Who made the trucks?
I have several pair that someone donated years ago that I’ve been using on several of my rail cars, and may use in this build, but no idea of who made them.
Thanks
Todd Brody said:
Who made the trucks?
I have several pair that someone donated years ago that I’ve been using on several of my rail cars, and may use in this build, but no idea of who made them.
Thanks
Hi Todd,
A friend of mine “donated” a bunch of old gondolas made by Bachman to me several years ago when his father passed away. That is were the trucks came from but I am not sure if they are Bachman or old LGB as there was a lot of parts swapping before I got em’. But in true Mik style I got the trucks free in a box of “junque.” I like the real wire springs on the trucks.
Tom
Yes, I also like the real wire springs and that was the give-away that they are the same make.
Mine are coming off an old track-cleaning spline car (drags a drywall sander head between the trucks) I made years ago that I replaced with another that articulates the sander head so as to better follow the track.
Tom I don’t want to accuse your local animal expert of not knowing his critters but the curious creature watching the fellas off load the junque looks to be a Beva and not a Bar… I’m just saying…
Beva or Bar they can both be a menace.
Wow, Very impressive Tom, Love the rustic look.
Todd Brody said:
Yes, I also like the real wire springs and that was the give-away that they are the same make.
Mine are coming off an old track-cleaning spline car (drags a drywall sander head between the trucks) I made years ago that I replaced with another that articulates the sander head so as to better follow the track.
Hi Todd,
I think you will be pleased.
Tom
Todd Haskins said:
Tom I don’t want to accuse your local animal expert of not knowing his critters but the curious creature watching the fellas off load the junque looks to be a Beva and not a Bar… I’m just saying…
Beva or Bar they can both be a menace.
Sharp eyes Todd H. The model of GOVOLS is actually a Ground Hog. My brother-in-law gave it to us as a joke after a real life ground hog ate out $7,000 worth of wiring from my wife’s Mazda 3 wiring harness. That is another Tennessee Tall Tale, and the prototype was trapped in a similar fashion as the marauding bear hopefully will be.
Anyways that ground hog terrorized the layout and our car so I thought it would be just fine to play the monster in this story.
Tom
Ron Tremblay said:
Wow, Very impressive Tom, Love the rustic look.
Thanks Ron. I did have fun pulling out all the stops on Dave T’s fine little kit.
Tom
Thems look like Delton trucks, or Aristo classic (Delton remake) trucks.
Looking good, I need to have a talk with my shop crew.
David Maynard said:
Thems look like Delton trucks, or Aristo classic (Delton remake) trucks.
Looking good, I need to have a talk with my shop crew.
Thanks David. This has been a fun build so far. Thanks for the input on the trucks…I was not sure who made them. Just felt they looked right for the small flat car.
Tom
Tom, I bought a bunch of them trucks at the ECLSTS several years back. And then I ended up with a few more in a trade. They are nice trucks. And that is one sharp lookin little flat you have there,
Birth of the “Contraption”
As the 19th century was ending American Rail Travel was entering its Golden Age. Passenger cars were everywhere. America was truly becoming a country “on the move.”
With the plethora of passenger trains came the inevitable………passenger train wrecks.
A cottage industry of sorts sprang up where these wrecked cars were scavenged and salvaged.
One of the more notable salvage operations was the Botchman Brothers out of Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
To build the “contraption” to catch a huge bear and transport it by rail to the Knoxville Zoo, Colonel Townsend purchased what was left of a junked baggage car from Botchman Brothers and had it transported to the shops on the Little River Rail Road.
Work soon commenced on the all important “contraption.”
Wow, what a morning read, Love the story and photos. The weathering on your flat and trucks is outstanding! Give me hope for that pile of Delton arch bars I have. Can’t wait to see what the crew does with that Botchman wreck.
Randy Lehrian Jr. said:
Wow, what a morning read, Love the story and photos. The weathering on your flat and trucks is outstanding! Give me hope for that pile of Delton arch bars I have. Can’t wait to see what the crew does with that Botchman wreck.
Thank you Randy. The weathering was done using acrylic paints. A dilute India ink wash ties all the colors together then a light dry brushing with an off white pops the details.
Botchman provides a lot of neat stuff for bashes like this. I think you will also like those old Delton arch bar trucks in your builds.
Tom
Let’s git that bar’
With the arrival of the salvaged passenger car shell from Botchmann the shop went in to full build mode.
All the workers had this hideous thought in the back of their mind.
They would have to use these old salvaged parts and make something strong that could catch and contain a monster.
Management came to see how the boys were progressing with old wood and rusty iron.
** Modeler’s note. The 19th century sewer pipes at the front of the contraption are from a rod for an old adjustable blind. They will serve as guides for the trap door on the “contraption.”
The Boys Git a Break
Colonel Towsend recalled he had some old track from Loggers Good Buys (LGB). So, taking a page from the Tsavo River “Contraption” story over in Africa he had the boys build the gate on the Smoky Mountain “Contraption” using rail and ties.
It fit and actually worked.
Errr …someone needs to break it to your crew that, well… that isn’t a bear.
Vic Smith said:
Errr …someone needs to break it to your crew that, well… that isn’t a bear.
Hi Vic,
Yeah that’s Timmy’s pet pig “Rosie.” She was a stand in for the captured critter in the gate closing experiment at the shops. She’s gained more weight since last year’s challenge but has enjoyed avoiding the Barbecue “cook off challenge” over on the Hill Billy Chef’s forum.
Doc Tom
Remember the Merrimac
Bears can do considerable damage to wooden structures.
The old dilapidated baggage coach being used for “the contraption” is made all out of wood. “That B’ar gonna bust it up like kindlin” ,the boys said.
“Remember the Merrimac” Colonel Townsend retorted.“Why that was an old wooden hulled ship that the valiant Confederate Navy turned into a Yankee hunting demon.”
"Y’all know how they did it…….They covered it up with iron plate.
That’s what we aim to do with this here B’ar Ketchin Contraption. We gonna iron clad it. Gonna make it real strong."
Totally digging it Doc Tom. I think the steel cladding will be a great touch. Can you figure a reason for a cannon and gun port a well?
I hated history until I read about the Monitor and the Merrimack. I discovered something in history that really caught my fancy. That led to warplanes and other ships, now RRs you just have to find your niche.