Updated 6/18/2021:
I've been taking a little side project - a Weirton Steel caboose. As you probably know, steel mill rolling stock are some of the dirtiest and most poorly maintained equipment on rails. Sloppy or no paint jobs, high heat, and exposure to corrosive agents are all part of a day’s work. Below is Weirton Steel (WSX) caboose #4, a Pennsy N5 originally acquired for its scrap value but converted to slag run service. It was used on the end of slag car trains for the 3-mile run between the blast furnaces and the dump at Standard Slag. The model started out as an O scale undecorated Weaver Northeastern style caboose. I walled over the inner 2 windows to make it look more like an N5, spray painted it Columbia Gas Meter green (the Weirton Steel livery from the 1940s-1980s), applied home made logo decals and dry transfer numbers, and heavily weathered the body and trucks to reflect years of service and neglect.
George
