Volume 24, January 2017
David Vaughn’s Nickel Plate in O Scale Two Resin Boxcars Loads for Wheeling Gondolas
The Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook is published by the Nickel Plate Road Historical and Technical Society, Inc. for its members and modelers interested in the former New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, and its predecessor companies. Articles, manuscripts, photographs, and other modeling material relating to the Nickel Plate Road are solicited for publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced for distribution, either electronically or in print, without permission of the Publications Director and the contributor of the material involved. Please email [email protected] for more information. ®
MODELER’S NOTEBOOK STAFF CONTENTS THIS ISSUE:
MODELER’S NOTEBOOK EDITOR Raymond T. Breyer MODELING COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN J. Anthony Koester PAGE 3
2017 NKPHTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NKP Model News
NATIONAL DIRECTOR M. David Vaughn PAGE 9 DEPUTY NATIONAL DIRECTOR George F. Payne SECRETARY Eric J. Payne NKP Modeling Videos TREASURER H. Bruce Blonder PERSONNEL SERVICES DIRECTOR Susan S. Hall POLICY ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR Howard A. Speidel PAGE 10 COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Daniel Meckstroth A Visit to David Vaughn’s Nickel Plate PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR Arthur J. Lemke By Dan Merkel MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR James E. Canter SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR Dan L. Merkel INTERNET SERVICES DIRECTOR Adam C. Matthews PAGE 28 DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Kenneth D. Hall COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR Brian J. Carlson Two Nickel Plate Boxcars in Resin PRESERVATION SERVICES DIRECTOR William J. Powers By Paul Doggett MODELING SERVICES DIRECTOR J. Anthony Koester
PAGE 19 Modeler’s Reference – The G-16v class
Consolidations Coal road modeling has always been a popular subject for model railroaders, and NKP family member Wheeling & PAGE 21 Lake Erie gives us all plenty of opportunities to model ALONG THE LINE dramatic mountain scenery, heavy industry, and our favorite classic era motive power in one handy package. PAGE 24 These days there seems to almost be more modelers of the Quick and Easy Gondola Loads W&LE’s coal region that there are of the Nickel Plate’s busier By Chris Ellis Chicago to Buffalo mainline! PAGE 27 Two mountain region modelers are featured in this issue of NKPHTS 2016 Convention Model Displays the Modeler’s Notebook. Recurring author Chris Ellis shares By Tony Koester another adventure in W&LE coalfield modeling with us all, and Dan Merkel leads us on a tour of NKPHTS President PAGE 32 David Vaughn’s most impressive O scale empire. NKP Modeling at RPM Chicagoland
Nickel Plate Road modeling seems to be growing in PAGE 33 popularity these days, possibly aided by NKP 765 being on A Shed for Frankfort the road several times a year. This issue highlights three By Ray Breyer modeling meets held in the past few months that have featured a good deal of very nice NKP modeling efforts from around the country.
Happy Nickel Plate Modeling,
The NKPHTS Logo and the name NICKEL PLATE ROAD are registered trademarks of the Nickel Plate RAY Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc.
(ON THE COVER: Nickel Plate Hudson 174 stands in for a down PA as the daily power for train #10 from St. Louis.
Tony Koester photo) ©2017 The Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc.
NKPHTS COMPANY STORE NKPHTS COMPANY STORE MODELS FOR SALE PROTOTYPE REFERENCE BOOKS HO Models FOR SALE HO-Tri-level Auto Rack (Accurail plastic kit) $29.95 NKP Color Photography, Vol. 3: Railfan BK003 $43.00 Perspective, Morning Sun (hardback) NKP Publicity Photos (B&W), 1943-1952, Vol. 1., BK004 $30.00 John B. Corns, TLC Publishing (hardback) HO-40’ Double Door Boxcar (Accurail plastic kit) $14.00 BK011 Reflections Series #1, "Nickel Plate District" $10.00 Reflections Series #3, "Clover Leaf District" BK013 $10.00 TStL&W
HO-Panel Side 2 Bay Hopper (Accurail plastic kit) $13.50 The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, Vol. 2., John B. BK014 $30.00 Corns, TLC Publishing (hardback) Nickel Plate Road Diesel Locomotives, Kevin J. BK015 $25.00 Holland, TLC Publishing (hardback) HO-W&LE Twin Hopper (Accurail plastic kit) $15.00 Nickel Plate Road In Color Volume 1: 1946 - 1959, BK018 $48.00 Morning Sun (hardback) Nickel Plate Road In Color Volume 2: 1960-1985, BK019 $48.00 Morning Sun (hardback) HO-NKP-L Wood Refrigerator (Accurail plastic kit) $15.75 NKP Diagram Book, Passenger & Head End Cars, BK020 $16.00 1938 NKP Diagram Book, Passenger & Head End Cars, BK021 $16.00 1950 HO-Rider: 1300-series rider car (resin ‘craftsman’ kit) $50.00 NKP Diagram Book, Freight Equipment, Piggyback, BK022 $20.00 and Cabooses, 1962 "Nickel Plate Steam 1957-1958" by Robert P. BK024 $22.00 (kit includes decals, modeler must provide trucks & couplers) Olmsted (hardback) The Detroit & Toledo Shore Line Railroad - TCS Models BK025 Expressway For Industry by Charles H. Geletzke, $65.00 All TCS models kits are composed of resin castings. Jr. and Wilbur E. Hague (hardback) While easy to build they are not shake-the-box models. Al l models HO scale. CP875: 826-Series Wood Caboose kit, NKP Decals $55.00 BK026 "TRRA Annual NKP in St Louis" $40.00 CP911: 826-Series Wood Caboose kit, W&LE Decals $55.00 Depots of the Nickel Plate Road, Willard Harvey, BK044 $20.00 Silver Brook Publishing Clover Leaf District Track Diagrams, Revised to TDCLOE $20.00 1/1/1942 CPTWR: NKP Elevated Gate Tower kit, based on Knox, IN. $18.00 Clover Leaf District Track Diagrams, Revised to TCCLOL $20.00 1/1/1964 Nickel Plate District Track Diagrams, Revised to TDNKPE $20.00 12/31/1948 Nickel Plate District Track Diagrams, Revised to TDNKPL $20.00 CPVER: NKP Combination Station kit, based on Vermilion OH. 1/1/1963 $32.00 Wheeling & Lake Erie Cleveland Division Track TDWLEC Diagrams, Not dated, Compiled from NKP & N&W $20.00 records Wheeling & Lake Erie, Toledo District Track TDWLET $20.00 Diagrams, Revised to 1/1/1964 CPROC: NKP Passenger Station kit, based on Rocky River OH. Lake Erie & Western District Track Diagrams, $40.00 TDLEWE $20.00 Revised to 12/31/1935 Lake Erie & Western District Track Diagrams, TDLEWL $20.00 Revised to 1/1/1963
Prices do not include shipping & handling Model prices do not include shipping & handling To order, please visit the NKPHTS Company Store website! To order, please visit the NKPHTS Company Store website!
