Let's talk brass train cars!

Best I can do is dry transfer set from Clover House but that's for an H9 - maybe adaptable?

I'm on facebook a lot; have a personal page as a small PT business page. It appears quite easy to Create a Group. I know little about brass models but get a/few people willing to be Admin, Create a Group (what's the name?) and it should be easy peasy.

Anyone else get their Yoder cars yet?

 

Curious as to the crowd response...

We're all sick and instead of watching the goober bowl I'm watching brass train cars on eBay.   Some finals:

 

Pacific Limited X23 with Creco door, painted, $383.54+sh.

Hobbyhill type II reefer nice but incorrect SOO LINE F/P - $282+sh

PSC X28 painted - $138+sh

Plus a PSC X29 (which looked like mislabeled Max Gray car)... didn't watch since it was mislabeled.   

Pearls Before Swine had a good take on the Super Bowl.  And its author is a sports guy!

 

My take?  All the local pilots gathered somewhere to watch the kickoff, and I took over the airport.  Twelve landings on six different runways in 40 minutes flat.  I still don't know who won - my Greek spouse thinks I am an ignoramus.

 

On the brass front - drilled all the holes for my Challenger tender ladders, and discovered I am out of .032 poles.  To the hardware store tomorrow.  Hope nobody asks about the football game!

Smart lady, she is!

 

 

Jay

292, Yes as I too was watching Ebay over the weekend as there was a used 2 rail MTH UP AC4400 that sparked my interest at the offering at $202 but on Sunday shot up over $350 a fact that  took me out of the bidding on a used model at this time. Most any other time I might be all over it as I didn't have this model and its engine number. I am not interested in tryng to find decals and renumbering the engines especially the number boards. Well, I'll keep my eye fixed for another in the future. Oh, I did follow the bowl and I had no real favorite but the game was great as it was exciting as it wasn't a blow out.

 

Phill

 

Phil

Robbie,

 

I was shocked when the x23 blew thru $300.    I have not paid higher than that in the past..   They aren't rare; though the paint and decal work was quite good.

What else was interesting is that the PRB Sk-T/U stock car went for $192.50.    When seen they usually go for over the $275 ($295???) list price they sold for. 

 

And it had an ajax power hand brake which makes it super desirable into the diesel era.

 

Somebody got a steal on that pretty rarely seen car. 

Prices were all over the place over the weekend, no doubt.

 

I believe the mis- identified X29 was a Grabowski car.

Hmmm, I didn't look as close as I should have... 

 

Unfortunately I removed it from my watch list so I don't have a link to the number or I'd go back and have a closer look. 

 

Too bad Steve didn't get to doing an X29 series like his H21's and H25's.    Still seems kind of strange that the most important boxcar of the 1920-1960 era was never accurately done in brass.

 

It's truly the ONE car that everyone ought to have in a train if they model anything up to the early 60's since as late as 1959 there were still 18,000 original style X29 cars still running.

 

I love to watch videos of NKP Berks, Cab Forwards,  UP turbines and DD's and pick out the puny X29's in the consist.    They literally were everywhere.

I know what you mean about not looking closely enough, I missed that the PRB stock car had the ajax power hand brake.

 

The X29 was auction #381141311732

 

I agree that it would be nice to have the other X29 variants,

 

or for that matter, I'd really like a decent X25

I forgot to ask this question.

 

Does anyone weather their brass cars?

 

I was looking at some Rich Yoder stock cars that Gary Schrader weathered.  They look great but how many actually weather their brass cars.  The vast majority of the ones I see for sale are not weathered.

I sure do!! Weathering is the only way to go. IMHO

I just happened to have a photo I shot outside with one of my DVP cabeese, and Cameron flatcars.

Hi Howard

 

I weathered all my cars brass or plastic but for me it's the quality of weathering that is important it's not just airbrushing  the cars, well you can mix many technic. Also

on our layout it's important to give an atmosphere not only on the cars but vehicle buildings and all that can compose the scenery

 

 

       
       



Absolutely

A refresher for some; this model is plastic kitbashed brass model.

Nice pic Erick and very well done 

 

here's some of my stuff mix of brass and plastic...

 

 

 

The scrap trailer is an old max gray for piggy I remove the top and changed wheels

all the rest have been heavily weathered also to fit "perfectly" in the scene

 

 

I love it 

Chris I love your modeling! This is what makes the hobby exciting to me. (And the history)

We need to be careful not derail this thread aeh! ;-)

I need to finish this one up. Hand painted graffiti!

I can see why you guys weather your cars!  Great work.

Howard- is there a wrong way to weather? Yes and no it's all based on the prototype your trying to recreate. I DO NOT like rolling junkyards - there is too much rust in my opinion. In the 1960's and 1970's - sure PC was a rolling scrap yard. Not in my era.

Now leaving your equipment shiny and new in my opinion is terrible. Why would Pacific Limited invest so much into every little detail to have a toy like clean perfect model on a layout? I don't feel they did. These are collectors items; with professional properly done weathering using a multi-media technique I believe it will even further enhance the collectibility and rarity of a brass model already rare based on typical low production. 

