Indianapolis Traction Terminal taking shape

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - West Market Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - West Market Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - West Market / Illinois Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Illionois Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Main Entrance - Illinois Street

Ft Wayne - Lima Interurban Combine - The blueprint

Fort Wayne - Lima Interurban Combine, St. Louis Car Co, 1923

3D drawing and printing [part 2]: side panel with elliptic window sash

 A classic North American Interurban car has some characteristic features : elliptic window sashes, clerestory roofs, rounded ends and big pilots.

This features are not always easy to modelise. The next chapter in my 3D tutorial is about drawing a wooden side panel with an elliptic window sash.

The first step is done in Illustrator. If you are famliar with drawing in your 3D software, you can do it directly.

But I prefer make the basic objects in Illustrator:
1/ The side panel with the window cutout (yellow).
2/ The window moulding (red) and
3/ The elliptic sash window panel (blue).

I draw this 3 elements for the normal paired window and for the small simple window. The paired window panel ist 64" wide.

Saved in file format Illustrator 8, you can open this document in Cinema4D. The best way is to make each element step by step.

The side panel is made first. The flat 2D drawing is "extruded" 4.5" deep and becomes 3D. The lower part of side panel was then adjusted to the full height.


Second object to be extruded is the window moulding, with an offset of prototypical 1 inch. And the the the elliptic window is added, extruded 3.5" deep, or about 1 mm in H0 scale. This is the minimum thickness recommended for most usual materials.

Once this elements assembled and aligned, you have already a basic side panel.

The remaining parts are based on simple cubes and are made native in Cinema4D: the Letterboard, and the lower paired window. Now the basic side panel is finished.

What is still missing are the grooves.

The grooves are "cut" in by a boolean operation. They are drawn first as "positive" long strips (red). Their prototypical width is exagerated to 0.8" and they are spaced 2".

and then multiplied by clooning and carefully placed. The boolean operation engraves the grooves "negative" in the side panel.

3D drawing and printing [part 1]

Cinema4D interface 

In anticipation of my visit of the East Penn Traction Meet early May 2013, and of the "clinic" I will hold there, I will try to explain some details of 3D drawing and modeling. I will explain my personal way. There are many ways to execute a printable 3D drawing.

First of all, you have to chose the software. Maybe, in many cases, your employer makes this choice for you. If you have to use a 3D drawing software at work, using it also for your hobby would be always be a good choice. For my profesionnal work, I have had to learn Cinema4D. This was very painful, but for me it was the question about to stay in my job or to leave it. Many modelers also work on 3ds Max or a CAD software. But even a "low end" 3D software as SketchUp can be used.


Beside Cinema4D for the 3D drawings, I use Adobe Illustrator for for "flat" (2D) drawings. Each of my 3D models are based on a detailed 2D drawing of all main elevations. The making of the first "flat" drawing constitutes often a considerable amount of time, specially when blueprints are not complete or even not available.

Illustrator drawing scale 1:72

But this pays later. Illustrator interfaces easily with Cinema4D, when exporting in AI8 format. So you can prepare complex vector pathes in Illustrator before using them as parts of 3D elements.

But before drawing, you must fix an essential point: in what scale you want to draw? After trials in H0 scale (1:87) and 1:100, I switched to a basic scale of 1:72 for my flat drawings.

This scale makes it easy to handle imperial measures as 1 pixel represents 1 inch. To simplify a little, all measures are calculated in decimal inch, rounded to half an inch, somtimes a quarter of an inch.

Setting export scale to 87

And when exported to Cinema4D, this scale of 1:72 is easy to transform to full scale. Yes, my 3D drawings have no scale.

They are drawn in 1:1. Only the exported print files are downscaled to 87 and converted to millimeters.

Time for a new project: The Winona Windsplitter

Work in Progress : Side elevation of the Winona "Windsplitter"

Terre Haute wooden combine drawing

There is no 3D project without a 2D diagram. Here it comes for the Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern combine.

To download as a pdf file here.

Cincinnati Wooden Combine, last virtual rendering

This was sent out for printing (except the NWSL Stanon  Drives). Hope that I have made no big error.

The model is dived in two main parts, the car body with rear doorsteps, front pilot and truss rod support, and the frame with underbody parts like the compressor, tanks and the resistor bank.

NWSL Stanton drive : corrected drawing

In the previous drawing, I made a small error : the 7 foot version of the NWSL Stanton drive is not symetrical, due to the modular construction of the truck for multiple wheelbases.

Download pdf diagram

The most important change in the diagram is that the real centerpin has moved 0.87 mm to the (front) A end of the bogie. I consider as A ends those where the wires came out and where the removable coupler support is mounted (who is not shown in my diagram)

So you must deal with a "real" and a "virtual" centerpin with this motor bogie. The Stanton drive with 6'6" wheelbase would be symetrical.

