads against the edges of the deck boards gave them a very plausible “chipped” appearance. I then tried using the sharp end of the screw to create the gouges on the deck surface and the results seemed not only comparable to what Snell achieved using the hard tip of the large file, but more practical in scales smaller than HO.
The remainder of my weathering involves vigorous brushing parallel to the deck boards with a wire brush and even a swipe or two with coarse sandpaper stapled to a block of wood. A dental pick then is run through the slots between the deck boards to revive the seams. Any bits of plasti
I think you are looking for Modeler’s Choice laser cut wood decks. I have them on a couple of bulkhead flat cars and they look really nice. The ones I have I bought on eBay, but you can order them directly from their website:
Thank you Jim. That’s the company that eluded me. Not familiar with #9 birdshot. Is it smaller in diameter than say BB’s ?
I like your idea using birdshot. I’ve been using BB’s for extra weight.
Patrick
Thank you Rob,
Gonna have to give acrylics a whirl apparently. Flat turned out great. That’s an old school Roundhouse kit ? Geez, i’ve been painting with rattle cans kinda defeats the purpose.
What other HO treasures do you hold ?
Patrick
[quote user=“dknelson”]
I have been weathering plastic “wood” flatcar decks using techniques in an article by Matt Snell article in the November 2014 issue of Model Railroader (I also recommend Lou Sassi’s flatcar article in the June 2009 Model Railroader). I have added a few refinements of my own.
After masking the car sides and ends, I first paint the decks using rattle cans of Krylon Ultra-Flat Camouflage Khaki (8141), followed by a flat gray primer, with Testors DullCote following that.
Snell distresses and chips the outer edges of the “wood” deck boards by dragging an angled sharp edge of a rough wood workshop type file against the edge of the deck boards, and makes deep scratches into the deck by pushing the tip of that file parallel to the deck boards. It sounds violent and in a way it is; for delicate kits such as Proto2000 and Intermountain this is best done before assembly before the fine details are added. For some flatcar models, but not the MDC 60 footer, the decks are a separate casting from the car body itself.
I wanted a bit more control over how the edges of the deck boards were distressed, particularly when weathering detachable decks. Remembering from benchwork construction how (painfully) sharp the threads are on #6 coarse thread black drywall screws, I gave one a try, and found that scraping the threads against the edges of the deck boards gave them a very plausible “chipped” appearance. I then tried using the sharp end of the screw to create the gouges on the deck surface and the results seemed not only comparable to what Snell achieved using the hard tip of the large file, but more practical in scales smaller than HO.
The remainder of my weathering involves vigorous brushing parallel to the deck boards with a wire brush and even a swipe or two with coarse sandpaper stapled to a block of wood. A dental pick then is run through the slots between the deck boards to
Thank you Lonewolf for the link. Never heard of Modelers choice before. Might give them a whirl.
Patrick
An old Roundhouse car I paid all of $5 for from a box of kits a friend had. I have all kinds of cheapskate cars hanging around.
Lead shot comes in a confusing array of sizes. 9 is .08" in diameter. Bigger numbers are larger. 2 is 0.15" Letter sized shot BB (0.18") B and T is even bigger, the buck shot also goes by numbers 00 being the largest.
Air gun BB is not lead, but steel, sometimes copper plated or washed. Lead shot will always be more dense.
I use 2 shot, …why? Because it is no longer legal to hunt using lead shot on geese, so I have some extra shells, I cut the top off and salvage the lead.
Find someone who shoots skeet, trap or sporting clays. They probably reload their shells and buy lead in 25 pound bags.
Nice ideas. I just found some sixty foot Roundhouse flat cars at River City Railroad. Not sure yet, that might be the same.
Rich
Rob:
The acrylics look great on the deck!
Dave Nelson:
Thanks for the tutorial. Very informative.
Dave
As with any skill or new technique it takes practice, but most of us have a supply of eligible “junkers” sitting in some box somewhere.
The real point is, whether it’s the original plastic or an after-market laser-cut wood deck, flatcar decks take a horrible beating in real life and to be modeled correctly you have to learn to (and be willing to) genuinely damage them - within reason of course.
Dave Nelson
Dave,
You ever dabble with gondolas ? The sides being beaten & wharped. Anything like that ? If so could you do a tutorial if you get a chance ?
If I remember correctly MR did a piece on just such a thing. Be darned if I can remember what issue.
Slowly getting a fleet of 50’ gondolas to try this on.
Patrick
Which particular adhesive did you use to flow into the shot to keep it adhered to the car?
Thanks
MM
Patrick, it’s pretty easy to beat-up gondolas, especially the newer offerings with thinner bodies, although the technique will work on pretty-well any plastic-bodied car.
I use a soldering iron to heat the interior of the car at whichever point I want to create a bulge in the exterior or the car, but it’s important to not let the iron actually touch the plastic. I use a 200 watt iron, mostly because it’s quick, but anything over 60 watts should work, too.
Once the plastic has softened (you’ll get a “feel” for when it’s ready), remove the iron, and use a rounded object (a suitably-sized screwdriver handle works well) to gently press the inside of the softened area to create a bulge on the exterior. You can also use the tip of a screwdriver, in the same manner, to create sharper creases where the corner of a load (plate steel, f’rinstance) may have bumped the car’s interior during loading or unloading.
This one’s a Proto car from the “used” table at a nearby hobbyshop. I replaced the broken plastic grabs and sill steps, and revised some of the dimensional data to place the car in my layout’s late '30s period, then added the lading damage…
The third picture illustrates that “empty” gondolas seldom are truly empty. I use loose loads, like the one shown, or unit loads built to fit specific cars (and so-labelled on their underside).
I probably should not have damaged the top chord on the
These are still being made by Athearn and sold under the Roundhouse name.
http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH92694
Patrick I follow the technique that Dr Wayne illustrates so well a few posts above this one. I had a bunch of junk gons to practice on. The first one was a disaster (which meant I practiced on every panel on both sides) but after that it worked well. I hold the soldering iron in a vise and prop the car on wood blocks so when the “magic moment” when the plastic starts to sag happens (you’ll know it when you see it but again it takes practice) I can grab the car and my blunt instrument to create the the bulge. Don’t try to hold the car in one hand and the soldering iron in the other. The plastic will soften to be sure but you just can’t react fast enough while setting down the soldering iron.
I think the article you refer to is the one by Tony Koester, which as it happens is available on this website:
http://mrr.trains.com/how-to/tips-projects/2014/05/add-wear-and-tear-to-a-steel-gondola
Tony uses the blunt end of a hobby knife to push out the plastic, but various shapes can produce various types of bulges and dents. I have used dowels Experiment! And by the way other cars get dented too, including inward dents on some covered hoppers, and outward dents on boxcar roofs where fork lift jockies got over enthusiastic inside the car.
At one time MR had a nice video showing Tony and the method on this site but i cannot seem to find it now. Years before Tony there was also an article in MR by Brian Holz using the same soldering iron idea and in fact it was even mentioned back in the 1950s in
Fantastic work on your freight cars. As a matter of fact. I used your acrylic paint idea on my 60’ Roundhouse flat trucks. Turned out great.
Thank you Rob.