DebenLLC Hoist w/S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Oh it is Jim. Oh in it, it is...

Well, I'm done for the night. I've cut all the styrene pieces, so now they get a nice washing and dry before painting. I completed the rear handrail guard and its ready to stain. Here is a picture of it, and how it will look when installed:




I won't give it away, other than the hint that what you will see is the equivalent of a Porsche being driven into the wrong neighborhood and being left alone for about 15 minutes while the owner goes into a unfamiliar store asking for directions. LOL... What the???




More tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

Manny

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Ah, 1:13 AM. Still working on trains...

Started to apply the steel supports to the rig. Looks great. Once they are all on, I just need to add the NBW's, then a little spackle dry brush of rust.

Here are the pics of where I am stopping tonight...

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Manny, that is a really terrific looking model! Thanks for sharing the progress photos!
- Bruce

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Manny,
Why not write an artilce about this crane for THE METEOR?

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Bruce, thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it.

Richard, I will be honored to do an article for the Meteor. If you would kindly PM me the parameters needed to submit an article, I will gladly do so.

All the steel plate reinforcements have been installed. The Blacksmith and his crew can now take a well deserved break. Now all the NBW's are being gathered (painted) to add the finishing detail touch.




This has definitely been a fun, worthwhile project!

More to come shortly.

Manny

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Thanks Jim. I appreciate it. I don't know if it is a show winner or not, but it has been fun. Right now I am doing the NBW's. I've got all the angular braces completed, and one half of the engineers side done. It takes a lot of work trying to get the bolts lined up so that they match both sides to look like a continuous stud. At least with the bottom braces, it is easy. Two in the floor and one in the center. I'll have pics up in a few hours.

Manny

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

175 NBW's! (Nuts, Bolts, Washers)

That says it all!




CORRECTION: 183

I forgot two braces on the rear top. LOL...

 

Re: Car Knocker Repair Hoist from DEBENLLC

Alright, well, to put it mildly, this kit is coming out too good for it to be a flat car put up on stacks of old railroad ties to serve as a winch platform for the hoist. S.A. & A.P. 30' Flat has been assigned to the Car Knockers for winching duty!

While the NBW's for the hoist (I only needed 8) were drying from their paint job, I got the bug and started to build my very first LaBelle Kit. LaBelle puts out a 2-in-1 flat car kit. You get two flats for the price of one! Well, lets just say that they are dead ringers, with a little tweak here or there, for S.A. & A.P. 30 and 34 footers.

It just so happens that I have custom made decals for the 30'ers. So I started to build one. All I can say is: SAH-WEEEEET!

I have never had so much fun building a car kit before.

First I had to convert all the measurements because the cars that LaBelle chose were a 32' and a 34' car. I was easily able to convert off the 34' measurements and came out dead on track accurate.

As you can see by the photos I got quite far. The underframe is notched out. The end and side sills are built. The buffer block is on. The decking is on, and, UGH, more NBW's! Thank God only sixteen (16) this time.

Here is where I had to stop because not only am I exhausted, but I need to go get 1/16x1/16 from the hobby shop, some brass rod for the airline, Kadee Arch Bar trucks, 158 whisker couplers w/box, and some Polly S Box Car Red.

Anyhow, I'm real happy how this is turning out. But for now, good night. I'm tired!

Manny

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Working on the braking gear right now. Ladders from Rusty Stumps arrived today. Have to wait for .020 brass wire to arrive, along with trucks and some necessary tools. Good stuff. Pics later...

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Long Day,

Anyways, I got two front covered.

First, the ladders from Rusty Stumps came in. Totally awesome. Rusty makes some real good ladders. Very cleanly laser cut and they can be stacked so you can make an extension ladder. They are able to pass as both wood, or if you choose, a more modern (1930+) Aluminum. I had to find out when the first aluminum ladder was made and it was in the 30's out in Ohio.

At first I was going to put the ladder on the fireman's side of the hoist. But it was only connected at the top by a thin point and it looked kinda goofy just sitting there against the hoist. So I pondered, and pondered and decided I was going to move it to the engineer's side. I made two support anti-slip bars for the base, painted them red for safety, and bolted them to the base. Yeah, four (4) more NBW's.