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 3
RIDER CAR KIT RE-ORDER SUGGEST A MODEL! The NKPHTS is dedicated to preserving the history and memory of the Nickel Plate Road. Part of that effort is offering for sale select models that reflect the NKP’s proud heritage.
Due to popular demand the first run of the HO scale rider cars Model suggestion. Photo courtesy AMB kits have SOLD OUT. The NKPHTS has contracted with the casters for a second run of the model which should be The Company Store needs your input! If you’d like to suggest a available for sale by the first week of May. commercially available model for the store to carry, please K,,,,,,are interested in purchasing one of these car kits, contact Company Store manager Bud Brueggeman contactthe NKPHTS General Store TODAY. Quantities are at [email protected]. limited, and future orders for these cars will be based on demand. If you have a suggestion for a candidate for the NKPHTS Model of the Year program, please contact Modeling Services Director Tony Koester at [email protected].
The NKPHTS Out and About!
The NKPHTS was again on the road, this time stopping at the annual St. Louis Railroad Prototype Modeler’s Meet in Collinsville, IL, on August 12th and 13th 2017. The Society set up a table display which saw a lot of traffic, and many Nickel Plate models were displayed on the show’s tables. One of the most impressive NKP models on display was this O scale streamlined coach, meticulously detailed inside and out by Dan Pantera of Calumet Models. The model will be added to NKPHTS President David Vaughn’s passenger car fleet.
Led by the efforts of NKPHTS members John Marx, the NKPHTS will be in attendance at the 2017 meet in Collinsville. The show is growing rapidly, so make a point to add it to your calendar for next year. Two New HO Cars From Accurail
Preproduction model artwork courtesy of Accurail, Inc.
Accurail has announced two new Nickel Plate-related cars, due for release at the end of September, 2016. Kit #7559 is of a Wheeling & Lake Erie offset side triple hopper in the cars’ original paint scheme (cars built by Ralston in 1948), and kit #35191 is of a NKP boxcar built by General American in 1937. MSRP is $17.98 for either car, and the kits should be available from retailers now.
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 4
Nickel Plate RS-3’s from Bowser
Ray Breyer collection
Bowser Trains has recently announced an exciting new lineup of prototype-specific RS-3 models in HO scale, as part of their superdetailed “Executive Line”. Part of the initial release will be a NKP version, released in three road numbers with a choice of DC or DCC & sound.
The models will be ready to run and will come with the following features: air hoses, windshield wipers, grab irons, coupler lift bars, operating headlight, window glass, road name specific details, road name specific fuel tanks, can motor, flywheels, nickel silver wheels with RP25 flanges and knuckle couplers. Analog (DC) version features 21 pin plug for DCC, DCC/Sound version features LokSound Select decoder.
The MSRP for the DC Analog Version is $199.95, and the sound and DCC-equipped version is $299.95.
The models are due to be released in late 2017, while pre-orders are due by 5/3/2017.
#24667 Cab #540 #24668 Cab #544 #24669 Cab #555 #24670 Cab #540 w/DCC & Sound #24671 Cab #544 w/DCC & Sound #24672 Cab #555 w/DCC & Sound
See Bowser’s website for more details, and your local hobby shop or Bowser retailer to order today.
Atlas HO 40' Pre- and Post -war Box Car Kits
Model photo and artwork courtesy of Atlas Model Railroad Co.
Atlas has announced a reissue of the former Branchline 1944 AAR steel boxcar kits. These highly detailed and accurate models represent all-steel boxcars built immediately after WWII and into the 1950s, and were a common sight well into the 1980s. As part of the release Atlas will be including three Nickel Plate road numbers, cars #5092, 5150, and 5233. MSRP for the kits is $29.95, and the models are expected to be available for sale in the second quarter of 2017. See the Atlas website for more details.
Atlas has also announced a reissue of the former Branchline Timesaver model kits of the 1937 ARA all-steel boxcars. These are far easier kits to build than the more highly detailed Yardmaster series kits, and are akin to an Accurail or Athearn ‘blue box’ model. Atlas is announcing three NKP cars in the release, numbers 16250, 16361, and 16400. MSRP for these kits is #22.95, and they should be in stores now. See the Atlas website for more details.
