A year ago I made a pair of freight cars for Winnegance and Quebec. They were great fun and offered me some new challenges. This scale is big enough to allow for some prototypical build techinques.

Here is a link to the build thread for these two cars: http://www.7-8ths.info/index.php?topic=16685036.0

After the challenge here I saw some cool stuff and thought I would try some new to me techniques.

I built the basic frames for two cars, a 30 foot flat car and a 28 foot box car. these are pretty straight forward wood working projects. The new twist for me was to start with curved beams to make sagging old cars rather than straight new ones. I sawed several strips from some 2" thick pine boards. they were 3/8" and 1/4" thick to match the plans. I started by clamping them together and using a block plane to plane a curve in the edges of the stips. most of the curve was in the middle, the ends were more or less straight. with a curve on one edge, I could run the strips through my Microlux table saw with the curved edge against the fence. magic: i got curved sillls for the cars.

I then planked the deck and weathered it with the old ink and alcohol trick plus some other concoctions to get a good color.

The first car I built I had tried to build a framed side like the real thin but couldnt work out how to do it. So I am trying again.

I started by carving a notch into the car sills. the vertical posts then could fit flush with the outside and be glued and pin nailed to hold securely. I added inside sheathing, diagonal bracing and a top “header”

the roof consists of 8 roof beams and three stringers. the beams fit into notches in the “header” and stringers fit into notches in the beams…Just like the real thing!

Eric

Your’s look stronger than the real thing!

How are the posts attached to the frame on this ^ one?

Sean…

I think the actual posts either just rest on the silll and are held firmly by the tensioning rods… Iron rods that run from the top to the bottom of the car. I also think it likely that the top and bottom of the posts have a tennon which nests into a mortise in the sill. I wasn’t there that day to see how it worked and the drawings do not detail that bit.

Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean 7/8 Scale or 7/8" to 1’ ?

Lou Luczu said:

Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean 7/8 Scale or 7/8" to 1’ ?

7/8" : 1’

Lou Luczu said:

Excuse my ignorance, but does this mean 7/8 Scale or 7/8" to 1’ ?

7/8" : 1’

That is correct!

the proportion is 1:13.7. Two foot gauge trains scaled to gauge one/G-gauge/45mm track Small stuff is big in this scale. A lot of folks do industrial, mining and agricultural railways. I do Maine two foot gauge which included several diminutive common carrier lines meandering through the snowy countryside from the 1880s through the great depression,

Eric I am happy to have a line drawing of a prototype. You have the real thing to copy, Is that cheating?

Cool techniques. In fact your challenge build has me rethinking my 1:20.3 indoor display shelf. I may want to do a 7/8ths micro mine RR. Then again I laid awake one night thinking about a dual gauge 1:20.3 micro. Evil hobby.

Eric I always love your wood working skills. Looks great so far. It is so tempting to go 7/8th…

I spent some time this afternoon with a long drill bit and some iron wire adding the “truss Rods” in the car frame. these would have a nut and washer at each end and would clamp the body parts together to withstand vibration and freight loads. I just glued em in. they will be visible if you look inside the finished car and they also provide some strength to the model.

I silver soldered a 1/16" drill bit to the end of a 1/16 stainless rod…just a butt joint. this gives me an 8 inch long drill to drill though the frame parts.

The car will have a rod along side each vertical post. also across the roof next to each roof beam.

here it is resting on its trucks…the underbody hardware is yet to be made and installed. this may give an idea of the size of Maine Narrow gauge stuff in 7/8th scale

I still have to install the car end framing and the backers for the ladders.

Very nicely done. I can see the subtle sway back in the car. It has had a hard working life already in its infancy.

Doc Tom

It’s coming along nicely! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

I like very much Eric.

7/8’s give’s you the chance to build it like 1:1.

Must be nice to have some meat to attach things too.

Did the top plates try to staighten out the sills, or did you cuve them also?(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Great build. I love seeing all the frame work, and the iron rods are a nice touch. Good plan extending your drill bit. Would pre drilling holes have made it so you didn’t need the extension, or did the holes need to be drilled after assembly? Looks like it may have been easier to do it how you did. Seems to be lots of car sagging going on here on LCS these days!

Looking good, Eric.

Is it done, yet? Gotta beat rooster. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

very nice build.

Nice joinery !

Eric, if you use concrete rebar wire (available by the mile at HD and Lowes), you can thread the end of that to 0-80 and actually use the rods to secure the car.

The diagonal braces and roof braces on this car are threaded and secured in place with 0-80 nuts.

Later,

K

Thanks guys!

I am using concrete rebar wire as you say! These truss rods could have been threaded and nutted at the bottom were they extend below the frame. The prototype rods are half inch I think and the nuts would be still pretty small.

I will thread the main truss rods under the car…probably 2-56. I will make my own square nuts and turn buckles too!

I wonder if the Winnegance and Quebec RR will be getting a full size moose powered mobile next?? LOL