Kitbashed Rolling Stock

This page contains photos and short descriptions of what modelers have done to create a unique piece of rolling stock, given some commercial base model. If you have such a model and can take a digital photo or two of it, feel free to contact the webmaster.

Cabooses

Bill Winans shortened an American Models bay-window caboose to build a unique model for his private railroad. He cut out a portion of the main body between the outer windows and the bay-window area. He said it was a fairly easy project to tackle, with most of the time being spent on creating the various holes for bars and handrails.

Jack Troxell converted an A.C. Gilbert #801 hopper to scale, repainted it, and lettered it for the T&P.

Ted Hamler commissioned LBR Enterprises, LLC in 2014 to take an A.C. Gilbert #921 hopper, repaint it, and letter it for the C&S Burlington Route. The original trucks and couplers were replaced with Ficus trucks and couplers.

Dick Karnes used two A.C. Gilbert American Flyer bay-window-plus-cupola cabooses to create the model shown below. The roof section from one of them is needed to replace the cut-off cupola.

The model in the next photo started with the same AF caboose, where Dick removed the bay window portion, and closed off the wall with a piece of styrene sheet.

As there are no ready-to-run center-cupola, wood-sided cabooses available in S-scale, Brooks Stover built this model of an ex-Pere Marquette caboose C-2 owned by the Buffalo Creek & Gauley, by modifying an American Models offset-cupola wood-sided caboose. The build included carefully sectioning the roof to relocate the cupola, building new, more detailed, corner steps from styrene, and adding details to the end rails to match the prototype. The roof was re-painted but the body of the car retained its original yellow paint with local touch-ups as required. A detailed interior was also added to the model. An article detailing the build appeared in the September 2016 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman.

Freight Cars

Dick Karnes used two A.C. Gilbert American Flyer plug-door reefers, cut them apart and re-glued them back together. The model's trucks are Allied Full Cushion sold by River Raisin Models.

Dick Karnes used two Lionel O27 gondolas, which he spliced together to form this car. The model was finished following a photo of the prototype Reading car.

John Mann kitbashed several of these AF cars into scale models:

John also used an AF flat car and parts of a tank car to create this maintenance-of-way car.

Tom Hawley states that Lionel O27 double-door box cars, gondolas, and center-beam flat cars are all potential candidates. Some kitbashing may be necessary to make them fit S. Rich Gajnak did just that with the box cars (before, left, and after shown here). Rich used an old Ace conversion floor, added American Models ladders, stirrups, and brakewheel. He also modified the sill. He filed down the end ladders and used staples for the rungs.

Both Jack Troxell and Bob Werre kitbashed A.C. Gilbert steel-sheathed box cars into PRR models. Jack's model represents an X29 car. Jack added the door tracks, underbody, ladders, roof enhancements, running boards, and end details. Bob converted his model to scale using an ACE floor, Liberty roofwalk, Liberty brakes, Perma-Bilt ladders, and Pacific Rail Shops trucks.

Holt Apgar has a pair of A.C. Gilbert cars that were repainted by Bob Comstock. HO-scale decals were applied afterwards.

Bob Hogan kit-bashed a Kinsman Scale Models 7-panel, wood-sided box car kit into an SP-specific model.

Bob Hogan kitbashed an American Models reefer, originally factory-painted and decorated for the Morrell company for the 2019 S Fest West, by adding ladders, grab irons, and brake components, and then re-painted and lettered the model for the PFE.

Paul Washburn build a Great Northern plywood-sided box car. He started with a Pacific Rail Shops' box car kit, from which he cut off the sides, and replaced them with sheet styrene to represent plywood. He used styrene for the doors as well. He applied HO-scale rivets from Micro-Mark to represent the fasteners used to hold the plywood in place. The model rides on National Type B-1 trucks from Pacific Rail Shops, with all-metal wheelsets from NorthWest ShortLine. Paul decided to use the recently-announced Ammo RailCenter paints. He used "Reefer Orange" (#AMMO.R-0010) for the body, "Pullman Green" (#AMMO.R-0017) for the roof, and Tamiya "Semi Gloss Black" (#X-18) for the underframe and ends. He then applied K4 Decals set #K4-GN40P-64B.

Ed Kirstatter converted this 46-foot A.C. Gilbert American Flyer flat car to scale operation. The car weighs 4oz. To convert the car, he replaced the plastic deck with wood boards, added grab irons, cut-levers, and complete under-body detailing. The trucks are S-Helper Service ones, and the couplers are Kadee S-scale #802. The load of car wheels was made from Pacific Rail Shops' plastic ones (their kits initially came with plastic wheels, and most modelers replaced them with metal ones, leaving the plastic ones for "scenery"). According to Ed, the proper AAR rules for cribbing and blocking were followed.

Holt Apgar stripped a number of A.C. Gilbert American Flyer flat cars, repainted and re-lettered them. His model is based on a 1937 Boston & Maine general service flat car, 55-ton capacity, of which 35 were still on the Boston & Maine roster in 1959. Holt repainted the model, installed AF trucks and couplers, and lettered with custom transfer numbers and letters from both CDS Lettering and Model Graphics (Woodland Scenics). The simulated wood decks have been painted with flat gray enamel, and then weathered with brushed brown enamel and flat clear lacquer.

This model was based on a 1956-60 Lehigh Valley flat car from a series which were equipped with jacks and chains for early TOFC service, then they were used in general service, as modeled here. It has a late-1950s to early-1960s appearance. Holt repainted the model, installed AF trucks and couplers, and lettered with custom transfer numbers and letters from both CDS Lettering and Model Graphics (Woodland Scenics). The simulated wood decks have been painted with flat gray enamel, and then weathered with brushed brown enamel and flat clear lacquer.

Holt modeled this AF flat car after the only general service flat car the MEC had in 1959. He repainted the A.C. Gilbert model, applied dry transfers, and dry-brushed flat enamel weathering on the deck.

Passenger Cars

Brooks Stover built this model of BC&G's combine X-6 by splicing together parts from two American Flyer heavy-weight observation cars, blanking out some windows, and scratchbuilding the baggage door. The truss rods were scratchbuilt and the trucks were from American Models. A simple interior was modeled and Brooks had the decals custom-made. The prototype of this car was a 60-foot steel-sheathed car built by Harlon & Hollingsworth (a division of Bethlehem Steel) of Wilmington, DE in the 1880s for the Philadelphia and Reading RR. This was one of Brooks' very first attempts at building a piece of rolling stock from American Flyer shells.

Dick Karnes built this passenger car using two A.C. Gilbert American Flyer car bodies, specifically #654 and #954. He installed American Models' passenger car trucks, and used an old "@#$%@ Train Stuff" observation platform railing.