The Oneonta Project

The Oneonta & Mohawk Valley Interurban, in the State of New York, had some wooden combines built by Cinncinati Car Co. They were handsome smaller cousins of the big midwestern Indiana or Ohio cars. This combines were 51'3" long instead of 61'6" and had elliptic window sashes instead of angular sashes. The oval window was also omitted.

To modelise this car, I had to split the entire 3D part list and put all things together in new combinations. Useless to say that it is easier to say than to do.

On part missing, and it is a mess!
But now I have an entire library of all car elements with different styles: Front ends, back ends, side panels with single or paired windows, oval windows, blind side panels, clerestory window elements.

With rectangular or elliptic sashes, folding or swing doors, sliding baggage doors... To be completed with different pilots, roof mats, trolley boards and chimneys.


Amazing! This is a "structural grammar of Interurban cars" and I called this my "Oneonta Project". Any car composed of this basic elements could be created, plus some imaginary ones...

It must be done: painting

I hate painting, I am literally scared of painting. I wanted to buy a airbrush kit, but I'm afraid I would not meet the standards. In the meantime, I tried out brush painting on one car. I went to a shop for art articles here in Paris and bought several green acrylic or vinylic artistic paints and tested them on styrene sheets. One of them gave fascinating results when brush painted: nearly no structure, with an ultra matt aspect.

This paint is Lefranc & Bourgeois "Flashe" Matt Opaque Color. Their tint "Verdaccio" may perhaps well simulate a Pullman Green. This vinylic paint can be thinned with water, I use some drops of alcohol to make the paint smoother. Many shades are available, but their colors could also be mixed. 

 Lefranc & Bourgeois "Verdaccio"

Applied on printed "Prime Gray" resin, with or without a primer coat, it gives excellent results. With this very quickly drying paint, it is possible to do one car in two evenings. 

The airbrush option is not canceled, only delayed, till the day I would have some more courage.

Cincinnati Wooden Combine H0 kit

For those who are tempted by the adventure, the Cincinnati Wooden Combine is now offered for sale als a resin printed kit via i.materialise.

First in his Northern Indiana version.

The car is split in three parts:

1. the carbody with pilot, rear doorsteps and radial coupler.

item # CCC1001

2. The frame with underbody equipment, ready for two NWSL Stanton drives.

item # CCC2001

3. The truck frames. Two models of Baldwin MCB frames are available for this car (Order always a pair ;-) :

with straight outer ends #BDW7901

or with depressed ends #BDW8001

Required NWSL Stanton drives are of type 1210, with 7' wheelbase and 36" wheels.

This car kit is not "ready to run", but "ready to finish" with immediate pleasure. After cleaning of the resin shells, I have made the basic model run in one hour on his NWSL Stanton drives. After this inaugural running, you will unmount the car again and make the final detailaing work.

Only few parts must be added of your own: The truss rods made of .5 mm piano wire. And the curved end window handrails made of .3 copper or brass wire.

You will add also two trolley poles and pole hooks. If you want to operate the radial coupler, it is time also to mount it. 

I have all this tried out myself, and as I am a far better computer designer than field modeler, don't be too afraid. For all this steps I have already published small "howtos" here in the blog. But as they are dispersed, I will put them a little together soon.

Don't hesitate to ask for further information about this model.

Northern Indiana 300 Combine in H0 scale

The Northern Indiana 300 combines had a different window arrangement as the sister cars from Terre Haute or the Ohio Electric combines.

The oval window was situated at the rear and the baggage compartment was a little shorter. For this reason the heater and his chimney was moved a little forward. 

The Northern Indiana Cars had also a slightly different unterbody arrangement, the resistor bank was located in the center axis.

The frame is ready made for two NWSL Stanton drives 1210 (item #39278-4). 

Baldwin MCB truck frames for this drives were resin printed in the same "Prime Gray" material by i.materialise in Belgium. 

New printed traction models out of the box

Cincinnati Car Co. Wooden Combines

I got mail. Two newly printed wooden combines arrived from Belgium, very pretty realised by i.materialise.

The first is the slightly upgraded Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern car. The second is a Northern Indiana combine, who had an inversed window arrangement with oval window in the rear.

Both cars have their own frames with different underbody equipments and have also different Baldwin trucks.

More soon...