Beautiful!

66' Gondola

Terrific model. White's book is a incredible source of early material and fascinating insight into the

railroad industry.

Jeff

Beautiful Models

I have to say you "scratch" build some beautiful models. Some thing that is rarely seen in todays RTR market. Very refreshing. I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work.

Bernd

My favorites - old time and aged

Thanks to all for your friendly comments!

I have built two of these models looking like fresh delivered from the car builder shop. But with starting this job it was not of my interest. I was interested many times more in older cars, aged and weathered ...

... and arched up in center. Because?

I have discussed many theories with friends and other model railroaders and there are two different ideas.

Some modelers mean that the cars are pre-formed for use with heavy loads and so the cars will get a normal form by their load. The arching up is done with aim.

Second theory is that these cars were built in planar form, thus in normal condition. Cars have got their "cat's arched back" by rain and humidity in the years of service by swelling wood. The wood frame and side planks were lengthened bit for bit and the heavy truss rod irons worked against that and so the cars were pressed in center upward. An other direction is not possible because the strong trusses below of frame. I must say that I'm also a supporter of this second idea.

I said also for a long time that railroad cars never were built with such an "cat's arched back" as counteraction against heavy loads. Until I have seen this picture of very new reefers on Shorpy Gallery with exact these arched up cars. Fresh delivered from the shop, a whole line. (By the way, these cars fascinate me so much that I soon would like to build four, five or six models. A line of fresh white reefers in a train together wild old, aged and weathered cars; what for a picture!) However back to gondolas. My mean is so as I have written in second case. The gondolas were arched up by rain and humidity, absolutely!

A few more pictures yet. Begin of detailing.

Hardware parts for fixing side and end wall planks together - for one model in new condition.

A reduced end wall on a car that was in use for a longer time - with a single plank at end.

Do you can read the remark "One end plank (is) standard to this car"? A lettering exactly after picture of a prototype.

Brake is mounted (with a movable hand brake).

Trussrods - but a half only of these which I needed.

All truss rods are mounted ...

... and fixed by washers and nuts - with screw thread!

And now - four of five models, three aged in front and one "new" model in background.

And that was the end of this project - two cars loaded with rails. Sorry not the street car girder rails for what the cars were ordered in 1899.

At end a link to a small video with my gondola train. -

"cat's arched back"

Berhard,

This is true. The very large tractor-trailer trucks in the US have that to, an arch. That's so when a capacity load is put on the trailer it will go straight. Also when those refer cars are new the over-tighten the truss rods. They will relax once the cars get loaded many times.

Those refrigerator cars where manufactured with in 30 miles (48km) of where I live. The city is now called "East Rochester". The buildings were torn down somewhere in the 70's or 80's. It is now a toxic waste dump.

Excellent example of scratch building techniques on those flat cars. And, yes you should build several of those refrigerator cars.

Bernd

Girder Rail

girder rail

 I remember seeing it for sale somewhere a while back. Maybe the proto 87 store?  Interesting that it came in longer lengths than normal rail......DaveB

WOW!!

I'm doing some kits, and hope to get into more scratch or serious kitbashed cars--but this is mind-blowing.  WOW!!!  Love to see some pics of them on the layout!

Thanks to all. Thanks also

Thanks to all.

Thanks also for your hints relating to girder rails. But I have closed this project and I think that the mill plant did carry also other milled steel products - and so also rails. But if I should get good looking girder rails in future than I will change also the loads.

@IrishRover, unfortunately I do not own a layout and so I'm a model train traveler, to friends, each year. And so the video was created. Enjoy!

...

It's a pre-stressed truss, which basically means the car is built in tension so that when the load is added, it stresses to the flat position.

If they built it flat and level, the car would sag and then collapse if fully loaded.

The stress would not have appeared until after the builders stressed the tie rods, at which point it would stress the wood deck upwards.

From what I understand, as truss rod cars aged, the middle would sag.

Really nice models

Putting steel products in those long and narrow gondolas is just the thing to do. Those cars were originally designed to begin hauling the products of the rapidly growing steel industry that was longer than most cars of the era could handle. Think of girders, tubes, pipes, shapes, even some trusses etc.

Bernhard, I see you do the fremo thing and model American prototypes, did you by chance know Wolfgang Dudler and operate on his layout at anytime? I always thought his layout was interesting and well done in a not too serious manner. He was also capable of building some fine models as well.

Those cars of yours are fantastic, wonderful detail. On one of the web sights I looked at looking for history in my part of the world had several similar cars outside what became the corrugating plant. I believe these were still in use into the twenties. The cars would arrive with Steel shapes or bars or rods and then the products were shaped and assembled into finished products. During world war 2 the plant made the assemblies that held life boats and allowed them to be lowered into the sea from ships.

