Model Railroad Magic

A tank car transformation

This is an American Flyer 625 Tank car made by the A.C. Gilbert company of New Haven, Conn. circa 1949. This tanker has seen better days. Can it
be salvaged?
It would not hurt to try! I have removed the tank from the base. I submerged the tank in a tub of concentrated Awsome cleanser to remove the paint. Note how the silver paint under the lettering remained even after stripping. The shell is made of a marbled white bakelite plastic and the ends are a gray plastic. I used Gorilla Super Glue to attach a piece of styrene inside the broken part of the tank and then used the glue to reattach the end cap. This gives stability to the broken end. I then filled the missing and cracked portions with Apoxie Sculpt two part epoxy. This useful product can be smoothed with water. When it was dry after a couple of days I sanded it smooth with fine sanding films from Testors.
I recreated the rivets with acrylic Gesso using a manicurist dot tool. I painted it with three coats of Rustoleum plastic safe silver spray paint. I decided to replace the link couplers with 3-d printed knuckle couplers of my own design. They are designed after the solid knuckle couplers A.F. used in uncataloged sets. I made the decals using Avery self adhesive labels. The base only required cleaning in Dawn dish detergent. Now this classic Gilbert tanker is ready to roll again!

Giving Thanks with your Model Railroad

Share your love of Model Railroading with your Thanksgiving dinner guests this year by creating a “Thanksgiving Special” for your railroad. Here are some ideas to get you started.

This Lionel Macy’s boxcar will remind you to wake up early and watch the parade.

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the turkey!

The Turkeys in this Lionel car have plenty of drumsticks for all your guests.
Some people prefer wild turkey.
Don’t forget to drink your milk!

Side Dishes

This Cornucopia has a little bit of everything!
The Discovery of seed corn that the Indians had stored underground helped the pilgrims to survive their first winter at Plymouth. This K-line hopper car could hold enough corn to feed many hungry settlers.
This classic Refrigerator car looks ready for Thanksgiving.
Mashed, baked, fried, or au gratin, you will need to have potatoes.
Be sure to have plenty of butter.
Don’t forget the cranberries!

After dinner

Charlie Brown worked hard to please his dinner guests but you cannot please everybody.
This Mayflower van would be just the right load for a flat car on your train.
This Williams New Haven “Mayflower” coach will remind you of the story of the first Thanksgiving.
The practical pilgrims would have appreciated this work caboose to round out your train.

Have fun putting together a special train to share your hobby with friends and family!

All of the above images are copyright of their respective owners.