A Richard Hendrickson freight car

After Richard passed away in 2014, I inherited most of his modeling projects and materials, along with all his unbuilt kits and existing freight car fleet. As some readers may remember, I conducted on-line auctions to sell the kits and some brass freight cars, while the Santa Fe Society handled an auction of his Santa Fe brass locomotives and passenger cars. I also handled gifting over 100 of Richard’s freight cars to many of his friends and associates.

[For anyone who does not know, or has forgotten, who Richard Hendrickson was, it might be of interest to read the memorial essay of tribute I wrote after he passed away in June 2014. That essay can be found here: http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2014/07/in-memoriam-richard-hendrickson.html .]  

A couple of his unfinished freight car projects could be completed with a reasonable amount of effort, such as his very interesting Santa Fe Class FE-25 automobile car (the concluding post in my description of that project is here: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2018/11/hendrickson-auto-car-part-6.html ). More recently, I completed his model of a Georgia Railroad USRA box car that had been rebuilt (read my description here: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/07/another-hendrickson-project.html ).

Another project to come to light was his partly converted gondola to be a C&O car. I know what he intended, because both a photo and decals were with the model. Here is the photo Richard had with this project. Evidence that I mention below indicates that this is an AC&F builder photo.

What was the prototype background? From 1930 to 1937, the Chesapeake & Ohio purchased 5000 new steel gondolas, with steel solid floors and fixed ends, numbered 40000–44999. The last 1000, built by AC&F, had different ends, changing from an angled heap shield to an oval one, as you see above. These were remarkably durable cars. In 1953, the year I model, the Official Railway Equipment Register or ORER shows 3974 out of 4000 cars with the angled heap shields, and 996 of the 1000 with oval shields. Only 30 out of 5000 cars had left the roster in the intervening 20 or so years. 

Below is a Cycopedia builder photo (again, by AC&F). These 40-foot, 70-ton gondolas with 9 side ribs have a distinctive appearance.

One way these cars can readily be modeled is the way Richard was doing, using the old Roundhouse metal high-side gondola. It was a cast white-metal kit. His model has at least the Roundhouse sides and floor, held together with small screws. He modified the Dreadnaught ends, and added the distinctive rounded C&O “heap shields” with styrene. The sides have the correct rivet rows inside to match the rib locations. Richard had added brass drop grab irons to the B end.

He also had built a fairly complete underbody, re-locating the brake gear from the Roundhouse original positions (you can see the scars below) and adding all rodding and also the lever carrier hangers. However, he chose to omit most of the piping, something I usually do too. The one thing he had not done on the underbody was to replace the Roundhouse narrow coupler boxes.Here you can clearly see the characteristic Roundhouse screw attachment of sides to floor, at each corner.

The B end of the car needs a brake platform and brake wheel, along with grab irons. I will continue with this project and complete the model, including a decision about the coupler boxes, then attend to paint and decals, followed by weathering.

Tony Thompson

Realistic layout operation, Part 3

This is the third and final post in a series about what constitutes realistic layout operation. I doubt I am introducing any new ideas here, but rather offering a summary of my own views. To sum up: my core position is that realistic layout operation means following the prototype. 

In the first post in this series, I talked about layout appearance as one component of realistic layout operation. Of course the layout itself is passive, but provides what Frank Ellison called the stage on which the performance takes place. I pointed out that proto-freelanced layouts can readily be, and have proven to be, every bit as realistic in appearance as layout built with great fidelity to a particular railroad, place, and time. That post is here: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/11/realistic-layout-operation.html .

In the second post, I described some of the essential tools to achieve realistic operation, which are items of paperwork, again following the prototype. And for the proto-freelanced railroad as much as for the prototypical one, the many prototype examples of relevant paperwork provide us with the models for what we use. That post can be found at this link: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/12/realistic-layout-operation-part-2.html .

This concluding post is still about following the prototype, but now I want to turn to the topic of actual layout operations. I will summarize this point as procedures. Here a common point that is made is that we can add realism if we mimic the jobs that people did on the prototype. And as with so much in modeling, we are of course selective in this. We certainly can’t or don’t want to include jobs such as boilermaker, secretary to the division superintendent, supply clerk, redcap, or even locomotive fireman.

But it’s important that we know at least a little about what the jobs actually comprised that we do model, and how people went about them in the era we model. This is not easy to find out, particularly as a chosen model era is more and more distant from the present. If you model the 1920s, there are certainly no surviving railroaders to be interviewed.

But a great deal has been published, in magazines and books, about prototype railroad jobs. For example, we know a great deal about operators out on the line, like the Frisco operator shown below (Kalmbach Library) with the tools of his trade in 1939: headset, scissor-mounted telephone, telegraph key and sounder in the background, while he copies a train order.

