Refurbishing an Inexpensive Passenger Car

Рет қаралды 7,255

HO Scale Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley

11 ай бұрын

This is absolutely the last video I will do on rebuilding inexpensive plastic cars. I had planned to produce a video on adding details (e.g. separate hand grabs, running boards, ladders, etc.) to cheap cars, but Charles Smiley beat me to it! It’s an excellent video - check it out here: • Video
Links to items mentioned in this video. (Note: I am NOT endorsing any particular product(s), nor am I compensated by or connected to any of the companies mentioned.) I do NOT guarantee that these links will give you the best available price! Consider these links to be a starting point for your search.
Kadee 451 couplers: www.kadee.com/451-ho-scale-ex...
Perfect Plastic Putty: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Phosphor-Bronze Wire: www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/...
Micro LEDs: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Diaphragms: www.walthers.com/diaphragms-b...
Passenger Car Trucks: rapidotrains.com/detail-parts...
Passenger Car Underbody Details: unionstationproducts.com/unde...
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This video was edited using Shotcut for Linux. Video footage and still images were recorded using a Galaxy A10e phone and a Nikon D7100 camera.

Пікірлер: 59

@Greatdome99 10 ай бұрын

The car is a Railway Post Office-Baggage, not a baggage-coach. 40' of the car was dedicated to the Post Office; 20' was dedicated to Railway Express. Your model was built by Athearn and is an early 'flat kit' version from the late 1950s. The paint was an attempt at a Great Northern car.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the information. I had another viewer point out this was an RPO car, not a combine. Well, too late - it's a freelance combine now!

@TrinityShoji 6 ай бұрын

Honestly, you could call it a crew coach: use the storage section for tools and just say it's a repurposed coach being used for crew quarters.

@ocalicreek 10 ай бұрын

A few thoughts. First - I really enjoy your videos in general, and these rebuilding videos in particular. Don't let the fact that Charles Smiley also does this stop you from giving us your take on things. Secondly, I think this car was likely originally intended to be an RPO rather than a combine. The single side doors are the giveaway, and it matches the door and window arrangement of the Athearn streamlined RPO almost exactly. But it would work just as well as a combine; perhaps the Rio Grande rebuilt it and put it into service on a branch line, as you suggest. Great work on this car, and I hope to see more in the future.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words. I hadn't even considered that this might be an RPO, but I like your suggestion of repurposing the car for combine service. It's nice not to be slavishly tied to the prototype!

@stevenseguine9447 10 ай бұрын

@@rwissbaum9849 I do not consider faithfully following a prototype to be enslaved. A Railway Post Office car would have been an important car on most Rio Grande passenger trains and an important source of revenue.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

You are correct, of course. I was simply trying, ex post facto, to justify my failure to realize the model was in fact an RPO and not a combine! As it happens, the decal set I used included lettering for an RPO, which I overlooked in my ignorance. In this particular instance, I judge that "slavishly following a prototype" would require me to hide this model away; instead, I am rather proud of it and will display it on my layout.

@roger1818 5 ай бұрын

I have almost exactly the same model with only a few teeny tiny differences (like the brake wheel only being on one end). Like yours the glue is disintegrating. When I was a kid, my dad had painted it bright silver with some cheap spray paint, so I may redo it someday following your example.

@user-sv4pj5jl8n 5 ай бұрын

The model is an Athearn Railway Post Office, very similar to those in use on the Santa Fe. It was one of the mid 1950's flat kits, designed prior to the development of side shot injection plastic molding techniques.

@rwissbaum9849 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the information - several other viewers have corrected me as well. It's a shame that I can't correct the video (at least, not easily) - my error will be out there for all to see for years to come! 😀

@CassidysWorkshop 10 ай бұрын

Beautiful job rescuing this car from the purgatory it was almost destined to. You ended up with a one-of-a-kind combine that looks great. And thanks for the link on those underbody details. I haven't built a passenger car in years, but that's a nice selection they have.

@alfiejohnchester8108 5 ай бұрын

I'm so pleased I came across your video. I'm in the UK and my layout and rolling stock reflect this but recently I saw some pictures of US trains (I think the locomotives were called F3s) and I was taken with the beautiful colours the railroads used. Remembering that I had stowed away some old Triang American trains I thought I would get them out, renovate them and give them a re-spray in the colours of two of these railroads and once in a while give them a place of honour on my layout. But as they have so much missing I began to wonder if it could be done. Your video shows me yes, it can; so I was really encouraged by it. Thanks again.

