Update:
1/4"x1/4" strips of wood, cheap chains, and tiny cotter pins are all on hand! Today, as part of OD’s COVID-induced ad hoc homeschooling, we set up the lanai for a class in “Applied Ferroequinology.”
In her case, she made a push on her coach, which she’ll document elsewhere, and I returned to the these cane cars.
I have been using the time waiting for bits to ponder how to affix the uprights for the bulkheads. They have to look right and be durable. I had considered boring out the endbeams and sticking the uprights in the hole, but, on reflection, rejected the idea as an screwup could lead to a loss of the chassis. Some day, I may need wrecked cane cars, but that is not my goal here! I went back to the books and then looked at the LGB cane cars I scored last year. Most had pockets bolted to the frame, and the LGB car drew from those examples. Again, simply affixing a pocket was not going to answer the durability question. For now, I drilled tap-holes into the uprights, through the endbeams, and into the chassis, dropped on some TiteBond III, then gently tapped the nails into the cars.
That seemed to me the best compromise between durability and appearance. Taken broadside, the nails disappear:
…or they would have had this been a broadside shot! There is probably some way to simulate that pocket. For the moment, I rejected little bits of styrene as overly fiddly and ultimately not likely to last long on our railroad. I have aluminum tape ready to hand, the hobby shop has styrene strips with various cross-sections, or I could leave well enough alone. Those are giant bolts, not nails, I am sure to my 1:24 scale crewmen!
This is my “off week,” so I hope to finish all five cars. Technically, if I go by the cars in the picture somewhere at the beginning of this thread showing the Waimanalo plantation train, they are “done.” I want to go a bit further, as I like the bulkeads and chains on the surviving example from another plantation at the museum. The next step, then, is to convert craft sticks into boards and affix them to the uprights. Then, I’ll drill holes into the vertical timbers so I can hang the chain. I want to get a nice catenary, and I thought it would be easier to judge things with the bulkheads in place. After the fore-and-aft chains are set and I have a sense of how they look, I’ll drive the holes for the cotter pins and link in the vertical chains. I plan to put two per side, probably just inside the journals. I’ll finish the construction with GAP’s recommended journal bearing covers. Rumor has it we’ve a single hole punch somewhere, so popping a few circular caps of out styrene should be pretty quick and easy.
I am still going back and forth about painting. The local example is green. Painting would protect the wood, of course, and allow for some work with a brass brush to weather these things and give them some individuality. That being said, I am fond of the bare wood look, though I may make a mixture of stains to break up the uniformity of all those bright, white planks. These cars will not remain outside, so I doubt they will naturally weather like the wood trim of some of our structures. If nothing else, the cars are going to get numbers and maybe a weight rating. I have photos that show at least the former, and the latter seems like a good idea.
More to come!
Have a Great Weekend!
Eric