Many of the products would come in in gondolas and leave as finished products in box cars. Really great models.

Rob in Texas

Rob, thanks for your

Rob, thanks for your explanations.

First, a sad info, Wolfgang has died after a long and heavy illness two years ago. I was well known to him and he was constantly involved to Fremo meetings. I never could visit his home layout because everytimes I was only as a guest at meetings. But I have seen most of his modules and of his model work and there were plenty of fine railroad items in his layout and work room. I think most of models have been sold, however his last project and dream, a couple of modules for a large HOn3 scale modular layout, were take over by a new established US narrow gauge model group in Fremo. So a good part of his model work will live also in future.

Thanks also for your additional info to my gondolas and steel plant. Yes, I have seen one picture of these cars in a train after the twenties however I never have found a picture of a loaded car. But I'm sure that a couple of long mill plant products will be carried by these cars. And shorter things also, than a lettering hint is written on side walls - "When loaded with short material it must be equally distributed for a distance of 18ft from each end of car". And this text is written also to walls of models!

You can read it here on side sill. Click on picture for an enlarged view.

I still visit his web site and watch his you tube videos

His comments and videos were always interesting. I particularly liked his comments regarding what was carried in his covered gondolas, his answer nit pickers. I thought it was very clever how he installed sound units in tiny diesels and did things like animating gates in chain link fences and used moveable uncoupling magnets under his track.

He is a modeler that will be missed over here as well as in Germany.

Rob in Texas

Some details - bolsters

Bolsters are the only parts that I have made of metal, in addition to some hardware - as it was in the original car.

And such misfortunes also passed - a floor board was destroyed with a screwdriver when I tried to screw couplings.

However this error I fixed not before end after last painting - with a new uncolored replacement board.

Nice!

I like the idea of having newer board or two--pieces have to be replaced sometimes.  I can't imagine me having the patience to build a car like that!

IrishRover, ... here on

IrishRover,

... here on picture you can see that a few more than just one plank had to be replaced at the two models in foreground.

Very nice models Bernhard. I

Very nice models Bernhard. I have tried to find the photo of prototypes like your cars on the internet but evidently it has been moved or something as the link I saved does not work at this time. If I run across it I will post it or send it to you.

Rob in Texas

Rob, thanks. Perhaps you

Rob, thanks.

Perhaps you mean the website of Black River Historical Society in Lorain, OH. Society has changed to Lorain Historical Society and their new website is under construction. They write a reopening date in 21 days, which is May 1st.

No, the ones I saw were the

No, the ones I saw were the same type cars or very similar. The picture of them was taken along what eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Wheeling, WV. I believe the plant in question was what came to be known as Wheeling Corrugating, which eventually became part of Wheeling Steel. The other major railroad in the area was the Baltimore and Ohio. The Wheeling and Lake Erie nearly reached wheeling on its own rails, but the Wheeling Bridge and Terminal Railway was chartered to build the bridge over the Ohio River and after amassing a great deal of debt declared bankruptcy and when put up for sale the Pennsy out bid the other folks and ended up with it.

I thought the photos were in the Ohio county public Library site but it seems to be updated and lots of the info is not where I thought it was it may still be there someplace.

During the time period many folks would build something get lots of debt and sell it to another company for pennies on the dollar and leave the investors out to dry. The Wheeling and Lake Erie then came in to it's name sake city on the rails owned by another company. For a while the railway was known as the Wheeling Terminal Railway. Below is part of the plant from a picture from 1908. There were more of them and you can actually buy large copies of this print from the library of congress.

and leave the investors out to dry

  Guess those old capitalists hadn't discovered govt. bailouts yet? ....DaveB

Some pictures of details ...

... for readers with interest. Preparation for brake installing. The plan ...

... and its realization.

I know that the connecting pipe to triple valve is wrong positioned - a correction follows. Parts ...

... and their connecting by small rivets. So levers are moveable.

Pre-drilling with a 0.2mm (0.08") drill bit for correct positioned connecting pipe.

Together with small hardware parts ...

... so I have mounted a complete brake on the frame.

And the brake levers move - a bit, until all segments of chains are stretched - if I turn the hand brake wheels carefully.

Wow, nice details

Bernhard,

Those details are smaller than what I'm making. Very nice work. Did you make those pulleys also?

Bernd

Outstanding work!

I've not seen many models in H0 Scale with such tiny Details! You are an Expert!

Juerg, thank you very much!

Juerg, thank you very much!

Greetings to Switzerland!