Virtual-ly Reality EMD SD40-2 SNOOT NOSE ACF 70-TON CLOSED-SIDE NEW! In stores in April COVERED HOPPER, Two Car Set Item # Roadname and Number Item # Roadname and Numbers 176-4900 Undecorated 186-0201 Erie Lackawanna 21019 and 21035 176-4901 Burlington Northern Santa Fe 6799 186-0202 Erie Lackawanna 21028 and 21047 176-4902 Burlington Northern Santa Fe 6340 Milwaukee Road and 176-4903 British Columbia Railway 751 186-0203 99073 99208 176-4904 British Columbia Railway 756 186-0204 Milwaukee Road 99142 and 99099 176-4905 Canadian Pacific 5864 186-0205 Nickel Plate Road 91034 and 91085 176-4906 Canadian Pacific 5904 186-0206 Nickel Plate Road 91067 and 91078 176-4907 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 5026 186-0207 Denver & Rio Grande Western 18335 and 18372 176-4908 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 5027 186-0208 Denver & Rio Grande Western 18364 and 18368 176-4909 Union Pacific 3379 176-4910 Union Pacific 3401 186-0209 Seaboard Air Line 8100 and 8247 186-0210 Southern Pacific 90602 and 90801 All SNOOT NOSE models will be equipped with white 186-0211 Southern Pacific 90735 and 90798 LED directional headlight and KATO semi-automatic knuckle couplers. The heavy, split metal frame will be 186-0212 Southern Pacific 90654 and 90785 "DCC friendly" for the easy drop-in installation of digital decoder. A set of printed numberboards (to be installed by hobbyist) will be supplied in box ... please check to be www.katousa.com sure the correct boards are with the model before purchasing. ImI�1KATO U.S.A., INC. ·100 Remington Road· Schaumburg, Il60173 Why risk derailing your railroad project? Your perfectly crafted models deserve the perfect paints from the Floquil line of enamels and Polly Scale acrylics. Each color is authentically matched to actual railroad line paint chips. They are completely plastic compatible and specially formulated of "to scale" pigments so they won't hide even the smallest details. Choose from original formula Floquil enamels or Polly Scale acrylics that wash uf> with water. Both will keep your railroading hobby on track. Available at your favorite hobby shop. www. � .com Model by Armour Peterson 1-800 TESTORS © 1999 The Te stor Corporation, an RPM Company IN THIS ISSUE... • THE TOOl YOU MUST HAVE TO BUILD T:IrIE NEWEST K.iTS, page 11 • KIT-CONVERSION, AT HEARN'S NEW 5800-SERIES X-POS1i BOX CARS, pages 8, 28 • MODEliNG fROM tlrlE PROtiOnPE: • THE WESTERN PACIFIC'S FEATHER ROtiTE IN HO SCALE, page 51 • RAILROAD PROTOTYPE MODEI:.ERS CHICAGO MEET, page 38 • MOOEI!.ING OPEN AUTO RACKS, page 42 • BRANCHI!.INE'S NEW HO SCALE tJRTX REEFERS, page 14 • N SCALE: • AtLAS GP30B Klt-CONYERSION, page 23 May 2000 . Volume 11, Number 12 N SCALE: G SCALE: Locomotive Performance: Summary of all previous locomotive ON THE COVER: - Jim Dias is Summary of all previous locomotive Performance Test Reports ................19 recreating the Western Pacific's route Performance Test Reports ................19 Bachmann Two-Truck Shay Test from Portola through the famous Diesels, One-Detail-At-A-Time: Report .........................................26 Keddie Wye in HO scale. Here, a PFM EMO S035 as CSX 4511 from Atlas models, by Louis Marre .................... imported brass helper works a 20 freight up grade beside the Feather Diesel Modeling: GP30B kit-conversion on Atlas GP30 River. There's more on his 20 x 20 chassis, by Bi ll Pearce ......................23 layout beginning on page 51 of this Index of all previous articles on modeling ALL SCALES: issue. -Robert Schleicher photo diesels ..........................................60 Techniques: Modeling from the Prototype: Sprue Cutters, The "essential" tools for Railroad Prototype Modelers meet in assembling the newest plastic kits, by Chicago, by Robert Schleicher ............38 Robert Schleicher .............................11 4 RAILMODEL OURNAL . MAY 2000 Modeling from the Prototype: Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet in ChicagoJ page 38 HO SCALE: Modem Freight Car Modeling: Kit-conversion: Pullman-Standard 50-foot X-post box car from Athearn and MDC Kits, by Bob Rivard , .."""""""""".",8 Pullman-Standard 50-foot IPD, Railbox and other box cars from Athearn Kits, Part III, by Jim Eager "" ." ,.,,"""" ", , 28 Bi-Ievel and tri-Ievel open-top auto racks from Accurail Kits, Part II, by Mike Budde."".. " ""."".".". """ 42 Freight Cars of the Fifties URTX 40-foot wood reefers from Branchline Trains Kits, by Ed Hawk ins .."""""""" .. """""" 14 Locomotive Performance: Summary of all previous locomotive Performance Test Reports"""" .." "" 19 Diesels, One-Detail-At-A-Time: EMD SD35 as CSX 4511 from Con-Cor models, by Louis Marre """ """ """ .. 