By procedure I mean how things are done on the layout: how trains are run, how switching is conducted, and so on. Here following the prototype, unlike the case of layout appearance, enters a realm known by us as modelers, and not known to other observers. Of course the knowledge of individual modelers varies greatly, but all of us can aspire to learn more about how railroads actually work, or did work back in the day we have chosen to model.

Sometimes when I make this point, I can see some faces fall in the audience, and I know what at least some of them are thinking: “Oh no, more research to do.” As a person who enjoys learning things (as long as I’m interested in them), I only have a general understanding of this reaction. But yes, this is the area where you need always to learn more.

I can remember a time when visiting a layout for an operating session would involve the layout owner saying, “Okay, Tom, you run the coal train around the layout, and when it gets back, Joe, you run the passenger train in the other direction. And as soon as he finishes, Ed, you run the reefer block.” Let us gently pull a curtain over that era. This was not, shall we say, exactly what the prototype did or does.

Instead, trains have schedules and more specific tasks, including local trains doing switching along the line, and such other complications as helpers, or changing locomotives at intermediate terminals, and of course meets between opposing or overtaking trains. Each of those changes makes operation more complex and more realistic. So yes, you have to learn prototype operations, and in particular, you need to learn the operations of the specific prototype you model.

I would add that it’s also valuable to get some flavor of what it was like to do the jobs. Though such reminiscences have not been extensively published, there are certainly a number of good examples. One I often quote, because I have repeatedly enjoyed re-reading it, is Vanishing Markers (by Ralph E. Fisher, Stephen Greene Press, 1976) , and the excellent Dan Rehwalt and Linda Niemann books (see my initial post about such books, at: http://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2012/06/railroad-stories.html and additional books following up at: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-railroad-stories.html ).

I should mention the two volumes of Working on the Western Maryland, WM Historical Society, 1999 and 2011). I show the cover of Volume I below, and next to it the Contents page of Vol. II, typical of both volumes in the variety of job categories that are represented. Most of these are individuals’ summaries of their job histories, but many insights into railroad work are included. (You can click on the image to enlarge it.)

So to sum up what I’ve tried to say in these three posts, realistic operation of layouts large and small rests on three foundations: realistic appearance, use of prototype-style documents and paperwork, and following prototypical job procedures. And common to all three foundations is the principal point: follow the prototype.

Tony Thompson

Those high brake wheels

Not long ago I received an interesting question at an operating session on someone else’s layout. One of the visitors came up to me and asked, with a smile, “You’re a freight car guy, right?” As long-time readers of this blog will know, that is indeed something I’ve been called before. (You can read some background at this link: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2019/10/whats-freight-car-guy.html .) 

When I acknowledged that I was such a guy, he posed his question: “How did brakemen operate those vertical-staff handbrakes with the wheels close to the roof?” What he meant, I believe, is shown below on a model of one of Southern Pacific’s temporary cabooses, converted from a box car, shown on the caboose track in my layout town of Shumala.

I began my answer by going back to the early history, when such brake staffs were a lot longer, intended for men working on the roof itself. As an example, below is an Ensign company photo (Cyril Durrenberger collection) of T&NO 1192, a car built in 1888, showing its B end. The grab iron row in this case is at the left edge of the end (about as many cars had them on the right edge), and clearly there is no brake step. A brakeman might have to operate this from the roof. 

(The photo above, and the car photos below, can be found in my book “Box Cars,” Volume 4 in the series, Southern Pacific Freight Cars, Signature Press, 2nd edition, 2014). Below is a famous illustration from the 19th century, dramatically showing men applying handbrakes in a snowstorm.

As the illustration shows, at that time, before air brakes, brakemen had to move along the roofs of cars, setting the brakes by hand. This was perilous and obviously could and did lead to injury or death. I should emphasize, however, that at least as early as 1869, some cars did have brake steps, as shown in the Promontory, Utah view below (detail of A.J. Russell photo, Oakland Museum). It was up to the car buyer to make this choice in those days. Note that the brake staff and the grab irons are on the right.

By the end of the 19th century, it became common (and later was required) to provide a step on the car end, for a brakeman to use when setting hand brakes. The brake location on the left of the car center line also became standard. But as you see in the 1902 photo below (Steve Peery collection), the grab iron row might not be there at all, and brakemen had to use the grab irons on the car side.

It wasn’t until the Third Safety Appliance Act of 1910 that mandatory locations of safety appliances came into being (previous Acts were in 1893 and 1903). The photo below is on the hump at SP’s Taylor Yard in Los Angeles (SP photo). This clearly shows how a brakeman operated the hand brake with the wheel close to the roof surface.

