Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Modeling: methods

Showing posts with label methods. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Minneapolis & STL USRA Box Car 51372

A Duluth South Shore & Atlantic (DSS&A) USRA double sheathed Box Car kit produced for the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society by Accurail had been in my unbuilt kits cabinet since November 2000. The kit with car body assembled in 2001, sat in the unbuilt kits cabinet all these years as the the car was painted yellow with red lettering and lettered for merchandise service. A car that I could upgrade and place in the display case; however, that is full. Therefore, I decided I would finally finish the started build; however, paint and letter it for a USRA box car that could run on my Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company (M&N) railroad with a time period of late spring 1955. After review of reference materials and searching decals I had available, I decided the double sheathed box car would become a Minneapolis & St Louis (M&STL) USRA double sheathed Box Car even if by my time period only one or two were left on the M&STL roster.

The prototype car I chose to model and number 51372 was from one of the USRA additional groups purchased after having received the original group, series 22000-22598. Specifically, the additional group was one of 250 cars purchased in 1940 from Hyman-Michaels and placed in series 51000-51398. The USRA design, USRA Specification Number 1003-B, 40 ton double sheathed composite box car features included double sheathed wood sides, six foot side door opening with wood doors, 5/5/5 steel stamped ends, metal roof, and steel fish belly center sill underframe. The cars rode on Andrews trucks.

As for prototype photos, I used a photo of M&STL 25538 for my build. The photo is one I took of the photo in Steam Era Freight Cars Reference Manual Volume One: Box &Automobile Cars (Speedwitch Media, 2006. 2007). M&STL 25538 built in 1940 by Hyman-Michaels was placed in series 25300-25898, the additional group of purchased cars prior to group I chose. The photo I took is included here with permission to use obtained from Ted Culotta.

M&ST L 25538 Courtesy of Ted Culotta
(Click on this or any image to enlarge)

In addition to M&STL 25538 photo, I used the car drawing of a USRA Double Sheathed Box Car in Mainline Modeler (March/April 1980).

USRA Double Sheathed Box Car Drawing

The build of the kit began back in 2001 when the car body was assembled. The underbody frame coupler pockets and truck kingpins were drilled and tapped to accept 2-56 screws. Kadee #148 couplers were inserted into coupler pockets and coupler pocket covers were installed with Walthers #947-1032, 2-56 x 3/16 inch screws. Temporary Accurail ARA Cast Steel with spring plank trucks with InterMountain 33 inch metal wheels were installed with Athearn #99002, 2-56 x 1/4 inch screws. A car weight was cut from .040 sheet lead and installed on the underbody floor side with Permatex Clear Silicone Adhesive. With the sheet lead weight added the car weight was 3.8 ounces. Kit brake components were installed. The underbody was airbrushed in 2001 with Floquil Black #F110013 (no longer manufactured) and installed in the car body.

Underbody installed in car body.

On the assembled car body lettering removal was done first. Using a scratch brush with nylon bristles and 91% isopropyl alcohol the red lettering including DSS&A herald, reporting marks, number 10085 and words “merchandise service” were removed.

Car body lettering removed.

Once lettering was removed, all molded on grab irons and drop grab iron ladders were carved off. On the B end the brake step, brake shaft and brake wheel installed in 2001 and painted Floquil Rail Box Yellow #R33 ( no longer manufactured) were left undisturbed.

Molded on grab irons and
grab iron ladders removed.

New drop grab irons and drop grab irons for ladders bent from Tichy Train Group (Tichy) #1101, .010 diameter phosphor bronze wire (PBW) were installed.

Wire drop grab irons and
drop grab grab iron ladders installed.

After grab iron and drop iron ladder install on the B end, the molded on longitudinal running board brackets were cut off and replaced with Yarmouth Model Works #220, etched running board braces. Brake step brackets and a retainer valve from Tichy AB set #3013, were installed. A retainer line and brackets, Tichy #1100, .008 diameter PBW, install followed.

B end upgrade parts installed.

Now on the roof, the removed lateral running board grab irons were replaced with wire ones bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW. For roof corner grab iron legs, Yarmouth Model Works etched eye bolts without shoulder were used.

Roof grab irons installed.

Next, the molded sill steps were cut off. New sill steps were bent from Detail Associates #2524 brass flat .010 x .030 bar stock and installed in #76 drilled holes.

Brass sill steps installed.

The install of sill steps completed the car body upgrade except for uncoupling levers so into the paint shop the car went. In the paint shop the car body was airbrushed Vallejo/MicroMark Model Air Box Car Red X29015X2. When paint was dry the car body was airbrushed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish 70.510 to provide a gloss decal base.

Car body airbrushed Box Car Red.

