HO-scale Southern Railway modelers all know that it’s tough to model a Southern bay-window caboose! There are some resin kits that are pretty complicated, some brass models, and kitbashing an Athearn (or other) incorrect bay window model into something credible. I’ve been avoiding this project for years (both on this layout and my last) because I knew how much work it was going to be, and I had to be in the right mood. I’ve been working on this pair of Athearn kitbashes for about six months, and I will tell you it’s the most challenging modeling project I’ve ever completed!
The basic Athearn body, modeled on a Southern Pacific caboose, is within 6″ of the prototype in length, and the body is the right height, but that’s about where the similarities end. It needs windows to be added an enlarged, a completely new bay window, roof extension, porch reduction, truck lowering, and step recreation. In the case of these ’60s era cabs, it also needs a new roof. Once you’ve got all these modifications made, you’re about halfway done because the ends are crazy with complicated bar arrangements, a unique brakewheel bracket, ladders, and circular marker panels. When complete, this kitbash still has windows and length that are slightly off, and the truck spacing is a bit narrow, but it’s a pretty credible representation.
Pictures of the completed kitbashing just prior to painting–the main materials are white and black styrene and brass wire
View of a finished end prior to painting–there are upwards of 50 different pieces that make up each end!
Most Southern fans are familiar with red cabooses, either the original red and gold scheme or the more modern red and block lettering scheme that made it to the NS merger. In the middle, during the Brosnan presidency of the Southern in the 1960s, cabooses were painted the same brown color as all the other Southern cars as a cost saving measure… the red paint wasn’t any more expensive, but Brosnan reasoned it saved the time of having to swap out paint colors in the shops. Needless to say, one of the first changes after Brosnan left was to reinstate the familiar red. Since I model the late ’60s (at least for my initial era), I needed at least two of these brown cabs.
Cab X2931 is an earlier model with round roof, all windows intact, and some of the sunshades removed
X3175 is a slightly later build and features a unique paneled roof, some windows blanked out, and sunshades intact
Finished ends showing the different marker panels–they can be turned with a toothpick
Despite how much work they were, I’m really happy with how this pair turned out! These represent cabooses originally built in the ’40s, and each sports slightly different variations and modifications including different roof styles, blanked out windows, and variety on window sunshade use. I’ll also point out that the marker panels on the ends are functional, and either red or yellow can be displayed, like the prototype. I’m not sure if I’ll incorporate that into operations, but I probably will. Now that these are complete, I can finally run a complete train with accurate and weathered engines, hoppers, and now cabeese.
The St Charles Switcher waits in the house track while train 60 departs St Charles with a string of loaded hoppers. Note the different markers displayed on the back of the cabs
Side-by-side of an MDC car (left) and Atlas car (right) showing the slight length difference
In the last post, I mentioned some of the work that went into creating an ex-Central of Georgia 70T rib-side hopper from an old MDC Roundhouse kit. Atlas makes a much more crisp and better operating out-of-the-box car in its Trainman 9-panel, 70T hopper that is a good stand-in for this car, but it’s about 2 scale feet too long. The Atlas kit, however, is a great model for the Southern’s mainstay fleet of 70T hoppers in the 70300-73749 and 281000-281299 series which far outnumbered the ex-CofGa cars in the 74100-74584 series–all you have to do is remove the heap shields and renumber them. The MDC Roundhouse kit can be picked up in Southern paint pretty cheaply. It’s a far WORSE model both dimensionally and detail-wise to match the Southern’s main fleet of 70T cars, but its overall dimensions are closer to the ex-CofGa cars. However, it requires a ton of work to make the car presentable in a string of more recently produced and more detailed cars. So, is it worth the work? Spoiler alert: it’s not worth it unless you’re just a crazy hopper person like me who notices the subtle length difference between these different series of cars in a long string of hoppers.
