I picked up a pair of old Hartford Products wooden hopper kits from Mike Oates a few years ago. They are quite similar to the ore hoppers that the East Broad Top purchased and used around the turn of the century, so I figured they would make a useful addition to my 1910 freight.
The main difference is the actual hoppers - EBT’s cars had a flat floor and a pair of drop-down doors, whereas the Q&T cars had slope hoppers with doors on one side. Nothing that can’t be fixed, I thought.
Well, the first car is done and ready for paint.
This is my first Hartford kit, and I didn’t realize how detailed and complex they are. Bob supplied all the wood, cut to size, and a myriad of castings and other parts to make an exact scale model. Pages of plans and instructions were a big help.
One big issue was that there are lots of similar-sized pieces of wood. The instructions list them, but telling the difference between a 0.236"x0.194"x2.360" and a 0.236"x0.236" x2.360" is tricky. (After I had almost finished, I bought a digital caliper! Should be useful for the second car.) I only made one mistake, using the wrong piece at the ends and having to make the interior 0.020" narrower. As I was re-working the pieces it wasn’t a big deal. I wonder if it will be noticeable on the second car when it is correct and they are side-by-side.
The frame is all cut and mortised - you just glue the bits together and try not to get glue all over the visible parts. The sides are similarly accurately sized.
I modified the sides to match the EBT hoppers, which also meant mounting the door winders higher on the sides and fabricating plates on the opposite side from the wheels. I made larger doors out of the hopper slopes and fixed them with glue - didn’t think my chain was going to hold them in position, as the ratchet and pawl are fake.
The kit includes all the bits you need, including nbws - shown here being installed on the queen posts.
I found superglue-gel to be the best stuff for fastening metal to the wood. Some bits were soldered - I’ve been practicing my skills on white metal parts, which can melt completely if you aren’t careful. I have a very small soldering iron, (brought from England in 1974 and which is still working via a 220V transformer intended for a shaver.) It doesn’t have much total heat, so the brake gear wasn’t too tricky. The EBT resisted air brakes for many years, so my 1910 cars tend not to have any. Makes life easier if you can leave off the brake cylinder and pipes.
The trucks are supplied complete and ready to run. Due to the age of the kit, they are already showing rust on the wheels! I haven’t started painting yet as I plan to do the second one and paint both at once. Couplers are Accucraft 1/32nd, which are correct for the EBT 3/4 size couplers.
Hopefully, the second one won’t take as long!
