Modeling the Nickel Plate's ex-C&O Cabooses NKP Fun in Two ...

Volume 17, September 2014

The Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook is published by the Nickel Plate Road Historical and Technical Society, Inc.for its members and modelers interested in the former New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, and its predecessor companies. Articles, manuscripts, photographs, and other modeling material relating to the Nickel Plate Road aresolicited for publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced for distribution, either electronically or in print, without permission of the Publications Director and the contributor of the material involved. Please [email protected] for more information.

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Nickel Plate Road Modeler’s Notebook Volume 17, September 2014

MODELER’S NOTEBOOK STAFF EDITOR Raymond T. Breyer MODELING EDITOR William C. Quick MODELING COORDINATOR J. Anthony Koester

2014 NKPHTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NATIONAL DIRECTOR David B. Allen, Jr. ASST. NATIONAL DIRECTOR M. David Vaughn PAST NATIONAL DIRECTOR William C. Quick NATIONAL SECRETARY George F. Payne NATIONAL TREASURER H. Bruce Blonder INFORMATION DIRECTOR Daniel Meckstroth PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR Thos. G. J. Gascoigne MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Dan L. Merkel SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR Brian J. Carlson INTERNET SERVICES DIRECTOR John C. Fryar DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Raymond Kammer Jr. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Timothy P. AdangASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Nathan Fries ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Matthew E. Fruchey ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Arthur J. Lemke

Welcome to the latest issue of the NKPHTS Modeler’s Notebook! As the e-zine’s new editor, I have big plans to take us all forward into the wonderful and varied world of Nickel Plate modeling. This issue will start the ball rolling with two very different articles. First, I’ll show you how to model the NKP’s 1250-series transfer cabooses in HO scale. Next, Jennifer Crock describes how she plans on using two different scales on a single modular layout, to bring the fun of NKP model railroading to a wider audience. I’m also starting two new features that will be included in every issue: Modeler’s Reference drawings, and Along the Line.

RAY

CONTENTS THIS ISSUE: Page 3: Kitbashing a NKP 1250‐series wood caboose in HO scale Ray Breyer Page 21: Modeler’s Reference: 1930s‐1940s NKP caboose lettering guide Page 22: Fun In Two Scales Jennifer Crock Page 25: Along The Line Page 28: Modeler’s Reference: NKP lineside signs

The NKPHTS Logo and the name NICKEL PLATE ROAD are registered trademarks of the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc. ©2014 The Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, Inc.


KITBASH A NKP 1250‐SERIES CABOOSE (in HO scale) By Ray Breyer

NKP 1273 is used as a mobile office while switching the Chicago Union Stockyards. This model is a fairly basic kitbash of a commonly available Walthers kit.

The Nickel Plate Road owned a lot of cabooses, of several different styles. Besides the 1000‐series cars that lasted as long as the railroad itself, ranks of 400, 500, 700, 800, 900, 1250, and 1300 series cars could be found at various times. Some, like the 1000s and 700s, are fairly simple to add to a layout since commercial models are available for both in several scales. Others, like the 1920s era 900‐series cars, are completely impossible to model since nobody actually knows what they looked like! Most fall into the “interesting challenge” range of possibility. As NKP modelers, we sometimes have to be creative and look outside of the box to find ways to add suitable caboose models to our fleets. And it’s that creativity that led me to this current project. Most of us know about the ex‐C&O cabooses that the NKP had, and when Walthers released their wood‐sided C&O caboose model several years ago I knew that there was a distinct possibility that something useful could be made from it. One day, Walthers had a fire sale on them, and I bought a pair!

Out of the box, these C&O cabooses really don’t look much like Nickel Plate equipment at all. That’s about to change.


THE PROTOTYPE The world was plunged into war on September 1, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. While it took the United States almost two years to get actively involved militarily, the industrial base of the nation played a major role in the conflict from day one. With industrial production increasing at an unprecedented rate railroads found themselves with major equipment shortages. The 1930s had seen railroads scrapping rolling stock in huge numbers (the Nickel Plate lost HALF of their freight cars between 1930 and 1933), but now they needed that equipment back, pronto. The Nickel Plate, as a bridge route with relatively little online heavy industry, didn’t suffer as badly from a lack of freight cars as some railroads did, but they desperately needed more cabooses to trail behind the increased number of trains heading east from the Steel Belt. To ease the pain the NKP came up with a two stage plan: buy a few cabooses to cover the car shortage NOW, and order brand new cabooses for delivery in the near future.

