Large Scale Central

Modeling wood rolling stock?

Modeling
#1

A few questions for those who have scratchbuilt rolling stock using real wood…

  1. Is it necessary to add any weight to the car, or will the metal wheels be enough to provide good stability and tracking? I know this can be an issue in the smaller scales, but not sure about Large Scale.

  2. If weight should be added, where and how? For instance, if you were building a stock car, flat car, etc, would you put a metal plate into the floor to provide extra weight?

  3. Do you prefer to:
    A. Build up the sides board by board;
    B. Use scribed siding; or
    C. Apply wood (either individual boards or scribed siding) over a plastic sub-structure?

Any other tips/advice for modeling rolling stock would also be appreciated.

#2

A scratch built wooden car usually turns out to be heavier than it’s plastic counter-part so I don’t think adding weight will be necessary. With all the little metal detail parts and metal wheels it’s usually heavy enough. The only wooden car that I added weight to was the Russel snowplow, for obvious reasons. For the sub-base I used 1/8" modeling plywood available at most hobby shops, with the scribed siding glue on top of that. Your choice of material is wharever you’d be comfortable using. I happen to like wood rather than acrylics.

#3

I am a Huge Fan of Wood!

I was raised in a Cabinet Shop and that expains alot…I built a “Toby” Steam Dummy from Thomas and Friends with my son last year…FUN…there is a photo somewhere around here…still need to finish that one…and I’m about 1/2 way thru a Banta Cab Kit for my Annie…Built some cribbing, and Tunnel Portals last week…I like the idea of using wood, but of course that is what I am used to…the Acrylic car kits I received last week, will be a new challenge…Plastic feels foreign to me, like metal…, but I am trying to cope…good luck…I think I remember Kevin Strong building a HLW mini car look alike last year in GR Mag, all from wood!

cale

#4

Oh yeah…wood is plenty heavy!

#5

I build rolling stock in wood because I have a friendly model store who can make me wood strip any size I need, and a bathroom furniture-maker who supplies me with as many bases in 5mm MDF for nuthin’.

Just about all my home-made cars are at least twice as heavy as their plastic counterparts, and, because of all the ‘real-steel’ components from Ozark and others, especially the trucks, seem to roll with a lot more ‘authority’ and ‘presence’ that any plastic stock does.

My Sheridan shorty van weighs almost three times as much as the AMS plastic version, and seems to have more ‘woodiness’ about it that any plastic model can ever hope to.

You are a lot more connected to real railroading when you build in wood, and although I don’t used scribed siding - this material is not available here in UK - I do make my own sides out of scribed panels, using a rounded-end pin as a scriber like I have been doing for the last thirty or more years.

The same one, as well.

Besides, building in wood smells good, too.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS