Large Scale Central

A spaghetti car for the O&NF RR

Modeling
#1

Some of the settlers from Switzerland and Italy seem to have brought small spaghetti trees with them. How they smuggled them through Ellis Island is unknown.

These trees are now well established and form orchards in one or two of the areas through which the O&NF RR runs.

The management decided to convert short open coal car which involves removing the frame and wheels, building new sides and satisfactory (to the growers) fitments for the spaghetti harvest.

For those who have not seen spaghetti trees I enclose a short BBC clip which was filmed a few years ago on the Swiss/Italian border.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Spaghetti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU

#2

#3

The first picture shews the coal car after removal of its load. The frame will be used for the new spaghetti car and the coal body used for loco coal storage. The O&NF is resourceful and wastes little.

This picture is the frame and wheels.

#4

This shows the material that will be used to form new sides and ends which are from a disused Budweiser truck which was abandoned on the RR property.

#5

The new sides and ends cut to fit.

#6

The new timber floor for the car which meets the hygienic requirements of the spaghetti growers.

#7

This should have been the initial picture. It is a wooden base fairly similar to that being used in the Challenge this year and was what prompted me to this build.

The principal problem is that it is way out of scale for my small 1:29 or 1:32 model that I am using as a base for the project.

The base was made for me some nine years ago by a 1:19 scale modeller who hoped I would join him and his group in that scale and UK outline. It was not to my liking. The weathering is due to it having been used as an unloading platform in the past!

#8

Wow, Fascinating Alan, I had no idea such a thing existed. I’m very interested to watch this build and see how the car is used. Those truck sides were a nice find.

#9

I always looked forward to the annual spaghetti harvest each year, it always coincided with the annual penguin migration.

Looks like its going to be a fun model

#10

Another stage achieved today. I fixed the floor, ends and sides and gave the one coat of paint. I want a more worn look so one coat maybe sufficient

I have been considering how to portray the spaghetti cargo: taking the line of least resistance I may just load wooden barrels, steel drums and packing crates in the car. After all the spaghetti is a comestible and needs to be fresh and uncontaminated when it reaches the processing plant and stores.

The first pic is the built car and the second is the painted car.

#11

But its a whimsical car, I would consider using fine thread looped together then coated in something like diluted white glue so it looks like there is fresh cut spaghetti streaming thru the sides of the cars, besides most veggies get washed when they get to the factory, right ? :wink:

#12

Thanks for your interest and comments Vic. As this build is not part of the Challenge I guessed I could cut corners. However, I will give the cargo and its presentation a little more thought.

#13

Mistakenly I deleted the pics that were in my Freight Shed. So I will include them here - hopefully to shew the order of progress.

#14

The day outdoors looked nice but a cold easterly wind - the sort that comes from the frozen wastes of Russia - made the the temperature out there intolerable. So I decided to make a little progress - duly warmed by my log fire - on the spaghetti car. I tried one or two methods for ‘spaghetti’ but the main issue was that the fibres I was experimeting with would not stay bent over the rails that I have made for the car. I am of the belief that the answer is to use the real thing, but the very fine ‘angel hair’ version which should not look overscale.

The car has three rails for the spaghetti and the other prt of the car contains a couple of barrels and some packing cases for the finished products. The car is lettered - after a fashion - and all that it needs, as far as I can see, is the spaghetti. As this project is not part of the Mik’s Challenge I have no time factor to consider. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)