I was adding dry adhesive to my pastels years before Bragdon came along and sold it ready to apply. Airbrush is a must and can be too much; left off entirely I don't think it works. Reality is just like in the 1:1 atomization of the mud and dirt acts just like airbrush especially when it comes to rain or of effects. Use of oil paint and chalk is stunning but scaly rust in my era of modeling is rare except in scrap yards or the RIP track. 

Sadly every time I finish a model I sell it! And since our newborn has come along in July it's set the brakes on my studio work, including modeling and photography. And my art!

http://erikclindgren.com

Kids do change your life!

From another post- same topic worth adding here. If you ask me I think it enhances the value greatly if done right. Already rare piece made one of kind and as real as it gets; nothing better than that.

I am still trying to find the courage to weather my passenger trains. Freshly wash racked but still like the real thing.

Lee Turner (c) photo copyright
Demonstrated weathering done right.
Kohs Model courtesy Butch H.

Dan Glasure had a two Volume set available several years ago (1)The BrassTrain Guide Book ( hard back ),(2)Brass Model Trains: Price and Data Guide. While it is mostly ''HO'' there is a decent section dedicated to ''O'' scale. I do not know if it is still available. Type in  Brasstrains.com  for more info.

Awesome book! I think I have some photos in there.

And I love your handle!! "Nikkormat"

I just adore brass in all forms unpainted, painted, weathered, in the case, on the track, and anything else. I must be crazy about brass; spent 10 years at Caboose Hobbies doing all the brass department photography and finally running all the processing and photography. I work with Dave Devita at Key, Jack Vansworth at Division Point, and Roger Lewis at Wasatch Model Company. It's a great hobby and a lot of fun!

Fun in here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/m...02609103653043535928

Beautiful weathering, guys.

 

Don (Industrialmodels) gave a wonderful clinic at the 2008 OSN in Worcester on weathering with acrylics.  Hints like remembering that trains pick up the rusty residue of brake shoe wear.

 

Excellent stuff... especially things like the peeling paint on the tank trailer and the subtle rust around the couplers.

Great work!  I'm always astonished to see such fine work.

 

Erik - Starting with your narrow gauge caboose and then the engines below it, they were the last things I had on the browser when I lost my internet connection.  That forced me to look at the weathering overnight.  Thanks for posting that fine work.

 

 

SO... coming  out of the March Meet.  Rich Yoder is updating the pictures and info for his Mather car offering.  He had updated print documentation for the Mather project at the show.

 

Norm Buckhart announced that the 1937 car project is taking shape.  Up after the GN cars will be the 1937 cars and they will include the Canadian cars with the unusual NSC proprietary ends.

 

After the 1937 cars he reported that he wants to do a 37' meat reefer.

 

THEN a PRR X31 round roofer.

 

Life is good for the brasser. 

Wow...although not a fan of the "Q" per se,this is awesome!!! Red Caboose...?

 

Mark in Oregon

Strummer,

 

Yes, Red Caboose with added details - steam generator for passenger service AND (wait for it) engine heater (not in view in this photo).  This loco is in a display case on my book case and I can glance from it down to two SD70Ace on the joint line.

 

I'm a big fan of the "Q", traveled in my youth from Chicago to Denver/Boulder and return each summer to visit my Grandmother, Aunt and too many cousins to count.

 

ChipR

Bumpety bump!!! Norm at Protocraft just listed the first release of the 1937 AAR series - the GN wood sheathed variants that have never been done in O scale:

 

http://www.protocraft.com/category.cfm?Categoryid=45 

Nice!


On another thread but I'm finishing up 3 F39 OMI trailer flats.

Just finished up another Drake 2 dome 8000 gallon tank.

Beauteeful!  I hope to find a 6k 2 dome car some day... needed an X23 worse so I traded a certain fella that needed a 3 dome 8k car worse than me. 

Now HERE is a brass caboose. 

 

Boo Rim at their finest.

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4...OSwjVVV2kyY/$_57.JPG

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4...OSwLVZV2k0y/$_57.JPG 

 

 

       
       


Sure is!

Yes.  Totally.  Absolutely beautiful cabeese. 

 

But, a question I've always wanted to ask but felt it would sound like nit picking.  So, here goes anyway.  No disrespect intended. 

 

How come they pay all that attention to scale accuracy and detail on the underside and yet still use the big funky screws to attach the trucks to the frame?  And same for the Kadee coupler box screws.

 

Not to the same degree, but, kinda like the 3 Rail Scale guys do all the absolutely great modelling and ignore the center rail.

 

Hey, I'm really curious and just asking,

I had the C&LS wm caboose; sold it.  While very well done,  I much prefer PRB atsf and Overland wood cabeese.      

My trains run a good bit of their route at eye level. I'd submit the screw holding on the trucks is impossible to see. Many of the details under freight cars actually are visible at eye level. One great example is on Yoder's battleship gons. Gobbs of details on the bottoms of the cars. Skirted passenger cars are a different story and much of that is a waste unless you pick the car up and turn it over.