This is a very revealing picture of how ladders were attached to a steel refrigerator car and note now the ladder curves into the bottom of the car:

Greetings. I've been researching and modeling the Georgetown Branch of the B&O Railroad for about 20 years. The era I'm modeling is ca 1945-55. I have a question about a refrigerator car that appears

Over 50 years ago I was a member of the West Essex club. Members told me of the evening Paul Mallery came down to show the X2f coupler he had developed. Members told him there were only 2 things

Nelson, Thanks. Those additional photos helped quite a bit. Later, Dave Sarther Tucson, AZ sartherdj@...

Dennis- I have always been in awe at the quality of the pattern making of your Canadian 8-panel box car. The Z-bars, as you have mentioned, look to have been let in a slot machined into the sheathing,

I attached two photos to help people visualize the process. With the text and photos you can update the article if you chose to save it. For the record, I copy and paste blog posts I find instructive

Hi Nelson, I tried to follow your mods to your ladder jig, and I don't quite get it. Would you happen to have a photo that you could share with us? Thanks, Todd Sullivan.

According to my Evergreen Scale Models Styrene Handbook, their .060 converts to 5 1/4 HO inches. Jim Brewer

A couple comments that date back to my pattern making days. Don't scribe the side sheets. Build them of individual . 010 x .060 strip which can then be scraped to slightly different thicknesses,

Thanks, Tim. Since I wrote that article, I’ve made one addition to the process. I made the ladder jigs longer than necessary, and I decided it would be helpful to have a few supports that fit in the

For Fred and anyone wanting to do a Single Sheathed car, here is what I have done or suggest. —Use .015 x .060 strip styrene to build up the side Board x Board on a base of at least .030 styrene

 Hi Jim and List members, Thanks Jim for the detailed info on this car. Claus Schlund

Ah the joys of X2F couplers. Early Kadee's were way too expensive for me as a teen modeler in the late 1950's.

This is an AT&SF Ga-Z car. There were 400 built as tie cars by Haskell & Barber in 1915. Numbered 110000-110399. Originally the top of the sides were somewhat arched, but at some point in time they

excellent article, thanks! -- Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts

Scott, Those are nice tools. I think I bought mine (slightly different) from Pierre at one of the Lisle meets. I also have a pair of Tamiya "bending pliers" -- Tim

Gentlemen, thank you for all the ideas. I did not expect so much of a response! I have gotted a few very good ideas here (and a few sent to me privately) for some very simple jigs that might lend

I have a technique which I have used for making Z-bars for Single sheathed cars. Using a NWSL riveter with a 0.010" riveter, I make a row of rivets the length of a styrene sheet. After that I slice

Charlie, part of what I'm thinking is that any jig to be 3D printed would have the advantage of being possible to print at any scale, so no one would be left out.

Nelson that's a good idea too, I'll look into it.