20 llAlLMODELJOURNAL published times a year by Golden Bell Modeling from the Prototype: is 12 DEPARTMENTS: Press, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205. Price per single copy is Railroad Prototype Modelers meet in Experience-At your fingertips, more $4,50, or $36.00 per year in the U.S ,A. Individual copy prices higher in Chicago, by Robert Schleicher""""",,38 about what's in this issue from articles in Canada and other countries. Foreign lubscriptions $48,00 for 12 issues, Layout Tour: previous issues .....................................62 payable in U.S, fundl. RAILMODELJOURNAL, ISSN 1043·5441, copy· Calendar ............................................ right by GoldenBell Press. All right!reserved. PeriodicailPOltage Jim Dias' Western Pacific Railroad"""".51 64 2000 What's New ...................6, 7 and 66-70 paid at Denver, CO. POSTMASTER: Send addrell changes to Railmodel Diesel Modeling: Journal, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205. Visit our weblite at Index of all previous articles on modeling WWW.railmodeljournal.com diesels .. " ..... " ... " .... "." ....." ..... "." 61 RAILMODELjOURNAL ' MAY 2000 5 ---------- [NEWHO]---------- , � Overland Models, Inc., P.O. Box 248, Yorktown, IN 47396-0248 is now shipping HO scale repli­ cas of the Union Pacific's wood coaling tower at Valley, Nebraska. The tower was a standard Fairbanks- Morse design, so it could be applica­ ble to other roads. The all-brass model is $600.00. See your dealer. Northeastern Scale Models is producing laser-cut all-wood kits to build this traditional Dairy Barn. The kit is $19.95. Key Import s, Box 1848, Rogue River, OR 97537 is importing brass replicas of the Rio Grande's L-95 2-8-8-2 post-war articulated. Each model is detailed and painted to match a specific pro­ totype. See your dealer. 6 RAILMODELJOURNAL . MAY 2000 Walthers is now shipping this "Miranda's Bananas" brick produce warehouse for $39.98. Blair Line, P.O. Box 1136, Carthage, MO 64836 is offering a series of 20 different pair of "Graffiti" decals. Most have about the shape of the ones in the photograph but with a vari­ ety of colors and styles. The decals are $3.50 per set. Westerfield, 53 River Lane, Crossville, TN 38555 is now shipping cast-resin kits to recreate the USRA mill gondolas. The model is offered with a choice of NYC or Reading decals for $27.00 less trucks and couplers. GHQ, 28100 Woodside Dr., Shorewood, MN 55331 is producing a number of cast- metal HO scale vehicles including this equipment trailer. RAILMODELjOURNAL . MAY 1999 7 [ KIT-CONVERSION ] } ----------- ----------- 1lllE BIRllW p..-$ I�P'S1f BOI e�\R lIll I' SCAlI IRIM MDe & 118111111 111$ By Bob Rivard Jim Eager's series on IPD/Railbox exterior-post (or x-post) uninsulated box can has been featured in the past half-dozen issues of "The Journal." In this month's article on those can, there is one prototype that is not avanable as a kit, the early Pullman-Standard 50-lootexterior- post can with X-braced roofs. Bob Rivard used MDC bod.es and other parts to kit-convert his HO scale model. It would be somewhat easier, now that the Athearn 5800-series kits are available, to use the Athearn body and the MDC toof. Yo u can dupUcat. hi. MNS, the Corinth 8' Counce, or Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks cars with their diaconal panel fOofs usfn, the prototype photosfro mJim Eager's article in this issue. There's an index of previous article. on uppdfn, Athearn freipt car models on pages 62-63 of this issue. At first, Frank Jordan might be easier to add an MDC roof to using liquid Te nex-brand styrene cement. and I thought we could the Athearn 5800-series model, especial­ I reinforced the joint inside the car with recreate Minneapolis ly with the free-standing details on the pieces of lis-inch square Evergreen Northfield & Southern Athearn kit. styrene plastic tube (Figure 3). I used car 49756 with an out­ I started the project by using a Ditzler's Red Cap automobile body filler of-the-box MDC kit. Dremel motor tool with a cutoff disc to to fill in the seam. After the filler had When we compared the remove the peaked roof (Figure I) from dried for 24 hours, I wet-sanded the joint kit to the prototype, however, we discov­ the MDC [900 box car. I filed the top with 400 wet-or-dry sandpaper (Figure 4). ered that the car would need a new diag­ edges fl at and sanded them smooth. I used an X-Acto number 17 blade to onal pattern roof and a new door. Since Next, I used the same motor tool to cut chisel off the cast-on grabirons on the we built the car, Athearn has introduced the fl at roof from the MDC 1780 double­ MDC body. I added new grabs cut from their HO scale model for the later (and door body (Figure 2). I filed and sanded .012-inch brass wire. This step is a bit much more common) Pullman-Standard the new roof to match the opening in the time-con suming, but well worth the cars with Pullman-Standard roofs. It J 900 car. I "plugged in" the new roof effort.