First are four Ready Made Trains (RMT) new-tooling woodchip boxcars that were originally ordered in March 2022 but due to some manufacturing issues with the trucks were only delivered this summer and fall. They are nice cars but have molded on details and a fake looking woodchip load. I modified them to add corner stirrups, which required limiting the trucks' swing so that the mounted couplers wouldn't knock them out. I then weathered them and added real woodchip loads. They aren't bad for about $30 each. I submitted an article about my modifications, and perhaps someday it will be published.
One nearly-big problem I came across while working on the Maine Central green cars was that the ring of caulk around the upper edge of the side extensions didn't seal perfectly. I had been worried about this but I did a water test and the top of the hopper held water without leaking (at least for the 5 seconds I let the water sit in it). But when I added water/alcohol mixture to "wet" the wood chips, and then the water/white glue mixture to secure them, the sides started weeping water at the joints. Not a lot, but enough that I had a problem. I couldn't just sit it and wick it away so eventually I had to walk away and let it all dry.
The next day, I used toothpicks and metal tweezers to pick out and rub away excess white glue which had dried into a rubber-cement like consistency. Had I used matte medium to secure the wood chips the cars likely would have been ruined. The rubbing alcohol also reacted with the Dullcote and caused white blotches... which is normal. You just need to respray with clear once you are done to restore the clear finish. But if any of the white discoloration was hidden by glue residue it wouldn't revert back to clear, so I had to be double sure in certain areas to remove any glue. It took an hour to go over both cars but in the end it worked out okay. If anything, the scrapes and such make them look more weathered.
Next, at a small show in Poughkeepsie I found some Lionel "British" coaches for sale. They were being sold with a Polar Express steam engine as a set for $145. The seller had no idea what they were, and I didn't want the engine but the coaches were calling to me because I love British trains. After explaining the situation (I believe in honesty) and haggling, I brought them home sans engine for $80. I doubt I will ever finding the matching GWR engine.
The model tooling was originally produced for the Hogwarts Express set in 2007, but then Lionel decided to get more mileage out of it. They actually produced a pair of true British Great Western Railway train sets (Shakespeare Express in 2008; Albert Hall European Passenger set in 2015). The engines were GWR green with gold trim, and the coaches were "chocolate and cream" (tan and brown). The coaches had upgraded trucks which were cast metal instead of plastic like on the Hogwarts set, and the tender of the two sets had a true British "peanut" whistle sound. I may try and buy that sound chip to upgrade my Hogwarts tender.
Harrison already loves them, no doubt because we frequently watch British Railway videos together.
But Harrison also is getting a passenger train of his own this Christmas. My wife and I have taken him trainspotting a lot this past year, and one of his favorite places is a playground next to Amtrak tracks. Rarely do freight trains go by, but we usually see 2-4 passenger trains every time we visit. He has been asking for an Amtrak passenger train for a while now, so I decided to get him one.
I have my own scale MTH passenger set with Amfleet cars but Harrison needs something a bit more robust, and inexpensive. Lionel made a "Lakeshore Limited" set which would have been perfect except that I haven't been able to find one at a price I considered fair in the past 6 months. So, I did it piecemeal and purchased three coaches new in box and a separate engine, also new in box.
The coaches are "shorty" repurposed tooling from the Lionel postwar era but that makes them perfect for the tight 0-27 curves on Harrison's layout. Plus, they have the "pointless arrow" scheme on the side which I like. They will be easy for him to put on the track, and if he is a bit rough with them they aren't a huge investment. I found out later the three cars I bought were not in the original set but actually were separate "add on" cars, so if he ever gets the set he will have the full 7-car train.
The engine stumped me. I wanted the black and red "bloody nose" FA unit, because it is similar to the special Amtrak P42 heritage engines in the heritage "Phase I" scheme. Plus, if he damaged the chassis it would be easy to find a donor to swap. But no luck... I couldn't find one. However, a friend was selling a brand new Williams P42 Genesis engine in Amtrak's Phase II scheme. It is a bit larger and heavier than something I would let Harrison play with on his own, but if I am there to watch him it will be okay. And I can still look for a cheap FA engine for him to use on his own.
Jumping to a completely random project, Harrison and my wife both commented recently that they don't have a purple train car for Harrison's layout. Red, yellow, green, blue... lots of them. But no purple. I couldn't think of a prototype freight car that I ever saw painted purple (the Atlantic Coast Line might have had some, but I doubt it). The D&H had maroon boxcars that sometimes looked purple, but that didn't count either. So, at a show in Rochester I bought a cheap Lionel MPC coal hopper, and on the way home I stopped at the hardware store for purple paint.
Originally it was a Seaboard #19309, but now it is just a purple hopper. It came with a molded coal load that I didn't know about (I thought I was actually buying a covered hopper, something Harrison doesn't have any of). I didn't strip the paint or prime it but just used the original gray as a primer. As a result, the old letter ghosts through the sides. Oh well. I could have left the coal load black but I noticed some bronze sparkle paint on my shelf so I painted it that. He has a few wooden Thomas trains with "gold" loads, so this car followed that them. Several coats later and the car was finished.
The next one is a bit of an "Oops". I have been looking for an older gondola or flatcar to spot at the end of my MOW siding track, and at a December train show found a Maine Central hopper that seemed to fit the bill nicely. It is a Weaver model that had been converted to woodchip service, and the seller even had an extra load for sale too. I bought the hopper, skipped the load (it wasn't required), and brought it home. Upon opening the box, I realized that the woodchip extensions were glued in place with very obvious and out-of-scale braces on the inside by Weaver. With a load they are hidden, but I planned to model it empty and rusted. I couldn't hide the braces, and didn't want try and remove them, so I will just add a real wood chip load like the others and have it join the fleet.
Finally, after riding the Conway Scenic Railroad in May I was inspired to order four Atlas Trainman 60' passenger cars lettered for the CSRR. This purchase was ironic, as in October 2021 I asked online about whether anybody had ever produced commercial models of them. At the time I was hoping to build a model of the Bangor & Aroostook's excursion train (which was pulled by one of their BL2 engine) and wanted to save time by purchasing factory painted models. But, I was told that none existed. That killed the project.
However, after riding the excursion train in I decided to do another online search and huzzah, Atlas had announced some models. I quickly ordered four (one of each of the car numbers available) and waited. They arrived right before Christmas.
One last train sneaked into this post, and it was a complete surprise to me. I have always loved the Lionel standard gauge Blue Comet Set but likely will never afford one. My wife knows this, and without my knowledge she purchased a matching set of Hallmark miniature ornaments of the train from 2003. I love them, and they are now in my display case.
At this point, I am not looking for much more rolling stock and instead need to focus on the benchwork. But, it has been a fun couple of months collecting stuff!
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