Monthly Archives: May 2022

My first build in 1:64, a CNR Stock Car kit.

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For a fun size comparison, two 36′ CNR Stock Cars; a 1:87 Westerfield kit next to a 1:64 Simon Parent kit.

When I started considering S-scale as a viable adjustment for the Vernon River plan, I went straight to the top of the Canadian 1:64 food chain for advice. Trevor and David took me in and sorted me out with everything I needed to know in the world of 1:64, what equipment I needed, and where to get it and I am very grateful for their help. It also turns out S-Scalers are apparently hoarders, so I didn’t have to go terribly far to find 90% of the rolling stock and power I need for the entire layout.

One of the places they sent me, however, was to Simon Parent to get my hands on one of his flat resin Stock Car kits. Simon didn’t have any left but was kind enough to track one down for me from someone he knew selling one.

The kit fully assembled, prior to priming and painting.

The kit’s castings were very clean and crisp and the kit included all parts required for success except for trucks. Luckily, Simon is in the business of 3D printed trucks and sold me some very beautiful sprung trucks that are accurate for the car along with custom wheelsets.

Before:
After: (B End)
After: (A End)
Mr. Surfacer is hands down one of my favourite hobby products. It’s magic. Filling in the gaps created by shrunken castings, as you see above, required zero sanding. I just apply the product liberally, let it dry for roughly 20 minutes and then aggressively rub the excess off the model with a cotton swab saturated with isopropyl alcohol. Repeat until satisfied. Messy? Yes. Satisfying? Also yes!

In my initial experience, this build was a breeze compared to anything I’ve done in 1:87, and though I had a minor issue with shrunken side castings, a sanding block and some Mr. Surfacer solved that with very minimal heart-ache.

Painting the car, I used my regular mix of Vallejo paints to get the CNR boxcar red, prepped for decals with Future and after decal-ing with the included decal sheet, I sealed it off with another coat of Future and some Vallejo Matt Varnish.

CN #170249 in all it’s completed glory.

One thing I’m not entirely sold on in the world of S-scale is the oversized #802 Kadee couplers. I think what I may do is design and 3D print a coupler pocket that mirrors the footprint of an 802 pocket, but accepts a (1:87 scale) #158 whisker coupler, and then just continue to use Kadee #158’s.

Somewhere in the mail is a brass River Raisin 44 Tonner, brass CNR combine kit as well as a wide array of other 1:64 goodies. I’ll be sure to do an ‘unboxing’ post when the package arrives.

CM

Welcome to Vernon River in 1:64… wait, what?

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Over the past six months or so, while the blog hasn’t been particularly active, and I have not had as much time as I’d like to physically sit down and build, I have been quite active in terms of layout planning. When I say layout planning, I mean more so figuring out the future for Vernon River and my modelling interest in PEI in general.

Something that never wavers for me is my interest in island railroading, and if I’m being honest, I really don’t have much interest in railroading be it historically or in the modelling world unless it’s PEI-related.

Something that I have determined through many long nights of research over the years, is that I have two very distinct eras and locations of interest for modelling PEI.

These eras and locations can be described as follows:

  • PEI’s transition era. 1947 – 1952ish. Eastern PEI. Small GE switchers (44 and 70 Ton), 36′ wooden freight cars, mixed passenger trains, riveted tank cars. That sort of thing.
  • PEI’s twilight years. 1980-1989. Western PEI. RSC-14s, modern equipment, abandoned stations, everything runs as an extra, three-car trains with two locomotives and a PSC van. That drift.

What I have realized, through conversations with others and my own research is that these two described eras of interest are vastly different. And as different as they are, fundamentally, they are better represented by different scales due to the availability of model equipment, and in my opinion best represented by different approaches to modelling in general.

What I’ve decided, by the availability of equipment, is that I can better represent my transition era prototype of Vernon River if I simply backdate my era ten years from 1957/58 to 1947/48 and move from a 1:87 scale to a 1:64 scale. A 70 Tonner becomes a 44 Tonner. There are now more wooden cars than steel cars. Not much else changes. The larger size will allow me to enjoy my modules in more detail, and provide a more accurate experience. Of course, compression will need to occur in the track plan, but not much.

What else I have decided is that Vernon River will remain a set of 1:64 modules, and nothing more. I will be able to set up these modules where I currently live, as well as take them to shows to show off. But I don’t intend to expand Vernon River into a full-size layout anymore.

As a house looks more and more within the realm of possibility, I have had to take time to really consider what a long term layout will look like, and what I will do for a full-size operational basement layout. For when that time comes, I’ve decided I will move back to 1:87 scale, where I can best represent PEI with equipment suited for the 1980s. I have pre-ordered seven Rapido RSC-14s in anticipation of this, some of which are custom numbered, for a full complement of the PEI assigned units of 1750-1756.

In summary, I have determined the best ways to represent PEI in a model format using the space I have access to, and in terms of equipment availability. My dedication to modelling and researching PEI railroading knows no set scale, and will always follow the best path to an accurate representation of history.

CM