Large Scale Central

Tank Car from the WV&K Shops!

Modeling
#1

All DA STUFF is back in The Shops, so its time to work on something!!! First up, I want a few tank cars, they are visually different from other rolling stock, and involves a whole new set of challenges to construct. Not to mention I’ve had close to 4 weeks to dwell upon the construction details, now its time to wor out the execution! First…what to build? I decided to go against the common convention of dropping a tanks on a flatcar…its been done to death, and I want a car that looks purpose built. I decided that a D&RG NG narrow frame tank car would be just the ticket.

First thing I think I need to make the tank, everything else on the car revolves around it. I started by using a piece of thin wall 4" ID drainpipe, and since I’m going with my standard 24’ car this works out to a length of 21". To accomodate the frame and rounded ends I decided to cutthe tank cylinder to 20"…

With the ends squaredup, its time to give the tank its cladding. While there is nothing wrong with the PVC itsself, I find it hard to glue styrene detail bits too it without using messy nasty chemical kinda stuffs. Therefore I elected to apply a wrapper of .040 styrene to the PVC center. Since the real cars have three courses I simulated this by applying an 8" section to each end and them a 6" section in the center for the dome course. I anchored the sheet at one end with a line of GOOP then drilled and inserted wire nails to hold it in place. Then GOOP was applied all around the wrapped andthe other end tacked down with wire nails.

That leaves me with a nicely blank tank car with overlapping courses ready for riviting!

The dome was next. Just so happens that I had a rounded 2.5 inch plumbing cap that was just right. Using the trusty belt sander I redid the bottom profile so that it sat on the tank, then cut the flange plate for the dome out of .040 sheet as well. The flange was glued on then the whole assembly mounted to the tank.

Next up…tank ends!!!

#2

Dang that’s cool Bart.

Plumbing parts. Unbelievable what someone with talent can do to transform common materials.

If you ever want a drawing of the D&RGW frameless Gramps tank car, I’ve got them along with some prototype pics.

Jon

#3

Matter of fact I do…The reason I picked this flavor of tank, was I couldn;t find pics and drawings of all the fiddly brake gear underneath!

#4

Bart Salmons said:
Matter of fact I do…The reason I picked this flavor of tank, was I couldn;t find pics and drawings of all the fiddly brake gear underneath!

OK, here ya go. I don’t remember who sent these to me several years ago.

JR

#5

ALLLLRIGHTY!!! I know what th next project will be now!!! But as far as this one goes… Tank ends have bugged me for a long time, and I have thought of several differnt ways to accomplishthem over the last year or so. But in the last week an idea came to me. I cut a 4" disk out of 1x pine…

And then shaped it on the trusty belt sander to a tank car end profile

One question I had was how to hide the wood grain. I found the idea on an RC tank combat website. Dilute some yellow carpenters glue and paint it on th wood surface, when dry it looks just like plastic.

After that a shot of primer completed the illusion, this technique has a lot of future applications for me, stay tuned for that…

All that remained was to fit the end snugly in the PVC and then secure it with wire nails at 4 points…

Stay tuned…in the next installment…we get FRAMED!

#6

Great work! The scale is 7/8’s? 4 inch pipe, 21 inches long. That’s big.

#7

Some mighty creative folks hang out here on LSC.

#8
Bart Salmons said:
ALLLLRIGHTY!!!! I know what th next project will be now!!!!!
If you haven't already, you should save those pictures and prints. They are hosted at my work and won't stay there forever!

Jon

#9

I like what you have done producing the tank , and would like to add to your tip about using diluted glue to seal the ends . Some timbers wrinkle when you do this , because the softer parts shrink .
For the same job , to be safe , I would use sanding sealer ,a proprietary item from model shops dealing in aircraft or ship models . The sanding sealer has the advantage of being waterproof and dries too quick for shrinking to take place . Bear in mind that we cannot get cheap hardwood in the UK ,so know how to cope with crappy stuff . The Japanese take all the expensive hardwoods to use as shuttering for concrete ,then chuck it .
You could also use clear dope with talcum powder mixed in to form a paintable cream-like liquid .It dries very quickly and lets you get on with the rubbing down bit .
Don’t let this detract from what is obviously going to be a fine model .

#10

Mike -

Thanks for reminding us about sanding sealer. I’ve used it on balsa wood for model rockets and with several applications sanding in between with fine sandpaper you can get a glass-like surface from the most grainy of woods.

Jon

#11

I like that Bart. One question tho.

Instead of profiling the bottom of the dome with the sander how about cutting a hole in the top of the tank and dropping the cap in ?

Just curious.

cheers

#12

Either way would work I imagine…6 of one half dozen of the other!!!

#13

Indeed, I especially like the way you solved the ends using the carpenter glue, going to have to try that later.

Well Done

#14

Coming along very nicely! The info from Jon is also mighty cool–always an extreme pleasure to have drawings and photographs of the very same car. I think your tanker is going to look great, and that end plug idea just might come in handy for an early container car load I’m starting to think about.

#15

Rainy day, so no trackwork. Ended up knocking around in The Shops and starting the frame for the tankcar. Oddly enough my carpenters level was just the right dimensions to use as a frame. I set about copying it in wood.

The sides are from 1/16 poplar I milled out, with some crossmembers made from scrap wood. These were glued and brad nailed in place. The ends were cut to fit and glued and nailed in place. These will get a styrene overlay to which details will be added. O expect to secure the tank to the frame by using a bolt up through the center crossbrace.

Next up, fit the trucks and bolsters in place!

#16

After a hiatus…WV&K Carshops have reopened…

Bolsters have been added to the wooden frame…

And the trucks have been fitted, but not yet mounted…

Just this afternoon I completed the riveting on the tank…Onwards!!!

#17

Are you counting them?

#18

Looks great so far! What are you using for the rivets?

#19

18 x 1/2 Eustucheon pins from the local hardware store…make good track spikes too…

#20

Bart,
I was thinking about making a tank car. Found your build on a search. Those wooden ends are a good idea! I was doing a more modern one, so would just bolt the trucks to the plastic pipe. I have some extra trucks so think I’ll get one made, thanks!