This arrangement continued on house cars as long as there were vertical-staff hand brakes. But starting in the late 1920s, geared hand brakes became more and more common. This provided a considerable mechanical advantage for the brakeman applying the hand brake. The brake wheel was then attached to a gearbox, and thus had a horizontal instead of a vertical shaft. It was operated from not too different a position than shown in the photo above; this image is from a Cyclopedia advertisement.

One message from these photos is that the brake step was a very important part of a freight car for brakemen. After 1966, it was moved much lower on the car side, thereby avoiding the obvious risk of having to work at the car’s top. But the method of operation remained quite similar.

So those vertical-staff hand brakes, for any time substantially into the 20th century, should not be too tall, and of course should have a brake step. Brakemen certainly counted on the brake step when they had to apply hand brakes with that equipment.

Tony Thompson

Refining scenery, Part 3

Back in the summer of 2024, I relocated the MP1 switch machines at the throat of my trackage into the layout town of Santa Rosalia. I won’t go into the reasons for that (it can all be found in a series of previous posts, culminating in this one: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/07/update-on-switch-machine-installations.html ), but to sum up, the relocated machines had linkage exposed between machines and track. This can be seen below, along with remnants of previous arrangements. 

The “trenches” in which the linkages lie need to be filled in with paper mache, so they can be scenicked. The wire linkages pass through brass tubing, so filling the “trench” will only contact the tubing, and allow free movement of the linkage wire. In addition, the surrounding area was unfinished scenically, so that needed attention also. Below is an older photo of the entire area, as it appeared when the current structures were in place and the MP1 machines connections were concealed.

The building at photo center with the gray roof, built from a Timberline kit, is called “Ballard Farm Supply,”and is located here to cover the switch machines shown in the upper photo. To its right is a railroad water tank, and in the foreground is the Richfield bulk oil dealer in the town of Santa Rosalia, including a tank car spotted for unloading.

I applied Sculptamold paper mache to the linkage trenches, and also to make some ground contours in the area. As you can see below, this area is right in front of the backdrop, and some effort is needed to minimize visibility of the joint between horizontal layout surface and vertical backdrop. The loading dock in the photo below shows the location of the left end of the Ballard Farm Supply building.

Next the area needed to be painted. I used acrylic tube paint in Raw Umber for this. I extended the color over the entire area, since I want to scenick it all.

Next I applied my usual technique, a coating of matte medium followed by real dirt and a few pinches of Woodland Scenics grass. Then the area is spritzed with “wet water” to make sure the matte medium contacts all the scenic materials and secures them.

Finally, to show how this was supposed to end up, I show below the Ballard Farm Supply building in place to conceal the MP1 machines, though with its roof off. Other scenery work in the area remains to be done. Incidentally, the Farm Supply business does receive inbound rail shipments, but having no spur of its own, receives them at the town team track.

As I have observed in each of these “Refining Scenery” posts, this is a quite minor project, but I wanted to show it to illustrate the kind of thing that is often needed, even on a layout as nearly complete as mine. More later.

Tony Thompson

More crate and box loads, Part 2

In a recent post, I showed how I made use of some hardwood offcuts that were mostly but not entirely square, to make shipping box or crate loads suitable for gondolas or flat cars. I showed one of them loaded in a gondola. But more needed to be done on this project: the third of the three loads hadn’t been finished. To read that previous post, see this link: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2024/11/more-about-making-crate-and-box-loads.html .

The first additional task to describe is finishing the third and largest of the three loads. As was described for the the other two crates, in the previous post (link above), it was made to “sit square” by adding a styrene support underneath to level it. Then scale 1 x 10-inch styrene strip was glued to the bottom of the sides to conceal the angled cut on that part, and likewise around the top, using canopy glue. Finally, a piece of sheet styrene was glued to the top, since its end grain simply couldn’t be adequately concealed with modeler’s putty.

As a reminder, this box is 1.25 inches high and1.5 inches long. Some of the sanded areas of putty can be seen above as lighter areas. Then the crate was painted again, using the same Tamiya “Haze Grey” (TS-32) as before.

Another feature that needs to be present on such a load is a means of securing the crate to the freight car. In later years, steel banding was very widely used for this purpose, but at the time I model, 1953, only some photographs show banding used to secure this kind of a load. For crates like these, a common hold-down method was lengths of timber that could be spiked or lag-screwed down to the wood car deck of the flat car or gondola, and also bolted to the crate. In HO scale, I usually use scale 6 x 6-inch stripwood.

Lastly, labeling matters too. No doubt there were unmarked crates and boxes shipped like this, but marked ones are not only more interesting, but they add to the information in the accompanying waybill. I show two examples below. One is the familiar electrical equipment distributor, Graybar, at that time headquartered in Chicago. The other is a Naval Supply Depot, which would ship materials to other depots, or would move parts for repair or upgrade to contractors.

