There have been several posts on here about finding good-looking, scale flat cars for log train use, so I thought I'd share my solution. Not all logging railroads used the skeleton-type cars easily found in 3-rail O; some used regular, 40' flat cars. There are nice models out there, but my budget for this project wasn't going to get me the recent Lionel die-cast, MTH, or Weaver ones. I discovered a series of scale-sized, 40' flat cars Lionel made in the 80s and 90s (6521, 9823, and others) that look good and can be had fairly cheaply. I bought only brown-colored ones, masked off the top, and sprayed the sides black (my apologies to MPC fans). I then weathered the tops to look more like old wood, with a white dry-brush followed by an india ink wash. A few branches and twigs later:
My four-car log train cost me about $50 total, and now that I'm done bidding for them on eBay, I've shared my secret with all of you!