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 5
New O Scale NKP Models from MTH
All photos courtesy MTH Electric Trains
MTH recently released their O scale catalog for 2017 releases, and several new Nickel Plate models will be available for next year. The company has announced an SW8 (and inaccurate, unpowered SW8 ‘calf’), a bay window caboose, a six pack of composite hoppers, and a USRA 0-8-0. See the MTH website to view their latest catalog , and see your local hobby shop to order.
DL&W Heavyweight Passenger Cars by Athearn
Preproduction model artwork courtesy of Horizon Hobbies.
The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and Nickel Plate shared passenger equipment on their trains between Chicago and New York City, and Athearn’s new release will make representing that partnership a little bit easier. Due to stores in August 2017, the seven cars of the DL&W series will be a welcome addition to the passenger fleets of anyone modeling the NKP’s Chicago to Buffalo mainline (especially the baggage cars, which seemed to be in just about every consist of trains 5, 6, 7 and 8). MSRP for the ready-to-run cars is $31.98. See Athearn’s website for more information.
HO Scale Steam Superdetailing Parts from Bowser
Bowser has recently re-stocked most of the Cary line of brass superdetailing parts, many of which are critically needed to accurately model Nickel Plate steam engines. While we may be able to find models of stock USRA Mikados and 63” drivered Consolidations, it takes a bit of work to transform them into an H-6d or G-16v. Thankfully, there are still a couple of companies out there that help us created these models, and Bowser is one of the largest and oldest. See their online catalog for a full parts listing.
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 6
JOIN THE NICKEL PLATE ROAD HISTORICAL & TECHNICAL SOCIETY TODAY!
Founded in 1966, the Nickel Plate Road current status of Nickel Plate facilities and Historical & Technical Society is rolling stock, and other railroads’ joint America’s only rail-history organization operation with the Nickel Plate. The dedicated solely to preserving the history magazine is printed in color, on high-quality and legacy of the Nickel Plate Road and its gloss paper and is generously illustrated predecessors. with photos and maps. Occasional The Society publishes a quarterly newsletters are provided to keep members magazine, maintains an award-winning informed of current Society events and website at NKPHTS.org, provides news, along with timely updates and/or stewardship of a major archive of historical supplements to the magazine. material at the Western New York Railway Historical For over twenty-five years the NKPHTS has Society, and offers numerous member programs and published an annual calendar with fourteen high-quality projects, including an annual convention photographs of the NKP, TStL&W, LE&W and W&LE As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, financial railroads. donations and contributions of historical photos, From time to time the Society has embarked on a documents, and ephemera are tax-deductible and always limited run offering of a special project. These have appreciated. included timetable reprints, lithographs, books and scale The Purpose of the NKPHTS is to maintain an models. association of persons interested in the former New York, The staff of the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road), and to Technical Society is all-volunteer and its business is obtain, preserve, and distribute information and material conducted largely by mail and email. The membership has related to the former Nickel Plate Road, its predecessors, an opportunity to meet each year at our annual convention, and lessees. It shall be the intent of the corporation to which is held in a Nickel Plate city. These meetings include promote, support, and preserve the historic legacy of the displays, model railroad tours, swap and sale tables, slide, Nickel Plate Road through the creation of programs movie and video sessions, and tours of rail facilities. A designed to be of benefit and service to its members, as general business meeting and banquet are the highlights of well as to assist qualified, non-profit museums, libraries, these weekends, where the Society’s officers are elected rail groups, and historical organizations, either financially and important business is handled. or technically, in the preservation, conservation, and/or Our Society also offers numerous internet and collection of material, equipment, and memorabilia relating online-based activities free of charge to all of its members. to the railroad and its predecessors. We have an extensive website at NKPHTS.org which The original Nickel Plate Road Historical & displays information, photos, documents, and Society news. Technical Society was formed in Lafayette, Indiana in We have a “Members Area” which can only be accessed 1966. The NKPHTS was incorporated in the state of Ohio by current members of the Society and which contains in 1972 as a non-profit, non-stock corporation organized many items of interest, including Howard W. Ameling’s for educational purposes. We are recognized as a 501(c)(3) collection of 5,000-plus Nickel Plate Road photos. organization by the Internal Revenue Service, so all Members with an email address receive a monthly E-List contributions of material and money are tax deductible. Newsletter with the latest Society information and various Information on donating money and materials to the articles of interest to NKP fans. A new initiative is the NKPHTS may be found on our website. online publication of a quarterly magazine devoted to The NKPHTS publishes a quarterly magazine modeling the NKP, the Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s devoted to the history of the Nickel Plate Road, Lake Erie Notebook. The Society also hosts an online discussion & western, Wheeling & Lake Erie, and the Toledo, St. forum on Yahoo Groups. You will also find us on Louis & Western (Clover Leaf) railroads. Included from YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. time to time are articles on modeling the Nickel Plate,
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 7
THIS FC!t'IM IS FOR NEW ME"'>EAWIPS OM.Y >.1<0 SHOlUI NOT TO BE USEO FOR AEtlEWIIlS OR AE' '' Sl~TEt.EtfTS -...._,.
Date Rec'd ______.... emberShipNumber ______~u!hQri!ed By ______
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DATE ______SIGNATURE . ______Nickel Plate Road Modeling Videos
Recently, while wandering around aimlessly through the internet, we’ve run across several videos featuring great Nickel Plate Road modeling action. Here’s a few of our favorites!
Nickel Plate Road – The Passing Train
Clover Leaf Fourth Sub modeler Art Shale posted this video of his old layout in black & white action. Art’s now working on a new, larger version of the Fourth Sub, so we can expect more video like this soon!
H-5 Mike Action
Newly shopped H-5 #500 goes for a shakedown tour of Tony Koester’s Third Sub layout.
