Models for Allentown [4] Back to the Old Times

Winona "Windsplitter"

The last group of N scale models for the Allentown meet are three classic Interurban cars, a combine representative of the mid 1920 steel car era, and two older wooden cars. All three models are derived from HO 3D models.

The steel car is a St.Louis Car Co combine built for the Fort Wayne & Lima and the Indiana Service Corp, later Indiana Railroad. I am particularly attached to this model for two reasons, first because the late Paul Mayer asked me to make this car and gave me many photos and documents, and second because it was the first model I have drawn only from photos.

Indiana Service Co/Indiana RR steel combine

Winona "Windsplitter"

Now I know that I could build every car even if only photos and no plans ara available. I will present the car in two versions, the early two manned version with the baggage compartment in front (in production, red with green roof) , and the later one man version turned front to back with a folding passenger door (already finished, in Indiana Railroad traction orange with green roof). The car is powered with the extra long Tomytec TM-TR05 drive and has Commonwealth truck frames.

The two wood cars are the famous big Winona "Windsplitter" and a C&LE arched roof box motor, based on C&LE car 622. The fine wooden grooves are a challenge, because they are going to the limits of 3D printing, and sometimes beyond. Both cars have Tomytec drives with bigger 5.6 mm (36") wheels and a 14 mm wheelbase, all trucks powered. The Box Motor has a truck mounted Micro-Trains Coupler in the rear and can safely pull (and push) several freight cars even through the sharpest curves with 103 mm radius.

C&LE Box Motor

Rear Micro-Trains coupler on the Box Motor

Models for Allentown [2] some more Devils, and then an Eldorado

Liberty Bell Limited

Among the models that I bring up to the Allentown Trolley Meet are two more versions of the "Red Devils". When the Cincinnati & Lake Erie closed, the Lehigh Valley Transit bought several units and rebuild them for their "Liberty Bell Limited" service.

The swing entrance doors on the right side were reinstalled, and an identical left side door was build. The cars recieved a second trolley pole in front, the pilot was sheeted and 3rd rail shoes were installed on wooden beams on the ABC trucks. The headlight was raised up to the roof, the dash lights removed and the horns were placed on the left front corner. The cars recieved a striking cream livery with red striping.

Three Devils

CRANDIC Devil

So currently I have three "Devils", but there is a fourth to come. The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway (Crandic) bought also six "Devils" when the C&LE closed. First they run nearly unaltered, but later some of them recieved  rounded "front spoiler" in replacement of the pilot and the trolley pole was mounted on a higher pole base. The folding doors remained in service. The cars were painted yellow and dark red/brown.

This 3D printed is still in production at Shapeways and will hopefully be delivered before the Meet. Technically, the models are identical to the C&LE cars, they are powered by the same Tomytec TM-TR04 drives

Electromobile to "Eldorado"

Another car for the Trolley show is the "Electromobile" built by Osgood-Bradley for the Altoona & Logan Valley Line in 1929. This were very modern bidirectional cars, close to the Brill "Master Units". Identical cars were delivered to Scranton. In Altoona, the were called "Eldorado Cars", because they often served on the Eldorado line.

The car is powered by a modified Tomytec TM-TR01 drive. Due to the very low ceiling of the car, the upper plastic plate wich holds the contac strips is removed. Otherwise the drive is unaltered. Purists see that the "Electromobile" runs currently on (Tomytec) Brill trucks, because I haven't yet finished the Osgood-Bradley truck frames in N scale. I think that is for the moment a pardonnable sin... I will also bring an HO model of this car to the Allentown Meet.

