# Mexican train part 1, Pullman



## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I have started a new project; a model of a Mexican narrow gage steam train circa 1948.

When I was between 7 and 13 years old my family lived in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. We would ride the train from Mexico City to Oaxaca City, nearly 24 hours to cover about 300 miles. These trains were pulled over the mountains by little ALCO Connies, sometimes double and triple headed! I remember lying in the upper berth of the Pullman car dreaming of having my own railroad. Well I now own the Zia and Columbine RR which features New Mexico and Colorado narrow gage. The Denver and Rio Grande RR was built by General Palmer who was also involved in building some of the Mexican railroads which he envisioned connecting to the D&RGRR, so it seems logical that a Mexican train could appear on my RR.
Here is a photo that my Dad took of one of the trains that we rode.









I have started this project with a model of the Pullman car. Due to the fact that I have not been able to find much information on the actual car this model is only a representation, not a scale model. I used information from Gerald Best's book "Mexican Narrow Gauge" and also "Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Varnish" by Herbert Danneman. My model draws from both sources plus the memories of a 10 year old! 

The basis of my car is an Accucraft J & S coach. The window spacing was not quite right so I started by cutting the walls into pieces that would be reassembled in the correct configuration.
Here are the parts for one wall.









I assembled the parts using PVC/CPVC cement which works well on the plastic that Accucraft uses.
A wall assembled.









And here are both walls, one painted green.









To be continued later.


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Winn, I will be watching this with interest. When these coaches first came out (2008?) I modified one into a combine. For filling in any spaces, Evergreen Styrene makes 1:20 V-jointed sheet; the pitch of the passenger siding is within 0.005 of the Accucraft, and matches just fine.

Larry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Larry, I remember seeing your combine at Diamond Head. I used that scribed siding when I built my Presidents car. I will also be using it later in this project for the body of a second class coach and a baggage car.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Continuing on, the walls and floor were done with birch veneer attached with contact cement. The flooring individual planks and the paneling and trim pieces were all cut with a paper cutter. All wood was stained before gluing.









The seat parts are 1/16 inch birch plywood and with solid pine for the seat cushions. The seat cushions are upholstered with a very small ribbed corduroy glued on with gel super glue.









A view of 3 seats assembled, two in the sleeping position and one upright.









Here is the construction of the upper bunks.









A complete sleeper section.









The partially finished right hand wall and sleeper sections.









Both sides with some of the bedding.









The bedding is made using a piece of cardboard with sheets and blankets superglued in place.









There are 2 restrooms, one on each end. The men's room had two extra sinks or maybe they were for everybody!









There is a heater and linen cabinet across from the women's room.









The heater is from the Accucraft coach with added doors on the front. The linen cabinet will house a 9 volt battery to run the lights. The toilets and sink stands are blocks of wood. The seats are 1/16 plywood, the sinks are holes drilled with a spade bit and painted with aluminum paint.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

OOPPS! I just realized that I got this thread in Master Class instead of Model Building. I don't know if there is any way to move it or if it really matters.


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

placitassteam said:


> OOPPS! I just realized that I got this thread in Master Class instead of Model Building. I don't know if there is any way to move it or if it really matters.


Very nice work.
Ask one of the moderators, they may be able to move the thread to a more appropriate category. 

Andrew


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Winn, some very impressive detailing!!! WOW!!!


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## Wesley Furman (Jan 2, 2008)

Winn, 
I always love the detail you go to show all the pieces and how their made, very nice construction. I'll be following this project thru its completion.
Thanks
Wesley


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

This is another very good model, This is a great thread of modeling skills above most peoples abilities.
Dennis


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Winn;

Our house in Allentown, PA was built in the 1920s. It actually had crystal and porcelain doorknobs (like the ones you show in the Pullman) on the interior doors. The bathroom had porcelain faucet knobs as well. By the time we lived there, some of those had gotten brittle and broke. They were impossible to replace. Different story today with home improvement/restoration chains like Restoration Hardware.

Seeing your handles brought back some fond memories. Thanks! Your car will really be a beautiful addition to your rolling stock.

Regards,
David Meashey


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

placitassteam said:


> OOPPS! I just realized that I got this thread in Master Class instead of Model Building. I don't know if there is any way to move it or if it really matters.


Use the "Report Post" icon bottom left to get a Moderators attention. But I think it belongs in the Master Class forum!


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## on30gn15 (May 23, 2009)

Pete Thornton said:


> Use the "Report Post" icon bottom left to get a Moderators attention. But I think it belongs in the Master Class forum!


