For you passenger train guys: Kansas City-Florida Special Diner-Lounge Cars...

Ken, where did you get the tinted transparent plastic sheet? Somewhere in this forum I read that someone bought tinted glass plastic strips from Railway Classics, but when I checked their site, a message says they are closed. However, an email address is listed if someone wants to purchase existing stock. I would like to know if anyone has bought anything from them lately. I don't want to get caught up in another supplier takes money but doesn't send articles fiasco if possible. They do show on the site that the window material is available. Your cars are amazing and I have admired them ever since I found them several years ago.
Thanks, Terry

 

You might also look into theatrical "gel" for your tinted windows. It's a very thin film in various colors for colored stage lighting/spot lighting and sold by dealers that service stage production and stage lighting equipment.

TAG1014

 

Jerome and Tom, thanks for the heads up on this window material. I will look into these for my window material.

Terry

 

"Stage Spot" was the firm I bought my "gel" from. The color was "Roscolux Cyan 4330." Their website is: http://www.stagespot.com/

TAG1014

 

Ken,

Got a question for you, or anybody that has an answer, I picked up a cheap Branchline Pullman kit a while back with the intend of rearranging the window layout into a coach or possible lounge. With the Hudson on the way I've got into the mood to work on passenger cars again so I pulled the kit off the back burner to see what I could work out. Although it was an unopened kit much to my dismay the roof was missing. While trying to figure out my next move I remembered having an old balloon style wooden roof blank. Never having worked with wood in this kind of application how do you shape the ends and how do you seal up and paint it so that the wood grain doesn't show through?

Brad Slone

 

Brad, Mike Corley has made resin balloon roofs (see the source of balloon roofs in HO passenger modeling posts). You might check with him to see if he has any. I don't remember what he is charging for them (he had quite a bit of expense making them), but he used that Walthers wood balloon roof blank you are talking about. His resin parts solve the wood grain problem. They are very nice.

Tom, what color gel did you buy? I checked that site, and I couldn't figure which color would be best. Thanks, again for your help.

Terry

 

The color (and brand) was "Roscolux Cyan 4330." I forget how I arrived at that particular color, but it was the one that looked most like tinted passenger car windows. I think you could put "Roscolux Cyan 4330" in their search box to find it, failing that, drop them an email. The company was very helpful and the service was good. For those who aren't familiar with "theatrical gel," it's a thin, colored film (that comes in a roll) that's used for the color effects on stage spotlights and disco lights. The company was interested to learn that railroad and architectural modelers could use their product.

Tom G.

PS: "Cyan 4330" is a very pale light green.

 

Thanks, Tom. I did find it on their site. I apologize for reading over the color reference in your first post. All I saw was the web site address and never saw the color until reading this latest post.

Thanks, Terry

 

Brad,

For the wood roof stock, cut it to the overall length of the car, draw a perpendicular pencil line across the top of the roof at a distance of one inch from each end and then use a wood rasp and file to shape the vertical round curve from the lower end to the marked line to match the prototype. Finally, use sandpaper to smooth the whole roof, paint with wood filler paint or varnish, then repeat with finer sandpaper until the wood grain disappears and the roof is smooth.

You have to be an old guy like me to know how to work with wood and tinplate sides and cardboard parts.

Ken McElreath

 

Ken,

Thanks for the info on working up the wood roofs, I've worked in wood quite a bit, but this will be a first. If I can't track down one of the resin roofs I will give it a try. I have always enjoyed your passenger car work starting out with a couple of the series you put together back in the old newsletters.

Brad

 

Hi Ken,

Just joined the forums and found your Kansas City Model as I'm planning on building one myself. With regards to the date of the Solarium windows being closed up, all I can offer is that I believe it was done in the late 40s based on pictures, text, and clues I've gleaned over the years.

I was curious about your process for building this Kansas City Model - do you have any plans for the car, possibly including side elevations? I'm hung up on the window dimensions of the car(s). All I have is half of an old floor plan I printed out years ago from a site that is no longer active.

Appreciate any help you or others can offer in this matter - Thanks!!

Frank