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Polished Wood, Bowler Hats, Velvet Cushions, And Rolling Palaces
Polished Wood, Bowler Hats, Velvet Cushions, And Rolling Palaces
From World War II into the nineteen sixties witnessed the death of the old American railroads. Not just the company mergers and bankruptcies, but for the rolling stock as well. Steam locomotives were replaced by shiny new diesels before being sent to the scrap yard. While steam locomotives could be cut up and sold on weight value to recoup some of the financial losses, wooden rolling stock could not be. Wood naturally does not stand up to the elements as well as iron or steel. This is because it is a natural element from a plant that degrades over time. Steel safety passenger cars had been introduced before World War II, already signaling the end of these beautiful wooden rolling masterpieces. Most of the surviving wood freight cars, cabooses, and passenger cars were burned. Yes, literally stripped of what little was useful, pushed to a disused safety track, doused with gasoline, and burned.
Those that missed being burned we pushed onto a disused track, which was called "being put into storage," and were forgotten. Some of these were saved. The Strasburg Railroad saved and preserved several old Boston and Maine wooden coaches. A few were saved and donated by the railroads, like in the Railroad Museum Of Pennsylvania. However, many photographs and postcards survive. These are what will be used to recreate these beautiful passenger cars. Many were really one of a kind pieces of rolling art. Not just on the outside, but the inside as well.
There is so much to take in here, which could also be what the lady in the bottom right corner is thinking as she points out something to the gentleman next to her! Lots of smiling faces can lead us to believe that the passengers are having a splendid time. Why shouldn't they? Hats and jackets that aren't being worn or laid on the seats can be kept safe on hooks. The pull out beds are well-polished. This car is well-lit and the seats are nicely upholstered. How nice it must be to live in a time where gentlemen still read newspapers, little girls still play with dolls, and ladies play instruments, like the lady slightly right of center playing a small stringed instrument.
This is a smoking car with red velvet seats and inlaid mahogany. Notice the ornate windows and how secure the lighting fixtures are. It is a shame the inlayed and decorated wood ceiling in this photo cannot be seen in color.
If you think these seats look like our modern-day foldout chairs, it's because they do fold up as well! The panels that appear to be doors can be pulled or folded out (depending on the particular model) to create individual or group sleeping compartments. So, the foldout chairs are perfect for comfort during the waking hours, as well as to make room for beds during sleeping hours.
The question becomes how do we recreate in miniature these beautiful rolling works of art?
The question becomes how do we recreate in miniature these beautiful rolling works of art?
Even though this picture has much to describe, this picture has one thing that stands out for the passenger car. Although it has no striping and lettering on it, this photo from around 1900 shows the amazing wooden craftsmanship of these cars.
To recreate these coaches, the modeler has several options:
1) Buy custom made models or kits.
2) Give up.
3) Make it yourself.
The custom-made, ready-to-run models I have seen are amazingly beautiful, but they are also amazingly expensive. Most people who ask me, "why do you model this era (1890-1910) ? Nobody makes these models." That simply is not true! There are several companies like Better Than Scratch (B.T.S) and LaBelle Woodworking are two we have frequently bought from. Well, I certainly don't make the money teaching in a title 1 charter school for option 1, and option 2 is perfectly out of the question. The only logical alternative is option 3.
Pulled by a Mantua 4-4-2 Atlantic type camelback are 2 cars for milk cans, 1 for mixed goods and 2 passenger cars. The first is an old, long out of production Ambroid kit. The last is a Labelle kit. I love building the Labelle kits. They take time and patience, but the results are amazing.
An old Ambroid car found on Ebay and given a fresh coat of paint to cover the chips.
A year later the same seller posted this Ambroid car on Ebay. I am glad I got them both and kept the original color.
A beautiful Labelle kit that I painted in Pullman Green. This is used as the postal/baggage. LaBelle kit number: HO- 3 1905 Baggage Car
I love LaBelle kits! This is slightly modified and painted in a slightly weathered Pullman Green as this car would be older than the 1905. LaBelle kit number: HO-14 1883 Open Platform Baggage Car
An old Ambroid kit that I painted to match the LaBelle baggage cars. These three cars form the night mail train. All the passenger cars were built with interior seats.
A great LaBelle kit that looks great on the end of the day train. A brakeman holding a lantern and a conductor were added to the rear platform.
The problem with using the old Ambroid kits is it is almost impossible to find an unopen and complete kit from the 1960s. This is the perfect example of that as it is missing the railings and car frames.
Most people do not model the interiors. However, I like to look into the windows and see people. Those figures look great with the battery powered lights you can get nowadays.
The Combine car is used with the Ambroid coach above and the LaBelle Business Car. After some careful work, the doors can open and close.
The floors are actually removable. This way, it is easy to fix things. Besides the people and baggage in the combine, I added luggage, boxes, a Postal Clerk, and mail sacks.
Rolling Palaces in Wooden Spaceships
Rolling Palaces in Wooden Spaceships
Another approach is to kitbash, OR kitsmash as I have heard it sometimes called. I started with a roundhouse kit and this proved to be a perfect base to start modifying them. Adding outside decals for the cars was tricky as the decal is a one piece. From there, you can change the trucks and other parts to suit.
This is a Roundhouse 50ft Overland kit. However, It was spray painted clamshell white and a body decal was added. Mr. John Ott very kindly designed and supplied the beautiful decals. The decals were wounderfully printed by Matthew Welke of Circus City Decals.
The interior in this car is simple, wicker chairs and wet summer clothes from beach. simple cardboard cutouts were added for the bathrooms. All I have to do now is add people and picnic hampers.
This is a Roundhouse Overland just like the one above. A 3D printed duck bill roof and 6 wheeled wooden beam trucks have been added. Next is painting and decaling.
This is another car where I added a few custom figure and wooden benches. You actually don't need to put figures in all the windows, and in smaller cars (with small windows) you don't need to add all the seats.
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