The Carnation Reefer was missing it’s brake cylinder so I am working now a scratch replacement. Below is a reference photo I found on line.
Job finished and installed!
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Fine scratch work. Looks perfect
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And yet another tortured reefer:
This time a G scale Bachmann “Big Hauler,” Arm & Hammer woodside reefer.
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Very little of any of these items are mine personally but in volunteering at the local “All Trains & Toys” Hobbyshop I get to experience handle, clean, test, run, photograph AND learn from) so many wonderful trains that I would never otherwise have experienced.
All Photos shown here by the author ~ Used here courtesy of Berkshire Trains, Lexington, Kentucky.
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Those are some beautiful pieces
More G Scale passing through the hobbyshop.
All photos by the author ~ Reproduced here with the kind permission of Berkshire Trains/L&N Trains; Lexington, Kentucky.
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Awsome!
Mike, you put more weathering and detail under that model than I could manage topside on my models. Wonderful work!
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Really digging that combine with the cupola.
I definitely might have over done the weathering on those G scale cars. I got a little crazy there.
This is more my usual level of weathering:
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I don’t think so. Some kodachrome photos of Colorado trains show them grimy and dingy beyond what you did. IIRC, John Nehrich of the NEB&W Historical, Technical & Model Railroad wrote that steam locos were soot belching leaders of trains in an era of soot belching industry. All manner of material and particulates splattered up and gown upon those cars.
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@814pennman Looking back at this thread, and what’s left of my layout - I realized, your reply to Fred about what I built, is about half correct (the signs are a giveaway 
).
The basis for the foreground building on the left is indeed an FSM kit, but if you look closely at what’s going on with the build, you’ll see about half of it reflects that kit - because I decided to change it to fit my needs. The right side of the building is more or less the same as the kit, but if you look on the left side, you’ll see I added a second floor shop space and deck, and further to the left just out of view, a chip cyclone and storage bin.
The building on the lower right in the foreground is part of the Schramm kit, but obviously not attached to the main building as the kit would have you. What you can just see in the photos, is the upper level of this scene, is the FSM kit “Dexter’s Dead End”. This build is closer to what the kit is supposed to look like, though I arranged the building placement to meet my needs and changed some wall locations.
As I was typing away, it occurred to me - yes - this project is sitting right next to me!: so, here’s a photo of the whole thing:
The building in the middle ground on the right side is scratch built - and @JPTRR, Fred, as you mentioned Campbell kits, I am certain I used some of their ideas on this. I really liked their kits - not too fancy, but with some patience, they could be built up really nicely. I still have a dio of a roundhouse, and various buildings surrounding it, and at least one is partially Campbell and still looks good. Writing this, made me think about this project, so I took some pics of it too:
This dio has a roundhouse, car shop, little museum area and a couple other buildings:
Sorry about the dark pictures - it’s raining here today, so things are dark. This project is almost all scratch built with some kitbashes - the brick building is from Downtown Deco - really nice. The two story wood building is a hodge podge - some of it is from Campbell, and lots of it not! As I recall, for example that this was supposed to be a one story building. The little Shay is form Keystone - the white metal kit, the yarder I think was a Bowser kit and the rest scratch built. At one point I was pretty fired up about various types of critters - so got into blending white metal kits and parts from Labelle woodworking.
It’s funny, I miss building buildings in HO scale, but don’t miss the actual railroad! 
Almost all of the techniques I learned while working in HO scale have easily translated to 1/35, 1/24, and even 1/20 scale - especially weathering. I built several FSM kits, and Campbell, Sierra West, FOS, and Bar Mills and as I recall, liked most of them. I’d keep doing it, but man - dios and all this just take up too much room (oh, and those sassy “craftsman kits”…yeah, not so cheap anymore!) - hence the demise of my RR. In retrospect, it’s a bummer I got rid of all of it - but, I did!
OK, happy model building.
Cheers
Nick
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Nick, G. Selios, John Allen, et. al got nothing on you. Incredible and inspirational modeling there. Hehe, I I think I know what you mean about not missing the railroad so much. Thanks for showing these.
Fred
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Right said that. That is one of the reasons we created Railroad Modeling here at KitMaker. I see so much crossover potential. And some of that tips and techniques 1990s-2000s military modelers were “just discovering” were things we model railroaders were doing back in the 70s. And while I don’t think this really qualifies as a filter, I remember reading of one modeler of the steam era who would spray the top of his locomotives with a light translucent blue to mimic the sheen on the black boilers under a clear sky. Scale effect & weather distressing? Floquil’s Engine Black, Grimy Black, Weathered Black, etc., Not to mention their weathering set, I think those were out before Verlinden and some of those modelers are even born LOL.
Nick, thanks again.
Fred
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Oh how I miss Polyscale paints!
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Excellent work as usual, Nick.
I have said this many times. Until a few year ago I still had scores of Model Railroading and other magazines saved from the 70’s. I no longer had room to keep storing them, but I spent days reviewng a lot of the articles before I recycled the mags.
Chipping, “filters,” pigments - all of that covered quite extensively way back then. I even have the old rolling stock (I’ve posted photos previously) that I weathered back then as a kid.
Speaking of weathering, has anyone else gotten this ad in the forum? This is simply spectacularly done:
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this thread made me look up my old Marklin Z scale. Holy mother, the prices of what I sold off long ago.
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Nick,
Thank you for taking the time to respond and for sending me photos of your modeling. Model photos are always great for inspiration wheather or not anyone is still at it or not as well. I do appreciate great modeling and yours is no exception. These structures look to be expertly constructed and I think you should continue to model. It would be a waste to hide that knowledge. All good.
Rich
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No, I haven’t seen this one yet. I have seen the Toyota ad of model car building at his bench. I posted it in the Ads on Kitmaker thread
Agreed, that hopper is poppin!
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Hi Pennman!