Virtual Doubleheader
And finally, while ‘virtual modeling’ isn’t quite conventional, it is modeling nonetheless. And as you can see from this video, you can ‘model’ some pretty impressive things in the virtual world. Be advised that this is a four hour long trip!
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 9
A Visit to David Vaughn’s Nickel Plate Empire By Dan Merkel
For several months, my friend David Vaughn I finally had the opportunity to visit with David has been trying to get my wife Janet and I to his and actually operate on his model railroad. home for a visit. He is very proud of his O scale David actually acquired three different well- Nickel Plate Road-themed layout as well he known O scale railroads and was able to should be, since it completely fills his combine parts of each one into his large approximate 90'x20' basement! The layout is a basement. Probably the most famous of the double-decked, folded dog bone and features three would be John Armstrong's Canadaigua approximately 900 feet of mainline track. For Southern. those of you who are challenged by perspectives, the length is the equivalence of John was a professional model railroad track THREE football fields, end for end. plan designer, and the author of the popular model railroading book ‘Track Planning for
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 10
Realistic Operation’. If you want to know anything about designing a layout with realistic operating in mind, that is the book to read. I believe it's in its third revision now and is still a favorite among model railroaders. The other two layouts that are a part of David's railroad empire were owned by noted O scale modelers Ted Stepek and Ed Rappe. Both of those layouts had a Pennsylvania Railroad theme.
David explained to me how he combined portions of all three layouts into one very large, double-deck, folded dog bone design. The layout is quite impressive with a mainline track that is almost 900 feet in length. Can you Railroads 2016’ edition. I do hope that you imagine a train running three football fields in enjoy my virtual layout tour. length? When I ran a train around it once
during my visit, it took nearly half an hour to complete the lap. There are a lot of things that I could tell you about Dave’s railroad but I'll let some of the photos I took do the talking for me. You may be interested to know that his layout was featured in Model Railroader's ‘Great Model
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Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 12
A typical meet on David’s layout: a pair of RDS-12’s wait in the hole for a hotshot passenger train, pulled by two PA-1’s. Once the passenger has passed, the freight is free to continue on its way.
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 13
Dan’s at the controls of an O scale coal drag, waiting in the hole for a passing passenger train, as he negotiates David’s mainline. Dan’s pleasure at running a big train on a big layout is apparent. When the run is done, Dan will have spent nearly 40 minutes at the throttle!
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A large chunk of David’s layout came from recycling parts of John Armstrong’s
Canadaigua Southern. Here one of John’s old engines, which has been converted from three rail AC power to two rail,
DCC-controlled power, pounds the iron on a part of John’s old mainline.
David Vaughn is the current National Director of the NKPHTS, and has been a part of the Society since the beginning. He’s been key in helping the O scale community accurately model the NKP through his Nickel Plate Models business.
To read more about David’s layout, visit Kalmbach’s online store to order a copy of Great Model Railroads 2016.
David (left) and Dan beam for the camera after a pleasant visit, and a fun time running the railroad!
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TWO NICKEL PLATE BOXCARS An HO Scale Resin Project by Paul Doggett
Paul Doggett is a steam-era American-prototype road: by 1956 twenty of the cars were converted to modeler living in the United Kingdom. A prolific roofless, doorless coke-carriers, and in early 1964 the prototype modeler, Paul graciously agreed to share road rebuilt 100 of them into all-steel cars with 9-foot with us two Nickel Plate car builds he finished wide door openings. Surprisingly, the Norfolk & recently and shared on several Yahoo Groups online. Western kept the surviving as-built cars on their Paul’s first build was a NKP 8000-8199 series ‘War roster into the early 1980s. Emergency” single sheathed boxcar. Built by Pullman Paul recreated one of these cars in HO scale by for the Nickel Plate in early 1944, these cars were building Sunshine Models kit #21.95. Now long out of designed by the AAR as a way to save on sheet steel production, this resin model was state of the art when during World War Two. These were unusual cars on released, as it was comprised of resin, styrene, and the NKP, and weren’t necessarily well liked by the etched metal components. Sunshine kits are always
Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 16 easy to work with and come with highly detailed instructions, and Paul had the model assembled after a few hours of work. The model was painted with using Tru-Color paint #TCP-248; Nickel Plate 1938-50’s Freight Car Red. An acrylic car primer was applied to the model first. Paul notes that the Tru-Color paint works better if the base model has a primer coat applied first. The paint is usually ready to airbrush from the bottle, however the NKP color needed to be thinned. The decals were included with the kit, and represent the as-delivered lettering arrangement featuring the “swing-tail R” in Car 4321 is seen in 1954, shortly after being vogue with the road during the 1940s. Kadee renumbered from the 25000-series. couplers, Accurail trucks, and Intermountain wheelsets completed the model. Steam-era freight cars tended to get grubby & sooty quickly, especially in the Eastern industrial heartland, and Paul added a fairly heavy weathering layer to his model, no doubt partly influenced by this Howard Ameling photo of NKP 8166.
Car 4303 is seen on the NYC in 1963. The lettering to the left of the door says “When Empty Return to NKP One note: although Sunshine is no longer with us, the Railroad, Lafayette, Indiana”, indicating that the car is kits are sometimes available on eBay. And the cars in dedicated pool service. can also be modeled in HO by using Intermountain Railway Company’s recently released models. These cars were rebuilt from double sheathed auto Although differing slightly from the Nickel Plate cars, boxcars in the 20000-20999 series. Those cars were Intermountain’s model is generally accurate, and if raised height copies of a standard NYC boxcar design desired can be upgraded with a few simple detailing from 1914 (one of the NKP’s cars of that type is show modifications. to car 20722’s right), built by the Illinois Car & Manufacturing Co. in 1924. Starting in 1945 the NKP began rebuilding all of these cars into all-steel boxcars at their Frankfort, IN car shops, ultimately rebuilding over 2,800 double sheathed boxcars in this manner by the end of the program in 1949.