C&O 90475, sitting at Conneaut in June 1941. These hard‐used cabooses were quickly cycled through the car shop to receive minimal repairs and a new NKP paint job, to get them onto the road as fast as possible. NKPHTS Collection.

NKP 1275 seen shortly after emerging from the paint shop in Conneaut. Besides a tightening of boards and maybe a hard cleaning inside, not much has been changed from when the cars arrived from the C&O.

NKPHTS Collection.

The only available cabooses were a motley assortment of wood cars from the NKP’s AMC partner Chesapeake & Ohio. Newer, but harder‐used than most of the NKP’s existing cabooses, the C&O cars were bought in June of


1941, quickly repainted into NKP colors, and immediately put into service. The plan to buy new all‐steel, Magor‐built cabooses fell through due to War Production Board steel and manufacturing restrictions, and in mid‐1942 the NKP began building the 1350‐series cabooses out of old boxcars. Once these new cabooses conversions came online, the Nickel Plate took the time to properly shop and repair the 1250s, which happened during the second half of 1943.

An unidentified official poses with newly‐shopped NKP 1273, in Conneaut in July, 1943. Behind her sits yet‐to‐be‐repaired 1269. Obvious changes include the replacement of C&O‐style sliding windows with more conventional windows, new all‐steel, three‐tread steps, and a few replaced boards. Less obvious is the moved stove (see stack placement) and the resulting rearranging of the interior to suit NKP tastes. Caboose 1273 is one of about half of these cars that received a blanked‐out cupola, for use as a transfer caboose in large terminals. Ray Breyer Collection. With the addition of the roomier and stronger 1350‐series “War Emergency” cabooses to the roster, the elderly 1250 series cars were relegated to transfer caboose service at major terminals on the NKP Division (Chicago, Ft Wayne, Toledo, Cleveland and Buffalo). Slowly retired as single cars became too worn out to cheaply repair (the first was retired after only six months!) the last 15 cars were finally retired as a batch in March, 1954 (at least according to official records. Photo evidence shows a couple lasting until around 1960).

NKP 1261 in the summer of 1949, doing what it was best suited for: LCL transfer run service between Stony Island and the NKP’s freight house near the Chicago lakefront. 1261 was one of a very few of these cabooses to receive the new “High Speed Service” paint scheme; it’s shown in this photo as a brand‐new paint job. Typical of these cars it has a blanked out cupola. The lettering on the cupola sides is the rarely seen “Always Be Careful” slogan usually applied to the sides of NKP tool sheds. Ray Breyer Collection.


THE MODEL

If you’ve read any of my other modeling articles in the Modeler’s Notebook, you’ll note that I’m not normally interested in creating “contest quality” models. I do like my models to LOOK like the real thing, but they don’t have to have every board, rivet, and inch absolutely correct. That means that in cases like this project, I review the prototype, look for likely base models to start a conversion with, and see what needs to be changed in a general way to come up with a good LOOKING model that captures the overall feel of the prototype, without stressing too badly over where every ¾” bolt head might go.

(Walthers photo) (NKPHTS collection) Overall, the possibilities to model a 1250‐series caboose looked very good indeed. The overall size and shape of the Walthers model matched the prototype, so it looked to be a matter of changing details and only doing a little cutting. I decided at this point that I wanted something unusual: while I don’t actually model a terminal, I wanted one of the blanked‐cupola transfer caboose versions.


The first step in the transformation was to disassemble the model. Thankfully, Walthers used a minimum of glue with these cars, and the entire assembly comes apart with a few well‐placed screws or press‐fit parts. Discard the interior; it’s nice, but won’t fit into the model once we’re done. Besides, you can’t see it!

