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 Posted - February 12 2017 : 8:43:38 PM
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Everything was running smoothly that day. The little Whitcomb that sputtered around the yard ran with the precision of a Swiss watch today, and the twin Alcos that kept the freights running happily upheld their title of honorary steamers while bringing freights in on time. The mechanics in the shop had even make progress on the old centercab that turned it's nose up at the idea of starting. Then, news came from one of their customers. The Coca-Cola plant had begun processing glass in increased amounts. The "cullet" as it was called, was quickly becoming too much for burgeoning trucks that usually handled it, and the plant now wanted it taken out by rail. If they were going to invest the money in getting larger trucks for cullet, they might start shipping completely by truck said the manager of the facility. All the gondolas were tied up in scrap service, and they had low sides and no easy way of unloading. WKN 301 and 302, a pair of old 3-bay coal haulers that once served a coal dealer, were unused on the deadline, but they were pitted, rusty, and long ailing from the mid-Atlantic's winters. To bring them back up to safe specifications would be an expensive endeavor. They visited the wrecking yard, which cut up numerous cars of all types, specifications, and conditions. Usually a good string of hoppers could be found here, old two bays kicked off by the anthracite roads, surplus 3-bays in nice shape, and even the occasional covered hopper kicked from grain service somewhere in the plains. Today though, the yard was swamped with a load of old wood sheathed boxcars, as well as a small logging steamer pulled out of the backwoods by the Pennsy during an expansion. Not a single hopper could be seen, until someone spotted, behind a pile of shredded boards and the cab off a steam engine, lay a small hopper, sparking as workmen tore at it with torches. Roped in from the D&H, it's number now lay among the scorched and wrought steel sheets nearby. It was exactly what they needed, small, cheap, and able to be moved by rail. The sides though, where cut down far. Any cullet load worth it's salt would overflow from the mangled rail car. With haste, from the piles of boxcar boards, an impromptu side was rebuilt, and it was christened WKN 303. With a call to the recycling plant it's cute little boxcab trundled over and coupled to the car with a creak, before pulling it out onto the main tracks where it was pulled home to the yard by one of the Alco freight runners.
Okay, let's quit the backstory. Here's the car in it's current state, with some basic and rather horrid (not in the good way) weathering applied. I'll most likely strip it off and attack it with some weathering powders and pastels soon. The car is an old Varney model, with knuckle couplers and what I can only assume are new trucks (they're sprung too!). It was originally going to become EACH 7, an ex-The Rock covered hopper cut up to a ballast car, but I ended up cutting too far with the saw and as such this backstory was invented. I'll update the project in a few days once I fix the weathering.
sim-al2
Also since they cut track maintaince the trains had huge trouble making over the railroad by the end
純那
yeah
They did a Rock Island volountarily
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Country:  USA ~
Posts: 283 ~
Member Since: August 22 2016 ~
Last Visit: March 14 2019
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Posted - February 12 2017 : 9:14:17 PM
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I love the backstory.
As for the trucks, odds are good they're actually original equipment.
Feedback-hungry attention w****
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Country: USA ~
Posts: 750 ~
Member Since: December 05 2015 ~
Last Visit: January 24 2024
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