Intermountain’s RTR version of the NKP’s War- Emergency boxcars.
Paul’s second NKP boxcar build was another Sunshine resin kit, this time #64.8. This kit represented a relatively unusual freight car: a 40-foot, all-steel, single door boxcar with an end door.
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Youngstown end doors which finished above the roof line of the car, unique “2/5/5/6” indented rib Murphy ends, 7-foot wide Youngstown side doors, and a NYC- style deep fishbelly underframe.
Resin car building can seem intimidating, but they’re generally no more involved than building any styrene NKP 20722 stands next to a smaller 21000-series car kit (as by Branchline or Intermountain). The main boxcar in Cleveland in 1929, showing the height steps in building any resin kit involve removing difference between the original car design and the excess casting flash, drilling many holes for assorted NKPs mid-1920s revision of the type. By the 1940s both details, and using ACC instead of a plastic solvent car types were too short for modern shippers, so both cement. To speed up the drilling process (which for where raised by 6” to a foot when rebuilt. some cars can run into hundreds of holes!), Paul uses a Micro Mark power screw driver with accompanying
One of eight different types of rebuilt boxcars the 100 mini chuck. cars of this group were the most unique. The others were all either turned into plain boxcars or double Paul finished the car as per the kit’s instructions, and door cars intended for automobile parts service numbered it as a post-1951 car. Again, Paul painted (mostly transmissions and engine blocks), and all had the car with True Color paints and the kit’s decals. A their inside heights raised from either 8’8” or 10’1” to lighter weathering layer was added to the car, and 10’6” to 11’1”. Champ chalk marks were added as a finishing touch. The Accurail trucks were modified to include an extra These cars were intended for transporting buses and spring, also included with the kit. fire trucks, so while the NKP cobbled together taller ends for most of their rebuilt boxcars by recycling Once done, Paul had two fairly unique-looking Nickel spare ends, the railroad bought 100 all-new Plate boxcars that he could proudly add to his freight Youngstown end doors for these cars. Rebuilt in late car fleet. It’s nice to see rare and now-expensive resin 1947 and initially placed in the 25000-25099 series, freight cars actually built and operating on a layout, the cars were renumbered in 1951 as 4300-4399 to rather than staying unbuilt in their boxes for decades, clear up the 25000 number block for incoming passed around like rare jewels. And it’s really nice to Wheeling & Lake Erie boxcars. see another fan of the Nickel Plate Road across the Pond. Hopefully we’ll see more NKP models come out Visually, these rebuilt cars are very interesting and of his backshop very soon! have several points of interest, including their
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MODELER’S REFERENCE The Nickel Plate’s G-16v class Consolidations
A “new to the Nickel Plate” G-16v stands at the ready tracks of the P&PU’s main yard in Peoria, IL. No stranger to these tracks, the former LE&W engine is on home rails, while wearing new NKP paint that’s just about a year old. Bob Albert collection
Modeling the NKP’s steam fleet in the post-WWII period is easy. In HO, N and even O and S scales you can find ready to go representations of Berkshires, H-6 class Mikados, USRA 0-6-0s and 0-8-0s, and with a little luck, even a brass Hudson. But the 1920-1940 steam fleet was far more varied, and poses a real challenge to model effectively. Kitbashing, scratchbuilding, and hunting down obscure old brass models to heavily modify is the rule of the day.
Thankfully, some of the early NKP engines are easier to model than others, and the G-16v and G-16w class Consolidations are among the easiest and most useful conversions Nickel Plate modeler can undertake.
Originally built in 1911 for the NYC&HR, that road transferred the engines to the LE&W in 1915. The engines were that road’s heaviest freight engines until the USRA transferred fifteen light Mikados to them in 1919. Still, the 10 G- 16v and five similar G-16w class engines pulled heavy duty for the LE&W. Starting in 1924 they wore new Nickel Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 19
Plate paint, but largely kept their same assignments and territories well through the 1930s. WWII saw them scattered all over the railroad, opening up operational opportunities for these older but powerful engines. Sadly, by the late 1940s the end was near. A downturn in postwar traffic, the addition of more Berkshires, the addition of the W&LE’s steam fleet, and the introduction of diesels meant that the G-16’s and a host of other older, smaller engines quickly became redundant. Most of the G-16’s were retired in 1947 and 1949, while the last three (486, 488 and 493) were scrapped in mid-1951.
So what makes modeling a G-16 relatively simple? The Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0. Dimensionally, it’s very close to many typical, large pre-WWI Consolidations, and the NKP’s engines were as typical as they came. True, the models will have to be modified, but that’s just a matter of ‘surface details’: move the domes, change some piping, and modify the running boards. About the only difficult change is the cab: the model comes with a Harriman design cab with a high, arched roof, which is completely unlike anything used on either the Nickel Plate or New York Central. The cab HAS to be replaced, and as of now the only option is to scratch build a new one. A side elevation plan for the cab is below (actually from an H-5, but the cabs were the same for several early NKP engines).
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W&LE modeler Eric Hansmann has recently added a new gondola to his 1926-themed roster. This Wheeling gon started off as an Accurail model. Eric gained the assistance of NKP modeler Dave Campbell, who drew new prototype-specific ends for the model in CAD, 3D printed them by Shapeways, and then hand cast multiples of them in resin. Eric added the new ends, replaced the cast-on grab irons with wire, and then added KD brake gear to the model. The trucks are by Kadee, the couplers are Accurail semi-scale, and the wheelsets are Intermountain .088” semi-scale. Eric again enlisted Dave to create the artwork for the decals, which were printed by Rail Graphics. Finally, Eric spent more time carefully weathering the model than he did building it!