(maybe not the best photo, but I forgot to take a “formal” shot of the disassembled car before I dove into the project!) The fabrication of the new model requires three main steps: new carbody sides, new end platforms and steps, and new cupola sides. The roof is fine as‐is, the underframe can be detailed or not as you prefer, and the end railings and interior details need to go into your parts box for future projects. (Note: keep the steps that come with the C&O caboose somewhere safe. We’ll need those for a future project to create Clover Leaf cabooses!) We’ll start with the car body modifications. We’ll need to scratchbuild two new sides and add two windows into each end. Using a new #11 blade, carefully cut off each side of the car. Start off by flipping the body upside down and cutting along the edge between the underframe and the body. Once you’re through, flip the body onto one end cut along the seam between the end and side, being sure to cut into the END of the car, rather than the sides. Once you’re done and the sides are off, dress the edges with sandpaper or a file.


Next, we need to cut two holes into each end, which will become our windows. All of the small window castings I could find were either too large or were the wrong shape for these, so I decided to scratchbuild them in place.

This is nowhere near as daunting a process as it sounds, especially considering I didn’t have any precise measurements to work with! To “scratchbuild” the windows just cut out two rectangles on each end as per these dimensions:

Keep in mind that these are all fairly general measurements based on my own guesswork. If you’re off by three inches here or there nothing will be “destroyed”, so long as you’re consistent from one side to the other. The plastic used on these models is pretty thick, so this is actually the most difficult step of the entire conversion. I


ended up marking the window openings with a fine tip marker, and then drilling out around their perimeter with several holes made with a ¼” drill bit. The openings were then dressed with progressively finer files.

Once the holes are cut and dressed, drill three .012” diameter holes next to them on each side for the security bars (the C&O cabooses all came with them). Once the holes are drilled, frame out the windows: I used scale 2x3 along the bottom (placed so the 2” wide part was glued to the sides) and 2x2 along the edges. To simulate window sashes inside of the car, I added two pieces of 1x10 along the top and bottom, with about half of each showing. Bend 12 security bars out of .010” brass wire, super glue them and the kit’s end grabs to each end of the car, and the body ends are done. Next, we can fabricate the new sides, which are MUCH easier to do than the ends! Using .040” thick Evergreen car siding, cut out two sides like this:


The windows I used are Tichy #8068, and seem to be an almost perfect match for the prototype (these windows also work well for other NKP cabooses, as well as MOW cars). Test fit the sides to the carbody before gluing in the windows and curved corner grabs, just to make sure that they fit well without any gaps. Use regular liquid plastic cement (called MEK for brevity from here on) to glue the new sides into the body once you’re happy with the fit and spacing. Finally, MEK the windows into place and use super glue for the grabs, and you’re done with the body modifications.

Next up is the hardest part of the kitbash: adding the new end platforms. Instead of scratchbuilding these parts, I looked around for something that looked appropriate and was a nice, solid part. Steps are always a fragile part of a car like this, and I really didn’t want to find pieces of them scattered along my right of way. So solid castings with plastic‐on‐plastic glue joints were mandatory, and one‐piece moldings were most desirable.


First off, you need to modify the existing underframe. Cut away and discard anything to the outside of the truck bolsters, and glue what’s left onto the body.

The model comes with basic AB brake detailing; the cars did have AB brakes, so this is OK as‐is (technically, they were bought with split‐K brakes, but at some point the NKP added AB brakes to them, likely during their 1943 shopping). It appears as though the triple valve was mounted right next to the edge of the body, so I moved the one on the model. I also added generic brake rods and piping to the model for some extra detail (I used .015” diameter brass wire for everything. .011” would have been more to scale, but .015” is sturdier) There’s very little room down there, so make sure that any detailing you add to the underside of the model doesn’t interfere with the truck swing.


For the steps, I settled on ones harvested from the underframe of a Roundhouse “Overland” passenger car (they’re all the same, so exactly which car doesn’t matter). They have four steps instead of the prototype’s three, but I could live with that discrepancy. I did want to use the smaller Roundhouse caboose steps and end platforms, but they were too narrow and didn’t line up with the ends of the model’s roof properly. Athearn caboose steps will also work here, but I couldn’t find any.