Ok, if you’re still reading, here’s a little more on what it takes to model one of the ex-CofGa cars using an MDC Roundhouse kit or one of the slightly improved Athearn versions. First, what’s wrong with the model out of the box? These molds are at least 40 years old, so the detail is sub-par–the rivets are clunky, the grabs are thickly molded, the brake platform and brake wheel housing is grossly under-modeled, the brake wheel is horrendous, and it’s just missing some details like the long grabs on the left ends of the car and bracing inside the car. Also, the bottom sills and corner posts are super thick at the ends. The interiors have an ugly scar right in the middle where the injection molding was done. The most egregious issue is also the most likely to escape notice (so I didn’t bother fixing it): the middle hopper bay is reversed with respect to the brake end. The lettering is not up to today’s standards but acceptable for a car that will be weathered, but there is no lettering on the ends of the MDC cars. The car also comes with arched heap shields that can be added, but they’re a little too short to look right, something that I initially ignored but eventually remedied by replacing them with parts off an Atlas car. It’s also missing details that were on the CofGa cars like slope sheet bracing on the ends.
Detail differences between the original model (right) and the modified model–note the difference in the side sill width
I remedied most of these issues with an X-Acto blade. I started by removing the angles between the bottom sills and the side panels. Next I worked on the side/bottom sills and carved away excess material from the top and bottom with a No 11 X-Acto blade (leaving essentially just enough for the “PULL HERE” lettering). This was done to both the ends of the sides and the ends. I also removed the excess material from the left-side corner posts with a blade (I left the ladder side alone) and cleaned up the excess plastic in the steps. I narrowed down the ladder grabs with the X-Acto blade using repeated small cuts on the back side and alternating between top and bottom until the grabs were essentially round-ish instead of rectangular. I also used a chisel blade to remove the awkward rib down the center of the underside of the slope sheets. Finally, I removed the molded-on grabs from the lower ends adjacent to the couplers.
Details added include tack boards, grab wires, tow rings, cut bars, and train line
Next came the added styrene bits. I added some flat bits for the tack boards and the panels where the coupler cut bar would attach. Some large triangles (using the Atlas cars as a model) became the interior bracing. The most complex part was the slope-sheet bracing under the ends. I made these from three pieces of L-girder styrene and just dimensioned and cut them to resemble photos. I also replaced the brake wheels with more detailed Miner wheels from the parts bin (one Kadee and another whose origin is lost). I added wire grabs adjacent to the couplers, and added custom-bent long grabs on the left ends made from .012″ brass wire and tow loops made by bending .012″ brass wire around a thumbtack (I bend them into a “J” shape and just drill one hole). I bent coupler cut bars and eye bolts from .012″ brass wire using a little jig I made. I also added a couple pieces of brake-gear piping between the reservoir and triple valve bent from .020″ brass wire. The train line is a piece of copper wire from an old ethernet cable sandwiched between two pieces of L-shaped styrene. The final details included Kadee No 5 couplers, Intermountain metal 33″ semi-scale wheels (faces, backs and axles painted black), and arched heap shields salvaged from Atlas models (the in-progress photos here show the MDC arches which I replaced before weathering). Some careful carving and putty fixed the ugly scar on the center sill inside the car.
Detail differences on the ends
I wanted to renumber the cars and detail them for the early ’70s, so I removed a couple of the numbers and the black-and-white lube stencils the best I could by scraping them off with the back of an X-Acto chisel blade. I custom-mixed some paint to match the body and covered all the new details and scraped sides. I added the new numbers, ACI labels, and end reporting marks using a combination of Microscale, Herald King, and K4 decals. Now they were ready for weathering!
Interior detail including braces and covering up the injection mold scar
For weathering, I started with some drybrushing of dark rust spots in a few places on the sides. Next I airbrushed them moderately using a combination of flat black and dark tan airbrushing and washes. Since these are old cars that have been repainted, I went a little heavier than usual with the black on the interiors. I hit them with a wash of flat black paint and water, letting it sit for a minute and then wiping it off vertically to produce some rain streaking and shadows on the details. I used a wash of light orange rust and water on the interior and then added some drybrushed rust spots inside.