Eric Broch shared a photo of one of the Nickel Plate Geeps in his roster. This GP7 started off as a Front Range shell, which Eric superdetailed to match the prototype. The drive is by Athearn, and the decals are Microscale.
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Bill Botkin gives us a railfan’s eye view of the DL&W’s Westerner heading through Port Morris NY on a hazy day in 1958. The Nickel Plate is well-represented on these non-home rails, with baggage car 329 carrying bulk mail, and the ‘City of Lima’ carrying the end markers. The two NKP passenger cars, as well as one of the Lackawanna’s baggage cars and a through coach, will be handed off to NKP Tain #7 in Buffalo at four in the Morning the next day.
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NKP 503 chugs slowly through a B&O interlocking on Bill Touhy’s HO scale home layout. Bill is assembling an impressive Nickel Plate steam roster made up mostly of brass models that he’s carefully super-detailing, repowering if necessary, and painting.
Tony Koester sent in this unusual view of Metcalf IL on his Third Sub. We’re looking up the B&O mainline where a Geep is busily shuffling interchange cars. Soon, Nickel Plate second class freight #42 will pick up the interchange cut to speed the cars on their way to Points East.
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QUICK AND EASY HOPPER AND GONDOLA LOADS By Chris Ellis
A few weeks ago fellow Nickel Plate Road modeler John Albaneeze invited my son Brendan and I over for a group work session building loads for our hoppers and gondolas. We were also joined by Tim Moran and Jerry Jordak whose Penn Central layout I got to operate on earlier this year.
I brought along a bunch of plastic hopper load inserts by Accurail (I really recommend them) that needed finishing, a bottle of Scenic Express mine run coal, the Dollar Tree black decorative sand I also use as coal and few other supplies not knowing what to expect. I've been to John's house a few times and he's always been the ultimate host, so I should've known he'd be well prepared for us.
There were tables to work on, a table full of supplies, containers full of different grades of sand, real coal, metal shavings, rust and all the glue and paint we might need. There was even a table with donuts and coffee which helped pass the time while waiting for everyone to arrive. Once Tim and Jerry arrived we got to work. Tim brought several grades of Smith & Sons coal and gravel and added it along with my coal to the communal material supplies.
Here's a view the work table that I shared with John.
The “Work Mess” John explaining the fine art of turning foam into a load base to Chris’ son Brendan.
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While I dug into coating the tops of my Accurail loads with different sizes of coal, John showed Brendan how to craft a sand load for a gondola using a core of insulating foam. The trick is to cut a lot of blanks out of 1” or 2” thick foam insulation board as quickly and as precisely as possible. For this John measures the real inside dimensions of the model car that he needs to fill, and uses a bandsaw and rip fence to quickly and cleanly cut out a bunch of foam rectangles.
Making the load blanks in bulk saves time, especially if you’re a coal region modeler and have a lot of hoppers to make loads for like I do. Once the blanks are cut out, a few quick passes with a Stanley Surform tool to round the tops and make load mounds is all that’s needed to shape the foam. Once you get the hang of things you can bang out a ready-to-cover blank in a minute or two. Brush or vacuum off the excess foam ‘fuzzies’, and it’s time to add paint and the simulated load material.
I believe Tim came up with the trick we all started using of mixing a bit of Mod Podge glue with a color of acrylic paint similar to the load material we were using. This was helpful for concealing the color of the foam and adding a bit of adhesion for the load material. Even though Mod Podge dries clear, I used the glue and black paint mix to better hide any spots I might miss with coal on the plastic loads. Making my coal loads was a simple process of painting the load top with the glue/paint mix and then pouring the coal on top. After about a half hour I shook the loose coal off for reuse and set the load aside for further drying. Pretty simple stuff.
After a while we broke for a great lunch of sloppy Joes then continued our load building work. I had more loads than I realized piling up around me, but Tim came to the rescue and helped stack the driest loads to make room for more as I worked. Jerry made a whole bunch of gravel loads for his cement plant and some loads that may work for a coke train. While that was going on Brendan and I tried our hands at making a few foam core loads for my growing fleet of Wheeling gondolas. Since those cars were ‘Jacks of All Trades” and usually carried material other than coal by the early 1950s, we experimented with materials other than S&S coal. One blank was covered with shiny metal shavings representing new scrap, one was covered with rusty old metal chunks for old scrap, and a third was covered with fine sand. I had to use a bit more Mod Podge to make sure that the real metal pieces stayed put, but otherwise the process went as quickly as the coal loads.
Gondola loads of rusty metal, scrap steel, sand and coal.
Once Brendan and I returned home and I unpacked my new loads to spread out to dry completely. It was only then did I realize I had completed 42 new loads for my coal hoppers and gondolas! Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 25
42 new car loads! Which will go a long way towards filling up my new hopper stash.
I believe John said the rust flakes came off of his old Ford Mustang. Wherever they came from they'll look pretty good as a load headed to the steel mills at Mingo Junction.
All in all, this was a fun, fast, and inexpensive way to fill the insides of my open-topped cars, and a great way to both socialize with others in the hobby and to get something productive done. Performing mundane tasks in a group is always a smart way to get a lot accomplished, so long as the donuts and gab sessions don’t get in the way too much!
Pony pieces in my Walthers W&LE gondola.
Thanks again to John for having Brendan and I over. We look forward to any future activities!
Follow along with Chris’ adventures in Wheeling coalfield modeling at his blog, Adena Railroad.
