A search brought up nothing that I could find. Maybe he got a less than stellar reception. Which is a shame, because it probably would have been better received on the internet. Small niche products can work, but you have to reach a lot of people. Dave The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Ry. Archive & Email List Elgin, Joliet Eastern Railway Archive
Mason-Dixon Trailer Decals Too Large and paint Type Below is a photo of my Mason-Dixon Micro Trains 40 foot trailer. It was made using Microscale minical MC-4284. Compared to a prototype photo, the logo is much too large. Is this an H0 scale decal? The logos for the ends of the truck are also too large and will not fit. The logos for the tractor door appear about N scale size. Has anyone noticed something like this before? Thanks. Mason-Dixon trailer: Also notice that the Rustoleum Metallic Silver appears to be "crazed" in one place. It is actually like that all over the truck. I have not had this problem on most other trucks. This trailer was not sprayed with an undercoat. Is this a bad paint to use directly on the plastic? Thanks again for the help. Train show in San Antonio today.
Got it. Thanks. [edit] I just reduced the decal in a scan and will make my own as the Mason-Dixon is not offered in N scale. Pictures in a few days.
N Scale decal: A few more details to go. The shell is still crazed. I presume it is damaged from previous painting and stripping.
Still working... Plate wall, all silver. I saw this truck at the Petro Truck Stop here in San Antonio. It had no other markings and was very nice looking. Western Pacific forty foot containers. I acquired these several years ago; I think they were a special run. Deluxe forty foot container chassis were very nice.
Flash, I could be wrong but, I think these were a special run for Chuck at the Feather River Train Shop. They really are pretty cool!
I just checked and these vehicles are still available from Ultimate N Scale. I thought the Federal and the Studebaker were unusual, but I guess not. They are cast resin kits. Left to right: Federal, Studebaker, White COE, and CMW White COE. Notice the difference in the size of the two White cabs. I don't know which one is correct. The Federal sort of reminds me of an Autocar. Now for details and paint.
I drove for Averitt Express for about a year. Anyone have any trailers modeled after Averitt Express? I have some photos of my travels if anyone needs them.
There are many photos of the real thing on Hank's Truck Pictures. It's a nice, simple logo to use for homemade decals. Averitt Express by David Faust
Most of the Ultimate vehicles are way, WAY oversized. Here is a comparison of the UNS, GHQ and CMW white COEs By the way, the GHQ has the best nose contour. The Studebaker has to be about 1/110 or so. The cab was about the size of a modern Ford F450, or perhaps a bit smaller. The Federal is salvagable. Here is mine with GHQ wheels:
Flash, I always thought the master for the Ultimate N Scale Studebaker started life as this fuel truck that was an "accessory" in a 1/144th scale airliner kit. It is shown below with a 1:160 scale C in C Chevy C60. The oval shaped headlights are completely wrong for the Studebaker. And, while I know a few of the CMW vehicles are a little undersized, I would be willing to bet the cast resin COE White is larger than 1:160 scale. Carter
It sure does look like it. I don't remember those vehicles at all from my youth, so I really see them only as models. I search for prototypes on Hank's Truck Pictures to get some ideas for painting. With so many White COE available I may just discard the UNS version. I was looking forward to a different color, though. I have a few more trailers to assemble. Thanks for the input, Carter.
Also for a neat detail, don't forget to add your ACI label to your trailers if you’re modeling anything from the late 1960's to the early 1980's. Microscale decal set 60-4280 I just order a set of these to begin doing this to some of the trailers and containers in my fleet. Should actually get some of these on some of my freight cars too.
Carter, do you know who made the master for the Federal cab? I always thought it was their best model (hidious wheels aside).
Daniel, I am not sure who made the master, but I certainly agree with you that it is one their best models. It may have been Chuck Short, since he either started Ultimate N Scale or acquired it shortly after its inception. Several years ago I thought Chuck told me he bought it from a fellow Belmont Shore club member, and then proceeded to upgrade the line before selling to its current owner, David Dougherty of Panzerschiffe. (This sight states that Chuck started the company, but that is not what I remember Chuck telling me. Also, I saw Chuck's model of the General Motors PDA 4104 railroad transfer bus at the Long Beach convention in 1996, so I know that one is definitely his creation.) http://www.ultimatenscale.com/ And, you have done a great job with the Federal, it looks right at home next to your GHQ Pete. Carter P.S. Here is a photo of the bus I saw in Long Beach. Chuck entered it in the model contest in Portland last summer.
Rail trailers Flash, Approximately 2 years ago, maybe more, the railroads (collectively or in very short succession) decided that the container business was twice as profitable as the TOFC business. Consequently, they diverged themselves of all rail trailers (known as "Z" trailers making up "Z" trains.) They are a very rare spot these days. They still accept trailered traffic from truck lines and haul their trailers at what is now an inflated rate, but shippers no longer get a trailer for 48 or 72 hours to load it out, they get a container mounted on a container chassis. When the railroad gets the container back, they double stack it which they couldn't do with their "rail trailers". Found a new way to make more money!
I Was There! I just measured the wheel diameter and they scale out to 46 inches on my model. There is a statement on the Ultimate N Scale website that the wheels are correct at a 44 inch diameter. Here is a registry of Federal truck pictures. Here is a good example. Another Federal example. Federal with heavy load. I thought Chuck started Ultimate N Scale, but maybe he didn't. Certainly if he says he didn't, then he didn't. Chuck Short (Ultimate N Scale), Dick Billings (Fine N Scale), George Johnsen (DeLuxe Innovations) and Loren Perry (Gold Medal Models) were all in the Belmont Shore Club at the same time and all developing their N scale product lines. Conversations were really something to hear! It was a great time. Dan Kamakubo made some of the masters for casting, but I don't know which ones. Dan's F units at a recent Western Prototype Modeler's meet.
GHQ Kit Detail I know that Athearn has made some great trucks in their new line of vehicles but these GHQ kits have a lot of very nice detail, too. This is my first tractor to assemble and it has ladder grabs on the sides of the cab. The older GHQ tractors I own have many of the details broken or removed. The GHQ are less expensive than Athearn, but the GHQ models are all kits. Fleetliner COE tractor: Peterbilt sleeper next.
