O Sole Mio...

That's what those Venetian gondoliers are alleged to always sing isn't it?

But what does that have to do with T scale modelling?

Well, I've built another gondola. This one is based on a picture of a 61' Algoma Central gon. It was chosen because I though that the end detail would be easier to model than the forming on the previous one I attempted.

I was pretty much right. It was a little tedious gluing the 6mm lengths of .5mm strip in place. But as with T scale its one of those tiny tasks that if you are in the mood its no problem otherwise it can be a struggle.

I certainly feel the effort is worth it. It looks right. I have considered making up decals for the end forming of other cars but that will look too flat I think. This still needs some work. So for now I'll be happy with these 2 gons and send them to the paint shop to complete

Gondola Progress

I'm still reluctant to refer to this as the first piece of T scale freight stock. But no one is rising to put me straight. The nearest I've had is an. "I thought about it but I never got around to doing it"

Carrying on from yesterdays entry. You'll recall that the thing causing me the most concern is how to recreate the ribbing on the sides of the gon.

Today I was in a hobby shop looking at all kinds of styrene strip deciding what would work for the ribbing when I came across a sheet of 2.5mm batten and board embossed sheet. 2.5mm is exactly the spacing I was looking for. The battening didn't look too deep so I thought I'd give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So I went home cut a "new kit of parts" for the gon and assembled them. The finished result is seen below.

This most definitely looks like a gondola now though how to do the ribbing on the ends remains a mystery.

An exciting weekend for me then.

A T-scale first?

Is it a first or not? I am wary of making such a claim. But this could very probably be the first scratchbuilt US outline freight car in T scale. When completed, it will be a model of a 65' 6" C&O mill gondola. What possessed me to start on this when I could have built a T scale water tower or depot building or some such?

Well, as is the case with me when I get fired up about an idea there is no rhyme or reason. I go with what I go with and it just so happened that when I awoke on Friday morning with the day off work, I wanted to try to see if building a T scale freight car was practical. Nothing too clever, just a "proof of concept" model to see if I could do it. Many T scalers have talked about doing it. But to date, as far as I am aware, no-one has done it. So, I'd be the first, and boy doesn't my ego love that idea! Plus it also gives me an excuse if anything goes wrong...

I searched through my model railway magazines and the first US outline scale drawing I found was in an old issue of RMC for the mill gondola.

"Great." I thought. "Something pretty easy." I was thankful that I didn't find a grain hopper drawing. So I measured the drawing up and found that I had some suitably sized styrene strip to hand. So I set to and started cutting and gluing.

A set of bogies were removed from an expired class 103 car and simply by drilling a hole into the floor of the gondola the bogies were fitted in place.

When I saw what you see above, I was pretty pleased. No, I was very pleased. So I decided to add some detail to the body to make it look like a gondola. I added a lip to the body as well as end extensions and most importantly side ribs.
I chose .5mm strip for the ribbing. As you can see though, it looks way over scale. So I am on the lookout for some .2mm strip instead. I also need to find a method to accurately locate 3.5mm lengths of .2mm styrene every 2.5mm along the side of the gondola. It might sound a arduous, tedious task. But for the roof of the building on my 7 day model layout I used some styrene sheet that was grooved every 5mm or so that I placed strips of .15mm styrene in and glued in place. I'm not saying I can cut grooves in styrene sheet. But if I can butt a length of strip up against a score line marked on the sides of the gondola that might work. I also think that the ribbing and lip should be added to the sides before assembling the gondola.

In short then. As a "proof of concept", it works. I can do the things necessary to assemble a T scale freight car and I will proceed with making another, better version.