(ignore the hair!) Cut the steps off the Roundhouse underframe casting with enough of the frame left to provide for a good, hefty gluing surface. There’s no fine measurements required here, but my parts extended all the way back to the model’s truck bolsters. Test fit the parts so the underframe sits snugly between the car sides, and so the top edge of the part is flush with the ends as shown below. Do NOT glue the parts into place just yet!


Once I got a good fit for the parts, I detailed the ends; doing it now is a whole lot easier than doing it after the ends have been glued onto the model, since you can clamp the platforms securely to your workbench without having to worry about damaging the rest of the model.

The parts for the ends are pretty straightforward: I used the Roundhouse end railings that came with the underframe, a Tichy brake wheel and .020” wire staff, hand‐formed .015” wire and two eyelets for the top‐mounted coupler cut lever, two 18” straight grabs, four large‐ish Tichy NBW castings, and a random piece of plastic for the air hose bracket. The ladders will be added near the end of the process, after the roof has been installed. I didn’t add any to this model, but if you’d like, add safety chains between the railings now. Once the ends are detailed, MEK them into place. You’ll have to hold them in place for a few seconds until the glue starts to set up, so they don’t sag or shift out of position. Finally, re‐attach the model’s archbar caboose trucks. I replaced the plastic wheelsets with Life Like metal wheels so the car would roll better (Reboxx semi‐scale code .088” wheelsets would also look great here). Once the trucks are in place, check their swing. On my model, the wheel faces rubbed against the inside edge of the steps, limiting their swing. There’s two ways to fix this problem: move the bolsters or trim the steps. Since I had everything glued into place (and because it was simpler), I went with trimming the inside corners of the steps away as much as possible, to give the trucks as much swinging room as I could. They’ll easily do 18” radius curves now.

(notice that the edges of the step castings have been trimmed at about a 45 degree angle, to allow for more truck swing)


The last fabrication step for this kitbash is the roof and cupola.

This part of the conversion is actually pretty simple. The roof is good as‐is; even the smoke jack is in the right place. All that you have to do is add the top “curved part” of the model’s end railing casting (technically, these are the ends of the roof, and act as a sort of fascia piece. If you want to keep the end railing parts intact for a different project, a piece of scale 2x4 Evergreen strip styrene will work instead). Add the smoke jack; the Walthers kit includes the guy wires for the jack, which should be added now. There are two cupola rooftop vents on the Walthers kit. These were NOT on the cars that came to the NKP, so these parts will have to be eliminated, and the holes filled. I did this by gluing the vents into place, snipping off the tops, and adding a bit of modeling putty to hide any indentations.

If you want a more “conventional” caboose at this point, all you need to do is fill in the center window on each end. To keep things basic, just make a small overlay piece out of Evergreen .020” thick car siding that fits between the windows that you want to keep, and between the bottom of the cupola roof and the top of the body roof. Match the curves at the top and bottom (see how, below), MEK the parts into place, and you’re done.

(fill in the center window with a piece of Evergreen car siding, cut to fit)


My blanked‐out cupola conversion is a bit trickier. I needed four full sides, and two had to be cut with a curve that matched the model’s roof. First things first: snap the cupola into place, and mark where the walls meet the roof with a pencil or fine tip Sharpie. Remove the cupola, and you now know where the bottom of your new

cupola end walls need to be. Next, lay out the four new walls onto .020” thick Evergreen car siding. Start with the ends first, measure their width, transfer that dimension to the siding, and then use the cupola’s roof to mark the curve. Actually, I got bold and used the cupola as a cutting template and just cut out the parts without doing something high‐tech like digging out a compass with a blade attachment (it was a whole lot faster that way; I worked slowly so I wouldn’t bite into the cupola roof, and used a fresh Xacto blade so I wouldn’t have to go over the part too many times) Once the TOP curve is cut, measure the distance between the cupola and body roof, and cut the BOTTOM curve. With both parts cut out, MEK them into place on the cupola. Once the ends are glued on, measure for the sides. These are FAR simpler to measure and cut (they’re just rectangles!). Again, MEK them into place, directly over any details on the existing cupola casting. Once the sides are dry, make sure that the corners are smooth, square and even; you may have to do a little dressing up with a file.