Finally, the larger crate was given timber hold-downs and a label for “Square D” circuit breakers, and operated on the layout, as a flat car load. This is shown below. Like all these new loads, this crate represents something well over the size that could be loaded through a box car door, at least in 1953, and is thus appropriate for open-top cars. (You can click on the image to enlarge it if you wish.)

Completing these three large crates or shipping boxes adds to the versatility of open-car loads that can be moved in layout operating sessions, and as such, are welcome additions to my load inventory.

Tony Thompson

Another Winter Solstice

Once again, it’s the Winter Solstice, the shortest day. And as I have done on a number of past occasions of this day, I want to recognize what it means to me. Below I reprint essentially the post I wrote for this day in 2012. I hope you will find it interesting.

The Shortest Day

One of my vivid memories from childhood is my father relishing this day, which seemed odd to me then, what with the days shortening and the nights closing in, and of course colder and rainier weather. But he always said, “Now the days will be getting longer,” and of course, so they will.

 What hadn’t occurred to me in those days was that humans for many, many centuries have had the same feelings about this day that my dad did, and in more primitive times, for better reasons.

 Ever since my wife and I discovered the performances known as Christmas Revels, we attended a fair number of them here in the Bay Area. Revels was created by John Langstaff in 1957, and the tradition gradually grew and extended over the years. Today Christmas Revels is performed in several cities around the country (for the location of those cities, you can visit their map at this link: https://revels.org/about/#revels-nationwide , and from there go to their home page to learn more about their history and what Revels is.)

 A favorite part of the performance of every Christmas Revels is the reading, toward the end, of a poem by Susan Cooper, written for Revels in 1977 and for me a delight. I reproduce it below, with permission from Cooper, to whom I wrote an email and requested the use. (The poem is all over the Internet, in both written and spoken form, though often mis-punctuated and sometimes with words changed — imagine the nerve!) 

She sent me a copy of it as she wrote it, so that it could be presented correctly. (If you’d like to know more about her, please visit her web site: http://www.thelostland.com/ .) She also mentioned that she was happy to give permission for my use in this blog, as she is descended from three generations of English railwaymen!

THE SHORTEST DAY

By Susan Cooper

So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen,
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing, behind us -- listen!
All the long echoes sing the same delight
This shortest day
As promise wakens in the sleeping land.
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends, and hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year, and every year.
Welcome Yule!

A far more eloquent presentation of our traditions than I could ever have written. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 Tony Thompson

The yard brush

I suspect this is another of those titles for a post that will puzzle some readers. What I am referring to is a soft brush provided to a yardmaster or yard operator.  But why, you cry. The answer is simple: when a lull in yard work comes along, the yard operator can remove dust from car roofs or interiors. To illustrate, below is a hopper car interior, quite dusty as the finger marks show. Why not dust this?

I have to quickly mention that in O scale, many layout owners seem to like the dusty look, and will tell you, instead of dusting the cars, to please not touch them and thereby disturb the nice dust. This post is for all other types of layout owners, who generally have the opposite view of dust.

So what kind of brush am I suggesting? The usual sort of “make-up” powder brush, available at any cosmetics counter, is large and soft, perfect for dusting without disturbing detail parts. The best kind is the broad brush I was told is a “blusher” of the kind you see below. This type is also called a “face brush” or a “powder brush.” This brush is about 5 inches long, and is the one I use for my layout.

As you can see, the brand is “essence of Beauty.” They have an extensive line of makeup powders and brushes, and brushes are usually around $5.00 or so.

Another brush I have used, and currently acts as my “traveling brush,” when I operate at someone else’s layout, is from the “bareMinerals” brand, and is also about 5 inches long. I use the larger, soft end. This brand also offers a “powder brush” like the one shown above. Brushes from this brand are considerably more expensive than the “essence of Beauty” brushes; I inherited this one.

I have a third brush, with no brand name on it, very similar physically to the others, which I keep on my workbench (in a different place than the layout). It’s the same size, but has black bristles, equally as soft as the others, and I use it for the same kinds of dusting.

All these brushes are quite effective, and I like what they can do. They all get used, whether home or away. And by the way, of course I ask the layout owner’s permission to dust cars, as should anyone! Below I show my “visiting” brush in action on Jim Providenza’s well-known Santa Cruz Northern layout, though in reality it wasn’t needed, just a demo.

So is this important? No, not really, totally a detail, though I sometimes remark that a well-equipped yard should have a yard brush handy. Brushes like this need not be expensive, so you might give one a try. Whether you permit visiting operators to wield one is a separate decision <grin>.

Tony Thompson