Custom Flat Car Loads

[VonRyan]

Hey all, after doing some footwork looking for a summer job, it seems that no one wants to hire a student that doesn't plan on continuing to work part time during the school-year and since i need to keep my grades up during the school year and such, i've decided that i might make use of the coming summer and start work on doing some custom flat car loads for sale at train shows and to anyone else interested.

Of course my focus will be in N Scale but i'll do work in other scales if requested. My choice medium is Brass or Styrene for pipe loads and structural metals but i can also do stacks of wood and almost anything else with in reason (This includes dimensional loads, which a fraction tower type load is a current pet project of mine) and photos of specific loads to be represented are always welcomed.

All loads i've done are removable and depending on what manufacture of flat car i can make the loads magnetic, utilizing various sizes of small neodymium magnets. Scale chain (or close to it) and other forms of tie-downs can be added and most loads will have some form of wood beams for "bracing and securing" purposes depending on what is required/requested/desired.

I'm not looking to fund my future retirement here but a few bucks to help me "import" some buildings form England for my module and the rest to put away for my first car and anything there-after for college.

--And to anyone who isn't against modeling/owning a car with graffiti on it, my brother is a budding graffiti artist and would welcome the opportunity to do custom paint work (especially anyone who has the large Canadian cylindrical covered hoppers since he is a fan of some of the immense work they do) as well as doing custom and/or limited run decals of some of his work.--

Any questions, comments, concerns, etc. are always welcomed as i'd much prefer to hear from others as to what they think of my idea/concept as well as general feedback and so forth.

Thanks All!
-Cody F.

[ljudice]

It sounds like a good idea...   You might want to add telephone pole loads as well, I see them often.  There are several different sizes and variations of poles out there so some googling might help you find some possible projects/products...

- Lou

[Dave Schneider]

From the marketing perspective, you might want to consider working on some good photos of your loads. While some people might purchase sight unseen, most people won't.  You need to illustrate the quality of the product that you are selling.

Best wishes, Dave

[PAL_Houston]

From the marketing perspective, you might want to consider working on some good photos of your loads. While some people might purchase sight unseen, most people won't.  You need to illustrate the quality of the product that you are selling.

Best wishes, Dave

I agree with this. 

I also think that it'd be great if you could come up with a system of detachable loads that would allow folks to remove the loads at destinations, or install them at shippers, and so enhance operations.  If you can do that you can go into competition with BLMA etc.!

[CoalPorter]

I tried to make some custom proto transformer loads for depressed center
flat cars and sell on eBay, but they did not go over too well. Then I started
making pole loads to GIVE away just to sell some overproduced gondolas
that noone really wants at any price. I found it was easier to paint strip the
gons and repaint solid AND give away a free load just to get rid of the suckers!!

[CoalPorter]

Next, i am getting some old bachmann and concor cars just to chop
them up and make into cool looking gondola scap loads. They look
neat and each car is unique and it helps sell some Bachmann and Model
Power stuff !!

[VonRyan]

...I also think that it'd be great if you could come up with a system of detachable loads that would allow folks to remove the loads at destinations, or install them at shippers, and so enhance operations.  If you can do that you can go into competition with BLMA etc.!

Well, all the loads i make for myself are removable and i'd be using the same principle. I use either the supplied stakes with newer MT cars or for the older ones where the holes run right through i use brass wire pushed through the wood braces. With cars such as those from Red Caboose i use magnets since the weight under the plastic deck is ferrous.

I plan on doing some extensive research in order to come up with a variety of loads for references but i do welcome those who are looking for something made from a specific reference to go off of. It gives me more possibilities since i can't hardly scour all of the internet since i'd only come up with things to my own interest rather than things that peak the interest of others.

I'm currently working on taking photos of some of my better loads, but am just trying to work out the lighting situation in the studio attached to my house so i don't have to use the camera flash.

[Dave Schneider]

Cody,

Not to discourage you from your endeavor, but the other thing to consider up front is your potential profit margin.  You will need to buy the supplies (at retail?), spend time making the loads, and then incur  costs to market and sell the product. Model railroaders are sort of a penny pinching group. You need to consider what advantage you bring to the table that will make the consumer consider buying your load vs. making it themselves. Again, not trying to discourage you but the potential profit margin is likely very slim.

As for photos, maybe consider a small stretch of scenic track and shot outdoors. Nothing looks as good as natural lighting.

