Proto48 Modeler

Welcome the 15th edition of the Proto48 Modeler. We are doing a mid-year update following the O Scale National in Santa Clara, California. We hope that this website stimulates your interest in building scale railroad models. The focus is to feature fine modelers and techniques with the goal of improving your modeling skills. Proto48 breaks with the traditional O gauge in that we model using prototype standards scaled to 1:48. We use a 4' 8 ½" track gauge with a prototype wheel contour.

The website provides us an opportunity to provide information of suppliers and products useful to Proto48 modelers. We feature models and layouts from some of the finest ¼" scale modelers in the country. The hobby of model railroading in general has been drifting away from its foundation of building scale models based upon prototypes to buying the latest ready-to-run model. The trend is changing the skill base of the modelers and the range of products available in the hobby. Proto48 is about staying true to standards and making accurate scale models. This doesn't mean we are all fanatics but just folks who want something out of the ordinary. We all enjoy a hobby that allows each one of us to express our interests and to learn.

You will find a number of new items listed along with more pictures from some of the finest P48 modelers in the country. We can always use more material that will permit more issues to be published each year. As always we are indebted to the modelers who take the time to send material to share with others. We hope that this spirit of sharing will continue allowing us to bring fresh material to the web so that it can be enjoyed by everyone.

The Proto48 movement has been going for over 40 years and has gained the respect of many in the model railroading community. Proto48 exists because modelers desire to accurately model prototype railroad equipment including track gauge and wheel profile. Many of our newest members migrate from other scales such as HO. Many O gauge modelers have amassed a large collection of equipment and possibly a layout that would create a barrier to adopting P48. While the equipment is the same, the wheels and track must change to adapt to the correct 4' 8 ½" gauge and dead scale wheel widths. Achieving accurate models in smaller scales is a challenge especially as one gets older. Replicating the detail in ¼" scale is easier and achievable. We encourage you to give it a try. You will find challenges to model in the scale but that is part of the fun to solve modeling problems. It is a departure from the current trend of open the box and put the train on the track. While you can use ready-to-run equipment built in China, you will have to change the wheels to run on the 4' 8 ½" gauge. Once you do that you will find that there are other improvements that can be made to the details and soon you will become hooked. Proto48 is a small movement within the ¼" scale community. We have been around since the 1960's and continue to support fine model building.

Our focus is on standard gauge modeling. Proto48 defines a gauge and wheel profile for locomotives, cars and track but it also expresses a concept of finescale modeling. Our models start out with the correct gauge of 4' 8 ½" and scale wheel profile and continue throughout the model to create an accurately scaled replica of the prototype.

Quarter-inch scale offers railroad modelers a huge potential in terms of size and mass. It is big enough to permit the craftsman to accurately portray things like underbody details, doors, roof walks and ladders. Proto48 standard gauge modelers tend to strive for higher levels of detail and accuracy like their narrow gauge brethren.

Midwestern steam era railroading in Proto48 is the focus of Robert Leners. He is busy building his railroad based upon an old Model Railroader track plan called the Iron Ridge and Mayville. Robert has made a few changes blending in favorite prototype ideas from old Paul Larson articles that appeared in the Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman. The centerpiece of this scene is the recently imported Glacier Park Models C&NW R-1 #1400. The model has been converted to P48 using the available kit. The depot is a replica of the C&NW Jefferson Junction near Jefferson, Wisconsin. Robert's scratch built single sheathed boxcar is shown on the adjacent track.

Proto48 on the Web

Mike Cougill, Editor of O Scale Trains, has updated his site with a decided P48 twist. I think you will find it to be interesting. I did! Go to http://www.cougillstudios.com/ By the way, O Scale Trains has greatly increased their Proto48 content since Mike took over. There is a renewed interest in model building. The magazine will be running a series by Tom Mix on building a CB&Q early diesel from brass. Consider subscribing to OST.

New clinic added to the "Articles and Tips" section by Gene Deimling on Scratch Building with Styrene.
New products that are usable by Proto48 and standard O (rolling stock)
We have updated local shows and stocking dealers this issue.
We have also updated the supplier lists.