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NKPHTS 2016 Convention Model Display Report by Tony Koester
Jim Canter displayed three Proto:48 (O fine scale) NKP cabooses at the model display held during the NKPHTS 2016 50th anniversary convention in Bellevue, OH. Jim and National Director David Vaughn have been directly involved in importing exquisitely detailed 1/4"-scale models such as Nickel Plate war-emergency caboose 1343.
National Director David Vaughn displayed this custom built O scale model of Pullman-Standard lightweight coach 105, the very car that is on display at the NKP & Mad River museum in Bellevue, which hosted the 50th anniversary convention.
Veteran S scale (1:64) modeler Jack Kramer built this Wheeling & Lake Erie X29-type boxcar from an S Scale American kit. Note that he added welded "doubler" plates along the bottom edge of the sides to repair areas where X29s frequently rusted through.
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W&LE Division modeler Chris Ellis brought along part of his layout so he could display several of the cars that he’s recently added to his roster. Noted prototype modeler and NKPHTS member Mont Switzer shared the display for a number of his detailed and weathered HO scale freight cars as well.
One note from Chris about the display: “The Great Northern boxcar was my son Brendan's first weathering project using pan pastel and colored pencils. He was really proud and wanted to display it. Hopefully nobody minded the odd inclusion of a western railroad boxcar.” (Considering that Brendan isn’t yet ten, and is a budding modeler and Nickel Plate fan, I think we’ll all give his model a pass.)
Bruce Blonder displayed this model of the Green Springs, OH, NKP depot. The model is a laser-cut wood kit from Bar Mills. Each piece was painted front and rear prior to assembly. The kit was assembled with yellow carpenter's glue wiped on with a micro brush or spread thinly with the tip of a finger. Bruce used Milwaukee Road grey for the dark parts and added a few drops of white for the window and door frames. Grimy Black was used on the roof. Finally, Bruce used pictures from several NKP books to make the scene look as accurate as possible.
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Chris Ellis also displayed these HO scale mock-ups of the yard office at Pine Valley (Dillonvale, OH) on the Wheeling District and the concrete roundhouse at Bellevue. The mock-ups will help him ensure that the finished models will work as intended on his layout.
George Keller built this highly detailed HO model of the NKP depot at Curtice, OH, using Evergreen styrene sheet and shapes. Interior details came from Walthers.
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Gracing almost the entire length of the display area was an HO NKP passenger train by incoming Publications Director Art Lemke.
Behind Art’s passenger train are several models by Chuck Klein. The yet to be painted Mike to the right is an Oriental Powerhouse model, reworked to represent NKP 627 with the addition of Cal-Scale and Cary castings, and The Car Shops 16-RC tender kit. The vehicles are from several manufacturers and repainted to represent NKP maintenance of way department equipment. The 1000 series caboose was made from an Ambroid kit. The SW is an Athearn model with two way lighting, stripes were masked and painted, safety cage was an Oregon Rail Supply offering. The City of Cleveland is a Walthers coach with the sides replaced with Willard Harvey etched metal parts. The K-1a Pacific is a reworked Oriental Powerhouse model with a new sand dome and various added detail castings.
Modernized diner-lounge 129 was built in HO scale by veteran passenger car modeler Tim Adang using Brass Car Sides etchings on a Rivarossi chassis.
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Tim Adang kitbashed 60-ft. heavyweight baggage car 329 from a shortened Athearn baggage car kit. He fashioned the sliding doors from Evergreen styrene.
Jack Kramer also displayed this scratchbuilt S scale NKP freight house.
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NKP Modeling at RPM Chicagoland
Matt Smith displayed several NKP models, including his versions of NKP 1176 and NKP 759.
The 23rd annual railroad prototype modeler’s meet was held in Lisle IL, over October 20-22, 2016. Well over 300 modelers and rail historians attended this year’s meet, making it one of the best-attended meets of recent years. The meet featured nearly 40 presentations and hands-on clinics, modular layouts in N, HO and O scales, a timetable & train order ‘practice layout, and hundreds of models on display.
Ray Breyer brought several pieces of NKP rolling stock for display, including steam, freight cars, cabooses and passenger equipment.
The Nickel Plate Road was well represented at this year’s gathering, with several NKP models featured on the tables and layouts. Tony Koester hosted a talk on Midwestern railroading featuring his Third Sub layout, and Eric Hansmann talked about his Wheeling, WV, modular layout. Eric’s W&LE modeling was accompanied by models displayed by Matt Smith and Ray Breyer.
Eric Hansmann brought his W&LE gondola for display, while several pieces of NKP freight cars ran on the modular layouts.
Matt Smith brought along several NKP structures, including his scratchbuilt version of the Bloomington, IL freight house.
The dates for next year’s convention have yet to be posted, but the meet is always a great time. Check their website in the coming months for updates and announcements.
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A SHED FOR FRANKFORT A Quick Nickel-Plated Kitbashing Project
By Ray Breyer
A couple of months ago, Tony Koester emails me a picture and asks “Ray; are there any kits on the market with these kinds of boxcar ends?”
Within a couple of seconds of opening the image I say to myself, “No, but…..”
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As some of you know, I’ve recently backdated from modeling 1950 to 1928. Model railroading in the pre-WWII period can be a challenge, and there’s a Round Robin group of us who share information, techniques, and skills to make our early rail modeling successful. Friend and fellow Nickel Plate modeler Dave Campbell created a 3D CAD master for this sort of end a couple of years ago, and cast several in resin so we could kitbash Roundhouse 36-foot boxcars into something appropriate for the 1920s (those models are better for the earlier 1900-1910 period straight out of the box).
I took one look at Tony’s photo, saw that it was half an old wooden NKP boxcar, and decided to recreate the shed for Tony using similar techniques that I use for my early Nickel Plate boxcars.
