Pulpwood cars being weathered


I did get a car 100% weathered in my book. This is one the 5 blue GPSX pulp cars. Finished this up the night before I left for Pasadena and just remembered I hadn’t posted them yet.

I can’t do anything to this car till I return in December but here it is.

TomO
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Here are some prototype photos that might be helpful for weathering your blue cars:

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One trick I like to use to model a metal surface that's been rubbed raw -- like where the logs contacted the bulkheads, floor or stakes most recently and hasn't had a chance to rust over yet -- is to go over the surface with a no. 2 pencil. The graphite works out to be a good metal color and has a certain sheen that makes the part appear metallic without being shiny like it would be if you used silver paint. The insides of the stakes on this model have been rubbed with a pencil to get that effect.

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Here are some prototype photos that might be helpful for weathering your blue cars:

large.jpg


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One trick I like to use to model a metal surface that's been rubbed raw -- like where the logs contacted the bulkheads, floor or stakes most recently and hasn't had a chance to rust over yet -- is to go over the surface with a no. 2 pencil. The graphite works out to be a good metal color and has a certain sheen that makes the part appear metallic without being shiny like it would be if you used silver paint. The insides of the stakes on this model have been rubbed with a pencil to get that effect.

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RCH

Thank you for the pictures. I have views of the blue ends from a distance and usually with a car in between. These are so helpful and very much appreciated. I like the graphite idea using a pencil. I am looking for prototype pictures of the pulp car floor. I have seen in person cars with plate steel but nothing in person with wood. Those in person pictures were on an external hard drive that went missing on the move from Central Wisconsin to South Central Wisconsin in 2014.

TomO
 
RCH

I am looking for prototype pictures of the pulp car floor. I have seen in person cars with plate steel but nothing in person with wood. Those in person pictures were on an external hard drive that went missing on the move from Central Wisconsin to South Central Wisconsin in 2014.
Cars specifically built for pulpwood/log service generally won't have wood floors. Some older flatcars that are converted to log cars might have originally had wood floors though,


but also sometimes have the floor boards damaged and/or removed.

 
Cars specifically built for pulpwood/log service generally won't have wood floors. Some older flatcars that are converted to log cars might have originally had wood floors though,


but also sometimes have the floor boards damaged and/or removed.

Chris, thanks love the pictures.

Thank you
TomO
 
Hello from a chilled Wisconsin and as the past 3 days flew bye the weathering enhancements have picked up speed. 7 pulp cars are weathered to some degree or another but except for safety stripes I am considering these maybe done and will stay away from adjusting the finishes.

One major thing I have learned, LESS is better for weathering. I have gone overboard on some of these 7 but since I have 23 to go they will blend in. I look at them and say fix this and all of a sudden the whole finish has changed.

The plan is to run in groups of 6-7 to the pulp yard and the paper mill yard. The pulp yard is a 24/7 operation.
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These cars have been dull coted. Those 3 pulp loads are freshly finished this morning. I have to fix the sizing on one load as it is noticeably a 1/2” short which as Terry laughed with me about it this morning said, it’s better then … deleted comment.

Anyway I had another 12 pulp loads started yesterday but then realized my seemingly endless supply of pulpwood sticks was not. With about 600 acres out all doors in the house I went out bundled up for the +7f wind chill feeling. I have 100, yes I counted the pine sticks, cut to 8” already baking in the oven on 12 cookie sheets. I am baking for 2-3 hours today at 120 degrees. I have tried warmer temperatures and shorter time frames. I think this was the last time and temperature settings on the last pulpwood bake-off. But, Mr. Organized cannot find the notes from the last pulp cutting extravaganza.


TomO
 
Again an excellent job on the pulpwood cars!!!

I always like the way your cut pulpwood looked so natural and I knew you used natural wood, but never knew what type of wood you used. Now with today's post I never thought of baking my wood to give it that natural look that your methods achieved.

I used Red Dogwood for some piles of logs, but they never achieved that natural look like yours.

While that Pine is baking how does the kitchen smell?

Nice work.

Greg

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The Red Dogwood sticks, somewhat hidden by my reel of E Z Line.-Greg
 
One major thing I have learned, LESS is better for weathering

So very true about heavy weathering and less is better and more effective and I made the same mistakes in my first weathering attempts and I went over board. But, then when the initial weathered cars are in a train, they seem to blend in with the others.

