Recently, Matt (PW&NJ) & I have been talkin' Boxcabs: and lamenting the lack of N-scale models. So, we're going to build our own, and we'd like to invite one & all to our "Build A Better Boxcab" Challenge! We've set Wednesday, November 23rd as the deadline. Feel free to post progress picts & discuss ideas here on this thread, but please post photos & a video by that Wednesday before Thanksgiving so we can enjoy them over the holiday (or over that regular weekend, for those living outside the U.S.). Feel free to model a specific prototype (like CNJ 1000, above) or freelance your own design. Here's the Wikipedia definition of Boxcab for reference. There are many photos and references out there to draw upon. A simple Google Images search for "Boxcab" results in hundreds of photos, including drawings with measurements: S. Berliner, III has a great site with many detailed photos of CNJ 1000 and others. A working, motorized model is the goal, though dummies will be treated accordingly DC or DCC is fine: whatever works on your layout! Matt & I have thrown around ideas for the mechanism / chassis (outer-axle to outer-axle given in scale feet): Kato 11-105 (23') Kato NW2 (29 1/2') BMann 44 Tonner (25') BMann 70 Tonner (26') So it might just depend on what size boxcab you're building or what you have available. I'm sure others have good ideas, too. Well, the line in the sand is drawn, the gloves have slapped the faces, the triple-dog dares have been dealt out. I, for one, am excited to be able to show off a home-built boxcab to family & friends for the holidays. Feel free to join in! Lookin' forward to seeing some boxcab beauties in November!
I started building this several years ago and still mess with it once in a while, so I think I will use this as an excuse to finally finish it up. It is a LL SW with a body made from 2 Bachmann Doodlebug shells. I made the roof details out of brass for weight and filled the body with tungsten epoxy, so it will pull at least 25 cars up a long 2% grade on a 13" radius curve, with no problem. It is freelance, but the Rock Island a couple of shorty doodlebugs very similiar to this. . I guess I better go dig it out of the project box. Tom L. Wellington CO
Always fun to start a marathon & then find out someone's already at the 20-mile mark! That's a good-lookin' boxer! Did you alter the truck frames at all? BC trucks seem to look airier, like yours, than most NW / SW switcher trucks. Great job! Yes, now's a great time to get it lookin' hot! (totally off-topic thought: hot boxcab... "what's all that smoke coming out from the cab? And why isn't it doing any work?" )
Man, she looks rough in the photo. I'm think it's more like mile 10! Not looking forward to replacing all those grabs with freestanding ones. The trucks are unmodified. I wish I would have had a Bmann 44 tonner or 70 tonner chassis back then, but she does run sweet with all that weight. Looking forward to this! Tom L.
Yesssss! Already off to a good start with the three of us! Chris333, givin' you a shout-out. Told you I'd annoy you into finishing it and I meant it. You've already got the chassis, you've already geared it wayyyy down (reallly nicely, too), you've done the truck sides and you've even worked on the drawings for getting the sides done in etched brass. In the immortal words of James Brown, "GET UP-ah!". Here's what I've done so far (posted to my blog earlier): I was looking at an old Con-Cor RPO car I had in my parts box and started thinking "hey, that roof could be close enough for a box cab!" Maybe some plexiglas on the sides, front and rear, then use the photo printing method for those faces, with scratch detailing on the roof and undercarriage. I was thinking that a computer ribbon cable would probably make doing the radiators really easy. More to come... Still doing some research on the correct chassis to use, but here's some rough work on the roof. I cut off one side of the roofline because it was too rounded on the side. This is just mocked up, but I'll be gluing on a side (clear plastic, from an Atlas freight car case) then smoothing it over. Yeehaww!
Hmmm... Oregon-American had a boxy Skagit... I don't know if it qualifies as a boxcab, but it is boxy. I have been gathering materials for this project, and a build thread may get me actually working on it. Opinions as to whether this will qualify? http://sloat_lumber_co.tripod.com/SPEEDER.GIF
Well, it's basically a two axle box with cab and motor all covered by the same thing. I just tried the graphic link again and it worked here, but maybe it's of a type your computer won't read. You can also see a picture here... http://sloat_lumber_co.tripod.com/SPEEDERS.HTM
I see it now. They've got image leeching prevention turned on so you can only see it if you've loaded that page that references it. I'd say that counts! Looks purdy neat, too. What say ye, MC?
Sounds good to me. Let's go to the Ultimate Knower of All Knowledge (UKAK): Wikipedia. "A boxcab, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive in which the machinery and crew areas are enclosed in a box-like superstructure (from boxcar)." UKAK has spoken. Adam is a go! Cool speeder. Personally, I've always had a soft spot for Toby: But I'm pretty sure he's a 0-6-0 underneath his skirts. Right now I'm leaning towards a 44-tonner chassis (like the DCC, at you can get them for $60), but I might be crazy enough to scratch the rest. Haven't worked much in styrene yet. Why not now? Unless I came across a great old car that fit my image really well. Hmmmm
Awesome! Well, it looks like I need to dig up that issue of Timber Times (I picked it up at the Pacific Model Loggers' Congress in March) and GET CRACKIN'!
I think Adam's contraption is technically a "speeder", but it is in a box and, more importantly, works for him & his layout. I've always had my eye on building this doozy from northern California: [image from Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Stindt & Dunscomb, 1964] Would be fun figuring out the wheels & mech for that one. Hmmmm.... Decisions, decisions...
Hah! That's awesome! You could practically take a little slice of each end of a Pullman car and throw it on the 44-tonner chassis, add a middle door, cow-catchers, a stack and call it a day.
Stonebridge Models (TB advertiser) has a power chassis built for Z gauge track that could conceivably be used for an Nn3 boxcab project. http://www.stonebridgemodels.com/locomotives/index.html
It looks lovely! I think that one might have to wait for the TB Nn3 Boxcab Challenge, which will take place either after I win the lottery, or next year (when I win the lottery). Groovy mechanism, though. I really wish the BullAnt people at Hollywood Foundry would make a mech for N (they have a 9mm, but they themselves say it's too bulky for N scale) I know Randgust was able to take a Kato Kritter and shorten it somehow. That might work for the smaller speeder stuff.
Always liked this one: http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nh/nh-e356goa.jpg But would be better to start with a smaller one from New Haven. Can't find a picture though...... Also not sure whether I should build a diesel version or an electric one. Or just a fantasy boxcab, based on existing stuff.
Anyone with a Diesel Cylopedia? That can scan me the boxcab drawings in there? I had them, but can't find right now. Thanks Chris
@Chris333: Checking, will let you know. @Thieu: Go electric! Would love to see some NorthEast Corridor action. @Delamaize & @Thieu & everyone else: Protolance, Freelance, Fauxtolance are all acceptable as long as they meet the definition of a box cab (and we're pretty loose with that definition, too). This isn't a rivet-counting contest, just fun boxcabbage. Show us what you've got and have fun! My N-scale stuff isn't just sitting around in boxes anymore, it's actually BECOMING a box! :tb-tongue:
