Sract building HO Box cars? Plan available?


KB02

KB02

Well-Known Member
Last year for Christmas, my wife gave me a bunch of balsa wood and other modeling supplies. I still have most of it left.
This year, my parents gave a bunch more balsa wood, so now I'm looking for something to do with it.

I figured I would try my hand at scratch building some rolling stock.

Does anyone know of there are readily available (pronounced: "Free and easily downloadable") blue prints for HO Scale rolling stock? I found a great article on building flat cars, and I figure box cars can't be terribly much harder, but figuring like that has gotten me in trouble before.
 
I don't know of any that are as detailed as the flat car one that I have found, which is probably the same as the one that you have. Use the plan for the flat car to build the lower half of any car, and use photos to make the upper half.

Willie
 
If you cars are built using just balsa wood you'll have to be VERY careful handling them. >)
 
KB02 said:
LDoes anyone know of there are readily available (pronounced: "Free and easily downloadable") blue prints for HO Scale rolling stock? I found a great article on building flat cars, and I figure box cars can't be terribly much harder, but figuring like that has gotten me in trouble before.
Click to expand...
Well, not free or easily downloadable, but I build my first scratch built car from directions in a 1952 book called Practical Guide to Model Railroading
. Copies are easily found at swap meets, e-bay, and even Amazon for about a buck ($1).

Ditto on the comment about balsa wood. Basswood would be better. I built my out of walnut with cardboard "trim".
 
Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth (wish I could post a photo of the one in the HO scale park on my layout), I built a meat packing plant out of balsawood, from an article in a c.1954 article in Model Railroader. The building was brick, and I didn't have access to any brick paper, so I took a #2 pencil, not too sharp and scribed the brick courses in the balsawood. I then painted it with (I think) Floquil boxcar red...though I suppose an acrylic paint would work. Took an Oscar Meyer label off a bacon package, made a water tower on top of the building, and put the sign on it. The building has survived and graces a siding on my current layout! A number of cattle await their fate in adjacent stock pens.

Happy New Year!
 
Trailrider -- I think that I built that same building, but I had some "brick" paper to cover it with. A little after that I bought some Northeastern siding for a station, cut shingles from a grocery bag - started smoking Philip Morris to get the plastic pack that I could use for congregated siding and roofing.

Most all of the RMC and MR from the 60=80 time period have freigt car plans in them. Are you looking for a certain car, or just plans?
 
Balsa would has a definite grain and texture to it. Also being light and usually thin, it can warp easily if not braced.

One option would be to use the balsa to build a "core", a boxcar shaped box, using a lot of internal bracing, then laminate cardstock or paper over it. There have been some people that have printed car sides on paper (colored with all the lettering already on them) then glued them on a core and laminated doors, added grabirons and running boards. When completed they look really good.

Search for images of "boxcar plans" or if you want older wood cars, go to Google Books and search for "car builders dictionary", the 1906 one is good, you will have to scroll down towards the bottom, but there are plans for all sorts of cars.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and ideas. I figured I would give it a try anyway, just to see what I could come up with. I have some hard wood floor planks that I figured I would use to build a strong "back bone." Starting out with just a flat car. Coming out good so far. I post pics when I'm done.
 
I agree that you'd have to be careful with balsawood. Have you considered using it for structures? They don't get handled as often, so as long as they're out of the way, and you don't, for example, have a cat that likes to play Godzilla on your layout, that could be an option.

For cars, a harder wood would be a better option, if possible. Even then, it can be fragile.
 
Well, here's attempt #1. A simple flat car:
00AAD1D1-7405-44BE-90C4-8AEA35D6A1F3_zpsdsjqsd3r.jpg


Minus trucks, of course.
I got kind of gung-ho on giving it a shot and, while I knew I would have to buy a set of trucks for it, I ended up finishing it long before I had a chance to get any trucks. That's okay. I have a gift certificate to a nearby hobby shop.

The bottom side:
5A3606DB-1074-4AF6-9DED-DD9DE3B12333_zpsvungvhod.jpg


The main backbone and the bolsters are oak. With the coupler screws screwed right into the spare, that should give plenty of push and pull rigidity. The rest is balsa.

Ignore that hornet's nest looking brake cylinder. Kind of a pathetic attempt, but it will stay for now. You won't see it when it's up on wheels... as soon I get some.

----------------------------------------
--edit--
I was fairly proud of what I had done, then I found this site and was practically embarrassed by my attempt.
http://store.blueoxtrains.com/scratch-built-models/
About 2/3 down the page are some scratch built rolling stock. I particularly like the boxcar under construction.
 
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Looks good!

I attempted a few F&C flatcar kits, before I ripped the decks off and replaced them with wood. To me, nothing says wood like wood.
 
One of me elementary school classmates is a regular seller at the yearly train show here in Lincoln. At the last show I bought a wood box car kit from him. He gave me a good tip: Build it around a piece of 2x4. The wood block will add needed weight to the car, and it will be nearly impossible to crush it.
As Pa Kettle would say: "Gonna have to build that one'a these days." ;)
 
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