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A SOO caboose ready for the junk yard.-Greg
 
Tom, perfect weathering.

Greg
Thanks, I am trying. It is a learning curve but I am enjoying it.

TomO
So very true about heavy weathering and less is better and more effective and I made the same mistakes in my first weathering attempts and I went over board. But, then when the initial weathered cars are in a train, they seem to blend in with the others.

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A SOO caboose ready for the junk yard.-Greg
I probably should strip a couple of them but like I wrote and you confirmed. They should blend into the train

TomO
 
Again an excellent job on the pulpwood cars!!!

I always like the way your cut pulpwood looked so natural and I knew you used natural wood, but never knew what type of wood you used. Now with today's post I never thought of baking my wood to give it that natural look that your methods achieved.

I used Red Dogwood for some piles of logs, but they never achieved that natural look like yours.

While that Pine is baking how does the kitchen smell?

Nice work.

Greg

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The Red Dogwood sticks, somewhat hidden by my reel of E Z Line.-Greg
Yes, but thankfully Terry’s sense of smell sucks or I’d be in trouble. The first time I baked branches I had the temperature at like 350f degrees. The smelling of burning pine, oak, and birch was not a good smell in a 3 week old new remodeled kitchen. She smelled that

TomO
 
Every time I look at these pics I get the feeling I should check my layout for missing cars, we have a very similar fleet, even structures and vehicles!

When my paper mill gets going I’ll be operating on what I call the three car principal (patent pending). By this I mean one car at the mill getting loaded or unloaded, one car on an inbound train to switch it out, and another one waiting back in the yard to be switched out.
This can be three groups of two, three, four etc. types of cars
A good example would be four pulpwood cars that are empty at the mill with four loaded ones heading in on the local. The local takes these empties back to the yard to exchange with four loads and the cycle repeats.
Yeah I know it can be done with pretty much any number of mixed cars and not just in threes but this keeps my trains fairly uniform and keeps the ratio of raw and finished materials steady.
 
Every time I look at these pics I get the feeling I should check my layout for missing cars, we have a very similar fleet, even structures and vehicles!

When my paper mill gets going I’ll be operating on what I call the three car principal (patent pending). By this I mean one car at the mill getting loaded or unloaded, one car on an inbound train to switch it out, and another one waiting back in the yard to be switched out.
This can be three groups of two, three, four etc. types of cars
A good example would be four pulpwood cars that are empty at the mill with four loaded ones heading in on the local. The local takes these empties back to the yard to exchange with four loads and the cycle repeats.
Yeah I know it can be done with pretty much any number of mixed cars and not just in threes but this keeps my trains fairly uniform and keeps the ratio of raw and finished materials steady.
Rico,

Just reading what you wrote makes me feel like I am right there with you.

My mill pulp and separate wood chip yards work 24/7 except Christmas, Easter Sunday and USA Labor Day. This was decided when the employees of the now Papers of Wisconsin, Inc., purchased the CN’s Valley Sub in Central Wisconsin on 1/1/2015. The employees had previously saved their paper mill 2 years prior when they purchased it pledging their retirement accounts. They have a nice secret investment Angel who helped the financing and restart up of the Sales group. They have been a resounding financial success since.

The way the layout operates is that the CN drops off cars in the paper mill yard, which in this picture has many grain cars.
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Generally each CN transfere brings up to 6 pulp wood cars, up to 4 woodchip cars, 1 chemical tanker, up to 2 dry chemical cars and 5 empty box cars for paper each shift. 18 cars is a big enough train. The loaded cars and the empty box cars are then taken by the Wisconsin River Valley and Terminal RR to the Paper Mill. There is a siding in the paper mill complex that can hold 18 cars and the train is split apart and taken to the spots which have to be worked. My wife operates a couple days a week with me and prefers trains of 12 or less to be worked within the mill. I try to operate 15-20 minutes a day Monday through Friday. The layout was initially designed for up to 3-2 person crews. i have made way too many changes but while the room is plenty big enough for 5-6 crews of 2 people, Terry and I have found hosting 10 or more is too much work and is not social enough. 3 crews of 2 for a 2-3 hour session is right

TomO
 



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