The latest information about new and interesting products that are useful the Proto48 modeler as shown below:

This year the O Scale National was combined with the O Scale West show. Rod Miller and his hard working crew put on a great show. There were several interesting display layouts, clinics and lots of vendors hawking their wares. The contest included the usual popular vote format and also included a NMRA judged contest. It was possible to enter both and to win awards in both with the same model.

Here are some photos that were taken by Jim and Leonard Ferreira for the O Scale West website.

Jim Zwernemann won first in the NMRA contest and second in the Favorite model voting for cabooses. The model is scratch built from styrene and brass.

Bill Yancey built this Thrall All-Door boxcar from scratch using styrene. It won first in Favorite model and second in the NMRA contest for freight cars

Jim Zwernemann built this ex Southern Pacific B-50-13 boxcar from styrene. It won second in the Favorite freight car category

Jim Zwernemann built this block of buildings using a sheet of extruded polystyrene foam board he bought at Lowes. The bricks were carved with a knife and screw driver blade. The lettering is all hand painted using acrylics. The model won first in Favorite and second in NMRA judging for structures.

O Scale West Convention
27-28 January 2011 Santa Clara, CA
O Scale West will return to its usual schedule and content this following the successful hosting of the O Scale National by the same team. You can obtain more information about the event at this site http://www.oscalewest.com

Chicago Midwest O Scale Meet
11-13 March 2011 Lombard, IL
The show is held at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center. The show has a huge selling floor, operating layouts including a Proto48 modular display. Visit their website for more details.
http://www.marchmeet.net/

O Scale National Convention
TBD
The 2011 convention will be in the Chicago area. Ron Sebastian of Des Plaines Hobbies will be organizing the event. As of this update, specific dates and location have not been finalized. Stay tuned for developments.

The shop moved to a new location in the same shopping center. The new store is even larger than the previous location. They stock 1/48 scale and building supplies.

Caboose Hobbies
500 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80209
www.caboosehobbies.com
Stocks San Juan trucks and wheels

Coronado Scale Models
1544 Cypress Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006
(602) 254-9656
coronadoscalemod@aol.com

This shop has served the needs of fine scale modelers for over 40 years. The owners are active scale modeler having produced some beautiful locomotives and cars. Their shop offers excellent mail order service and knowledgeable assistance. You might check out the Photo Gallery for some of Stan Schwedler's fine work.

Railway Prototype Cyclopedia
RP CYC Publications Co.
P.O. Box 451
Chesterfield, MO 63006
http://rpcycpub.com/

The team of Ed Hawkins and Patrick Wider has produced 20 volumes of important information on prototype railroads with a primary emphasis on steam and early diesel era subject matter. The most recent issue covers GATC Airslide Covered Hoppers and flat car loading practices.

This website has been around for a while and recently taken over by Rob Adams, a P48 modeler who recently converted from HO. The original site was created by Ted Culotta but his Speedwitch business took off and allowed little time for the site. Rob is now updating the information. The site has a lot of useful information compiled by Ted and others along with a large number of model and prototype photos.

Speedwitch Media
http://www.speedwitch.com/
Ted Culotta established this business to develop prototype kits, decals and publications containing prototype data. He has published several useful books and magazines. His models and decals are all of the HO market.

American Switch & Signal
1945 N. Hwy 300 West
Winamac, IN 46996
574-946-7667

John Pautz has added several new switch parts to his lineup within the past month. All of the parts are made from Right O' Way rail and are cast in nickel silver. He has a wide range of frogs, guard rails and points for popular rail sizes. See the latest brochure in the Suppliers section.

All of the parts are done to Proto48 track standards.

Mike O'Connell is releasing three new Ultra Scale II car kit this summer. The first is the ATSF Bx-56. Santa Fe car is Part #811 and will sell for $129.99 with decals. After some delay the kits are now shipping. The kit features custom decals by recognized historians and artists, Pat Duffin.

