Brian Banks built this model in the spring of 2008 for operation on the Comanche and Indian Gap Railroad. Here are this construction notes.
"I was originally going to build it from 1/8" aluminum sheet with real rivets, but after considering the cost of both money and time, decided to emulate the new owner's construction technique used on his waycar from the 1980's.
"After much time spent poring over Frank Ellington's caboose book and a couple of other photos on the Internet and via John Moore, I drew up some plans. The frame is 1 x 2 steel tubing for the center sill, 1" angle for the side and end sills, and crossmembers are 1" tube. This type of frame is similar to Mountain Car Company's product and is used by a lot of 1-1/2" scale builders. The steel underframe allows a lot of load to be put on the car when pulling a lot of cars, whereas a wood frame will tend to pull apart after a period of time. Plus, it can be cut with a bandsaw or hacksaw, and drilled and screwed together. Tom Bee trucks and couplers were used.
"Furniture grade plywood sanded on one side was used for the sides and ends, and the panels over the windows and rivet strips are basswood. Rivet holes were drilled and 3/16" escutcheon pins installed to resemble rivets. The sides were screwed to the side sills with 2-56 machine screws, and the ends glued and nailed to the sides with square pieces inside for strength at the joints. 1/2" and 1/8" plywood are the floor material. Roof purlins were cut from pine and the roof is 1/8" lauan primed and painted both sides. The end beams are also pine, and the ladders and handrails are 1/8" brass square tubing and round rod. The steps and 1/8" lauan although I originally intended to make then from sheet steel or brass for longevity. The windows were framed with 3/16 x 3/16 square basswood and acrylic is used for the glass. I did not make the windows operable as the car will spend a lot of time in an open barn and rodents and wasps tend to get into these cars.
"I primed it with Kills and painted it with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer. This is as close to Mineral Brown as I have found with a light coat of satin or gloss on top. Stencils were cut out from enlarged Microscale decals and lettering painted on with a brush. A light coat of Spar Urethane satin seals the car.
"It was fun. I would recommend any modeler looking for a challenge to try one of these large scale models. It is a refreshing change to go out into the garage and build something with the drill press and table saw versus having to use a loup to install handrails!"
