Progress on the box trailer car

These rainy evenings are good for building the All Nation Line kit of the box trailer car. I read the instructions and the hints of other wooden kit builders on the web and decided to build the undercarriage first. So I started with cutting the wood of the undercarriage and glue the bolsters in place. Then I formed the end filler blocks and glued them on. Then the queen posts and brake cilinder were glued on with epoxy glue. I followed Dan's advise and did not use the brass wire for the truss rods but used Nylon 0,5 mm wire instead, which I glued to the backside with epoxy. Then the turnbuckles were glued on the centre of the wires.
Then it was time to turn the car around and assemble the top parts. Since the undercarriage width was about 3 mm short of what the drawings indicated that it should be and also compared to the size of the other parts, I decided to glue 1.5 mm wooden spacers between the undercarriage and the scribed wooden side panels. The same was done with the blocks on the front and back side of the car. Well, I am happy that it starts to look like a train car now.
The level of the brake rigging and the door handles is not very high and I thinking about fiddling around with some paper and wood to scratch build that a bit better. Then the question is, how did the brake system of such a interurban freight car look like?

MTH in a Dutch model train shop

The European model trains that MTH has announced in scale zero have been noticed in mainland Europe. The French golden arrow Chapelon engine was considered a great success by many, with perhaps a few issues, such as the tender-to-engine distance, but nevertheless a beauty. Now MTH claims to also produce a Bavarian steamer, a Swiss crocodile and a Traxx rectifier engine. The latter will be relative affordable in comparison to what the zero fine scalers are used to pay for their engines at Fulgurex, Lenz, Lemaco, Philotrain, etc. Also a matching gondola and tank car have been announced and the lot made a few heads turn. So, I was not too surprised when the news came out that a local hobby shop named Modeltreinexpress in Vlaardingen has announced to start dealing in MTH trains. Obviously, the far majority that is being announced are the European 2-rail models, but still it is a step in the good direction in my humble opinion. Let's hope that the supply delays will be dealt with and that these models will start to arrive in this shop. Although it is unlikely that this 3 railer will ever buy a 2 rail engine, I still like the fact that MTH is now being sold in a regular model train shop in the Netherlands.
The list of Dutch shops that have announced to start selling MTH in scale zero has grown; also Wentink hobby in Arnhem has placed MTH on their list. I understood that the first MTH Traxx engines in scale zero have arrived in the Netherlands. Good news, I would reacon.

Starting of with the All Nation line box trailer kit

About one and a half years ago, I purchased an All Nation Line kit #A-110 for a C&LE box trailer. Initially the kit appeared complete, but a closer inspection learned that one of the four scribed wood side panels lacked. The lines of the scribed wood are very fine and roughly only 2 millimeters apart. The side panels are 3 millimeter thick and since this is a standard size in balsa wood, I used a piece of 3 mm balsa wood and tried to engrave fine lines in the balsa with a sharp hobby knive. I could not reach the detail level required; the lines were not straight and 2 mm apart was difficult with 1 mm incisions. So, I left that idea and started with fine paper strips glued with wood glue on a 3 mm balsa panel. Well, that did work. I got a good replicate of a scribed wood panel. After painting the lot with tuscan brown the differences between the original and the self-made panel will be hard to spot. Some photo's show the progress with the task of glueing the fine paper stripes.

Now I can finally start building the kit. Because of the beautiful original American toy-train-lingo, I copied the text of the original instructions underneath.


Instructions for C&LE Box trailer
Kit # A-110
1. Glue filler blocks at end of floor.
2. Shape roof and floor ends as shown, nail and glue end blocks to same.
3. Cut out door openings in scribed sides and glue to car body.
4. Glue scribed wood to end of car.
5. Glue facia boards at eaves to car as shown.
6. Form tinplate and drill holes for nut and washer castings. Pin to car and attach nut and washer castings as shown.
7. Drill 3/16" brass I beam so that it can be pinned to car. Solder Queen posts to beam and attach to car. Add .032 wire for truss rods and solder turnbuckle in place. Glue wood bolsters in place at this time.
8. Make doors from 1/16" scribed wood. Glue doors in place or if you wish, you can make an operating door. Glue 1/8" quarter round to sides as shown in drawing. Threshold is made from 5/32" strip wood.
9. Attach all hardware, such as handgrabs, steps, brake wheel and etc. as shown.
10. Paint car and attach Arch Bar Trucks.

Fortunately for me, there are two helpful internet sites with hints and tips on how to build wooden train car kits. Dan clearly advises to start with the underfloor details: the bolsters, brake rig and queen posts and to use Nylon wire in stead of Brass wire for the truss rods. And George Riley of the Railroad model craftsman also advises to start with the undercarriage and seal the wooden parts.