Two new Soo Line single sheathed cars are being shipped. The first is the Wisconsin Central 1926 Pullman built car. It features a Murphy 7/7 end with a wood door and Chicago Cleveland radial roof. This is kit #812 and retails for $139.00 with custom decals designed by Ken Soroos of the Soo Line Historical and Technical Society. The second version is kit #813. One thousand of these cars were built in several orders. The prototype had a steel door, 4/4 Dreadnaught end and radial roof. .

Ted announced his latest urethane kit for the Northern Pacific 36' double sheathed boxcar. He also had the Milwaukee Road 36' stock car for sale. Rails Unlimited has an extensive line of kits and is also an excellent dealer for general model railroad merchandise. He stocks O in depth and gives reliable service.

GPM has delivered all of the C&NW and Northern Pacific 4-6-0s. Production sold out within weeks of arrival in the country. The models are some of the finest yet done by Boo Rim and Glacier Park. GPM also imported P48 conversion sets to allow nearly half the production run to be converted. Sales of P48 conversions have increased with the last several runs.

The next imports from GPM will be Southern Pacific and Union Pacific low driver 2-8-2. Two SP and four UP versions will be offered. Pilot models for SP Mk-4 3218 and 3227 were on display. They will be offered with the unique 120-SC-1 whaleback tender along with the 120-C-3 on the later version of 3227. The UP engines being offered are 2262, 2520, 2556 and 2559. Several of the engines feature the oversized Sweeny stack unique to the Union Pacific.

As with all of GPM's ¼" models, these will be offered in standard O gauge and with an optional Proto48 conversion wheels. They will be delivered painted and lettered with operating lights and provisions for DCC and sound installation. All of the previous steam locos from GPM have sold out within days of arrival in the country.

This underside view of the 120-C-1 tender shows the details that you can expect to see in this model when it is imported in 2011.

SP Mk-4 3218 will be available with the 120-SC-1 whaleback tender. These tenders were taken from old cab forward mallets when they were scrapped. It imparts a uniquely SP look to the locomotive.

Hi-Tech Details is a newcomer to O scale detail parts but has been around for a while supplying the HO market with innovative details. Their first O release is a molded rubber air hose that include the angle cock and glad hand. You can also get the rubber hoses with a brass bracket for hanging them on the end of cars.

Mullet River Model Works is set to release their new ACL ventilated boxcar kit in O scale in early August. This is a very popular car and was seen running all over the country. The kit consists of laser-cut wood, etched brass underframe and details and decals. Glenn Guerra is working from plans and technical data provided by A.T. Kott.

RY Models will be importing Vulcan and PRR 50-ton freight car trucks in Proto48 this year. The Vulcan is common to SP and UP rolling stock.

RY Models has the following trucks available in P48: Bettendorf freight and caboose style, PRR Crown 70-ton truck, National B-1 and the “L" section Andrews available in P48 currently. This truck was used extensively on cars built in the late teens and early 1920s. Many trucks like this continued in work train service after being banned from interchange service.

They have announced plans to import models of a Matheson Dry Ice car and an ACL ventilator boxcar and ATSF Bx-3 and Bx-6 boxcars. RY is currently taking reservations on these models.

Nickel Plate Models
13732 Lakeside Drive
Clarksville, MD 21029

NKP Models will be setting up a new website that will provide information on their current line of products and some very exciting developments in the works. Here is a firm that has been around for a while providing O scale modelers very accurate decals and imported kits and finished models. The models follow the Nickel Plate Road prototype but have use to a wide range of models. They have recently released custom decals for the NKP yellow striped diesels both road and switcher styles. They have imported a range of custom etched and formed passenger cars and freights car from England. They offer Proto48 trucks for their recent war emergency caboose. Their products are high quality and are worth a look. They are also the source for many different NKP decal sets including the NKP War Emergency boxcar release by Chooch.

Protocraft is a key supplier of Proto48 wheels, parts and conversion sets. They have released most of the old Chooch line with the addition of passenger car trucks. Their website has been completed rebuilt with a complete catalog. Protocraft continues to add new products frequently so it is worth a periodic visit.

