NMRA RH October 2018

The next part added was the Ridgeway
or “Bear Trap” cinder catcher
that I had already airbrushed flat
black. It took some fussing with to
shape the down pipe to fit my loco,
after which it was glued to the top of
the stack with CA. This Nn3 part, like
the plow was a bit short with the cinder
pipe not going down far enough.
I simply glued a piece of a toothpick
to the front of the cylinders and painted
it flat black to match. This is one
of my favorite detail parts.
After this I added mullions to the front
cab windows which were cut out of
a Grandt Line engine house window,
painted red to match the existing cab
window trim and then carefully glued
in with CA. The last detail part added
to the locomotive itself was some
feed water pipes. This loco was a bit
lacking on external piping details so I
thought these would add to it.
For the tender I added a small air
tank and piping on the back like the
C&S #9. This part too was airbrushed
flat black before it was applied. I’ve
always liked tender doghouses on
narrow gauge locomotives, and
although the C&S #9 did not have
one, my brakemen were complaining
so I gave in. This little doghouse was
entirely scratch built from building kit
scraps with a bit of wire for handrail
details. It was painted flat black with
acetone “glass” added in the windows.
Now my brakemen can get
out of the weather and stop complaining!
Detailing the 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler
I did not have a real prototype in
mind for this locomotive so only a
few details were added. I did decide
to add a homemade spark arrestor
much like those found on the
Durango and Silverton’s locomotives.
Some fine screen, which I also got
from Republic Locomotive Works,
was cut in a narrow strip test fitted
to the circumference of the smoke
stack and cut to length. I glued it
together with a tiny bit of CA using
reverse tweezers as a clamp. While
that was setting, I cut a tiny circle of
screen using a bamboo skewer as
a guide. This was glued on the top
of the mesh ring and then the whole
thing was glued to the top of the
stack. Next I cut another tiny strip of
painter’s tape and wrapped it around
the top of the stack to hide the joint
between the screen and stack.
Lettering and Re-lettering
First I had to remove any factory
lettering. Both USRA short tenders
came lettered for Union Pacific. To
remove the factory lettering I used
a small piece of paper towel soaked
in Micro Sol and brushed periodically
to keep it moist. After about 5
minutes I used an eraser to rub off
the factory lettering. Custom decals
were required since I had decided to
do my own “faux narrow gauge” line.
Through a Facebook connection, I
found Russell at Red River Models.
I designed a whole sheet of lettering
for locomotives and rolling stock, and
Russell printed them out. His work is
outstanding so be sure to contact him
if you need custom decals. I added
my road name, Silver Creek Northern,
to the Ten Wheeler’s tender and
the number 12 to the back. On the
locomotive, I added numbers to the
cab, sand dome and headlight. I also
added “SCN” in tiny letters to the
bottom of the cab. While I did not use
it as a prototype, Tweetsie Railroad’s
(former ET&WNC) #12 was the inspiration
for the Ten Wheeler’s number.
Later 4-6-0 locomotives will follow
the ET&WNC’s numbering scheme.
Once the decals were applied I over
sprayed the locomotives with Testor’s
Dull Cote.
Weathering
I had actually been stressing about
this quite a bit and finally decided
to order Doc O’ Brien’s weathering
powders from Micro Mark. These
worked great and were easy to use.
I added rust spots to fittings, streaking
to the boiler and tender, sand/dirt
to the running gear and tender trucks
and other general grime. Then, I over
sprayed it again with Testor’s Dull
Cote. This really diminishes the color
of the weathering powders but, the
good news is, more weathering powders
can by applied. When viewed up
very close, the locos almost look over
weathered but when standing back
to a normal viewing distance, I think
they look pretty good. Also, I forgot to
mention that both locomotives got an
engine crew from Woodland Scenics.
Final Thoughts
All in all, this was a great learning
opportunity for me, and has given me
the confidence to try other customizing
projects. My little “faux narrow
gauge” line is going to be quite a
unique railroad.
Jason Stamper
October 2018 - ROUNDHOUSE 25