For those who've seen it in person, or on a video tape that Johnny Trains made, here are detailed pictures of each car, that I got till the battery went dead in the camera, so I'll have to charge them to take pictures of the cars I missed. And will have them online as soon as I can get the battery recharged to finsh this! As a few know this train is freelanced to be the Baltimore And Ohio, its a Maintenance train, all cars were old junk "trash can" compatable cars most were completely junk as I bought them at yard sale, garage sale etc, or even people giving boxes of junk trains an so on... Anyway each car, I rebuilt, to be runable, designed my own parts for it, an painted it B&O blue an yellow lettering to look good being pulled by a steamer, or a diesel.... I began getting cars for this train in 1989 to 1990. Began working on it late of 1990. So, yes everyone I got quiet a few years tied up in this train... And yes again I'm still designing cars for it that are next to junk etc for on it.... I have 4 or 5 in the design stages... an 1 or 2 waiting on decals! Here's the pictures, I'll explain each one as I post them.... This is a "Water Tanker" for extra water for the loco an the steam cranes, for the train, it was a IHC tanker that I only got a body for it, I had to add my own trucks, wheels, and kadee couplers, custom painted, an lettered. This is the "Truck Handler & Supply" flat car to aid the one end of the 200 ton boom crane. It was just a old TYCO 50 foot flat car without the decking, an was missing on set of trucks an wheels, I added a truck, an Kadee couplers. I custom painted & lettered it, an all the detail as either hand made or was old parts laying around. I normally only weather the loads or detail parts thats loaded on my cars to this train an leave the car bodies new looking. This is the "200 Ton Boom Crane" which is an Athearn car, it was missing a bunch of parts, to the boon both hooks, and both trucks, just a frame an bolster an crane body.... I added all that to the model an weathered the hooks, and added window glass and my own boom lines. Also custom painted & lettered to match the rest of the train. With Kadee couplers. A detailed picture of the decking on the other end from the boom suport. This is the "Boom Transport" flat car, is a Athearn 50 ft flat car with different pieces added as side boards that were parts I got in a box of junk that had no car too that were originally to an old TYCO boom tender car for a crane. I had to get a frame for this car, and both trucks an wheels as it had none when it was bought. Another picture of the "Boom Transport" flat car showing the boom support, for the crane. This is a picture of a the "Utility Storage" flat car for old parts cleaned up or a flat car for old storage till it can be unloaded. Its an Athearn 40 ft car that was broken an cracked in places no frame or weight, I had to add all that and make the side boards from scribed sheet plastic, an the ties are real wooden ties all slightly weathered. Custom painted & lettered with Kadee couplers. [ 06. March 2003, 08:12: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Really great cars John! I have been getting my own MOW train ready for quite some time but never seem to be able to "piece" one together that suits my fancy. I think that you have given me one or two ideas. Thanks! Russ
Ok heres some more of that same train.... This next picture is of the one in the above post, showing the detail on the flat car... This next car is "Tie gondola", was built from a IHC 50 ft wooden type car, with plastic fence cut to make the railing arounf the top, for carrying new ties to a work site. It was just a gondola body when I got it, I had to add weight, an the frame, an all the detail plus the tie load. Custom Painted & lettered, with Kadee couplers. Showing the load inside... A picture of my "Difco Side-Dump Gondola" to aid the "Excavator" that its coupled too.... Its a Walthers kit that I bought at a train show missing one of the gondola ends, an most of the detail parts on the frame. Custom painted & lettered, with Kadee couplers. Another view of the "Excavator", an "Side-Dump Gondola".... A picture of the "Excavator" Thats coupled to the car in the above pictures, The crane itself is a heavy diecast "Ertl" toy I bought some years ago to a mass collection of cranes I have an this one having a few of the same thing I mounted it to a scratch built flat car, cut the tracks off the bolster, an drilled an taped the flanges of the bolster to take a 2-56 thread bolt on each side from underneath the flat car. The flat car is roughly 31 scale feet long. I added all the moon hoses, an all the extra detail to the body of the Excavator, and tanks an even a horn on the cab roof! Another picture of the Excavator.... This is a straight boom "Excavator Tender" car, it was a broken up Bachmann 42 foot gondola, I have no idea what the people were trying to do to it. I bought it from a yard sale an it had no floor in it, an no frame... I made to look like a Johnstown coal porter car, an added high sides, for capacity, an lowered the one end to see down the length of the car from the crane cab. [ 09. March 2003, 07:01: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Thanks Russ! Theirs more to come for you to see! JT, an Herman, an a few others got to see that train in action! More on the way!
