In-ko-pah Railroad - Scratchbuilt railcar

[Malachi Constant]

Lookin' sharp!  Appears that the computer outage had some benefits.  -- Dallas

[Ray Dunakin]

I decided that the roof looked too plain, and that a luggage rack would really improve the vehicle's "character". The rack was formed out of brass rods soldered together. It fits into small holes drilled into the corners of the roof:






I also wanted a ladder at the rear of the vehicle. To build it, I first came up with this crude jig made from scraps of wood:




The brass rods which will form the vertical parts of the ladder fit into the slots on the jig and are held in place by two clothespins:



To make the steps, I soldered the end of a brass rod to the two uprights, using the end of the jig to keep it level I then cut off the excess portion of the rod. The assembly is then pulled 1/2" forward on the jig and another step soldered in place, repeating the process until the ladder is finished:




The top of the ladder was bent over, and a mounting bracket added near the bottom. I originally wanted to put a ladder on each side of the rear door, so I built two. After trying them out on the model it was obvious that two would be excessive, so I just used one and put the other into my parts box to use on some future project:




The top of the ladder was carefully soldered to the rack while it was in place on the vehicle. This way, I could be sure of getting the ladder positioned correctly:




The complete luggage rack, ready to paint:




The rack was painted Rustoleum gloss black (same as the chassis) and lightly weathered with acrylics. I added strips of styrene "wood" to form the floor of the luggage rack. It was then glued in place, and any gaps in the roof were filled with spot putty. The roof was then touched up and received additional weathering.




An O-scale brass bell was mounted on a homemade bracket:




The steering wheel, pedals, lever and a rope for the bell were all installed. The pedals are from the Hubley Model T kit. I didn't realize how clunky they looked until after I had glued them in, otherwise I would have made my own:




The railbus is now complete! All that remains is to make the driver, passengers, and some luggage:









I had to prop up the rear to keep the vehicle from moving, so I could show how the lights look:




I've already started on the driver and passengers, and will post pics and video when I get them installed.

[billmart]

Beautiful model, Ray.  It looks right at home on your railway.

Bill Martinsen

[Andi Little]

Well, doesn't that just look the part! Absolutely fantastic - great modelling and brilliant vision, I for one am singularly most impressed.

Very well done sir!

[Design-HSB]

Hello Ray,

very nice realistic appearance.

[finescalerr]

You really are a complete modeler. Satisfactory. -- Russ

[Frederic Testard]

Splendid work, Ray. And very neat idea about the ladder soldering jig.

[TRAINS1941]

Ray

That is just excellent, beautiful work.  Can't wait to see the video of it making it's run around.

Jerry

[Chuck Doan]

I missed the final result. Came out great Ray! Very well realized.

[Ray Dunakin]

I just finished the driver and front seat passenger for my Model T railbus. They are patterned after my dad and step-sister. I haven't installed them in the railbus yet because I still need to make some glasses for my "mini-dad".





Here are a couple of the photos I used for reference:




 

And here are some shots of the individual figures:


 

 

 

 

 
They're a bit rough but they'll do. I find that the more of these figures I do, the less patience I have for getting them perfect. I still need to make five more figures for the rear passengers, including a small child that will be on someone's lap. That should be an interesting challenge.

[lab-dad]

They look pretty damn good to me!
FWIW;
I paid a guy in the UK to sculpt a 1/16th likeness of
me. Didnt look a thing like me.
Your figures look like you people!
Care to share a little on how you do them?
Marty

[Hydrostat]

Very nice done, Ray. Perhaps you can add some dark colour as eyebrows and as eyelids, especially at the girl. So her eyes wouldn't appear so big.

[Malachi Constant]

Wonderful sculpting!  That's got to be the A#1 way to "personalize" your railroad!  -- Dallas

[Design-HSB]

Hello Ray,

I like such homemade figures very much, they just character.

But Volker is right, you could have them with just a little color to give a little more natural.

[Ray Dunakin]

Very nice done, Ray. Perhaps you can add some dark colour as eyebrows and as eyelids, especially at the girl. So her eyes wouldn't appear so big.

Now that you mention it, I had planned to give her some eyebrows and forgot.