String of Atlas and MDC cars mixed in–the differences are subtle but noticeable
In all, these cars took probably 4x as long to detail and make layout-worthy as the Atlas Trainman cars. Now that they’re complete, I do like seeing the more stocky look of these CofGa cars mixed into a long string of Southern-heritage 70T cars. So much so that I’ll probably eventually go back and take all the heap shields off my Atlas cars and renumber them into non-CofGa series. Thankfully I’ve only completed 3 of these Atlas models, so it’s not a huge sacrifice. So, if you’re a hopper nut like me and nerd out on seeing the subtle differences between car series, then knock yourself out on a project like this! If you’re not a hopper nut, I recommend sticking to the Atlas models and saving yourself a lot of trouble.
L&N RS3s 108 and 100, highly modified Athearn RS3s in original black and cream and early gray and yellow paint schemes
Standard diesel power on the L&N Cumberland Valley Local (CV Local) that served the St Charles Branch was a single RS3 until around 1974 when they were replaced with a single C420. The RS3 was the quintessential L&N mine run power of the ’60s and early ’70s, and these units sported a variety of paint schemes through the years. While the Phase III RS3s with rectangular carbody filters, prominent number boards and gyralights were more common, the early Phase IIs made regular appearances as well. I picked up two factory painted Athearn models a couple years ago to become CV Local power. I’ve been noodling on them for at least the last year, and the combined Southern Railway Historical Association (SRHA), L&N Historical Society (LNHS) and Railway Prototype Modelers (RPM) meet at Chattanooga, TN in October 2022 gave me the impetus to get these across the finish line.
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing some of the pilot and cab details
The Athearn models are decent, especially the body shape (old MDC shell), crisp paint, and fine handrails. The detail level, however, especially on the pilots, left a lot to be desired. I ended up scratchbuilding a ton of parts for these models which was actually a lot of fun and very rewarding! First things first, the black locomotive came as 102, and it had the original parallel exhaust stack these units were delivered with. I wanted 108 because it actually served as CV Local power in 1964 still in its original paint, so I scraped off the “2” on the long hood, scraped off the number-board decals, and replaced them with Microscale numbers from an L&N set. I also replaced the stack with a transverse stack from a spare shell and filled the old holes. For L&N 100, I “faded” the red L&N herald on the cab sides with a little wet sanding to make it look as though the red paint was wearing off and leaving the yellow underneath, something evident in many photos.
On the body, I scraped off the hood-door latches and replaced them with pieces of bent wire. I added some scratchbuilt lift rings to the long hood as well, and I bent new long grabs to curve around the hood ends as the factory grabs did not adequately capture their curves. I replaced the factory horns with some Overland 5-chime forward Nathan M5s as the factory horns were either incorrect or oversized. For unit 100, I scratchbuilt the antenna conduit and base from brass wire, eye bolts, and styrene with a DA whip antenna on top along with a scrap round cab-top vent from the scrap box. I also scratchbuilt the oil cooling coils under the right side (long-hood forward) from wire and styrene, and a piece of styrene rod completed the piping along the right side of the hood. The L&N units also had a rectangular hole below the third step on all corners, so I carved this out of the shell by drilling holes and cutting out the rectangle with a sharp X-Acto blade.
Step 1 of canvas sunshades is to bend the rod and attach a piece of tissue paper
One fun detail was the cab sunshades. The L&N used simple canvas sunshades that rolled around a bracket. My friend Stuart Thayer showed me years ago a canvas radiator cover for a switcher he made from tissue paper, so I tried that here. I bent the bracket from .015″ wire with the horizontal section about 5 scale feet wide. I cut a strip of tissue paper (Kleenex brand, to be exact) about 4 scale feet wide and very long for the canvas. There are 2 windows on the engineer’s side of the RS3 and 3 on the fireman’s side, but the bracket and sunshade appear to be the same size. To adjust for the window spacing, I centered the canvas on one bracket and shifted it toward the rear of the cab for the other to cover the third window. After attaching the end of the “canvas” to the bracket with CA and letting it dry, I rolled the tissue tightly around the bracket a few times, cut the end off, and secured it into a roll using CA. A little black paint for the bracket and sand-colored paint for the canvas finished the project.