Best wishes, Dave

[VonRyan]

Cody,

Not to discourage you from your endeavor, but the other thing to consider up front is your potential profit margin.  You will need to buy the supplies (at retail?), spend time making the loads, and then incur  costs to market and sell the product. Model railroaders are sort of a penny pinching group. You need to consider what advantage you bring to the table that will make the consumer consider buying your load vs. making it themselves. Again, not trying to discourage you but the potential profit margin is likely very slim.

As for photos, maybe consider a small stretch of scenic track and shot outdoors. Nothing looks as good as natural lighting.

Best wishes, Dave

I forgot about natural lighting, i guess that's what i get for living mostly indoors and at train shows. I do have a scenic diorama that needs the finishing touches so i'm set there. I'm not shooting for much of a profit margin as is, but more of something that not only looks good alone but that can easily by added to and made more to the individuals own likings. It leaves room for the possibilities that is only limited by ones own creativity (not to mention other factors). Since my budget is already strained, i'm quite versed in penny-pinching so what i'm trying to do is secure what materials i can for cheap so i can sell for only a little over cost so that i'm making everything back and maybe a few bucks more-so in overall profits since i'm not looking to move-on-up-to-the-east-side, so it's convenient in that i've already planed on having slim margins per-sale thus i'm not setting the bar at a height where if i flop it doesn't come as a surprise or anything like that.

So all-in-all theres no real discouragement on your parts since i've gone ahead and done that as a precaution so that i can still have some reasonable form of hope/expectations even if relatively low when you think about it.

-Cody F.

[VonRyan]

Just as an additive, part of the idea of "Custom" loads is that I can make loads utilizing specifics such as photos, measurements, materials (within reason), as well as making loads to fit a specific car, commercially available, modified, or even scratchbuilt (to prevent error in testing the securing apparatus it may be needed for the car to be sent in to the "shops" for fitting, but may not be necessary if it is intended to be a magnetic load or the purchaser intends to add securing objects on their own).

As with my initial idea, I'm intending for all that I've come up with to be in no way a limitation of the possibilities and since I am only one mind hard at work (you might be able to see the smoke) I'm always welcoming to requests/suggestions/etc. to expand into all possible horizons that I might not have gone into without the voices of others harking in my direction. 

-Cody F.

[Dave V]

Cody,

Any chance you could show samples of your work?  I primarily use Hay Brothers Garage loads.  It's an extremely extensive product line and it all looks great.  You would have to produce the same quality for the various cars I'm interested in at a lower cost than Hay Brothers in order even to get my attention.  I also exercise a certain loyalty to some of the smaller manufacturers with whom I've developed virtual or actual friendships.  Not meant to discourage you, but just to suggest that to break into a market you will need to offer something unique; product or value, or both.  Otherwise it may be hard to establish a foothold.

[VonRyan]

I cannot say that i don't agree with you wholeheartedly Dave. I'm not familiar with Hay Brothers Garage, but since you say they have a very extensive line of products, its obvious that i'm not the only one on the block and i figured on that from the start.
Also, since I've have no clue as to the quality of the work Hay Brothers does let alone the materials they use, I cannot sat as to how my own work will stand up to theirs, or even fall over.

As to images, i have some but the lighting sucks worse that a brand new Oreck vacuum cleaner... that and they are not online images so i've no idea how to get them onto here for some viewing. (any ideas?)

The photos are only of two loads since they are the cream of the crop and represent what I have worked my way up to making quality wise. Plus the photos include the work in progress of my dimensional, fractioning tower, load and a modified MT resin-block bolster that goes to some of their dimensional loads that I am working on getting N-Trak ready.

-Cody F.

[Dave V]

http://www.haybrosgarage.com/

[VonRyan]

Albeit that those cast-resin loads good, I'm more focusing on structural items as well as pipes and tubing of various lengths and dimensions. Since i plan to work in mostly brass and styrene i get some more detail that can be overlooked sometimes in resin, not to mention that even with some "standard" forms of loads, i plan to mostly specialize with the custom aspect and do all sorts of interesting loads, working from proto-photos both on personal research delves and request(s) from others so as to give me a bit of a challenge rather than solely setting myself into a grind creating "mass quantites" (from a cottage industry viewpoint) of the "same" load with few differences.

Once i sort out how to get photos off my memory card onto here, i'll get into more explanation of my thoughts rather than just overall details.

-Cody F.