Weathered MMA Walthers Centerbeam Flatcars

 A few weeks/months ago, I hinted to the fact I was watching a lot of military modelling tutorials to improve my weathering skills. Martin Kovac also known as Night Shift on YouTube as provided a lot of inspiration about color modulation, washes and chipping. Certainly, these techniques take time and are for patient people, but they provide far superior results. I won't explain all the techniques, but simply share a few observations that may help you and which were a game changer for me. Don't forger these cars will probably receive some more touch ups when I'll add loads some day. But let me asses the model.

Walthers centerbeam flatcars have been on the market since the 1990s and have been a staple on many layout. They are sturdy and affordable and represent a common prototype... but they are outdated. Like many old Walthers cars, the details are crude and bulky, Many steel shapes aren't correctly designed due to molding process limitation. Worst, the newest batches are poorly glued together. As I was working on them, they started to fall apart. I have one from 1999-2000 that is perfectl assembled, but not the newer ones. I would also add that many parts are warped. Given these limitations and the fact a few better models are available, I can't  recommend these cars. The are good to build a large fleet or if you want that specific prototype, but otherwise consider other brands or a serious rebuild. With some hindsight, I should have replaced a few grabirons with wire ones. However, you'll notice I did add brass handrails at car ends and COTS on styrene panels as commonly found on prototypes.

I started with Canadian Pacific green cars and redecalled them later in the process with Highball Graphics  MMA patching decals which are a perfect fit for the prototype.

The first major step was to bleach the paint by using several mists of thinned down white. MMA flatcars are extremely chalky. As pointed out by Martin Kovac, it's better to overdo that step and make it garish to some extent because washes and other weathering techniques will considerably obscure it. He was right. On some car, I had to spray another coat later because it became to dark.

Another military technique was pin wash. It means you apply the wash where you want it. Then, after most solvent is evaporated but paint is not hardened, you use a brush with very little solvent on it and stipple the effect to smooth it and remove every unrealistic shadows. In model railroading, we often add a wash all over the model and wish for the best... military guys don't play games and they work the effect as it should. It really improved the realism on the model and made many details, including the panels, to pop out without looking clownish. 

Chipping was the last big technique I used. It's about rust spots. Using a very fine brush, I painted the chips individually starting with a rust color. Then, with another fine brush, I added a second coat of very dark brown over it to simulate dark rust on steel. I made sure some of the fresh rust color was still visible. Then I dabbed some burnt umber oil paint over the paint chips and, just like the previous washes, worked it over to create streaking effects on the paint. Later, with a sponge, I added much smaller chipping effect made of dark brown paint. They are much smaller and subtle, but add a lot of texture without overwhelming the appearance. The cars aren't rust buckets.

Finally, pastel was used to add dirt and grime on the floor panels just like in real life. It blended together several coarser weathering techniques in a convincing way, creating a darker background to make cleaner ribs pop out.

What I will have to explore later on other cars will be dirt and mud. I barely explored that subject, but should pay more attention to it in the future.

Hindsight 20/20 8.0 is there!

Time flies fast and Hindsight 20/20 is now back again for an 8th version. Once again, a lot of great modellers will share their work which is always a good occasion to pick up some inspiration for your own project.

Of interest to me because we share a common profession - architect - is the presence of Jonathan Jones from New York who is modelling a slice of CNJ. He has a very interesting approach to modelling and framing a subject than is unusual but extremely relevant. I wouldn't be surprised it could inspire a few people out there.

As always, you can register at https://speedwitchmedia.com/.

I'm also pleased to announce a few "new" projects for the blog, including a few articles about weathering centerbeam flatcars in military modelling fashion and probably a series about replicating the famous brick station in Drummondville, QC for Groupe TRAQ's exhibition layout in Charny.

Adding Weight to Tichy 40' Flat Car and Other Improvements

I completely lost the sense of time since the year begun. My modelling efforts are all over the place, jumping from one project to another, aimless and undecided about what to do. As I said numerous times over the last few months, I would just like to run some train and appreciate it moving around... Crazy, I know!

Since January, I've bashed half a dozen 50ft CP Rail boxcars, started a fleet of Maine Central Pine Green 40ft boxcars, a small cameo layout (which I hope to lay track and wire when COVID-related restrictions will ease) and weathered 7 Walthers Centerbeam flat cars: 4 for our Murray Bay layout, 3 for a MMA/CMQ consist. I've watched and rewatched in loop many Martin Kovac's military modelling videos (Night Shift on YouTube) recently and it gave me the impetus to seriously rethink my approach to weathering. I won't chew my words: model railroading is dumb (and completely outdated). It seems to me we are at least 20 years if not more late in the game. Something I felt interesting with Martin's work is how he works with textures before painting a model. I was really impressed how he add cast metal texture to styrene using solvent cement and Tamiya putty. Really a good source to get better at weathering. It was also interesting to see how he builds and paints terrain in a way we would never dare to experiment in model railroading. Certainly, these techniques aren't viable on larger projects, but they can be use in signature scenes or spot were our eye is close to the action (roads, parking lots, customer yards, etc.).