Heres more of the straigh boom Excavator, an tender.... Detail revealing pictures.... Heres some pictures now, of the "Straight Boom Excavator" This car was a Bachmann boom tender bought in pieces, no cab roof on the crew cab, no trucks (notice they are 3 axle an not 2 axle) The excavator body is part of another Ertl excavator, with an Athearn caboose frame cut to fit, at the truck bolster, an the engine housing is scratch built, as the straight boom is also scratchbuilt with the Ertl excavatory bucket, an all the Ertl hydrolics. I still have some detail work to do to this car, boom hydrolic lines, and hydrolic tanks etc.... All in good time when I find the parts I need to add them to it. Heres a picture of the same car, showing the crew "caboose" type cab on the car itself, I added the roof an cupola, and its lighted inside... All custom painted & lettered with Kadee couplers.... Heres a "Jordan Spreader" thats a Walthers kit, bought at a train show for by a friend that was missing parts, a bunch of them and most of them I habd made to replace them so it had them.... I made the blades all possitionable na they work! I still have a few things to add to this one as well,,,, hydrolic lines an a few "little people" on the decking an on the cab steps.... The Jordan Spreader showing cab and blade detail. Showing the plow and the detail of the front or business end of the Jordan Spreader And last but not least, the "Rotary Snow Plow" is an Athearn kit, with a Bachmann Semi-Vanderbuilt oil tender, it was missing all the frame underneath it, an the blades an blower housing, I bought the parts from Athearn. Added them to an old Cox, F-9 Diesel frame that I had that was powered, took out all the gearing in the trucks saved that an ran a shaft from the motor inside to the blades (its operational) and gave it head end lights, an rear back up light dirrectionally controled. I made all the wire grab handles an railing for both Rotary Plow, an for the tender, Custom painted & lettered, with Kadee couplers...... ENJOY! this is all I have for now till I get the battery charged for the camera to take more...... All these cars in some way are functional 100%..... As I'm thinkin of it I have a Norco weed control unit in the design process, an 3 weed chemical tankers, wheel car, and a sleeper crew car all in the building process.. And heres the locomotive I bought specailly to pull this long heavy train in 1996, and its been doing it ever since that day in '96, and does a very good job at it alone altho I'm in the process of running double headed mallets to pull this trian, its aproaching 30 plus cars, some which are heavy, like the ones made from Ertl machines..... And ones that have heavy loads, an or brass structural parts.... So it takes a strong loco to pull it all.. and 2 helps to lighten the load on one motor! So... Heres the loco bought for the job originally, doing just what I'm speaking of.... Pulling this train... Notice : The Blue "Water Supply Tank" inside the bridge.... [ 05. March 2003, 15:39: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
LOVE IT!!! I'd like to see a contest for projects made from junk we've been given or had inflicted on us. Of course, I think we already have a winner!
