Missabe's Class G1 Gondola
The following article recently appeared in the MRHS ORE EXTRA:
One of the most appealing characteristics of the Missabe is its
unique equipment. Yet one of the most frustrating characteristics of the Missabe is
its unique equipment!
Unique means you seldom see an accurate model for sale in the
mass-produced market, especially so in the other-than-ore car realm. If you enjoy
these unusual cars as much as I do, you are relegated to kits bashing.
I have admired, but put off modeling the Missabe’s
converted flat car “gondolas” for too long. With the great shot in Dave
Schauer’s book of one of these gondolas sitting at Endion, my attention was again
focused on this car.
Then, out of the blue, Bob Mortinsen of Keystone Locomotive
Works sent me a new sample kit including all the stakes needed for the Missabe’s
gondola. Nothing would do but to acquire an Athearn 40-foot flat car – my
starting point - and give it a try.
I looked closely at Dave’s picture, and noted there are
two stake sizes, together with corresponding pocket sizes. I also noted that the
pockets and stakes were not evenly spaced. My guess is that the pockets had to be
re-applied because the small platforms left at both ends of the car after the gondola
walls were applied made it necessary to re-space the pockets. As will be seen, the
same issue faces the model builder.
The Keystone kit is made up of soft metal castings, includes 10
of the stout stakes, with their larger pockets, 12 of the thin stakes, without the
pockets, and 4 end stakes. Clean up any flash on the castings. On the thin
stakes, I cut off about half of the lower portion that is below the cast-on collar,
removing some of the part of the stake that would be in the pocket.
I provided the styrene v-groove sheet for the gondola walls,
wire grab irons and the flat car, Athearn being the closest I could find.
I cut the brake stand off of the car, and filed the floor
contour back in where the brake stand casting had been. I carved off the cast-on
end grabs.
Since the pocket spacing of the model doesn’t match the
prototype, I shaved off all the pockets. If I shaved them off carefully with the
flat-end X-acto blade as shown, I could preserve the pockets and re-apply them later in
their new locations. Fewer are needed than are carved off. I ruined a few,
but still had plenty available for the small stakes.
Unfortunately, removing the pocket leaves an un-prototypical
hole in the side of the car. The holes exist to accommodate the overly thick stamped
metal “stakes” Athearn includes in its kits, and must be filled. I used
Squadron Green filler, carving and scraping it flat after it dried.
The gondola walls are wood boards, XX inches high. The
walls are XX long, and XX wide. They appear to be 4x8 rough fir boards, which in HO
would be about .046 x .091. Styrene v-groove sheet doesn’t come grooved at
.090, but at .080 or .100. I only had .060 available at the time.
The sheet is .020 thick. I cut two identical pieces for
each side and end, and glued them back-to-back so boards are visible inside and out.
The thickness is now about right too. I filed 45-degree bevels on the ends of the
walls, and glued them all together flat and square on the workbench rather than the car.
When dry, I placed the wall assembly on the car, and glued it
to the floor. I could only glue the ends down, as the car had a slight sag in it. I
applied the end stakes with ACC glue, helping to hold the walls on.
There are steel corners applied to the prototype’s
walls. I cut a strip of paper a scale 24” wide and several (real) inches long,
folded it in half length-wise, and cut it into scale 3-foot sections. I used ACC to
glue the paper to the corners as shown.
The placement of the new side pockets and stakes seems to be
hit or miss. The photo of the prototype reveals the pockets do alternate
thin/thick/thin/thick but are not uniformly spaced. I presume that when the
Missabe re-applied the stake pockets, they had to dodge any underframe pieces that may
have been in the way, causing the uneven spacing.
I applied the weight, underframe, couplers and trucks to the
car, and used the trucks, car frame and gon walls to help me reference where the pockets
were applied based on the photo. I penciled marks on one side of the car where each
pocket was, then transferred each position to the other side of the car by sighting along
the floor boards and marking the other side.
The soft metal stakes were glued on with ACC glue. I used
tweezers to hold the stake, applied glue to the back, and then set the stake on the car
side. Each stake has a cast-in collar just above the pocket. These collars
should all be placed along the line of the car floor. The thin stakes reach all the way to
the top of the wall. The stout stakes will be short.
It was hard to keep the stakes vertical, as the glue sets
quickly. With the stakes glued on, the walls were firmly attached to the car.
After the glue set, I placed the salvaged Athearn stake pockets
over the smaller stakes, just below the cast-in collar of the stake. I was
disappointed in how large the Athearn pockets appeared – a product of old technology
I suppose. These carved off pockets should actually be smaller than the pockets
cast into the stout stakes.
There are grab irons at each corner of the car, a long grab for
the crossover platform – the end deck of the car. Note the two foot stirrups
at each corner of the car. One, probably the original placement for a flat car, is
closest to the end, and allows one to climb onto the end platform. The other next to
it allows one to ride on the side of the car while holding the grabs on the gondola wall.
I make my own grabs from .015” wire, but buy the stirrup steps.
The brake wheel and shaft aren’t shown, but are of the
vertical through-the-floor type. The shaft can be released to slip down so the brake
wheel is against the floor when not in use. This can easily be modeled by simply
drilling a hole in the floor for the brake wheel, and pressing it into the hole.
The best color I have found for Missabe freight is Floquil Roof
Brown. The MRHS Flats and Gons decal set can be used to letter the car. Use
Dave’s picture for reference. The car number also was applied to the end
wall. I overspray with Testor’s Dullcote when done.
Parts List
Keystone Locomotive Works - Stakes and Pockets Kit –
contact Bob Mortinsen at klw14874@yahoo.com
Athearn - 40-foot flat car kit
Evergreen - Styrene sheet v-groove .020 thick by .080 spacing
Details West – Stirrup Steps and Wire for grabs.
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