I am tending towards small locomotives and rolling stock for the PM&TCo. Why? The equipment of the 1900’s to the mid-1920’s was relatively small in comparison to the equipment that would evolve in later in the steam era. This means I can get more model railroad into the same space. My main rule for rolling stock selection is its appropriateness for the 1925 time frame of the layout.
Engine No. 2
The PM&TCo. equivalent of the Key Valley #2 is a U.S Hobbies 13 Ton 2-truck 2-cylinder Shay. This extremely popular model has probably launched a hundred On3 railroads. I’ve had mine since the mid-1980’s. It was been re-motored with the Grandt Line kit that powers the engine from the rear truck. As you can see in the photo below, it is still unpainted, awaiting a time when my airbrushing skills get good enough or I break down and pay someone to paint it for me:
I’m planning on using DCC on the PM&TCo., so #2 will get a DCC receiver in the near future. While I’d like to put a Soundtraxx DCC sound unit in, I don’t think there is enough space.
Engine No. 6
Since they came out, I’ve been investigating Bachmann’s On30 2-6-0 as a possible stand-in for the KVR’s 2-6-0 and 2-8-0 engines and think that they would do a fine job. I purchased one of the unlettered engines as soon as they came out separately from the complete train set. I also purchased the two Grandt Line kits for regauging the Bachmann engine to 3′ gauge.
The regauge is complete but there is still a lot of work to do here. I’m planning on fitting the engine with a Soundtraxx DCC controller / sound unit.
Passenger Equipment
The KVR also ran some passenger equipment that I would like to recreate. The prototype KVR had a Ford Model T railcar (or jitney as it was called on the KVR) From the descriptions I have read, the jitney would be very similar to the Rio Grande Southern Inspection Car #1 mentioned in the January/February 1999 Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette article by Mallory Hope Farrell. It could be difficult to recreate the jitney as an operating model, since only non-operating models of this prototype have appeared as kits.
There is also evidence that the KVR had a coach or combine for passenger service at other times, although I have yet to uncover a photograph of this equipment. Therefore, I have a lot more leeway in selection. My current favorite is a freelanced combine in the August/September 1998 issue of Finescale Railroader.
In the meantime, I’ve also purchased one of Bachmann’s On30 coaches and will be converting it to On3.
Gondolas #16 and #17
Gondolas #16 and #17 are pretty much stock 18′ Design-Tech gondola kits. I’ve added lead shot weights below the floor boards to bring the car weight up to about 3 oz. In order to attach the Kadee couplers and the Grandt Line trucks, I’ve drilled and tapped the resin structure for 2-56 Delrin screws. This method works really well and keeps all moving parts maintainable.
I’ve followed the painting method outlined by Keith Brown, John Parker, and John Busby in the July/August 1982 Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette. It’s time consuming but very effective. Because of the very light colour of the raw resin in the Design-Tech kits, I’ve skipped the grey primer step.
The models still need to be lettered and weathered. I’m still trying to decide on a corporate lettering scheme for the PM&TCo. My first idea was simply to use the numbers from the Simpson West Side Lumber Company decal sets in Sn3 or On3. I like the looks of the stencils used by the WSLCo. My second idea was to make my own decals using a computer-based stencil font. In the end, I simply used C-D-S’s Railroad Roman dry transfers for numbering.
The gondolas will have two main uses on the PM&TCo.:
- Block cars: Wood scraps from the sawmill at Lost Channel would be loaded into the gondolas and shipped to the camps along the mainline as fuel for heaters in the camp buildings.
- Ballast: The gondolas would also be used to move ballast over the railway.
Tankcar #20
Tankcar #20 is a 18′ Design-Tech flatcar, with an HO scale MDC Old Timer Tankcar and a scratch-built styrene cradle:
Tankcar #20 will be used to move water to the camps and donkey engines across the PM&TCo.
Boxcars #3 and # 4
Having enjoyed building the Design-Tech gondolas and flatcars, when Design-Tech released their 20′ boxcar kit, I had to have a couple. They went together very nicely and are well proportioned. Tapping the frames for couplers and trucks was even easier than with the gondolas and flatcar, since I could drill all the way through. Again, I added additional weight to the car; they both weigh about 4 oz:
The boxcars will be used to move goods among Pakesley, Lost Channel and the camps.
Caboose #01
One photograph in John Macfie’s book shows a logging train with a cupola-less caboose with a side baggage door and a rounded roof. I searched through my magazine library for something similar, and found a set of plans in the May/June 1986 issue of the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette for Tionesta Valley caboose #111. Number # 111 scales out at 22′ 9″ in length and 7′ 9″ in width, and a cupola which I planned to leave off.
I cut the width down to 7′ to better match my other rolling stock, and substituted Grandt Line doors and windows into the design. The NGSLG plans came with an interior layout, so I designed the construction of the model to have a detailed interior.
#01 represents my first foray in scratchbuilding On3 rolling stock. I used a lot of Evergreen Styrene on this project. Every piece was scribed with wood grain before assembly. Windows was glazed with 0.015″ clear styrene; in hindsight, this was not the best choice since the styrene got marked and scratched from my attempts to mask the windows during painting. However, in the end, the windows just look dirty more than anything else, not necessarily unrealistic.
#01 received the usual PM&TCo painting method. However, I used Rock Island Maroon as the main exterior colour to set it off from the rest of the rolling stock. Depot Buff was used as the main interior colour. The interior is fully detailed with a stove, bench, lockers, and desk.