But this isn't my main subject today. As you may not know, my most popular article was written many years ago about adding weight to Tichy 22' ore cars. Like many Tichy kits, they are beautiful but weigh nothing and thus are a real paint to run on a layout. Last week, I decided to build two of their 40ft flat cars to add some CN cars to my 1950s fleet. Straight forward build, but these a criminally light. I know most people will add loads, but I like when cars can be run empty too. So I studied the model under various angles to see how much weight I could pack underside without being visible when displayed on a layout. To be honest, I understand neat underframe details, but if it means the model is barely fit for operation, it means nothing. At this point, I'll keep my old Athearn, Tyco and Model Power flats because you can easily conceal more weight. I'm half kidding!

Under normal viewing you can still see plenty one details.

Using some steel shots, I filled the space between the fishbellies. Tichy provides a metal weight, but there is still some space for more. But honestly, it didn't made a big difference, thus I added small styrene stripes under the deck and filled the "boxes" with more steel shots. Yet again, it wasn't enough... so I added a few more shots between the fishbellies and the styrene strips. Total weight without trucks and wheels: 1.17 oz. That's appaling! With metal wheels, trucks and coupler, it barely reaches 1.75 oz which is short of 2 oz to reach NMRA recommendations. More shots can steel be added, but I feel they will be noticeable from the side and bury a lot of details that are visible. Another option would be to use lead or other heavy metals... at your own risk since they aren't hidden inside a shell. To be honest, it makes me appreciate even more Atlas 85ft flatcars in die cast. It seems to me the only way to have good flat cars.

Less shots were glued near the fishbellies to not obscure details

With weight questions aside, I also turned my attention to the wood deck. It looks good at first, but the grain texture is barely visible. I thought it could be improved so weathering would give better results. For this reason, I decided to add texture with coarse sandpaper, but it wasn't enough. 

Foreground: unmodified, background: scratched with sandpaper

Then, I used a metal point and a hobby blade to scribe and distress some planks even more, as if they were rotting away, thus creating a more irregular look.

Distressed and rotten wood boards

When it was done, using the same metal point, I added nail rows to create another layer of realism. It took quite a while, but I feel it really make the decks pop out. It takes time but I believe these extra details really improve the look of a freight car.

Nail rows aligned with underframe stringers

To be honest, it matters more to me to have realistic deck than invisible piping under the deck that isn't visible and makes the model too light. In that regard, I'm surprised very little manufacturers care about decks but waste their time with useless details. I perfectly know it does matter to many peoples, but I'm pretty sure the average modeller don't care an iota about the trainline and would prefer a ultra realistic deck given the choice.

Anyway, with that said, we now know two things. Tichy flat cars are far too light, even when adding a reasonable amount of weight and they can be drastically improved by adding texture to the deck.

CN Armagh Subdivision - Resurrecting the "Cabot"

Back in 1967 when Canada was still engulfed in the optimistic promises of the early 1960s and the country was celebrating its centenary with vibrant activities such as Expo '67, Canadian National decided to create a new named passenger trains to link Montréal to the Atlantic. That unusual train would be christened "Cabot" in honor of a famous Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (1450-1498) who worked for the British Crown. From discovering the "New" World to discovering "Terre des Hommes", it wasn't hard to make the link.

As you know, I generally don't care about passenger service. I barely never experienced passenger trains in Quebec during my lifetime except about 5 or 6 times on Via Rail, taking the first Tortillard in 1985 when I was a toddler, seeing the second Tortillard from a few miles away and riding three times touristic trains which I found boring as can be, except for a nice cab rid on JMG1 back in the early 2000s. I have a much more strong link with Belgian interurban trains on which I rode extensively when I was studying there, wasting entire weekend days running around the country to try every line I could while sightseeing. I also have a much deeper connection with Japanese railways of all kind, which were a great fun to ride too. Count in that a  short but fantastic (from my point of view) run on a preserved C62 - the epic locomotive pulling Leiji Matsumoto's famous Galaxy Express 999 - at Kyoto Railway Museum.

That said, it doesn't mean I don't care about North American passenger trains, but simply they don't make my heart beat that much and as much as I can say, VIA Rail will always be a disguised bankcruptcy scheme playing with trains. However, I like mixed trains and when an unusual motive power pull a passenger train, my interest is somewhat rekindled.