NWSL Stanton Drive for H0 Traction Models

Some month ago, I bought a pair of Tenshodo "SPUD" WB24.5 motor bogies and build a resin printed truck frame around. This trucks are fairly ok, but have some weak points as they are speedy, a little noisy and have fragile gears.

Corrected version of the drawing : The centerpin is not centered

NorthWest Shore Line (NWSL) has developped a similar drive called "Stanton". I purchased and examined a pair of them. On any point of view, they can be considered as a "better SPUD" : the use of more improved materials and some refinements on the construction make them a good running motor bogie.

Only one or two dark points remain: the current capture is sometimes "hesitating", at least on new unused models. I recommend always use of a pair with full current capture. The second dark point is the high price ... But some extravagant details like the motor fuse may prevent you to buy replacements :-)

The basic dimensions of the Stanton with 7' wheelbase and 36" wheels are nearly identical to the Tenshodo SPUD WB24.5 version. His low construction permits also a virtually unlimited rotation of the truck under the car.

NWSL offers the Stanton in many versions and even custom built. For the traction modeler, the type 1210 with a wheelbase of 6'6" or 7' and a wheel diameters of 33" and 36" covers nearly all of the existing bogie trucks of heavy and medium-weight Interurbans. With only small and probably invisble compromises, any truck with a prototypical wheelbase from 6'3" to 7' and wheel diameters from 32" to 37" could be built.

As NWSL don't deliver a blueprint with this truck, I draw it of my own and it is for download here as a pdf file. For the moment, only for version with 7' wheelbase and 36" wheels.

My existing resin print frame of a Standard C80P truck cannot be used without some sanding of the inside distance blocks. But I will modify this 3D model soon, so it could match with the Stanton drive. All my future developments of resin print bogie frames will be adapyted for the NWSL Stanton drives.

Download pdf diagram

CERA freight trailer diagram

CERA interurban box car

Facing a freight boom on their interurban railways in the mid-20ies, Master Mechanics of leading midwestern companies designed a standardized box car.

This car is still known as the CERA trailer, named after the Central Electric Railway Association. Even standardized, this car was built in several variants. Here is the drawing of the two basic versions, with square ends or rounded ends.

Download pdf-file (scale 1:72)

Unterbody parts for Interurban cars

3D drawings of resistor bank and brake cylinder scaled for H0 resin printing

Interurban motor or trailer cars has numerous unterbody parts to be reproduced at an appropriate scale for H0 models. Historic car diagrams often not help, because the carbody builder generally ommited the electrical and pneumatical parts in their drawings.

Also, the old traction model pioneers like Fritz Hardendorf were not always so exact when drawing underbody parts. Looking after your old Suydam models is not helping too : resistor banks of Sudam models are clearly oversized, as an example

So you need to search other sources. The Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia has probably the best technical online library http://www.cotma.net.au/library/ in the folder "Westinghouse" or "General Electric" you can find some rare pearls.

Ohio Electric Box Car diagram

In the early times, the Ohio Interurban box cars wear the dark green livery with gold lettering of the Ohio Electric Railway. They had end train doors and small side windows.

With the help of Steven Greenup, I draw a new blueprint of this car, based on diagrams of Fritz Hardendorf and some rare photographs.

You can dowload this datafile here :

download pdf diagram

Tenshodo SPUD measures and drawing

The Tenshodo "SPUD" WB24.5 motor bogie is a good base for heavy interurban models. With its wheelbase of 24,5 mm, it matches totally for 7' trucks with 36" (or 37") wheels.

This bogie is a little speedy, but with a good controller and some ballast it will work well.

His low construction permits a virtually unlimited rotation of the truck under the car.

But Tenshodo don't deliver a blueprint with this truck, so I needed to draw it of my own.

You can download a pdf sheet of the measures here.

I made 2 versions : First the real H0 scaled version with the real measures of the model  in Millimeters and then a version in scale 1:72.

I made all my bi-dimensional drawings in 1:72 scale, because it is easy to handle a scale of 1 computer point to 1 inch.

As 3D drawings has no scale, I made even a 3D blow up of the Tenshodo SPUD for virtual 1:1 scale.

Now, it's up to finish the truck side frames, and to think about a car body to put on.

Standard C80P truck for Tenshodo SPUD

Tenshodo SPUD WB24.5 with "Standard C80P" frame

Basically, 3D drawings have no scale. All elements are potentially "real scale".

For 3D drawing, I use 1:1 scale, for it's ease to transfer data from diagrams. Only export files for HO resin prints are scaled down to 1:87.

But as the Tenshodo "SPUD" motor bogie is really in HO, you have to scale it up to a fictive "real 1:1" scale to integrate it into your drawings. Track Gauge of my SPUD is now 56.5" or 4'8.5" !

This sucessfully done, I draw a  "Standrdd C80P" interurban truck frame around, for a future H0 scale resin print.

"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.

Indiana Railroad RPO

Indiana Railroad RPO car 375-377

Work in progress.