Snap the cupola back into place to check for a good fit. On my model, the new ends were ever so slightly too short (maybe .008”?). It was enough that there was an unsightly gap visible on the model, so I “fixed” the problem by adding a scale 1x2 trim piece along the edge to hide the gap. I also glued the cupola into position permanently at this point, since it will never be removed. Glue the running boards into place on the roof at this time too. Now, add the finishing touches to the roof. The stock kit’s smoke jack comes with guy wires; drill holes into the jack and the roof, MEK the jack into place, and super glue the wires. Next, add the cupola rooftop railing, which comes with the kit. Finally, these well‐used cabooses all came with strap metal sway braces between the cupola and the roof; those are easily represented with small strips of .005” x .020” brass.


Super glue the braces into place, and add a Tichy NBW casting onto each end of the braces where they meet with the running boards.

With THAT done, add about ¾ of an ounce of weight (I use self‐adhesive A‐Line weights) to the inside of the caboose, and snap the roof into place. Congratulations! Your caboose is now done and ready for the paint shop! (Note here that in general, I do NOT add glazing to my model windows. I actually find it to be unrealistic‐looking, and leave it out of virtually all of my models. If you do want window glazing, leave the roof OFF until after painting and decaling the model)


PAINTING AND FINAL DETAILING Painting these cabooses CAN be fairly simple. They all had black roofs and underframes (I actually use “grimy black” for underframes), had either black or safety yellow grabs, and boxcar “red” end platforms and stair treads. For 1940‐1950 period cabooses, the bodies were painted in the “true red” scheme; as far as I’ve been able to tell, none of these cabooses were ever painted in the pre‐1930s boxcar brown caboose scheme used by the NKP.

This is a similar WWII‐era C&O caboose, in the AMC‐standard red scheme. During and after WWII all AMC cabooses of the C&O, NKP, PM and Erie were painted in this same general scheme, with only the lettering differing (and then not by much!). While this caboose is partially in shadow and a bit grungy, you can still tell that it’s RED, and not boxcar brown. This caboose was photographed on the tracks approaching the joint NKP/C&O freight house on the Chicago lakefront, so it’s entirely possible that these C&O cabooses were regularly parked next to their now NKP‐painted kin! Chicago, IL, 4/1943. Jack Delano photo, FSA/OWI collection, US Library of Congress call number LC‐USW36‐595

The 1930s‐1947 “red” scheme, as compared with the “High Speed Service” scheme’s red. While it’s apparent that the older paint really is red rather than “boxcar brown”, it’s nowhere near as brilliant a color as we’re used to seeing on NKP cabooses.

Both photos: NKPHTS collection


As of May 22, 1950, the 1250‐1275 series cabooses were authorized to be painted in the “High Speed Service” paint scheme. At least four of them were painted in this scheme, including one car that lost its cupola. Sadly, I only know for sure of one car number: 1261. That’s good news for modelers though, since you can number one of them any way you want and nobody can prove you wrong!

Three HSS‐painted 1250‐series cabooses, from 1950, 1961 and 1958 respectively. Note that none of them has an as‐delivered cupola! All photos Ray Breyer collection

The first step in painting my caboose was to remove the trucks and add a light gray primer coat (Floquil out of a rattle can since I have a stash of it handy; Model Master has a similar primer). After letting the primer dry fully (I waited a week!), I broke out my airbrush and sprayed the underframe with Polly Scale “grimy black”. For the WWII‐era red color I use a mix of one part Soo Line red, one part special oxide red, and one part boxcar red. I brush painted the body to add some color variation to the individual boards; I mixed the paint in a palette cup and added a SMALL amount of water to make it flow a little better.