Years ago, Jérôme shared a picture shot in Drummondville on July 4th, 1967 by Bill Linley and depicting the "Cabot". Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have cared, but this train was pulled by a pair of C424 and there was a steam generator. I was hooked. In Bill's words:

Canadian National's newest name train, the Cabot, was just five weeks into its service life when I photographed it in Drummondville, Quebec, 62 miles east of Montreal on Tuesday, July 4, 1967. It began on Thursday, June 1, 1967, as a through 966-mile service from Sydney, Nova Scotia via Edmundston, New Brunswick to Montreal, Quebec. This route was the main route for freight to the Maritimes. Local services on the line that CN discontinued included a tri-weekly local from Moncton to Edmundston. They also cut similarly scheduled mixed trains that required an overnight stay at the intermediate division point of Monk if travelling between Edmundston and Joffre, the freight yard near Quebec City.

CN anticipated large travel volumes for Centennial Year events, notably Expo 67, the Worlds Fair in Montreal. Their new train reduced pressure on the Halifax - Montreal Ocean and Scotian services by offering a speedier, direct service for passengers from Newfoundland and eastern Nova Scotia. Train 18 left Montreal daily at 6.45 p.m. and arrived in Sydney at 9.15 p.m. the next day, easily connecting with the Newfoundland 'Night Boat' in North Sydney. In Nova Scotia, CN discontinued the overnight Halifax - Sydney conventional train on May 31, 1967, and added a through Sunday Railiner service.

The launch also saw the discontinuance of similarly numbered trains 18 and 19, the remnant of the old Maritime Express on the Moncton - Montreal route via Campbellton, New Brunswick. Local stops between Campbellton and Charny were then served by RDC's on Trains 618 and 619. On Wednesday, May 31, CN introduced another through coach, sleeping and dining car service to Gaspe on Trains 118 and 119 from a connection with the Montreal - Campbellton, Chaleur, Trains 16 and 17, at Matapedia, Quebec. At the same time, CN cut off Matapedia - Gaspe RDC's Trains 616 - 617 and except Sunday Mixed Trains 246 - 245.

The Cabot was a lengthy train. It included two coaches with reservations required for distances over 160 miles, unreserved coach(es), diner, lounge, coach-lounge, cafe car and four sleepers for the entire run. An Island series, 8 section 4 bedroom sleeper served Montreal - Edmundston and, an E-series 4 section, 8 duplex roomette, 4 double bedroom car ran between Montreal and Moncton.

The Cabot featured unusual motive power as CN assigned a pair of MLW C-424s and a steam generator car between Montreal and Moncton. They had 75 mph gearing, which was appropriate to both flat running and the curvy and hilly former National Transcontinental line through Edmundston. A pair of RS-18s often provided the power from Moncton to Sydney. However, the late James Hardie's photographs at Glen Bard show a pair of MLW cab units charging up the grade with 14 cars in tow. In this picture, MLW built MR-24b 3219 stands ready to depart Drummondville at 8:11 p.m. on the Fourth of July. MLW delivered 3219 in the summer of 1966. CN leased many of its 41 C-424s in the U.S. and Mexico. When MLW purchased 3219 on Tuesday, January 26, 1984, I think that they sold it to the NdeM.

An indication that the new Cabot was a success came in October 1967 when the premier train, the Ocean, added through Sydney cars at Truro and began to operate via Edmundston. The following summer season from late June through early September, the Cabot again ran as a through, separate train from Sydney but serving Campbellton while the Ocean continued to run via Edmundston. This seasonal pattern continued until Wednesday, January 7, 1970, when the Ocean once again travelled via Campbellton. From then until the end of though cars in late October 1979, the Scotian handled the cars west of Truro.

As you can see, it was an unusual train. In a recent discussion with Bill, we tried to visualize the consist to see how it looked and what were the exact cars used. Interestingly enough, while the train may have looked somewhat homogeneous, there were a few oddities including an old clerestory heavyweight 12-1 dormette car and several sleepers acquired by CN from MEC, BAR and NYC. There was also a rare Rock Island sleeper still in its old paint scheme purchased by CN the same year to face the increased demand. Pullman Standard cars of various origin and built date created a common yet somewhat varied look.

So, can this train be modelled? The short answer is yes, but it will need a lot of modeller's license and a few repaint. I'm not that much concerned of replicating exactly each cars with the correct windows, but I still would like something that is close enough to be plausible. Also, good quality cars would be required. Fortunately, by assembling together Rapido and Walthers cars, it isn't impossible to make a decent consist.

