WW&F On2 Tank Car Kit Completion

Looking at the Albion module this evening, I realized that I never posted the final tank car picture. So, here it is:

Personally, I'm not crazy about the light grey color but supposedly that's what they were.

The kit was produced by Portland Locomotive Works, they have a Yahoo Group for those interested. I got the kit for Christmas in 2016 and finished it recently. Here's the progression.

Started with the frame. Typical flatcar frame, easy going.

Next, I added the deck. Two things quickly became apparent. First, the end blocks were too far from the ends of the tank and the tank didn't sit well in the curved blocks.

First fix was to add some styrene to fill the gaps where the tank didn't sit well.

Next, I found some scale lumber to fill into the holes for the end blocks. Not perfect but unless you look really closely, you wouldn't know that they are there.

Next, I noticed the kit didn't contain any method to attach the tank to the car. It seemed unlikely that there was no attachment and sure enough the real Portland Locomotive Works drawings, provided by Ed Bond, showed how the tank was attached and the locations of the tie down straps. Turned out to be handy that dad stopped by the works years ago when they were still in business!

 

 I fabricated the straps out of styrene and brass wire with some NBW castings.

Then came the tank handlebar mounts. WOW! How in the world was I supposed to cut these off the 3D printing? The instructions suggested the use of a Dremel tool, which resulted in a 75% failure rate. Luckily, a quick email to Gary at Portland resulted in an extra set, no charge (Thanks Gary!). The next time I used a small wire saw and only managed to brake one!

The final result after painting. Well, you can see the results at the top of the post. An interesting build to say the least. It would have been cool if the WW&F had actually purchased these cars as projected. I'll use them on the module. Portland is talking about making the Brigton fuel tanks, so I might go ProtoFreelance for that part of the Albion module. Who knows, there's actually drawn plans for expansion.....