CB&Q 36' Livestock Car Kit

An HO kit from Leadville Designs:

https://leadvilledesigns.com/

Description from the manufacturer:

“These cars were built by AC&F in the early 1920s for the CB&Q. With Z steel bracing, a wood roof and a KC WABCO brake system, these cars had a 60,000lb capacity.  This kit represents the 58000 and 59000 36' double deck stock cars as they ran on the CB&Q. These cars are equipped with AB brakes. These revolutionary kits comprise of etched brass and nickel silver components, 3D printed ABS frame with integrate brake hardware and train line, a full set of decals.

Each side is built up from 3 large are layers of metal etchings providing 6 levels of detail. Although this may sound complicated, each side has only 3 pieces to it! By laying out the components this way, incredible detail is achievable. All the grab irons and stirrup steps are free standing with ultra fine cross sections that is just not possible with any form of casting. Every nail hole and rivet is represented in incredible detail.

The frame is 3D printed in ABS. This process allowed for a single piece casting that includes ALL rivets, fully detailed channels, and a train line that looks like it's being held in place through some miracle act. To this, the lettering includes number sets for 6 cars. Couplers just drop in and your trucks screw in place. The amount of detail in these cars is mind blowing and assemble with ACC in as little as a couple of evenings.”

I have no connection, personal or financial, with Leadville Designs.

Bob Chaparro

Moderator

Railway Bull Shippers Group

https://groups.io/g/RailwayBullShippersGroup

For those interested, price is $74.95.

I received a few comments about this kit. Please understand that I’m not trashing this kit.

It does fill a need.

Bob Chaparro

Hemet, CA

++++

1. Comparing several photos of CB&Q SM-16 stock cars to this kit, and while it would be acceptable to many modelers, it has a few issues. The main issue is that there is no dover door on the B end.
2. Improvements might be made to the spaces between slats on the reporting marks and herald boards, the flimsy brake staff foot, and incorrect Z-bar plate on the bottom of the side over the bolsters.
3. The kit is advertised as a double deck car, but not all SM-16 cars were double deck. Does the kit allow the modeler to build either single or double deck cars?  A “D” was added to the road number for double deck cars. Do decals support that feature?
4. More photos would be helpful in determining prototype accuracy of the underframe. 3D printed parts tend to be overly thick, but it's hard to tell without more photos.

It would be nice to see some close ups of the ladders and ‘Z’ bracing to judge the model more objectively as the image of the finished model these parts appear to be rather flat and not highly detailed as we are use to with todays PE ladders, resin and plastic parts.  There’s no images of any decals or artwork for decals unless I overlooked it. 
--
Charlie Duckworth 
Omaha, Ne.



I’m surprised they actually mailed this to Claus.  Doesn’t speak well for any quality control. 
--
Charlie Duckworth 
Omaha, Ne.

I posted a discription of how I attemped to straighten the warped 3D printed underframe on another thread about this model. I also posted unpainted photos of the pilot model I built before the kit went on the market. I made numerous suggestions and pointed out several errors in the car design and in the instructions. I don't know if any of my recommenations were taken, so the information I'm presenting here may or may not apply to the kit.

Originally, this kit was supposed to be a model of CB&Q SM-16 30 ton stock cars in series 58000-58999 bult in 1924 and series 59000-59499 built in 1922. These cars were originally built as single deck cars with end doors (drover doors and lumber doors). Some of these cars got a second deck, and some of the doors were boarded over later in operating life. Unfortunately, there are no records I know of indicating which cars were modified. I pointed out that the model could represent a late 1950s or 1960s modifiied car, but in it's currrent state, it was a model of the SM-18 stock car

SM-18 cars in series 56950-57499 in 1926, 56925-56949 in 1926, and 56700-56924 in 1927. They were nearly identical to the SM-16 class except they had no end doors and they were rated ad 40 tons. the CB&Q leased cars 56700-57649 to the FW&D, so those cars woulld not carry CB&Q lettering.

Here are some of the issues I found with the instructions and design of the kit. The Frame Layout diagram is incorret as viewed from the bottom of the frame. The B end is incorrectly labeled, as t brake cyinder actuator faces the B end of the car.  The diagram shows two brake rods on the A end and no handbrake chain and rod on the B end. The AB valve should be mounted near the side sill, not behind the air reservoir. teh bottom side grab iron above the sill step should be a half-drop grab iron. The end fascia should not extend past teh side fascia, and the roof overhang is excessive on both sides and ends. A loop extends from the roof for mounting the handbrake staff, a poor substitute for a ratchet and pawl. The brake staff foot which is part of the nickel silver end overlay is too thin to drill for the brake staff. The doors lack latch detail and there is no provision for the door chain. There is no bull board bracket on the sides. Teh Z-bars don't align well with the bolster, cross bearers, and cross ties.

The kit is being marketed as the SM-18, but SM-16 decals are supplied (see series numbers above). Lettering is incomplete on the decal sheet I received, as build date, length data, and repack data are missing. Double deck cars were identified by adding a D after the road number. Teh side decals have the D, but the end numbers lack the D.

I added several enhancement to my model, including Precision Scale handbrake parts and retainer valve to bring it closer to the prototype. I cut off the loop protruding from the roof to mount the ratchet and pawl.

I primed and painted the pilot model over the past two days, and discovered the discrepancy between class and road numbers on the decal sheet just today. This places me at a quandry, as I model 1953, probably too early for boarded over end doors. I've decided to letter my car as a double deck SM-18 using decal scraps from the 24 Sunshine SM-18/SM-18A stock cars I build a few years ago. The Sunshine decals include lettering for FW&D in addition to CB&Q, so I can cut two Ds to use with the end road numbers. The Sunshine decals have extra reweigh adn repack data stencils, but unfortunately, there are no extra build dates or length data decals. It's possible that I can find those latter decals in scraps from the many CB&Q boxcars I've built, otherwise that lettering will be missing from my model.

The model looks good from the aisle, and only close examination reveals it's deviation from the prototype. I hope the decals being distributed with the kit incorporated my suggestions.

Nelson Moyer

I attached some closeup photos before spraying flat finish for you can evaluate prototype fidelity. The side and end grab irons are etched as part of the niclel silver overlay, so as a result, they do not stand off from the sides 4 in. because the Z channels lack three dimentional depth. The roof overhang on the sides and ends is clearly shown, as is the end fascia overhang. The ladders suffer the same issue as the grab irons. The nickel silver overlay in my kit snagged the brass frets, distorting the ladders grab irons, and sill step. While I straightened them as best I could, it was impossible to restore them to their original condition. The side view shows the waviness from having to cut and glue the 3D printed frame to remove bowing. Heat treatments didn't work, as the frame assumed the bow when it cooled. The gap at the A end bolster is a result of heat distortion from repeated attempts to straighten the frame. Also note the misalignment of the Z-channel sawtooth and the bolsters. The bottom side ladder grab rions should be half-drop type.

Kit enhancements included Hy Tech details air hoses and Precision Scale air hose hangers in addition to the parts mentioned earlier.

I pieced together decals from four different scrap sheets from Sunshine and Speedwitch to get all of the lettering, as the decals supplied in my pilot kit are for the SM-16 and the model is the SM-18. The hearald letter board is slight short for third party decals. I measured the heralds on Sushine, Speedwitch, and Leadville Designs and the latter was smaller than the other two, which were identical.

 Nelson Moyer