Paint Discovery Inspires a Project

[jonathan]

At a recent club meeting, the president brought a large box of donated stuff that we all picked through, looking for treasure.  I grabbed up an unopened spray can of Floquil Boxcar Red... just knew I had to do something with it.  May be my last chance to use this color.

Sooo... I picked of a couple of F&C boxcar kits to work on.  It was high time I took on something other than B&O, to fill out my trains with other stock.

First up is a Reading cocoa bean car--a 36', 1910-built boxcar, converted to a covered hopper in 1937 I think. It must have smelled great all the time.  It carried cocoa beans, then transferred shells to soap factories (cocoa butter); finally it carried soap towards the end of its career. It may, or may not, have seen B&O rails, as Hershey re-sold, and shipped, cocoa beans to smaller chocolate producers around the country, who couldn't afford to buy huge bulk quantities of beans from overseas.

Photos aren't great, as I still haven't cracked the lighting code:








Next is another Reading Boxcar; an Automobile carrier.  I don't know anything about the Reading RR, except what the Monopoly Man has told me.   I just like the way this car looks. Actually, the Reading produced some very handsome locomotives as well.  Anyway:









All this from picking a can of paint from a junk box!

Regards,

Jonathan

[Jerrys HO]

Wish a can a paint would inspire me like that .
Nice work and great looking models.

Jerry

[electrical whiz kid]

Jonathan;
Why don't you send a photo(s) of this effort to Steve and Sharon?  They are always looking for photos of their finished product.  You have probably seen the display rack of models he and Sharon had built.  All I can say is WOW!  To you I say the same.
Rich C.

[jonathan]

Thanks, guys... and that's a great idea, Rich.  I had never thought of that.  I have built in the neighborhood of 30 F&C cars over the years.  They were frustrating at first, but now I really enjoy building them.  They also go great with all my modified Spectrum locos.

I should at least send them a note to let them know how much I appreciate their efforts.

Regards,

Jonathan

[J3a-614]

More good looking work, Jonathan, and I'm glad you found the "touch" to work with resin (my own efforts were quite disappointing!)

Neat that you do have that touch, cars like these are the only way short of scratchbuilding to get some of these prototypes.  They also illustrate just how varied and interesting a freight car roster would be in the steam era.