Kitbashing a Gift

[Philip H]

A couple weeks ago the generous heart of The Railwire delivered me an Atlas code 55 #5 turnout that I needed for the new layout.  It came unexpectedly wrapped in an Aberdeen & Rockfish gondola.  Thanks @davefoxx!

Since the A&R is not a road that gets interchanged to KCS I wanted to do something special with it to ensure a regular reason to run it on the layout. I've seen a lot of interesting loads over the years in beat up old gondolas, so while this is clearly era appropriate rolling stock, I decided to add a load.

I started with these as my inspiration:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2734009

While the A&R Gon is not an exact match I don't think its ever carried panelized turnouts so we are definitely in proto-freelance territory.

Like @BCR 570 and @craigolio1 (whose are doing some really cool scratchbuilds right now), I gathered my materials:



I cut the dark grey styrene down to just fit inside the gondola, making a removable false bottom.  Then I started building the racks. From the photos they appear to be simple welded I beam, so I eyeballed them, cut, filed and sanded and glued:



Cross members were done in a smaller I-beam:



In working on track laying this week I encountered several turnouts in my collection that, charitably, are FUBAR.  While not cheap, they are not expensive and thankfully I won't need them all, so I cut one and test fit it:



And that's where I left off last night. Still to come are the X braces on the back and weathering.  I'm also debating cutting the bottom rail and portions of the ties off so it sits lower in the gon.

[thomasjmdavis]

I'm also debating cutting the bottom rail and portions of the ties off so it sits lower in the gon.

If not, I recommend you send the engineering crew around to measure all the tunnel portals and bridge clearances between the construction site and the scrap yard.

[Philip H]

Blessedly there are no tunnels in south Louisiana.

[peteski]

I like the concept, but unless you are modeling a model railroad, I would suggest removing the rail joiners. It would also be nice to remove the pairs of those  funky looking ties at the ends. Maybe replacing them with some flex track ties, or just cut off those pieces of the turnout.

[nkalanaga]

"Since the A&R is not a road that gets interchanged to KCS"

Maybe not regularly, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has happened. 

On the other hand, it depends on the year you're modeling.  My 1958 "Pocket Guide to Railroad Officials" says the A&R has "47 miles of track, 3 locos (incl 2 diesel road-haul units), 1 frt car, and 2 misc cars".   The 1972 edition has exactly the same numbers, so things didn't seem to change much around there.  According to http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/ar/ar.html they apparently started growing about that time, as they had 3 diesels and a steam loco in 1976.

They also list three cabooses, all photographed in the 60s, and all surviving into the 70s, and one MOW tank car, so the "2 misc cars" looks a little off.

[Tom Todd]

Several years ago, I was in Spokane, looking at the BNSF yard.  Their work train that included some ready built turnouts, switches.  They did not have the diverging route track attached to the straight section.  If you were to cur off the diverging route at the point a little beyond the end of the ties on the straight section.  The entire switch hardware will be on the remaining portion.  Furthermore they stacked their replacement turnouts so height was not an issue.

Tom Todd

[DKS]

Phil, recommend clipping the track off at the line (it'll remove the last vestige of it being a "model"):



Also, hold the clippers so they're horizontal to the track, rather than perpendicular. It'll improve the look of the cuts. 

[davefoxx]

@Philip H,

You're welcome, and I love this unique project!  Hey, before you go cutting that turnout any further, note that one of those rails in the diverging route has been pulled away from the frog.  Push that rail back in before you cut the rail.

I agree with DKS on cutting it back.  I also vote for not cutting off the ties and rail in the bottom of the gon, because the load is tall in the proto photo, too.  Got a scale ruler?  Get a measurement for us.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Oh, and Atlas did a nice job on those gons.  Here's one of the A&R prototype gons in California in 1987:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2472128

So, if they can make it to the left coast, I'm sure they could find their way to Baton Rouge.

DFF

[Philip H]

I have that very photo printed out to use as a guide for weathering.

The cut back has been done. More tomorrow.

[w neal]

Go Phillip!! Go!!

[nkalanaga]

CSX or NS to Baton Rouge, then west, would be a logical route from the Carolinas to California.  Maybe not the shortest, or fastest, to California, but loads don't always go the shortest or fastest routes.  Sometimes the shipper, for whatever reason, chooses a less efficient one.

[Philip H]

Got the cross braces done in strip styrene. Tomorrow -‘paint.

[nkalanaga]

A lot of the pre-built turnouts I see on the NS are cut off just past the frog.  Beyond there it's plain rail anyway, so there's no point shipping it around.  Also, they don't know what the existing track is going to be, straight or curved, so it's easier to ship as little as possible.

That's not to say that a railroad couldn't ship a longer piece, especially if they knew where it was to be used. 

[Philip H]

I’ve seen pictures of all sorts of variations on all sorts of cars. I mostly cut this one to fit and left it at that.