(Color matching is an inexact art, as was paint technology before WWII. I just hand mix this caboose color to come “close”, and to add a bit of variety in my caboose fleet)

If you want to model a later caboose in the HSS scheme, first paint the light gray slogan stripe using “Milwaukee Road MOW Gray”. I actually lighten this color up a LITTLE with about one part white paint to three parts gray. Once the gray paint has dried, mask off the banner band and paint the rest of the body with a brilliant red like “Caboose red” or “Soo Line Red”, using an airbrush for a nice, even coat. The roof tops and edges were tarred canvas on the prototype, so I used Polly Scale “steam power black” in those areas, again using a brush (this IS a tarred roof; some texture is a good thing!). The end platforms, railings


and step edges were also painted black. The floor of the end platforms and the steps themselves were painted boxcar red, and yellow was added to grabs as appropriate. Once everything is dry, add a sealant coat. If you’re using decals, that’s glosscoat. If you’re using dry transfers, use dullcote. Decals for these cars can be problematic to find. Micro Scale makes at least two different sets, but they’re rarely in stock anywhere. Herald King decals are long out of production, but their caboose sets are better than Microscale’s and worth looking for. In the end, I broke down and used C‐D‐S dry transfers for the road name and car numbers, and repaint & repack lettering from a partial sheet of Microscale decals I had handy. Since my own modeling preferences lean towards the Depression and WWII periods, I chose to letter my model as a caboose recently out of Conneaut circa 1943.

With the decals set and dry, it’s time to reassemble your model, add finishing touches and paint, and get it into service! First, add glazing to the windows if desired, using white glue. Snap the roof into place, and add any touch up paint if necessary. Add the end ladders (mine are generic boxcar ladders, possibly Intermountain, that I had in my parts bins). Next, glue the coupler boxes into place. Yes, GLUE. Screws are the “hobby standard”, but on cabooses they’ll generally punch through the top of the platforms. And in over 30 years of gluing on coupler boxes, I can count on one hand the number of failures I’ve had. I used Kadee #58 semi‐scale couplers, highlighted with a light drybrushing of boxcar red. Add the air hoses to the brackets on the ends.


The trucks I used came with the base model. NKP painting specifications called for unpainted (raw metal) trucks, so if desired, add a light overspray of “rail brown” paint to tone down the black plastic. In general, do NOT add “rust highlights” to trucks; they’re usually unrealistic and “model train looking”. Paint the wheel faces “grimy black” and add them to the trucks, and reattach the trucks.

And you’re done! Once I’m a bit past the benchwork stage on my own layout caboose number 1273 will spend a lot of time behind a U‐3a class 0‐8‐0, shuffling stock cars and reefers between my yard and a large stockyard facility located on the Illinois Central.


MODELER’S REFERENCE: NICKEL PLATE ROAD RED SCHEME LETTERING GUIDE NKPHTS collection


NICKEL PLATE FUN AT THE RAILROAD PARK – A two scale adventure By Jennifer Crock

NKPHTS member Jennifer Crock, mainly a moderately serious O scale enthusiast, also has a soft spot for Post War era Lionel toy trains. Long before scale modeling in O and On3 narrow gauge as an adult, it was Lionel trains that her father shared with her. The story was the same with husband Mike: as children, they were both introduced to the world of miniature trains with Lionel. Now in their 60s, they enjoy recalling some of the joys of childhood with participation in a local toy train group. She and her husband, and a few of their locals are designing a modular toy train layout. In addition to a few NKP items in Lionel, Jennifer plans on sharing her enthusiasm for our road by building an amusement park railroad on one of the modules using N scale trains. She explains that in O scale, N scale equipment works out to approximately 3 inches to the foot equivalent, a popular scale for trains in real amusement parks. With the recent arrival of some Kato Unitrack, a quick mock‐up was made to see how the concept will look. She plans a 3 or 4 times around convoluted loop, perhaps with an elevation change. The layout will include several sidings to 'stage' different trains that can be run.


Some of her fond childhood memories are of riding miniature trains such as these in city parks and amusement parks all across the Midwest. Also a collector of Collie dog figurines (as well as a houseful of real 'Lassies'), she may feature a collection of these in the park as well, so the O scale patrons can ride around that through the GIANT Collie dog sculptures. This concept is a recollection of some places back in the 40s and 50s featuring giant dinosaur sculptures that one could wander around, and perhaps enjoy a lunch beneath. She thought about incorporating the amusement park ride someplace in the double track around the walls, 2‐rail scale layout she and husband Mike are slowly putting together, but it would have taken up too much real estate, already in exceptionally short supply. Besides, the degree of whimsy that the Amusement Park trains will represent, plus the addition of the giant Collie statues, makes much more sense within the toy train concept, where playful fun is the only real goal.


