And I totally disagree. Anything that can be cut by a 3D pantograph can be cut by CNC. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to even find a pantograph in a modern day tool shop, unless the owner is almost

Hi Mark- I am not a tool maker and have never played one on TV (Ha HA). Most of what I know is just from listening to actual toolmakers talk. I have had a fair amount of resin casting experiences and

Curt, and all; I am most interested in cars between the earliest photos I can find, in the mid-thirties, to the dedicated cars of the mid-fifties thru sixties. I have not been able to re-join the

Gang; I am putting together a presentation on this subject, and am in the next phase of research. I am finding very much info on the story behind the shipment of steel sheet and coiled steel sheet,

Thanks for your comments, Lester and Jim. Eric Hansmann Murfreesboro, TN

Very nice work. I have to use a bending form to make truss rods. Doug Sent from Mail for Windows 10

Andy If you have a Deckel photograph available, wouldn't it have been easier to make the first generation master rib and then use it to panto all 5 ribs, using an offset method into a ABS sheet? I

Bill, Nice work for sure. I still use my old method from narrow gauge modeling days and use fishing line and heat flare the ends. Curt Fortenberry

If you compare the two, it is obvious that IM screwed up the geometry at the end of the ribs. CNC is only as good as the programming, and the computer visualization of the surface sometimes makes

The reason for doing it this way is to avoid having the attachment bolts penetrate the roof sheet. Bolts through the fascia are less likely to leak on the load. This is the same reason why many of the

That is really nice work Bill, quite inspirational. If I ever get my layout running and my stash of kits built I'll definitely be kitbashing a few old MDC wooden 12-1's into commuter cars. Walt

Hello- Pictured is a tooling resin 1/12 scale PC&F R-40-23 Refrigerator car Dreadnaught end. This is a classic example of an old-school method of tool making. An individual rib is carefully shaped and

Eric fine work. Especially like the C&O and the ACL stands out. Thanks for sharing. Lester Breuer

Those four brackets attached to the car fascia at each end are attached to the ends of the four pieces of lumber that support the ice hatch platform, which surrounds the ice hatch proper. Ron Merrick

Photo: SFRD Reefer 6719 A link courtesy of Brian Rochon previously posted on this group: http://lists.railfan.net/erielackphoto.cgi?erielack-12-10-19/X4544.jpg Not a great photo but this can be

And interesting to note the hooks above the trucks for attaching Keeley journal box cooling cans. In an earlier post, someone had remarked that The Illinois Central often equipped freight cars with

Good looking models, Eric. Nice weathering

Beautiful . . . . such patience! I gave up on O-scale being too small to work with . . . ugh! Al Kresse

Taking roster shots of your completed freight cars can document your fleet as it grows. I get caught up with several models recently and posted some thoughts on the process in my latest blog post.

CAUTION: Slotted Screws Visible I have started rigging the truss rod system for my CB&Q model’s underframe. I use .015-brass wire for the rods so prior to gluing the Queen Posts in place I used a