@rwissbaum9849 5 ай бұрын

I'm really happy that my videos are having the desired effect: I want to show modelers that it is much less expensive - and not very difficult - to repair and repaint than it is to replace. Best of luck!

@tracynation2820 8 ай бұрын

Super. I sawed mine in half during a failed attempt to build a Boxcab electric locomotive, but you have inspired me to put it back together. Hello from the Tracy Mountain Railway in Colorado. 💙 T.E.N.

@rwissbaum9849 8 ай бұрын

Ok, gotta see a photo of your sawn-in-half car! Send me an email (my email address is on the About page).

@Mike__B 10 ай бұрын

Absolutely fantastic job, but yeah the original paint job reminded me of something from a nightmarish Christmas and Freddy Kruger. The level of detail you go into with your steps is top notch.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

My wife suggested that this was intended to be a Christmas car, perhaps part of a Christmas train. If so, they did a pretty poor job of getting Christmas red and green colors!

@michaelsmodelrailroading7665 10 ай бұрын

You've made a beautiful silk purse out of an ugly sow's ear. Thanks for sharing this step by step video.

@user-xm8jm2zj9v 6 ай бұрын

Sir, your lecture, demonstration and delivery was very well done. I subscribed just for that reason. I would be curious to see your demonstration on building a passenger car with Union Station sides if you have done one or plan on doing one. I will be looking for more of your lectures. Thanks for sharing.

@rwissbaum9849 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for subscribing. I think I alluded in the video to the fact that passenger service, and passenger cars, are both sparse on my layout, so I don't do very many passenger car projects. In a way, this is a shame because Union Station has an amazing array of passenger car parts. It seems like it would be pretty easy to buy a core car kit and a pair of sides to assemble your own car. The other issue on my layout is space: because I have quite a small layout, I must limit passenger car lengths to 60'. As near as I can tell, all of the Union Station car parts are for 80 and 85 foot cars.

@ianmckinley5613 10 ай бұрын

I appreciate the explanation of your work, good step by step with plenty of information.

@trainsontuesday 5 ай бұрын

Excellent tutorial, thank you. I have the same car in similar condition. I'm guessing that the roofs do not fit on the models as mine has the same gap along one side. I've never really considered doing anything with it but your video gives it some hope of being saved. Thank you.

@rwissbaum9849 5 ай бұрын

The beauty of working on cars that are pretty much unusable is that you have nothing to lose. That makes them excellent "skill builder" projects. I encourage you to dive in and see what you can accomplish!

@yrunaked4 10 ай бұрын

as with others in the comments, I agree about not letting the fact that Charles Smiley put out some good video, keep you from showing your work, methods and style. The video is well done and informative. To add a little to this, I tried to remove a poor paint job on a locomotive shell using brake fluid. It did the job but it made the Athearn shell very brittle. Avoid using brake fluid for long periods or perhaps limit it to something without small pieces like locomotive steps. Might be ok on a boxcar. Videos like this one are how we learn as hobbiest. Cheers Rob

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Well, damn. Here I was thinking that I could scrap that video - I've shot about half the footage I need and have not done any of the editing - but unless you and @ocalicreek get outvoted in the coming weeks. I suppose I'll just have to finish it. Never having used brake fluid myself, I have no experience to offer; but it occurs to me that brake fluid may have been in common use to strip paint from brass and other metal models, but maybe not so much plastic models. Anyone with brake fluid experience, please add your thoughts to this thread. Thanks.

@weepierre101 6 ай бұрын

Hey Hi from down under. I really enjoyed your video and like you I enjoy resurrecting and improving older commercial models as well as new builds. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

@whitemaniagaming6942 6 ай бұрын

Awesome post! I have been looking for these types of videos for a while now and of course when I am not actively looking I come acrossed what I need! I have a whole fleet of passenger equipment that need this work done so hopefully you have more cars to modernize!

@rwissbaum9849 6 ай бұрын

Well, sorry, but I probably won't. Passenger service on my layout is sparse, at best. I have one more passenger car I need to repaint - it's a clerestory type coach, so suited for the early half of the 20th century - but that project is WAY down my list. My only other passenger cars are an excellent set of 4 Rivarossi passenger cars that will someday need hand grabs and weathering - also low on my priority list. That said, I continue to refurbish old cheap freight cars - it's quick, it's easy, it's relaxing, and it gets cars out of the scrap bin and onto a layout. I will probably do a few more of those videos - viewers seem to like them, and almost every project has some unique challenge. Thanks for watching!