thats cool! i really like the excavators, it'd be cool to see that train in real life. hard to believe it was made from junk! keep up the excellent work
Thanks everyone! That train has blood sweat an tears involved in it. I got 11 years in designing it. However its freelaced tho, BUT I got more cars to post when I get pictures of them, being the camera I barrowed went home tonight. I ran the battery dead an needs recharged. Alot doesn't realize what it took to design an build tht train that sees it. It predates its time, noone offered a complete MOW train in the early 1990's that was affordable.... And being I'm a construction machine fanatic I had to have a railroad construction train, (what it was to me back then). Now its my Maintenance Of Way train.... And here I am still working on it adding cars to it.. 11 years later, and also designing another one.. For the Western Maryland that won't be as bad to do. Being I'm basing the Western Maryland MOW train from the Walthers cars so won't take near as long to do.... As for the Excavators, Those were part of my "Construction Machine" collection from Ertl. That I had 4 an 5 of the same thing.... So..... They aren't exactly scale, but really close! Heres a picture, that I didn't post... This is an old TYCO "Track Cleaning Car", the tank is filled with alcohol, an the little button is pushed every now an again to "wet" the pad that buffs the rail head as its pulled. It had no frame, no flat car body, and the caboose cab was in pretty bad shape. I took a plain TYCO 40 ft flat car to replace the missing flat car body, made my own frame cut everything to fit the tank so it was opperational. And mounted the reconditioned caboose cab on the opposite end, an added my own hand railing, trucks an wheels, and made sure the tank didn't leak. Custom painted & an lettered, with Kadee couplers.... Thier is a few members to Trainboard thats seen this train in action.... being pulled. Some of which seen it in on a VHS tape that a member made.. THANKS Johnny Trains. Ya out their ???? I think LadySunshine seen it, Watash seen it, and whoever else JT may have sent a video to..... Johnny, HermanZGerman, BrianS, JT's friend Louie, (which is now a TB member), Mike "6206_S1a", hes opperated it at the fun run train shows we do, ummm JT's cousin Pete which isn't a Trainboard member.. Alot of the guys at the club are partial to it. It goes with me to every fun run show an is ran extensively....So, it has alot of fans.... It gave me the name I carry today, an made the shop I own known.... It broke the surface for the business.... [ 06. March 2003, 08:01: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Thanks Paul! That train is the pride of my collection being I started building it at a very young age.... and still working on it. I had thought about doing a post like this for quite awhile.... Just didn't have a camera to take the pictures of each car to give the thread justice....Its one thing to make a post, an not have pictures to aid what your saying, which is talking back an forth. Its a completely different thing to brag up a thread with pictures... And yes I sure can do that.. brag I mean! I have the talent too as I'm told...... THANKS everyone.... The good words are insparating to get more done to this train, an get more pictures posted! Maybe one day I'll be able to say "Ok thats one train completed" to this MOW train.. I don't know. It seems to continue to grow!
Tom, I save all kinda "junk" or buy it up from yard/garage sales even at train shows or someone I know that might have a box full to get rid of, no matter what shape its in. I rebuild/redesign any and everything! It makes for good conversation things at "fun run" shows that myself an another member to this site do 3 times a year..... Which one of those 3 times is comming up at the end of this month. The "Meyersdale Maple Festival" So it will be run the whole week at the club. As for saving TYCO or having them. I take any an all brands an do my own "upgrades" to each thing one at a time. This topic shows the results once I'm done. Thing is. I can't seem to find an end to this train being its nowhere in sight! Its over 25 cars already. an got plenty more on the way as of work being done to them. Not to mention, I started another MOW train too...... For my Western Maryland collection. Being I model both roads..... Not to mention I also collect Chessie System, and CSX too.... Its hard to say if I'll ever get a MOW to those 2, but its very possible!
Heres the rest of the cars I missed an a few better pictures of the cars above.... This is an old TYCO 50ft flat car with speical sides for the elevates "used" tie section. and all the side boards with tool boxes, an all the other fine details I had an could fit on this car. It was broken up (like all the rest) with no weight, no trucks, no nothing, not even the decking. Which I had everything laying around stock piled, an began this car. The elevated tie section was some weird car I had that was also a 50 foot car that looked like a cage of some type, an cut it up to use the peices in this car to add to the side boards etc.... all custom painted & lettered, with Kadee couplers... A few detail pictures of the above described car.... This is another "side-dump" dondola I made from an old TYCO log car that was broken, missing all the wheels an trucks, and needed a few cracks in the dump body fixed as well, I added the side sheathing thats silver to make it strong an also to make it a gondola body (killed 2 birds with one stone). This is coupled to the other end of the Excavator, with the "Difco Side-Dump" on the opposite end of the Excavator....
