# (Another) President’s Car – EBT #20 “Orbisonia” - Finished!



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, my EBT #12 Mikado arrived this afternoon, just as I finished the final coat of clear gloss on the decals for my Business Car #20 and IT'S DONE!









The original thread is here: (Another) President’s Car – EBT #20 "Orbisonia" v2 


My files go back to 2008, when I started building the coach in the closet of our condo as a winter project. There was occasional progress until last year, when I got sidetracked making coach kits with G.A.L. The good news is that Alan (Mr G.A.L. www.thegalline.com,) helped solve the railing problem by lasering some EBT-style railings. I used them as-is on that other business car (the red one) but, as I already had brass uprights, I opted to cut his railings down and use them in my coach









I also made some steps with curved outer edges like the prototype. Tedious, but they look better than the steps from the kit.


"Orbisonia" had a nice set of wicker chairs. I found some very large wicker garden furniture in 1/24th scale, and added a 1/4" to the legs to make it tall enough for my Fn3 people. A couple of swivel armchairs were procured from Bruce Chandler and some dollhouse furniture parts enabled me to finish the interior.









After that it was just paint and decals. Mr East Broad Top did the gold lettering for me and suggested the 'GN Green' Scalecoat paint, which is pretty close to the original. Aluminum foil tape was used for the roof, cut to scale 24" widths and painted with lots of black primer and flat black enamel.


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## Therios (Sep 28, 2008)

that is really nice. I love the interior and the railings are quite good. Thanks for the photos!


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## alecescolme (Dec 20, 2010)

Looks great Pete, full of detail. 

Shame you had to re-do the railings, but these are even better! 

What era is yours, modern? 

Alec.


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## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, WOW...it looks fantastic !!!!!


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

hey Pete, in that last photo, Aughwick Creek flooding???  

Seriously, great looking car. Considering I started mine, what, a year, two years before you started yours, and mine ain't nowhere near done yet, I guess I need to get going again... 

Now, get to weathering your #12! Yeah, I know it's pretty right out of the box, but it's prettier in basic black.  

Later, 

K


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

That looks marvelous Pete!! Great modeling!


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Great job Pete. Good to see another President's car completed. We need more. They are great additions to any RR.

Doc


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

What era is yours, modern? 
Alec, 

It's a bit of a hybrid time-wise. I only found a few photos of the coach with the name boards - one was by ALan Woolf in 1995. Most of the older photos show it without. But Kevin did the decals so I figured I would add them. 
P.S. The present day livery includes two gold stripes and freight red treads on the steps. 

Now, get to weathering your #12! 

Naw - I've got 7 empty hoppers to load with the coal I stole from the traction engines at Tuckahoe Gas & Steam Show!


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi, 

Excellent work pete, and thanks for the idea re furniture - noted and a site found in the UK. 

I have the details from your original post, BUT the link does not work for those who don't have it - perhaps it has been deleted?


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

That is awesome, Pete... Great job...


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

_Thanks for all the nice comments. _


I have the details from your original post, BUT the link does not work for those who don't have it - perhaps it has been deleted? 
No - it's still there. More like this site screwed up my HTML again. Try this: 

*(Another) President’s Car – EBT #20 “Orbisonia” v2 – Finishing & Detailing*


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Pete, 

That's better - that works - Thanks!


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks mighty fine Peter! I don't know how you guys do it with those laser cut railings! I ruined a complete set before I finally got one to look right and it still needed to be covered in Pullman Green to hide a multitude of "sins!"


