Best Of Scratchbuild Project - Van Iron Woodchip Cars

[Tom Todd]

Tim Horton of coffee and donut game was a very good, no great, pro hockey player and business man. Hence the restaurant chain. Played for 24 years and was voted one of the best 100 NHL players of all time.
Tom

[BCR 570]

I wonder if it was an attempt to minimize damage?  I have seen numerous photos of chip cars with sideswipe damage and the ladders are mangled; grab irons would be less susceptible to this type of damage and cheaper to replace.  Just a thought.

Tim

Case in point:  mangled ladders, grab irons still there . . .




No relation to the hockey player; I emigrated to Canada from England.

Tim

[BCR 570]

Sides (Part 2)
Continuing with fabrication of the side sheets, I mark off the required length of 60'-3" with a scale rule and pencil:




I use the Chopper to cut off the excess length on the right hand side (part is being cut upside down):




I then go to the True Sander to square up the right hand end of the piece:




The corner is checked occasionally for squareness against the set square:




When it is square, I indicate so with two check marks for this corner:




After squaring the bottom two corners, the entire process is repeated for the opposite side of the car, and the two sides are sanded together to ensure exact equal length:




The parts are also checked for correct length during the final sanding process:




Here are four pairs of sides after sanding and squaring:




Tim

[nkalanaga]

Tom and Tim:  Thank you!  You can probably tell that I'm not a hockey fan...

[BCR 570]

Sides (Part 3)
With the side sheets now trimmed to size and squared, it is time to add the top chords.  These are the horizontal reinforcing strips along the top edges of the cars.  As mentioned earlier, by my era the top chords on the 9501-9690 series had been reinforced with a heavier strip so I made mine from .020" x .030" strip styrene.  For the 9691-9765 series I installed a .015" x .020" strip.  I cut them long and trimmed them after installation.

To install the top chords I placed the side sheets up against an aluminum track alignment tool for a straight edge, with a large angle block behind to hold it in place.  I used a steel rule to push the side sheet against the aluminum tool.  For the 9691-9765 series I placed a .020" thick strip behind the top chord to position it .020" below the top of the car.  I applied glue underneath the strip in a few places to tack it down, and placed it in position:




I then used a small artists brush to apply liquid cement all along the length of the top chord:




I then used another steel rule to push the top chord against the aluminum tool and straighten it out, and where necessary used tweezers to push it down onto the side sheet:




For the 9501-9690 series, the reinforcing strip stops short of the right hand side ladders, so I installed a thinner top chord from .015" x .020" strip styrene at the right hand end.  For the 9691-9765 series, I will install the centre reinforcing strip later.  Here are the six pairs of sides after installation of the top chords:




Side posts are next.

Tim


Tim

[BCR 570]

Sides (Part 4)
This instalment will cover the installation of exterior side posts for the first side.  For a car with exterior side posts, I begin with a test strip to work out the spacing.  The posts are likely 4" wide so I will be using .020" x .030" strip styrene for the posts.  I typically use a piece of .030" thick styrene for the spacer jig.

I use .020" x .250" strip styrene for the test strip to save on styrene.  This is cut to the correct length for the car side.  I begin with the side post at the end and work my way across the strip.  It sometimes takes two or three test strips to work out the best spacing.  In this case it worked out to .245", so the spacer jig ended up being cut from .030" x .250" and sanded down in width to .245".  Here is the final test strip and spacer jig:




I use a square to support the car side.  I cut the posts longer than needed and square them at one end.  I apply liquid cement to the underside:




Each side post is then placed on the car side with the spacer jig between it and the previously installed post:




After a few seconds, I lift out the space jig while using the tweezers to keep the newly installed post in place:




A flat square is used to verify that the post remains square and perpendicular to the top chord:




A second application of liquid cement is made with an artists brush to lock the post in place:




The completed side is checked against the test strip to ensure correct spacing:




The assembly is then set aside for a day to finish setting while I repeat the process for the other sides:




To be continued . . . . .