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing pilot details including copper-wire MU hoses and scratchbuilt pilot steps
The pilots on the model are very bare with grabs in the wrong spots and no MU detail. The first detail upgrade was to scratchbuild some simple MU hose boxes and the angle on top of the coupler box from strips of styrene. This left the footboards too short, so I made new footboards from some brass roofwalk material and styrene. For the MU hoses, I decided to bend my own using one of my favorite modeling materials, copper wire from some old Cat 5 ethernet cables. I simply drilled holes into the pilots, bent the MU hoses, cut them to length, and glued them in with the ends in the hose boxes except for a few hanging out which I cut a little longer and pinched with pliers to simulate glad hands. The coupler cut bars are also a first for me. Rather than the U-shaped bracket over the coupler I’m used to, the L&N’s RS3s had a single long rod extending from the pilot with an eye bolt on the end. I scratchbuilt an impression of this from eye bolts and bent .012″ brass wire. Some formed wire and an eye bolt also formed the safety grab across the top of each pilot. The final pilot details were an MU cable receptacle (scrap box parts from Proto GP7s/9s) and scratchbuilt drop steps. The drop steps on 108 are solid pieces of sheet styrene cut to shape and rounded with a file. The see-through steps on 100 were made from brass roofwalk material.
For the underbody, I added the equipment boxes on the fireman’s side next to the fuel tank. For 108, I scratchbuilt this detail using several pieces of sheet styrene. For 100, I recycled a piece I’d cut from an ancient Athearn U33C shell when I’d narrowed it to make an L&N U30C. For the trucks, the biggest detail was the speed recorder on the fireman’s side. I scratchbuilt this detail using a piece of sprue for the main cylinder, styrene rod to attach it to the truck (after pulling off the journal box and exposing the square hole), and styrene rod filed to a rounded point for the center piece. The cable is copper ethernet wire bent to shape and held to the sideframe with an eye bolt.
The tight quarters inside an Athearn RS3–the decoder is under the cab to the right side
Perhaps the most challenging detail modification was the end railings. The factory railings have MU stands that were easy enough to trim off, but the L&N used squared-off outer railing supports instead of the angled versions on the factory model. Engineering plastic is notorious tough to work with, so I hemmed and hawed over just leaving the factory angle before deciding that the squared look was distinct enough to warrant the effort. I started by using the corner of a file to notch out the 135-degree angle I would need to bend to 90 degrees to make it more pliable. Next, I cut the lower attachment spot of the angled support and cut the angled piece slightly shorter so it would bend to 90 degrees without overlapping the stanchion. Next, I roughed up the side of the stanchion so it would better take CA and glue (it doesn’t really “take” glue well even with roughing, but it does still better than leaving it slick). Finally, I cut a small piece of styrene to wedge alongside the stanchion and hold the angled piece at 90 degrees and secured everything as best I could with CA and liquid model cement.
On the inside, the toughest thing was adding sound. There is hardly any room at all inside the shell, so I had to make several compromises. I chose a 21-pin Soundtraxx Econami decoder because it’s very small, and the Alco 244 sound it produces is pretty decent. There is only one ideal open spot inside the shell, so I decided to use it for the speakers, a pair of LokSound 11x15mm “sugar cubes” wired in series with the small LokSound baffles installed. This meant the decoder needed to go in the cab section. This required me to cut away the center section of the body within the cab to allow the decoder to sit on top of the truck assembly and extend into both the long- and short-ends of the hood. This is not a 21-pin model, so I made a custom 21-pin harness by soldering short bits of wire that fits snugly into the decoder holes onto the locomotive wires.
