Breathe New Life Into Old Freight Cars

The local hobby shop I mentioned in this video is the YMR Train Shop in Westminster, Colorado. This is a non-profit hobby shop which sells donated, used model train gear and uses the proceeds to pay for field trips and modeling clinics for local teenagers interested in model railroading. (YMR stands for Youth in Model Railroading.) If you are in the Denver metro area, please stop in and support them.

Links to items mentioned in this video. (Note: I am NOT endorsing any particular product(s), nor am I compensated by or connected to any of the companies mentioned.) I do NOT guarantee that these links will give you the best available price! Consider these links to be a starting point for your search.

Kadee Car of the Month: https://www.kadee.com/shop-by-categor...

A viewer has corrected me: Northwest Short Line IS still in business. You can visit them at https://nwsl.com/ They sell a wdie variety of tools, along with geared wheelsets, repowering supplies, and much more.

Excel Sanding Sticks: https://excelblades.com/collections/s...

NMRA Car Weight Standard: https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/fi...

Life Color wood tones paint set: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/lfc/lfcc...

Car body weights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...

Tichy Train Group Stirrup Steps: https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/...

Tamiya Spray Primer: https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/finish...

Sadly, Scalecoat paint is no longer manufactured. Two possible alternatives are:

Tru-color Spray Paint: https://trucolorpaint.com/spray-cans/

Tamiya Spray Paint: https://www.tamiyausa.com/tamiya-spra...

Remember that colors such as “Box Car Red” or “Reefer Orange” are generally not standard. Also remember that any car in service for more than about six months will have started to fade. So don’t stress too much about how “prototypical” a particular color is.

Microscale Decals: http://www.microscale.com/

Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Car Roster: http://prr.railfan.net/freight/

If you’re looking for prototype data on other railroads, you should be aware that many large railroads – past and present – have historical societies dedicated to collecting and preserving information related to those railroads. Every few months, Railroad Model Craftsman publishes a directory of many of these societies. The April 2023 issue listed contact information for 45 such societies, ranging from the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society to the Virginia & Truckee Railroad Historical Society. All of these societies offer membership opportunities, which usually include a subscription to a periodical publication devoted to the railroad of interest. Check ‛em out.
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This video was edited using Shotcut for Linux. Video footage and still images were recorded using a Galaxy A10e phone and a Nikon D7100 camera.