Protocraft has recently expanded their offerings of decals. They concluded a deal with Speedwitch Media to license the artwork developed by Ted Culotta for his line of kits in HO.

rotocraft has taken the digital art and scaled it and refined it to fit ¼" scale. The decals are printed by Microscale. In addition the Speedwitch decals, Protocraft has created new art for a number of very interesting decal sets including the famous Chateau Martin wine tank cars and most recently the very colorful Gibson tank cars. Two of the sets are depicted below. The artwork is shown on a colored background for reference only. The actual decal film is clear.

They released a magnetic version of the AAR coupler and received excellent reviews from users. Protocraft continues to expand their line of trucks, wheels, detail parts, tires, driver centers, ball bearing gearboxes and now with the new line of decals.

The Protocraft website has pictures of several P48 layouts as well as an extensive listing of ¼"scale suppliers.

Rick Leach is still promising to release the long-awaited Northern Pacific diesel sets. These have the promise to be the most accurate lettering ever offered regardless of scale. San Juan Decals is screen printing these sets for the yellow lettering and red stripes. The decal sets are very complete and will do multiple diesels. The F-unit sets include the red nose and side stripes for the black and yellow scheme. There is a set for GP and switchers which includes different fonts to permit the lettering of everything from a NW-2 to the SD-45 units. These sets will come with red color separation stripes as well. The colors have been matched to actual color samples of the prototype paint.

Please note that Rick is now taking PayPal for payment as well as checks and money orders. Check out the catalog sheet for ordering information. Click on images for larger view

Catalog

Jim Harper has purchased his old line of switch and track detailing parts from his former hobby shop. He is now offering an extensive line of Code 100 and 125 track parts.
Please see the new catalog sheet via this link

Greg Komar
13704 Country Court Drive,
Tampa, FL 33625
Komar offers a wide range of high quality dry transfers covering Midwestern and Eastern railroads in some detail. I have used his sets with great success on several models. He doesn't have a website but we loaded his latest listing on the site as a PDF.

San Juan Car Company
P. O. Box 1028
Durango, Colorado 81302
Phone: 970-385-5256
http://www.sanjuancarco.com

San Juan is tooling the production version of the Type-E AAR coupler based upon the principles defined worked out on the narrow gauge Sharon. John Parker has indicated that coupler will be available by the end of 2010. San Juan is hopeful that work will restart on the long-awaited drop bottom gondola. Problems with the dies and an illness of the designer have kept the work at bay.

Southern Car and Foundry
970 Sunshine Land, Suite D
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
jscagle@msn.com
www.southerncarandfoundry.com

Jon Cagle is releasing two new Harriman 60' passenger cars. The first is an RPO and the second is the straight baggage. These kits will feature upgraded stirrups that are etched brass rather than the cast brass offered on the 40' RPO/Baggage. The kits are complete with underbody details including the correct Schedule LN brake equipment. Correct decals will be offered by Protocraft in both Aluminum Bronze and Dulux Yellow.

SC&F will be releasing a one-piece body urethane kit for the Canadian Pacific mini boxcar. The CPR had over 6,000 of these cars and could be seen running well into the modern diesel era.

Archer Fine Transfers continues to release new decal details that will make modeling much easier. They have developed a process to deposit resin on decal film to create accurately spaced rivets in two sizes, louvers, safety tread surfaces and weld lines. This product line is a huge boon to the scratch builder as well as the modeler who wants to modify a commercial model.

Mike Calvert and Jason Dickie have a couple of new projects in the works. Gilmaur produces photo etched kits of rolling stock and diesels that are well engineered and relatively easy to assemble with either solder or CA adhesives.

Mike showed a couple new items at the O National in Santa Clara. The first is a SP F-50-4 40' flat car which was built with a Bettendorf “I" Beam underframe. The second was a B-50-5 boxcar with a Pressed Steel side sill. In addition, a SP signal tower was shown. Hopefully, there was enough interest to warrant production of these items. The picture was taken with a Droid phone and is not of the highest quality.