I already have a pair of DCC sound Atlas CN C424 in the correct paint scheme. Rapido will soon re-release their GMD steam generator, a few repainted True Line Trains 8-hatch reefers with express trucks would also do the job. Walthers produced in the past a decent 12-1 heavyweight sleeper perfect for the lower class passengers and if you pick various cars from Rapido and Walthers, you should be able to find a decent prototype for must cars. Even the Rock Island car can be purchased RTR. Many serious passenger modellers will cringe at my attempt, but bear in mind I'm a freight car enthusiast and I can perfectly live with the 3 foot rule if it applies to passenger trains... something I wouldn't allow with freight!

However, you must keep in mind the Cabot  was a long train, very long. More than 16 feet in HO.  In total, it would be at least 17 cars long! Given must cars are now discontinued and their prices have skyrocketed, I consider such a train would cost me almost $1400 even if I take into account I already own 2 locomotives and 5 cars. Not a small investment.

How I would replicate the Cabot

Would it be interesting to run such a train on the Armagh Subdivision and staged meets? Probably, but I think this is the kind of project you slowly build, adding cars as possible over a long period of time, until you complete the consist. Maybe an interesting aspect of the Cabot is it used basic cars that can be assembled in smaller trains that did run over the subdivision. It makes the investment less whimsical that way.

CN Armagh Subdivision - Proof of Concept

All layout concepts should get their own scale model to test their validity. In that regard, I once did it for Temiscouata, Hedley Junction and Glassine Canada and never regretted it once.

Since yesterday was Hingsight 20/20 (which I had almost forgotten), it was the perfect time to cut some cardboard and see if CN Armagh Subdivision is a sea-worthy vessel or a rock at the bottom of the proverbial lake.

A quick visit at the local art supplies the day before to get a few white cardboard sheets cost me $4, which is a trifle compared to what would cost a an entire layout. After a few hours, I had a layout, or more exactly, the skeleton of a layout. I didn't bother yet to add scenery, wanting to see if the tracks meshed together well due to a complex variation in elevation. Here's the result and a few observation. Chris Mears like to refer to this design as two interrogation marks due to each scene sinuous track nature. We are not too far from the "mating" interrogation marks!

This overview shot shows that the concept does work. It creates an interesting spacing wrapping around the spectator, which is exactly what I wanted with this railfanning layout.

Armagh is a neat rural station marking the summit. The long flowing sidings are both natural and make for a perfect vantage point to appreciate long consists travelling the line. I some sense, this isn't far from a Confalone scene.

The large helix west of Armagh would be partially buried under some topography, leaving only enough track visible to replicate a horseshoe curve so typical of Monk. Poor farms, old barns, fields and woods would create the perfect background for this very deep scene.

Langlois Siding is a gently curved stop on the line, serving a feed mill and a flagstop. In the back, we can see a 3 spans deck bridge crossing the Abenaki river while the train start to gain altitude to reach Armagh. This makes for a fantastic and scenic alcove to both perform operation and watch train rumbling over the bridge.

Finally, the last scene is where both tracks from Armagh and Langlois Siding cross each other to reach the underground staging. This isn't an easy scene to plan, but seeing it in 3D helped me to have a better grasp of the parameters in play. Instead of forcing topography and features there, I can simply look at what I see and imagine how it should look. With that said, I came to the conclusion the foreground curve near Armagh (left) would be partially hidden behind a very small hill sloping down toward the backdrop. Then, the first stretch of straight track would be a large fill over a deep valley - the famous Armagh Viaduct. This is a signature scene on the line which I wanted to integrate but never really did from fear it would look out of place. For some reason, it now has a home, exactly where it should have been. This is a terrific spot to get a glimpse at locomotives pulling heavy trains at notch 8. The upper track, then curves again in the back where it would disappear once for all behind a hill.

On the foreground, just after the center curve, the lower line emerge from a heavily forested cut and works its way to Langlois Siding by running against the side of a hill that was cut to make place for the roadbed. Rather simple, it should blend well with the next main scene which, as you know, is also very mundane. At best, a small culvert could find it's way. Here's a crude sketch showing the imagined scenes.

While this model is quite basic, it provided a wealth of information. Not only it confirmed the project was sound, but also that it wouldn't look silly even with the very large helix taking up a lot of space in the room. It was also a powerful tool to work out some problematic spots I couldn't figure out in 2D.

Nothing is set in concrete, but the CN Armagh Subdivision is looking even more promising than ever. I can see a convergence of my interests that were explained on this blog over and over. I can already hear the whistle and engine noise of distant trains finding their ways in an inhospitable mountainous terrain... probably some good old Alco sound!