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the right side
Once all the details were in place except the handrails, I touched everything up with black paint on 108 and gray paint I mixed to match 100. For 108, I was weathering to pictures of 108 on the CV Local in 1964 (see Ron Flanary photo here)–the fading on the roof is apparent, but the paint is otherwise fairly intact. I weathered 100 to pictures of it at DeCoursey Yard in Cincinnati in 1972 (see Brian Woodruff photo here), and it’s filthy! The first thing I noticed was 100’s factory paint was too dark. To “fade” it, I used a lighter gray and airbrushed it to lighten it up significantly. I wish I’d taken a picture of this step so you could see how much lighter it was–the weathering darkened it back up again, so I’m really glad I lightened it beforehand! I also sprayed a little dark gray onto the top of 108 to simulate fading, and I sprayed a little dark rust color onto both roofs and in front of the stacks and drybrushed some streaks under the battery boxes. Next, I gave them both a good black wash to grubby them up a bit. 100 also got some “oil stains” along the bottom of the carbody and in some of the hood door louvers. I’m happy with the lower oil stains but not the louvers–in retrospect I should have continued more layers of wash rather than using a thicker (but still watered down) black as it didn’t wipe off cleanly… my story is someone tried to wipe off the oil, and it just smeared… This model’s weathering is actually “backed off” a little from prototype photos to represent ~1968-70, believe it or not!
L&N RS3 100 left rearL&N RS3 100 showing cab details including engineer and canvas sunshade
After the washes and oil stains, I put the handrails on and added liberal sprays of tan and flat black to weather the pilots, trucks and fuel tanks. I also used tan lightly on the lower sides and top, and I used flat black liberally around the exhaust stack and lightly on the rest of the roof. At this point, all that was left was to reinstall the windows, add wipers, and paint and insert the engineers (two bicyclists from a Preiser kit) which required amputation of the left legs to get them between the cab sides and body sides. They add a lot of interest, and as these units always operated solo on the CV Local, it made sense to add them. The final details were headlights made from bits of fiber optic cable with the end melted into a lens shape and some cab wind deflectors, simple bits of leftover clear styrene packaging cut to size and painted on the back and edges.
So now between these RS3s and C420 1317, I’ve got sufficient L&N power to run the CV Local from about 1962-1977. I still plan on modeling a couple of PhIII RS3s at some point, to include one in boring spartan black (sigh…), but at least the L&N crew on the layout will have some nice-and-dirty locomotives to go with the gurgly and lumbering burble of the Alco 244 prime mover as they shift hoppers around the coal fields of southwestern Virginia!
L&N RS3s 108 and 100 illustrating how much more the gray scheme shows weathering than the black
L&N RS3s 108 and 100, highly modified Athearn RS3s in original black and cream and early gray and yellow paint shcemes
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the right front
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the right rear
Finished L&N RS3 108 showing cab details including canvas sunshades and engineer
Finished L&N RS3 108 showing underbody details including the scratchbuilt equipment box along the tank and the scratchbuilt speed recorder
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the left rear
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the left front
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the left side
Finished L&N RS3 108 from the right side
L&N RS3 100 right front
L&N RS3 100 left rear
L&N RS3 100 showing cab weathering
L&N RS3 100 showing finished pilot details
L&N RS3 100 showing cab details including engineer and canvas sunshade
L&N RS3 100 right side showing heavy weathering and oil stains
L&N RS3 100 left side
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing grab irons and long-hood latches
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing some of the pilot and cab details
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing pilot details including copper-wire MU hoses and scratchbuilt pilot steps
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing cab and antenna details
In-progress shot of L&N 100 showing scratchbuilt piping
Step 1 of canvas sunshades is to bend the rod and attach a piece of tissue paper
Step 2 of making canvas sunshades is to roll the tissue paper tightly and seal it with CA
The tight quarters inside an Athearn RS3–the decoder is under the cab to the right side
