The last three

As this post is written, the last three boxcars of the car upgrade project have been started. Omscaler is attempting, as far as possible to work on them together. The railroad name has already had to be reprinted at least twice due to being a little too large to fit between the ladder and the door. Now the application of the reporting marks and road name can be put on the cars. The wall to deck assembly will have to be done one at a time as there is only one assembly platform. This platform supports the car deck so the car sides will be the correct height. The reason for this is that the side floor beam cover gussets protrude downward below the deck. This gives us the correct appearance for the boxcar. As a further note, omscaler is strongly leaning toward redesigning the turnout as the next project. Then, undecided. Omscaler

 

Marching toward completion

As of last week, five of the nine boxcars slated for upgrades have been finished. As this post is being written, a Rock Island boxcar is set up for construction. Hopefully, it will go smoothly. Next will be three GM&O boxcars. Omscaler is considering making these with reporting marks only as this is the home road. However, checking the group of reference photos shows at least the road name as well. What is noted is that the ampersand is some of the pics is the standard font. Not the unusual ampersand seen which resembles a Cyrillic character. Omscaler does not recall any Russians involved with the early railroad. But, you never know. See you next post. Omscaler

 

In and out

As of last week, the picture of the L&N boxcar was taken down and the ATSF boxcar was put up. Seems like progress on The Omega Scale Railway has speeded up a little. At this point, the next ATSF boxcar needs a roof and running gear to be placed into service. Next, omscaler plans a Western Pacific boxcar. Then come Rock Island. GM&O will bring up the rear. Working away, omscaler

 

Not yet

Omscaler is still working on a pair of ATSF boxcars. One of these was referred to last post. Part of the delay was due to the decision to rework the railroad name and slogan on the L&N boxcar. Omscaler knew better (but got excited). Readers may want to check the top pic on the blog and see if they think this is an improvement. Also, omscaler decided to make all the needed logos for the boxcar upgrade at once. This proved to be harder than first thought. More than one attempt was needed on more than one boxcar. As of this post, it looks like we are good to go. We will get them done, omscaler

 

 

A slow start

Last week was more parts making. This week is getting started a little slowly due to the Groundhog Day holiday. However, the ATSF box car will be started this week and maybe completed. Omscaler believes he has enough parts to get everything done. Omscaler is also looking at another turnout redesign but that is on the back burner. Also, this past weekend, the GM&O consolidation (2-8-0) that was in for repair was returned to service. It is now working in Union City. Gearing up to go, omscaler

 

Another one done

Omscaler is proud to announce the completion of L&N 15628, PS-1 boxcar. To restate the highlights, we have laser cut sides, doors, and ladders. Total parts count is approximately sixty-six. The boxcar also features the new side frame construction method. A new stirrup step building method was used as well. Omscaler is thinking the next boxcar upgrade will be an ATSF of the same type. Continuing to build, omscaler

 

More progress

Omscaler is delighted to report that the next boxcar rebuild is making good progress. As of this post, the main portion is done and the roof will be built next. After that, the running gear will be built and installed. A picture should be posted on this blog as soon as possible. Hoping the new year is going well. See you next post, omscaler