The first thing I needed to do was to identify what was going on in the photo. I knew that I was going to use an older Roundhouse 36-foot boxcar for the body and one of Dave’s cast ends, but what other details are there? A door and window obviously, plus some sort of wood foundation, likely made out of old ties. There are no ladders or grabs anywhere to be seen, which was good news from a detailing perspective. I couldn’t make out much of the roof, but do know that if an old wood NKP boxcar had metal ends, it also had a metal roof.
Two odd things did stand out. The first was the lack of a smoke jack. It does get cold and snowy in central Indiana at times, and even humble crossing guard shanties had coal fired stoves in them. But not this shed. The second unusual item were two protrusions at the far end of the shed, one at the roof line and one at about floor level. There are no other images of this structure, so I had to rely on ‘modeler’s license’ to figure out what was going on with that side of the shed. I finally decided that a little porch, overhang, and new wall with another door would make the most sense.
Now that I generally knew what everything was and what it might look like, it was time to gather up parts and start cutting and gluing! Since there’s only this one photo to work with I had a lot of leeway as to what is ‘correct’.
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Finding the parts was easy. I rummaged around in my spare parts bins until I came up with an old Roundhouse boxcar body (I had started redetailing this one some time ago and stopped for some reason), a sprue of Tichy #8068 work car windows that I use on NKP cabooses, and a sprue of Tichy #8033 doors with transoms. Dave’s cast end and some miscellaneous Evergreen styrene rounded out the parts list, and I was ready to dive into the project.
First up was cutting apart the car body and the end. I simply lopped off the old car end in a miter box, and chopped the boxcar in half (this is where using the old Roundhouse boxcar kit with the separate door came in handy, rather than the new-tooling cars with cast-on doors). I cut holes on both sides for windows, and dressed all of the cut edges with a jeweler’s file.
Next up were the doors. I didn’t have anything really close, until I realized that I could ‘kitbash’ the transomed Tichy doors to match what I was seeing in the photo. A couple of quick slices with an Xacto blade, and one small piece of Evergreen .001”x.002’ strip and those were done. I then measured and cut the ends to accept the ‘new’ doors.
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Next I made the new end and porch flooring, both out of scrap pieces of random V-groove siding I had available. The new wall was sized to fit all the way across the open end. I glued the door in at this point to make the new end wall stronger.
Once I had all of the body elements made I braced the inside of the boxcar shell, since it was bowing inward. A few chunks of large Evergreen stock from the scrap bin and that was done.
With the body braced, I rubber banded the shed parts together and glued them together on the INSIDE edges. I used MEK for the styrene to styrene joints, and ACC for the resin to styrene. I also glued the two side windows in at this time.
Next it was time to make a ‘metal’ roof for the shed. As I explained in my boxcar kitbashing article in Notebook Volume #19, making a Hutchins roof is easy: just take a piece of .010” thick plain styrene, mark the cut lines for the exterior, the Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 24, January 2017 Page 36 center line, and the rib locations (3’ apart), glue scale 2x4 ribs over the rib location lines, and cut everything out. Fold the roof in half, slop on a bunch of MEK, and add it to the top of the boxcar shed.
With the roof on we’re technically done, but not really. Almost no railroad structure sits directly on the ground; they always have a foundation of some kind, even for the most rudimentary sheds. For something as simple as this switch tender’s shanty old railroad ties would suffice.
Instead of using wood tie material, I stuck with more styrene, adding four simple lengths of .08” x .08” styrene strip stock to the bottom of the shed.
With the foundation in place I was done with the shed. This little project only took me a couple of hours to complete, spread out over the course of a long weekend. I boxed it up and shipped it to Tony for painting and installation on his layout.
Tony painted his new shed his standard NKP depot gray, which is Polly Scale (or equivalent) Milwaukee Road Gray, which he says is a near-perfect match for NKP structure gray right out of the bottle. He painted the roof grimy black, let everything dry, installed window glazing, and installed it near the western throat of Frankfort Yard.
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THE NKPHTS MODELER’S NOTEBOOK NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Are you a Nickel Plate modeler? Or a modeler of the Wheeling & Lake Erie, the Lake Erie & Western, the Clover Leaf, or any of the predecessor roads that went into creating the Greater Nickel Plate? Do you have a digital camera? Would you like to share what you’re doing, or what you know, or your tips and techniques on modeling the NKP? Then have we got the forum for you!
These issues of the Modeler’s Notebook mark the rejuvenation of the e-zine, which can become the greatest resource available for modeling and showcasing the work of NKP modelers around the globe. Ultimately, the plan is to issue the virtual magazine quarterly, but that means that the editorial board of the NKPHTS will need YOUR help in adding to its contents!
We’re looking for just about any and all submissions for the magazine. Full-length features, small one to three page “mini features” and stand-alone photos are all welcome and desired. So long as the subject matter is NKP-related, it’s fair game! You say that you aren’t a writer? No problem: the NKPHTS editorial staff is here to help. With good quality cameras coming standard with just about every smart phone these days, taking photos couldn’t be simpler! (so long as they’re relatively well lit and in focus, that is) And we’d love to see your work in all scales and skill levels: S, TT, High-Rail and live steam are all as welcome as O, HO and N.
So share your love of Nickel Plate modeling today! To talk to the editorial staff about a submission, or to submit an article, please contact the following:
Ray Breyer (Editor, NKPHTS Modeler’s Notebook) [email protected]
Tony Koester (NKPHTS Modeling Director) [email protected]
Art Lemke (NKPHTS Publications Director) [email protected] Adam Matthews (NKPHTS Internet Services Director) [email protected]
NKP 116 and rider car 1331 wait for their daily assignment on the I-MC Division’s daily-except-Sunday local freight. Don Warsham modeling and photo
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