"If I were to place this park railroad within a scale model RR environment, the visual scale quality of O scale "riders" and other patrons in the Park would have to be much higher. Also, the quality of overall scenery would have to be increased to scale standards. By placing the park in the context of a toy train modular layout, the expectations of perfection are removed, so lower cost figures and simple scenery can be used. Given the results of seeing the mock up, this will give a good impression from a viewing distance of several feet, perfect for a Post War era Lionel toy train environment."


ALONG THE LINE

It’s a busy afternoon in Donnellson, along the Clover Leaf Division’s Fourth Subdivision, as LCL packages pile up waiting for Train #12. Steven Grigg scratchbuilt this depot in O scale for his home layout, using plans he drew up for the January 1985 issue of the NKPHTS Magazine.

Steve Grigg photo


NKP 190 is running hours late as it races train #9 across the Little Vermillion River, on Tony Koester’s Third Sub layout.

Tony Koester photo

Dan Merkel has been hard at work, keeping the Wheeling & Lake Erie alive in his attic empire.

Here, two freshly‐shopped W&LE stock cars await their first revenue run. The Roundhouse models feature custom decals, also printed by Dan.

Dan Merkel photo


Alco switcher #53 waddles through the busy industrial tracks on the southeast side of Chicago, on Jonathan Grant’s stunning Sweethome Chicago layout. This stunning modular layout regularly makes the rounds of modeling shows and displays throughout central England, bringing exposure of the Nickel Plate to another continent!

Jon Grant photo

David Campbell has also been hard at work on his fleet, churning out ranks of 1920s‐era NKP boxcars. Here, two of his 10000‐series “shorty” boxcars trail a manifest through central Ohio.

Dave Campbell photo


MODELER’S REFERENCE: NICKEL PLATE ROAD LINESIDE SIGNS Artwork by Ray Breyer

These signs, drawn based on original NKP and AMC specifications, aren’t here in any particular scale. To use them on YOUR layout, simply use the scale on the upper left, and reduce their size until they’re the correct size for your scale. Print them out on plain paper (or flat printer photo paper), glue them to thin styrene, and mount them along your NKP right of way on .025” diameter steel wire (the NKP usually used old steam engine flues as sign posts!)

Sign artwork by Ray Breyer. Non‐commercial use only.


THE NKPHTS MODELER’S NOTEBOOK NEEDS YOUR HELP! Are you a Nickel Plate modeler? Or a modeler of the Wheeling & Lave Erie, the Lake Erie & Western, the Clover Leaf, or any of the predecessor roads that went into creating the Greater Nickel Plate? Do you have a digital camera? Would you like to share what you’re doing, or what you know, or your tips and techniques on modeling the NKP? Then have we got the forum for you! This issue of the Modeler’s Notebook marks the rejuvenation of the e‐zine, which can become the greatest resource available for modeling and showcasing NKP models. Ultimately, the plan is to issue the virtual magazine quarterly, but that means that the editorial board of the NKPHTS will need YOUR help in adding to its contents! We’re looking for just about any and all submissions for the magazine. Full‐length features, small one to three page “mini features”, and stand‐alone photos are all welcome and desired. So long as the subject matter is at least somehow NKP‐related, it’s fair game! You say that you aren’t a writer? No problem: the NKPHTS editorial staff is here to help. With good quality cameras coming standard with just about every smartphone these days, taking photos couldn’t be simpler! (so long as they’re relatively well lit and in focus, that is) And we’d love to see your work in all scales and skill levels: S, TT, High‐Rail and live steam are all as welcome as O, HO and N. So share your love of Nickel Plate modeling today! To talk to the editorial staff about a submission, or to submit an article, please contact the following: Ray Breyer (Editor, NKPHTS Modeler’s Notebook) [email protected] Thomas Gascoigne (NKPHTS Publications Director) [email protected] Bill Quick (NKPHTS Modeling Editor) [email protected] John Fryar (NKPHTS Internet Services Director) [email protected]

Modeling the Nickel Plate's ex-C&O Cabooses NKP Fun in Two ...

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