I then took some of the framing from the ladder sprue and cut two small stubs to act like brackets. I glued them to the ladder and it worked great. I stained the ladder to match and installed. I think it looks good, but something is still missing. I do have one more section of handrail to install. Then the hoist frame is done. I just need to add all the rigging and tools.

Here are the pics of the hoist as she looks now, minus the one handrail. Notice the two angular braces at the back of the upper platform. I added those last night and put the bolts on them to complete it.

Next addition to the thread will be progress on S.A. & A.P. 550.

Manny

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Continued work on S.A. & A.P. today. It sure is helpful to have a photograph of the actual car as you work. Today I worked on the queenposts, brake rigging, stake pockets, and the bolsters. I added a spacer to the bottom of the bolster to add a little height. Two, 2x10's side by side were the right width and the right height. Now the trucks sit the exact height off the car and in the correct position. Kadee Arch Bar trucks will be used.

Tichy K Brake being installed with brass wire for the piping and linkage. I have to wait for some parts to come in for the car, so painting will be a little ways off. Otherwise, this being my first Labelle Kit, I am very pleased.

550 is coming alive!

Manny

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Oh, I forgot to mention. The picture of S.A. & A.P. 550 pre-dates 1893. You'll notice it has outside rear mechanical brakes, and only on one wheel; no stirrups or safety appliances. This car was still in service in 1913, the beginning of the period I am modeling. That means that this car would have had to of been refitted due to the 1911 Safety Act. The K Brake set-up is not part of the original picture. I have no picture of it with safety appliances, so some licensing needs to be taken. That's why the braking looks a little funny.

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Today I installed the last hand rail and the stairs. The upper level fire barrel has been permanently installed. This concludes the construction of the hoist. The only thing left is the rigging. I am awaiting that to arrive in the mail. This is my first completed craftsman kit. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. More to come in a few days.

Thanks for looking.

Manny

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Tom,

Link and Pin was outlawed with the 1893 Safety Act. All railroad cars had to be equipped with knuckle couplers. This happened on a grand scale. Wherever the car was it got outfitted and the railroads swapped bills to pay for it. The same happened in 1911 although there was a grandfather affect in place that allowed the cars to run the way they were until they had to be shopped. Then, when they were, all safety appliances were required to be installed. Again, railroads just swapped bills for paying for it. Both safety acts are very interesting to research and see the effects on the rolling stock.

As for 550 in the picture, all the pictures I have of S.A. & A.P. equipment show knuckle couplers. The S.A. & A.P did not come to life until 1884; one year after L&P was outlawed. 550 had knuckles, not L&P.

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 550 on winch duty

Well,

S.A. & A.P. 550 which I will probably renumber because of what I am about to share is coming along nicely under the original plan.

The flat car is made from a LaBelle kit. It is my very first wooden car kit, and I made mistakes. Not that they couldn't of been hidden, but I'm really fussy, so I decided to go back to my original idea of a flat car pulled out of service, cannibalized, and used as the hoist winching platform.

I built two platforms out of 8x8's to resemble railroad ties. They are interlaced to make a lock and appear like, well, how railroads stack ties. The flat car sits on top of the two pylons of ties. I built this overhang shed to cover the winch crew from bad weather or the sun. I was originally going to do a wooden roof, but since I just got a new shipment of DebenLLC's Corrugated Roofing in, I checked the circa, it existed and there it is.

Rusty Stumps again provided the steps. I will be making hand rails for these stairs shortly. Here is how she stands. I have angular steel braces for the roof stanchions. They are painted Grimy Black from Polly S, like the hoists. They will have NBW's as well.

The car will be painted Boxcar Red and will be lettered for the S.A. & A.P. probably tomorrow. I need to get some chalk powders for weathering, and some fake grass/lichen for moss and vines for on the railroad ties. A few crates, fire barrel, tools, etc., will round out the platform with the winch and its crew.

So far I think it is coming along nicely.

Thanks for looking.

Manny

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 517 on winch duty

Looking good. Perhaps some homebuilt handrails around the platform, using the old stake pockets for support?

 

Re: DebenLLC Hoist w/ S.A.& A.P. Flat car 517 on winch duty

Yes, I thought about that. They would make perfect holders.