@whitemaniagaming6942 6 ай бұрын

@@rwissbaum9849 Ah alright then, well I will continue to hang around then

@robertlewis7237 10 ай бұрын

THANK YOU FO GEAT SUPER DETAIL VIDEO AS TRY LOT THAT REBUILD MY BASS 60FT PASSAGE SET THAT ABOUT 60YS OLD AUSTRALIA

@whiteknightcat 5 ай бұрын

It's a shame you had to cut off the faces of the cast coupler "boxes" on the car ends. Me being as persnickety as I am, I probably would have tried to fabricate a replacement. Many years ago I started to do a cheap Superliner train using Con-cor cars, before Walthers came out with their far superior models. In the process, I hit on the idea of using a light window tint adhered to the insides of the window class. As the windows on both sides of the car were tinted, the result is a really nice dark tint to the windows as you'd see on the actual cars, and no hint the entire interior is completely empty.

@rwissbaum9849 5 ай бұрын

I thought about custom building a coupler pocket, but the tight curves on my layout meant that I had to go with Kadee's extended swing couplers. These couplers actually pivot as the car moves through a curve, causing the coupler pocket to slide left and right across the car end. If you look closely, you can see this at about 11:50 in the video. I haven;t tested, but I expect a fixed coupler pocket would require a 24" - perhaps 22" - minimum radius.

@whiteknightcat 5 ай бұрын

@@rwissbaum9849 Yes, I have some in my parts boxes for future upgrades to some auto parts boxcars. There's another video on this platform where someone modified an old heavyweight car with these couplers. He ignored the instructions and didn't understand the concept of the coupler. He ended up mounting it incorrectly and it ended up being just a long non-swiveling coupler pocket.

@hirsutusi5536 10 ай бұрын

I'm kitbashing an Athearn DD40 ->DD35 that someone had repainted for Santa Fe, the paint removal is proving difficult. Initially I tried brake fluid but that did not work. Following your example, I tried 99% alcohol but that hasn't worked either. I did try paint remover on a sacrificial Athearn DD40 body but that dissolved the body as well as the paint. Any other suggestions?

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Try soaking the part for 24 hours. I have left plastic in 99% IPA overnight with no damage to the underlying plastic. If that doesn't work, I'm stumped. Tamiya makes a paint stripper that supposedly works on enamel and acrylic paint. I have seen web posts claiming Dettol antiseptic solution is good. I've never tried either one. Let me know if you find something that works, and good luck!

@hirsutusi5536 10 ай бұрын

I tried soaking it for a week but the alcohol is still clear and the paint solid. I'll look for some Tamiya stripper next time I'm at the hobby shop. @@rwissbaum9849

@johnbanicki7232 10 ай бұрын

Great job saving this car. Thanks for sharing the rebuilding process.

@ArcadiaJunctionModelTrains 10 ай бұрын

superb work and so useful. Thank you.

@railroad9000 10 ай бұрын

Nice improvement from the hideous green/orange original!

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@paullindell 10 ай бұрын

An amazing transformation. I love your work.

@JerseyHighlandsBruce 10 ай бұрын

A nice job refurbishing this car, and a very informative video!

@mistered1397 10 ай бұрын

An amazing job! You just earned a new subscriber.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@motortowncuriosites7005 10 ай бұрын

Well done. The car looks great.

@djg6015 4 ай бұрын

Very nice work, well presented.

@ThundercatDarklion 10 ай бұрын

Aw man I like green and orange. But otherwise Awesome how to.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

So YOU'RE the one they were marketing this car to!

@mesudkeskic7531 10 ай бұрын

Fantastic video, love your work.

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Thank you very much!

@trainglen22 10 ай бұрын

Very nice work.

@ginopalladini1737 5 ай бұрын

Beautiful job, but you didn't show it lit up in the dark. 😁😁

@rwissbaum9849 5 ай бұрын

One of the drawbacks of using a cheap video camera is the inability to capture lighting effects. You'll have to use your imagination!

@user-ol8gi3lg9z 10 ай бұрын

Hermoso vagón de pasajeros

@rwissbaum9849 10 ай бұрын

Gracias!

@draven7311 Ай бұрын

Ahearn first gen RPO

@rwissbaum9849 Ай бұрын

@ocalicreek and @Greatdome99 have both made the same point. It's great that there is a large group of knowledgeable modelers out there who come to my rescue - maybe not so great that I make the mistakes in the first place!