Steve, the only time that I have ever seen one of the cars in service
was behind a GTW 4-8-4 trying to hold down to the 60 MPH speed
limit over the Wabash crossing at Ashburn, Illinois. It was an Alton
car still with the red lettering, first out behind the engine, on what
had to be first 490 on a hot early 1950s Summer evening. What I
can tell you about the car in the fleeting glimpse that I got of it
was it was very dirty! All grimed up with soot, nothing was at all
shinny about it, so dull and dirty you could hardly see the lettering
and triangular herald.
I really think that you would be wasting your time and effort
trying to make any model of an aluminum box car look shinny and
clean in service. That is unless you are modeling the car brand
new.

Happiness, Jerry Stewart

Woodstock, Illinois





--- In STMFC@..., "Steve Lucas" <stevelucas3@...> wrote:

I've been thinking about this, and you have made a good point. I
would have to wonder if the aluminum sheathing would have been
somewhat dulled, and perhaps even showing the effects of galvanic
action where steel fasteners were attached to the aluminum sheathing.

I know that the GM&O had some aluminum-sheathed cars built around the
same time, 1945/46. Perhaps a few other roads as well. This seems
to have been an industry experiment post-WWII. Can anyone relate
what the cars looked like after ten years' service? You would think
that the railroads would have been monitoring the durability of this
material in freight car use.

Steve Lucas.

--- In STMFC@..., "jim_mischke" <jmischke@> wrote:

Ten years service would make the boxcar aluminum finish very

dull.

The aluminum foil technique would be inferior to paint, and five
times the work. This boxcar is not a well cared for airplane.

Consider researching what military modelers use for various bare
metals. These guys and their vendor base have solved many

modeling

problems, yet there is little cross fertilzation between our hobby
and theirs.

There is some military dull metal finish paint that will get you an
acceptable look for your aluminum shealthed boxcar.











--- In STMFC@..., "Steve Lucas" <stevelucas3@> wrote:

On the weekend, I picked up a couple of True line Trains' HO 40'

CN

boxcars. Very nice models, but with a few very small issues that

can

be easily taken care of. One car that I purchased models a CN

aluminum-

sided boxcar, CN 521498, one of three experimental aluminum

sheathed

cars built in 1946--

http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/railways/index_view.cfm?photoid=-
1936671483&id=55

And here's the True Line Trains' model--

http://www.modeltrains.com/PICTURES/PICTURES%20-%20Non-brass-

1/True%

20Line%20Trains/TLT-000001-399999/tlt-300034-1%20copy.jpg

I'm not totally satisfied with the use of aluminum paint to

simulate

aluminum sheathing on this car, and would like your comments on a
better method to model this. Perhaps aluminum foil? On the

other

hand, as I am modelling a timeframe ten years after this car was

built,

would the paint on the model approximate (maybe with some

weathering)

ten-year-old aluminum sheathing?

Thanks in advance,

Steve Lucas.

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