Tim

[BCR 570]

Sides (Part 5)
With one side fitted with posts, the process is then repeated for the other five left hand sides.  Here we are about halfway through:




And here are the six completed left hand sides with posts:




The square is then turned around and the entire process is repeated for the right hand sides:




The right hand side is compared with its companion left hand side to ensure even alignment of the side posts:




Here are the six right hand sides after installation of side posts:




A day later, the side posts are tested to ensure a strong bond with the side sheet:




For each post, the excess length is chopped off with a #17 blade:




Here are the six pairs of sides with installation and trimming of side posts complete:




My next task is to install that centre reinforcing strip along the top chord for the two 9691-9765 series cars.

Tim

[cv_acr]

Looks great.

The spacer and square is definitely the way to go. I've scratchbuilt* a couple of CP gons and some NSC woodchip cars for Algoma Central and did exactly the same method as you to get even side post spacing.

*Mostly. Bodies are done but the projects are still un-finished.

[BCR 570]

Sides (Part 6)
Withe side posts now installed and trimmed, my attention turns to that reinforcing strip along the top chord on the two 9691-9765 series cars.  This reinforcing strip extended for twenty feet along the centre portion of the top chord and comprised a flat bar stock welded across the diagonal between the top edge of the car and the outer edge of the top chord.  To represent this I planned to install a piece of .020" x .020" strip and file it to the desired angle.

This photograph shows a twenty scale foot length of .020" x .020" strip styrene being glued in place above the top chord:




This strip was allowed to cure in place for a day before filing:




I then filed across the newly-added strip to get the desired angle:




It was difficult to photograph this piece and illustrate the finished angle, but here it is:




Bottom side sills are next.

Tim

[BCR 570]

Sides (Part 7)
The last step in fabricating the sides is to add the bottom side sills.  There is a distinctive weld seam along the bottom of the sides, so adding a strip of styrene to represent the sills will replicate that nicely.  I will use strips of .020" x .020" for the sills.  To do this, the side is placed against my aluminum track alignment tool, glue is applied to the styrene strip, and it is then pushed into place against the bottom edge of the side sheet with a steel rule:




Once again, I don't worry about the exact length at this point; the sills will be trimmed later.  Here is the first pair of sides after the addition of the sills:




A #17 blade is used to trim the excess away at each end:




If necessary, a small file is used to get the ends completely flush; very little work was actually required:




While the sides are flat, I thought I would take the opportunity to drill out the holes for the side grab irons.  These cars have two grab irons on the left hand side of the car.  I will be using Gold Medal Models etched grab irons for these cars, so used their drilling jig to locate the holes.  A small strip of styrene was placed between the end post and the jig to locate it correctly.  Rather than drill through the jig, I use it merely to locate "pre-drills" with a pin:




I then remove the jig and use the pin again to enlarge the pre-drills.  This method has several advantages.  Firstly, the jig only needs to be in place for a moment so the chances of it moving on me are reduced.  Secondly, the initial pre-drills are very light and can be moved if not precisely aligned.  Here the jig has been removed and the pre-drills are being enlarged:




The two 9691-9765 series cars also have grab irons on the right hand side of the car in place of the ladders seen on the 9501-9690 series, so for these two cars the process is repeated on the right hand side:




All of the holes for the grab irons are then drilled out with a #80 drill:




The finished side assemblies comprise the side sheets, top chords, side posts and bottom sills, and holes for the grab irons have been located and drilled.  Here are the finished sides for the six cars:




This completes the construction of the sides.  My attention will now turn to getting the floor and ends cut out.

Tim

[BCR 570]

Floors (Part 1)
It is now time to cut out the floors.  There will actually be two floors for each car; one at the bottom and one a little higher to conceal the weights and help align the sides.  These are cut from .040" thick sheet styrene which is a little more difficult to cut than the .020" thick styrene I used for the side sheets.  For this job I used the NWSL Dupli-Cutter to ensure nice square cuts:




To cut the styrene, repeated passes with a #11 knife are made:




After cutting, the two ends are measured with a micrometer:






The measurements are written on each end.  I usually do this with a pencil but have used a red marker here for illustrative purposes:




The floor is then put on the True Sander and reduced to the target width at each end:




I check the width frequently with the micrometer during this process, eventually arriving at the target width of .695" at each end:






After cutting a floor, I put the stock sheet on the True Sander to square up the top before making the next cut:




Eventually, the twelve floors are all cut and matched in pairs in terms of width for each car:




These floors are presently over length.  I have yet to work out the installation of the ends, which will be inset into the cars to some degree.  Once the ends have been fabricated and the inset dimension is known, the floors will then be trimmed to the correct length, and underframe details can then be installed to the underside of the bottom floor.