 It looks pretty safe to say this is an above average bash.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Hi Winn
Great looking project, I hope to see it going around your layout in the future

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

REALLY COOL, great job.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks to all for the nice comments. Dave, the knobs are sewing pins with most of the shaft cut off. I swiped them from my wife with her permission! Today I have been working on finishing the bedding. I was running trains at the Botanical Gardens all weekend so didn't get anything done.


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## Chili Line (Sep 5, 2010)

Winn -
Nice work, as always! So good to see you re-visiting your childhood memories.
- Grant


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

The bedding is now complete.









I removed all the bosses from the interior of the roof.









The light globes are made from buttons. The loop for attaching was removed and a groove filed into the back. I used the original light bulbs from the donor car and glued them into the globes with CA gel.









The circuits are .005 brass strips also attached with CA. The light assemblies were then glued to the ceiling with clear silicone caulk and the bulb leads soldered to the brass strips.









Here is a photo of the roof with the lights lit and part of the paneling installed. The paneling is attached using contact cement on the large pieces and CA on the small ones.









The lights are powered by a 9 volt battery mounted in the linen cabinet. The contacts (the 2 small brass pieces next to the chimney) engage the terminals of the battery when the roof is installed. To turn off the lights the battery is either turned upside down or removed.









That is all for now.


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## rbednarik (Jan 2, 2008)

Lovely work Winn! The Pullman trains south of the border are always a fascinating look into something not often modeled.


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## Don5 (Nov 25, 2009)

Very nice detail work!! Now you need some guys like this to pull it.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I haven't been getting much work done on the car due to giant gophers with a DitchWitch digging up the front yard. This is what they did.









I have started some reconstruction which involves replacing the entire sprinkler system and redoing all the brickwork. I'm trying to work on the car when I get tired of crawling around on my hands and knees. Here is a little progress.









I should have some more pictures of the sleeper in the next couple of days.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Hi WInn

Wow the little bugger did some damage! Hope he has moved on to another victim, or you have figured out an eradication method. Look forward to the car photos

Jerry


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

I have finished the paneling of the ceiling.









Next I have to do a little painting on the letter boards to cover the existing lettering. Getting close to final assembly!


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## Zack72 (May 2, 2016)

Superb work on ceiling.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, a few days has turned into a few months. The front yard is done, we took a two week trip in our trailer and a number other things that interrupt modeling. Here is how the front yard looks now.









I finally finished the car so here are the official builder's photos.
side view









end view









interior









men's restroom









women's restroom with heater and linen cabinet









I printed the lettering on sticky back white vinyl and stuck it on. I used Microsoft Paint to create the lettering. Since the lettering is white I just tried to match the color of the car for the background and let the white vinyl be the lettering. Some of the Pullman cars were purchased from the Denver and Rio Grande RR and the original lettering was painted over before applying the new lettering so the paint might not have matched perfectly.









I will post photos of the rest of the train as it progresses but don't hold your breath. It may be a long wait!


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

wow
I too love Mexican ng.
superb model.

I trust you have the jerry best book?
some really interesting things in mexico, including the smallest loco Baldwin ever built, according to the book.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

if the future cars will match this one, it will be worth the wait.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Thank you gentlemen. Yes, I mentioned Best's book at the top of this thread. I really enjoy it. There 2 more cars planned, a second class coach and a baggage/freight/post car. The locomotive will be a considerably bashed Bachmann "Connie".


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Superb Winn.
My apologies for such a late posting. I have only just noticed this thread.

I am a Mexican narrow gauge junkie too. 2' gauge is my bent. It was the Gerald Best book that hooked me too.


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## Two Foot Cal (Aug 3, 2008)

*Mexican 2' Gauge*



TonyWalsham said:


> Superb Winn.
> My apologies for such a late posting. I have only just noticed this thread.
> 
> I am a Mexican narrow gauge junkie too. 2' gauge is my bent. It was the Gerald Best book that hooked me too.


I am also a fan of the Mexican 2 foot gauge lines. About 10 years ago I had a live steam 1:19 scale model made for me of the only 2 foot gauge 2-8-2 to run in North America. It ran on the F.C.Hornos Railway and was featured in Gerald Best's book.

Recently I started (with the help of Shapeways) building another engine owned by the Hornos Ry. The new engine will be a 2-6-0 Mogul.

I have really enjoyed following the building of the NG Pullman car and look forward to seeing the rest of the train once completed.

Ric


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Ric, Both great looking little locos. I will be looking for your build. Good luck with that.


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Winn,

I also have held off too long congratulating you on an exceptionally fine model. It's nice to see that someone is still producing truly Masterclass-level models.

Doc


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks, Doc. Now I need to get serious about building the rest of the train.


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Winn this is beautiful work. Want a side job of some custom cars?? Haha


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Jason, I'm afraid no one would want to pay what I would charge. I can't even keep up with my own projects!


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