Electromobile, side view

Models for Allentown [1] C&LE Red Devil

The East Penn Traction Club sponsors the largest trolley model in the USA. The meet 2017 will be held at Allentown Fairgrounds, May 18-20. I will be present at this exhibition with many models, mostly N scale models, easy to transport in aircraft luggage. Here a review of the models in preparation for the show:

The first model is the famous Cincinnati and Lake Erie "Red Devil" Highspeed Interurban Car in two versions: First as delivered with a swing front door, and a second car with a folding door. The swing doors, enabled for high level platforms, were replaced after the plans for a Cincinnati Subway has definetely failed. Then driver operated folding doors were installed.

The N scale one piece body is 89 mm long, including the pilot. The is powered by a Tomytec TM-TR04 drive. This drive has the prototypically small wheels (4.1 mm, about 26 "), but the wheelbase (9.2 mm, about 4 '10") is a little bit too short. You have to make some compromises ... Fortunately this is not too visible, once the ABC truck frames applied.

The car can go around the smallest available N scale curves with 103mm radius.

 

Speak of the (Red) Devil and he will appear...

Cincinnati & Lake Erie "Red Devil" High Speed Interuban car - N scale 

Cincinnati & Lake Erie "Red Devil" rear end

In time for presentation ay the East Penn Traction Meet in Allentown, May 2017, comes the Cincinnati & Lake Erie "Red Devil" High Speed Interuban car in N scale, motorized with a Tomytec TM-TR04 drive. The car has Cincinnati ABC trucks and a dummy trolley pole. The fine pilot is "cast" to the 3Dprinted body

Interurban Box Motor, shunting a consist of 3 trailers

Interurban Box Motor roll out

Additional work on the Interurban Box Motor

Some last details like frame bolts were added to the model of the C&LE Box Motor #622.

Some parts were adjusted to ensure printability.

The light blue part is the radial coupler head, designed for normalized NEM couplers. 

C&LE Wooden Freight Motor (2)

Nearly two years are gone since I posted the last message about this project. 

Some ideas need time to mature. The light blue rectangle is a rotating standard NEM coupler socket. Because a freight motor needs functional couplers.

C&LE wooden freight motor

C&LE freight motor, rendering of a future H0 resin print model

Motive power is needed, work is in progress.

C&LE box car in HO

C&LE boxcar in HO

A trial to find out the "tuscan red" who matches. The trailer is still missing the final trucks, couplers and the underframe. The grooves of the sheeting will be smaller for the next print.

Now, I need some ideas for the decals.

(update, better photo uploaded)

Box car resin body with handrails and primer coat

Cincinnati & Lake Erie box car with clerestory roof

After posing of the handrails I applied a uniform coat of Tamiya primer on my 3D printed resin prototype.

The grooves between the planks are not filled with paint and still clearly visible, so I would make them thinner for the next print.

I am waiting for the Kadee arch bar trucks and couplers.

Stereolithographic resin print of a C&LE box car

See her coming out the shipping box, just posed on some arch bar trucks, they will be replaced by Kadee #501 trucks.

Handrails will be added, and some underframe details  too.

Soon more about this amazing technology.

Boxcar archeology (1) - the C&LE trailers

Cincinnati and Lake Erie boxcar #3352 - © Steven Greenup Collection

Tens of years ago, I studied history. I learned that not only glamorous objects have to tell what was and what happened, but those in the backyards, hidden and forgotten, were of great importance. Interurban freight cars were of this. Electric interurbans railways were primarily passenger carriers. The freight business came lately. And only in the Midwestern area freight grew to a major business for interurban lines, and this only for 20 years.

Remnants of a Cincinnati and Lake Erie boxcar  - © Photo Steven Greenup

Freight was carried mainly in box motor cars, hauling box trailers. If the big box motors were relatively well documented and photographed, the trailers were not. So I start what I tell "boxcar archeology". Searching remnants and documents, and bringing them together for a bigger picture. With a help and encouragement from attentive blog readers, Steven Greenup from Ohio, and Charlie Pitts from Boston.

This freight trailers were probably not welcomed by the contemporary citizen during their active lifetime, when they rumbled through the streets. But once stored for demolition, some early enthusiasts took photos or made drawings, as the famous Fritz Hardendorf.