Ends are next.

Tim

[BCR 570]

Ends (Part 1)
My attention now turns to the ends for these cars.  Unlike the relatively flat ends on the HSC and RMC cars, these Vancouver Iron cars had inset end sheets with horizontal ribs.  I need to build end sheets with ribs which will fit inside the sides at each end.  They must therefore match the floors exactly in width.  This builder's photo shows the original 'B' end of a 9501-9690 series car:




The 'A' end was of similar construction with the top panel acting as the door header and the lower five panels comprising the door.  Unfortunately the original cast steel hinges failed early during the life of the cars, and they were replaced with welded hinge plates and larger, more robust hinges.  This required removal of the end ladder.  Here is an in service photo of a car with the modified 'A' end:




My end construction began with the end sheets.  For these I used the offcuts of .020" sheet styrene left over from construction of the sides:




Each pair of ends needs to be paired up with a floor and then matched in width to it:




After marking the ends where to be cut, they are trimmed on the NWSL Chopper:




The ends are checked on the micrometer:




and then sanded down to the desired width on the True Sander:




Eventually the target width is reached:




Here are the six pairs of end sheets after reaching the target widths:




I then went back to the True Sander to square up the top edge before adding the ribs:




The end sheets are checked for squareness on the left side:




and the right side:




The end sheets are now ready for installation of the horizontal ribs, starting with the top rib and working my way down.


Tim

[BCR 570]

Ends (Part 2)
The end sheets are now ready to receive the horizontal ribs.  There are six of these, which will be represented with .020" x .030" strip styrene.  For he bottom end sill I will use .030" x .060" styrene.  I used a scrap piece of styrene for a test sheet to work out the rib spacing.  I got lucky first time with this one, resulting in a .100" spacer between the ribs.  This results in a rib spacing which matches the height of the sides.  Here is the .100" spacer, the test section and a side:




The method for installing the end ribs is similar to that employed for the side posts.  The end sheet is aligned against a square, the end ribs are similarly aligned at one end, and glued into position with the other end left long.  I will trim them later.  After each rib goes on, the .100" spacer is used to align the next rib:




After installation, each rib gets a second application of liquid cement to lock it down:




After the six ribs are installed, the same spacer is used to install the end sill:




After all of the ribs and end sills have been installed, the long end is trimmed flush with the end sheet using a #17 blade:




The ends are then put on the True Sander to dress the top edge and ensure it is square:




The ends are then rotated 90 degrees to dress the sides for an eventual tight fit with the sides:




Here are the ends with ribs and end sills installed.  The top six are labeled for the 'B' end; the bottom four are labelled for the 'A' end.  These will need to be trimmed below the end sills:




The four 'A' ends are for the 9501-9690 series cars and will receive hinges for the doors.  The two 9691-9765 series cars will receive 'A' end doors from the CS Models chip car kits.


The next steps will be to trim the bottoms and install the hinge hardware.

Tim

[Philip H]

How do you keep from gluing the spacers to the styrene?

[BCR 570]

How do you keep from gluing the spacers to the styrene?

Hi Philip:

Good question!  I have developed several little techniques for this:

When a rib goes down, I apply just enough glue to tack it into place.  When running the brush along the underside of the rib, I tilt the rib over slightly to avoid getting any glue on the side which will go up against the spacer block.

As soon as the rib is down, I hold it in place with the tweezers while lifting up the spacer bar with a hobby knife.  Most of the time it comes up freely.

I then make a second application of glue along the opposite side from where the spacer will go for the next rib.  This second application will lock the rib down but typically will not appear on the other side of the rib.

I then place the spacer against the rib just installed with the confidence that it will not stick to it.

That brings us back to the initial glue application for the next rib going down, and the process is repeated.


Hope this helps,

Tim