Heres a few more.... Excavator with the boom swung around away from the difco side dump gondola.... Cab side of excavator.... A detailed picture of the "Truck Handler & Supply" car thats in an above post... Showing the details within the railing... Another picture of the Truck Handler & Supply car. A picture of the front of the Rotary Snow Blower. And a head on view of the blades an the weathering job I done on an around them. A good side shot of the blower.... And a shot of the blowers fuel tender.... [ 09. March 2003, 07:26: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Heres a few more to the same train.... Yes guys, I know its a long one! But its the pride an joy to my collection and a acomplishment... This is the "Floodlight Car" that keeps a good spot light on the "200 Ton Boom Crane" so that it has good lighting for night work. The car is an old Model Power depress center 40 ft flat car. not to much wrong with this one when I got it besides it was missing one truck, an the light shade, an bulb, an most of the wiring underneath it. I had took the spot light unit off a yard tower, an added my own bulb, an light, an wiring, plus the cab, which is built from evergreen scale models wood, an striping, added my some old windows, an door hinges from a Central Valley kit I had that were just parts, and not a full car (so I made good use of the parts from a MISC kit). I made my own grab irons, side boards on the oppsite end from the cab. And custom painted & lettered it with a headache of a time putting the Kadee couplers on it! The next car is a really old car, it was give to me by a friend of mine thats old enough to be my grandfather. Its probably 50 years old or older! Its the "Blacksmith Car" to the train, I can't tell you what make it is, or any of that as I don't know! However, I had to re-sheath the water vast, find a replacement derick (jib crane) And do alot of work on the little flat car, an the forge, and cab itself, an add weight. Its a plastic kit (one of the first I guess). It also needed trucks, as the ones that were on it were fully sprung trucks an were missing parts, springs, one wheel on each truck, an the one truck frame was broken, nothing to fix it with besides both trucks replaced.... A few detailed pictures showing the Blacksmith car...
Heres a few more... This next one is one car of a set of 2.... Its a "Boom Tender", yes, another one! I got 3 cranes an each has its own tenders or cars as tenders.... This is an old TYCO boom tender, that was shortened from a 50 ft car to a 40 ft car, being the crane to this is a short boom 150 ton crane. This car had a decent caboose cab, an sideboard style toolboxes, but the 50 ft flat car was in worse shape then the 40 ft flat I mounted it all on. I had to re-sheath the flat car, because whoever had this car was wild with glue (it ate right through the original flooring) so I put scribed Northeaster scale lumber on it, and plated the under side with styrene for strength, an made my own frame for under it from a orphan 40 ft box car frame. Added my own trucks an wheels, an custom painted & lettered it with Kadee couplers. A few detailed pictures of the above Boom Tender. My "Ballast Car" it was a Mantua covered hopper, It onlt had part of a roof ( the rest was broken off an god only knows where), so I made it a ballast car, it has opperating hatches underneath, that swing from side to side, on both sides. Fun thing is, it was mising one left claw and one right claw, for the hatches, so I had to hunt these parts at sales, train shows, or friends I know that had a bunch of parts laying around an all, an needed one truck, an 2 wheels, an then custom painted & lettered an I added Kadee couplers. Heres a few pictures of cars I already mentioned that I ran into as I went.... Thos old TYCO side dump that was a former log car. The Truck Handler & Storage flat car (partial boom tender, (on the truck end.) The "Track Cleaner Car" again.
That is a fantastic MOW train John! If you ever have track bad enough to call that brute out, you got real problems guy!
Thing is, this isn't all of it! I have more to post of it! Watash ole buddy, I told ya I had a brute work train!!!!! HA! Crazy thing is.. I'm still building it all! I got 6 or 7 more cars to it! Then... I got a few more pictures to it now to post that I got pictures of.... Anyway Watash, how'd ya like the Rotary snow blower??????
