Category Archives: Workbench Wednesday

Workbench Wednesday

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CB&Q freight cars

Jerry Hamsmith sent an update on his growing CB&Q freight car fleet. Here’s his report.

I thought I might share some of what I have been working on in terms of rolling stock for my circa 1955 Chicago Burlington and Quincy – Beardstown Division layout. This division linked the southern Illinois coal fields with the major metropolitan areas in northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, among others. In 1955, the Q coal hauling fleet, consisting of 2- and 3- bay hoppers and composite drop bottom gons, was still about 40 percent gons.

Here is another group of drop bottom gons I am currently working on. I do them in batches as I need a large number of them and that speeds up the process. Both steel end and wood end cars are in the current batch. I currently have a total of 33 finished composite gondola cars on the layout.

Here is a photo of one of the already completed cars on the layout. Jerry offers kits for these CB&Q coal gondolas. A PDF of currently available kits and decals can be found on the RCW blog Helpful Links page.

What’s on your workbench?

Workbench Wednesday

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Milwaukee 40-foot, ribbed-side automobile boxcar


George Toman sent a few photos of his latest work on an HO scale Rib Side Cars kit. Here are his notes and photos.

On my list of must build cars is a 40-foot Milwaukee Road double-door automobile boxcars. The 6500 series cars were built in 1942. A photo of MILW 6582 on page 10 of Railway Prototype Cyclopedia (RPCyc), Volume 13 is my inspiration. The starting point is a Rib Side Cars 40-foot, short rib kit with 12-foot double-doors.

Following are photos and some info on my modifications so far in this build.

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Workbench Wednesday

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M-K-T boxcar conversion, pt 3

Bill Welch, the Xxtreme Modeler, continues sharing his M-K-T boxcar project. Here are Bill’s latest notes.

Close examination of the M-K-T prototype photos reveal diagonal brace members extending just beyond the bottom sill and are squared off. Since I plan to paint this car in Sloan Yellow scheme this detail will be visible. What to do?!

First, I cut 0.030 x 0.030-inch strip styrene into short sections. The ends were cut at a slight angle as the diagonals on the model were angled to match the bottom of the car. The extra length you see makes the sections easier to handle. I glued the section to the angles with Testors styrene cement. Next, I cut up 0.020 x 0.020-inch strip styrene and glued these behind the 0.030 x 0.030 parts to provide extra strength when cutting. After the Testors had set up overnight the joints were reinforced with CA.

I used my close cutting sprue tweezers to cut the 0.030 x 0.030 pieces at a 90-degree angle. Even with the reinforcement two of the joints failed so I repeated what I had done previously

Here is how the diagonals look from the back of the car side.

Here’s the link to Bill’s previous post on this M-K-T boxcar project. He promises to share more soon.

What’s on your workbench?

Workbench Wednesday

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M-K-T boxcar conversion, pt 2

Bill Welch, the Xxtreme Modeler, shared more images of his M-K-T boxcar project. Here’s Bill with a few notes.

Better door rollers were created by harvesting these small pieces from a Tichy Youngstown door set, part #3055. The locking levers were made from 0.015-inch diameter wire that was heated and flattened.

Small details can add to the look of a model. Grain clips were made from small rectangles of thin styrene and glued into place. A defect card holder and towing loops were also installed. Rivets were harvested from an old Athearn boxcar kit and installed where the bolster and cross bearers connect to the side sill. Gussets and diagonal braces on the original car body have been carved off.


Placard boards need to be installed on the car ends and doors. These are easy to build with some styrene and replace kit parts that are often too thick with exaggerated space between boards.


Here’s a view of the right side of the car. The new prototype appropriate details are easy to spot and have improved the model appearance.

Here’s the link to Bill’s previous post on this M-K-T boxcar project. He promises to share more soon.

What’s on your workbench?