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## chuckger (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Pete,

Great looking car. Love the interrior and the back railings

Chuck


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## Reg Stocking (Sep 29, 2010)

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but observation car railings were made of iron, not brass, and I've never heard of gold-plating a set. Brass caps were affixed to the iron parts. I know from experience, having once polished the caps on the Virginia City for Chuck Clegg the last time he ran it. Black paint was the usual finish,though of course a railroad or private car owner could choose any color. Consider that keeping just the caps polished is a fair amount of work; keeping an entirely brass railing shiny would be no fun at all. The advantage of black is that it doesn't show dirt, and a train can suck up a fair amount of dust, not to mention locomotive exhaust.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

That's a really nice looking car. Great job.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Reg Stocking on 20 Aug 2011 01:39 PM 
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but observation car railings were made of iron, not brass, and I've never heard of gold-plating a set. Brass caps were affixed to the iron parts. I know from experience, having once polished the caps on the Virginia City for Chuck Clegg the last time he ran it. Black paint was the usual finish,though of course a railroad or private car owner could choose any color. Consider that keeping just the caps polished is a fair amount of work; keeping an entirely brass railing shiny would be no fun at all. The advantage of black is that it doesn't show dirt, and a train can suck up a fair amount of dust, not to mention locomotive exhaust. 


However...









Very nice work, Pete.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but observation car railings were made of iron, not brass 
It wouldn't surprise me if the railings were actually wrought iron - they certainly look similar to the park railings I remember from my youth. 









As you can see, they have a coat of gold paint! The knobs on the uprights show black where they are worn.


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## Reg Stocking (Sep 29, 2010)

Heavens! As I said, you can paint a railing any color you like. All that gold paint is a little blingy for me, but what the heck. At least it isn't painted gold with polished brass caps. I wonder what Lucius Beebe would have said.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

If anyone is interested in a PDF file of the build you can download a copy via the link below.

(Another) President’s Car – EBT #20 “Orbisonia” - Finished![/b]


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Reg,

I can guess what Lucius might say. All you have to do is look at his book on "Mansions on Rails" and you'll see many private/president's cars with either painted gold or brass railings.

How about this one?










Doc


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

That's the one that inspired me, Doc!


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Great pdf Pete....lotsa ideas in there.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

If anyone is interested in a PDF file 
Thanks Steve - nice job combining the two threads.. I'd better save it before it gets hidden in the archives!


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## Reg Stocking (Sep 29, 2010)

Thank you, Mr. Watson, for inspiring me to go through "Mansions on Rails" after neglecting it for far too long. It seems that some private cars may well have had all-polished brass railings. How long they stayed that way is an interesting question. Keeping them polished obviously kept the servants from having idle time to think up mischief, but it could provoke thoughts of mutiny. Somehow I imagine that, were they all-brass, many got everything except the top caps painted before very long. 

As for the metallic paint on the prototype EBT car, hmmm. My understanding is that metallic paint for automobiles first appeared ca. 1928. Before then there was opalescent paint made by adding powdered fish scales to regular varnish or lacquer, a short-lived way to achieve a spectacular effect. 

Then we enter the realm of good taste, whatever that may be. In "MoR" on p. 56 we find "Virginia City" at Asilomar with Luke's first Silver Cloud and Chuck's XK140 parked in front of it. The Cloud was maroon over what Luke called taffy, a combination not exactly self-effacing. But note the black railing with polished brass caps. And consider that, in Renaissance Venice, the archbishop laid down the law that all gondolas should be plain black after an overdecorated one capsized and drowned the owner's little daughter. Taste, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Mine is rather prim.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

As for the metallic paint on the prototype EBT car, 

The metallic paint is a recent addition - probably added after 1961 when the tourist service was started. This postcard is from 1946, I think, and shows no trace of gold paint: 









There are several photos in the reference books showing similar dark railings.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Gorgeous car. You are giving me a bunch of ideas for the next project.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, That is a great president's car, super job of detailing. I have no problem with brass railings. The prototype of the "General Palmer" that I modeled definately has brass and they are polished.








This is my model, but I don't photo of the proto to show on this website.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

I have no problem with brass railings 
Thanks again to one and all for the compliments. 

Winn, your railings and the soldering jig gave me some ideas for constructing future railings!


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