Category Archives: Work Equipment

40′ ex-ONT Boxcars Progressing

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This pair of ex-Ontario Northland boxcars has also been receiving some attention lately, with new stencil reporting marks and numbers applied, and some basic weathering with pan pastels. The weathering still has a ways to go, and they also need a little touch up in some areas yet (like some minor patching in the data and re-weigh information to properly date the cars and vary things up a bit more) and the ladders and end details to be re-installed.

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As on the model, the real cars were purchased second-hand from the Ontario Northland and just crudely patched out with AC markings. Both of these cars specifically follow the patch patterns of the prototype numbers they represent.

The 2906 is one of roughly 15 former Ontario Northland boxcars put into a series of general service cars; now when I say this, these cars were still basically non-interchange and captive to the ACR, and mostly commonly used for company materials and local wayfreight deliveries.

The 10352 has a work service number, and was likely a tool or work materials storage car. The real car has a pair of turbine style ventilators on the roof which will also still need to be added at some point.

I also have a couple of brown Ontario Northland cars in the wings which will also soon become another 2900 series car and probably another 10000 series work storage car.

Incidentally, this is the 100th post published to this blog!

True Line Trains CC&F Snowplow Announcement – Including AC

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This past Friday, True Line Trains made an announcement for their next rolling stock model: a HO scale Canadian Car & Foundry snow plow, based on a common design that was owned by Canadian National, Pacific Great Eastern (later British Columbia Railway), Ontario Northland and Algoma Central. (Apparently they will be doing CP versions with different details next.) A fall 2014 release is currently projected.

Some of the features of the model include DCC controlled operating lights and wing blades, and even sound (air horn, and I’m guessing air noises for the pneumatically operated moveable equipment on the plow). While fascinating to have all of these operating features, I wonder how many people actually model a winter layout and would actually make much use of these, and as I’m modeling a summer period it seems a little excessive for something that will sit on a side track in Hawk Junction yard and essentially be little more than a scenic item (non-DCC/sound versions are not listed as going to be available). But I guess this is still better than trying to track down some long out of production brass model of a CN plow to custom paint. And even with the fancy electronically controlled operating features that probably won’t get used much other to test them out and say “Hey, that’s pretty neat!” this is still probably cheaper than the alternative.

The product list includes Algoma Central: plow AC 10105 and two paint versions are listed: a black scheme, and a red scheme. The black scheme would be the “true” AC colours; the ACR’s two plows, AC 10104* and 10105, were painted black into the 1990s when the ACR was acquired by Wisconsin Central in 1995. Sometime shortly after the WC purchase, the two plows were both repainted into the WC’s maroon and gold colours; this would be the “red” scheme mentioned and pictured (at bottom left) on the TLT ad copy.

(* Note the body details of AC 10104 are slightly different than the 10105, so the 10105 is the only one that this model is truly accurate for.)

Here’s a prototype photo of AC 10105 in the Algoma Central’s black paint for reference:

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Note that the prow above the curved plow blade has at some point been modified with a sheet metal extension. This type of modification is extremely common on these plows to help deflect rocks and debris back downwards.

Here’s a later shot of the 10105 repainted into WC maroon and gold:

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(Both photos above courtesy of Blair Smith.)

And finally here’s the AC 10105 at Steelton Yard in summer 2013, still in service and waiting for the heavy snows of winter. (My photo.)

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Another ex-ONT 40′ Boxcar for Work Service: AC 10352

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Here’s another jade green Ontario Northland boxcar that I have in my shop as a companion to the handful of 2900 series boxcars rostered by the ACR for LCL or company service duties. This one will be modeled as work storage car AC 10352. The 10xxx series range on the Algoma Central was reserved for cars specifically assigned to work and maintenance service. This car was likely in service as a tool or materials storage car for work train service.

On this car the original markings were covered over with a large grey-green paint patch. Apart from the more extensive paint patching, this car also features new placard holders on the doors and ends and ventilators on the centreline of the roof.

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The car body all masked off for painting the paint patches.

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To paint the patches, I rather unscientifically mixed “Grimy Black” into some “NYC Jade Green” until I had a grey-green colour I liked, and then sprayed it on using my airbrush.

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After the paint had dried, I peeled off the tape and remounted the car’s floor/underframe in the body. I think the colour of the patches came out quite nicely.

I also touched up the roofwalk supports and the spots on the ends where the tops of the ladders and the original brake hardware locations on this car and the AC 2906 from the other day with a little bit of NYC Jade Green straight out of the bottle, which is a perfect match to the jade green on the TrueLine Trains model for touching up.

Now it’s just a matter of re-working the ladders and brake hardware into their lowered position for these two cars, plus a few more ONT brown cars that will receive similar treatments into either 2900 or 10000 series cars.

I’ll also need to find some detail parts for the ventilators on the roof of this car.