Some car bodies were sold and reused as farm barns. Made mainly from wood, only very few survived more than 30 years. Just enough time for some enthusiasts to shot photos and to take some notes.


Cincinnati and Lake Erie boxcar #3353 - 0-scale model - © Photo and model Charlie Pitts

I will start the "boxcar archeology" with this specific cars of the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad and their sister cars with clerestory roofs. Not to forget their original version, when owned by the legendary Ohio Electric Railways. But all this details are for the next blog message ...


Cincinnati and Lake Erie boxcar - 3D rendering

"Railroad Roof" C&LE freight trailer

Interurban freight trailer with clerestory roof, C&LE

Most of the Ohio Interurban freight trailers where delivered originally with a "Railroad" clerestory roof instead of an arched roof. This variant of boxcars remained in service till the end of the C&LE.

Steven Greenup from Ohio, who knows more than I about Interurban railways, helped me with numerous documents and advices to redraw a diagram of this cars.

Now, I will go another step back into the past, and try the diagram of the original Ohio Electric trailer, with side windows, smaller sheeting and train doors at both ends.

C&LE arched roof Freight Trailer

Work in progress. The letterboard was lowered, the arched roof build higher. Improved handrails and new underframe.

Still missing : Brakes, brake chains, air pipes, footsteps, door hooks, ...

Interurban Freight Trailer diagram (update)

Interurban Freight Trailer built by Cincinnati Car Co. 

Interurban Freight Trailer blueprint

C&LE Interurban Freight Trailer

This is the ultimate compilation of the Interurban Freight Trailer drawings mentioned in my last message.

This work is mostly based on the blueprint published in  "Traction Planbook", 1975, page 96, but with some corrections. Basically, the measures in this print are correct, but not the drawing itself, who shows a carbody a little bit heigher than the real figures.

All known mesures are mentioned here in inch.

Never trust a drawing, even two drawings

C&LE trailer diagrams superposed

"Traction Planbook", second édition, second printing from 1975, contains on page 96 a drawing of a Cincinnati & Lake Erie Freight Trailer, serie 3300. This diagram was drawn by R.M.Wagner.

Another drawing of this car was published in the Jack Keenan book, "Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad - Ohios Great Interurban System", page 220, diagram signed by Mark Hood.

Hood probably copied of Wagner, because some details are so similar. But some mesures of Wagner must be wrong. Both diagrams superposed, the problems appear clearly. The Wagner (Traction Planbook) is in black, and the Hood (Keenan book) in blue, both scaled to 1 inch = 1 point.

Wagner has drawn a more arched roof, 21" high. Hood made the roof only 16" high. If Wagner was right, than his own measures of the carbody height are wrong, because the addition would made the trailer exceed a height of 13'. Perhaps both were wrong, and the boxcar body was less high and the arch of the roof bigger?

By the way, the addition of some sub-measures of the frame give bizarre figures :

Wagner : 4'8" + 27'6" + 4'8" makes not 36'9"

Hood   : 4'8" + 27'4" + 4'8" also makes not 36'9".

The truck bolster distance may have been 27'5".

But in the end, even with this small errors this drawings are so great.

Cincinnati & Lake Erie Interurban Freight Trailer (update)

C&LE  Freight Trailer

"If you don't have enough time for your projects, start a new one".

So I did this "fine scale" 3D model of an interurban freight trailer, in the colours of the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad.

This may be a trailer build following CERA standards (Central Electric Railway Association). (Edit : This is not a CERA Trailer)


If I found the appropriate colors, I could create a version with other roadnames.

This 3D-model is based on a diagram from the Jack Keenan book, "Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad - Ohios Great Interurban System", page 220, diagram made by Mark Hood.

Update dec 1 : Added some handrails, a higher roof and the roadname.

Still missing : hand brake, brake pipes, steps, trailer number ...