Once paint was dry the upgrade of the underbody, normally completed prior to being placed into the paint shop, was done. On the underbody the install of detail parts was done as follows:

Brake cylinder lever, made from Evergreen 1 x 8 strip styrene
Floating lever, made from Evergreen 1 x 6 strip styrene
Piping from air reservoir to control valve, Tichy #1101 .010” PBW
Piping from brake cylinder to control valve, Tichy #1106, .0125” diameter PBW
Brake rods, Tichy #1106 .0125” PBW
Brake rod clevises, MEK Goop (plastic melted in MEK)
Chain, Tichy #8334, black 40 links per inch
Train line, Tichy #1103, .020 diameter PBW
Dirt collector, scrap plastic rod, reworked

Under body upgrade details installed.

To finish the underbody, the underbody and all added detail parts were brush painted Vallejo/MicroMark Tarnished Black X29022X2.

Under body brush painted.

With the underbody finished it was back to the car body to apply decals. Decals used to letter the car came from a M&STL Mark Vaughan set made for him by Rail Graphics (no longer available).

Decals were soaked off in distilled water and applied to the car body where MicroScale Micro Set had been applied with a brush. After the decal was applied in the Micro Set and positioned the edges had MicroScale Micro Sol applied. Any excess solution was sucked away with the torn edge of a paper towel. Again when dry, car body sprayed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish 70.510 to better hide edges of decals and protect decals during handling. Again when dry, the car body was sprayed with Model Master Acryl, #4636, flat to protect decals and provide a flat finish for weathering when applied.

Decals applied.

Once underbody detail parts install was finished, install of uncoupling levers was done. Uncoupling levers were bent from Tichy #1106, .0125 diameter PBW. Uncoupling lever brackets used were eye bolts bent from Tichy #1101 .010 diameter PBW. In the photos below the uncoupling lever after initial install had too drastic angle. It was changed later.

Uncoupling lever installed.

Uncoupling lever install changed.

Before weathering was done, trucks were changed. Accurail ARA cast steel with spring plank #164 trucks were removed and Accurail Andrews #166 trucks were installed. Trucks prior to install were brush painted with Vallejo/MicroMark Model Air Tarnished Black X29022X2.

Andrews Trucks installed.

Before putting M&STL 51372 in service on the M&N, the car was weathered with Pan Pastels. Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1 was applied with a large makeup brush on the entire car body and underbody. Burnt Sienna Shade 740.3 was applied to the springs with sponge tip.

Car weathered with Pan Pastels.

Minneapolis & St Louis USRA design double sheathed box car 51372 was ready for service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company, The Lakeland Route, “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.” A car card was made for M&STL 51372, the final step to put the a car in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Railroad.

M&STL 51372 spotted at Anchor Glass

I want to say, “Thank You”, to Ted Culotta for letting me use a photo I took of photo of M&STL double sheathed USRA Box Car 25538 in Steam ERa Freight Cars Reference Manual Volume One: Box &Automobile Cars (Speedwitch Media, 2006. 2007) on this blog.

Thank You for taking time to read my blog. You can share a comment in the section below if you choose to do so. Please sign your comment with your name if you choose to leave one. All comments are reviewed and approved before they appear. Please share the blog link with other model railroaders.

Lester Breuer

Plymouth, Minn.

Friday, January 30, 2026

URTX Refrigerator 4682 leased to MStL

Union Refrigerator Transit Lines (URTX) wood refrigerator car, URTX 4682, assigned to series 4675-4699, was leased to The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway. A photo of URTX 4697 in the 1937 paint scheme, page 106 and a photo of UTRX 4975 with the 1930’s paint scheme as on URTX 4682 is on page 107 in Refrigerator Color Guide by Gene Green (Morning Sun Books Inc., 2005). I also received a photo of URTX 4975 (not the one in Refrigerator Color Guide) from Tim O’Connor for this build. I used these photos as a guide for my build and upgrade of plastic kit #4682 purchased from 5th Avenue Car Shops ( no longer in business) who had Accurail produce the car using their 4800 series wood refrigerator. The car was painted and lettered by Accurail except for car numbers which have to be applied by the modeler using decals provided in the kit.

As you can see when viewing photo of URTX 4975, the prototype had wood tongue in groove sides and ends. It also had a wood roof and wood running board. A vertical non-powered hand braked. The hatches had a distinctive hatch handle combined with an integrated metal frame that merged with the hinges. Under the wood was a steel-framed structure and a straight channel center sill. And, a very visible feature are the ice bunker drain pipes. The cars were built with KC brakes which were replaced with AB brakes in 1940-1950 time frame. Trucks were the planked, cast side frame ARA design. These cars were built built by General American in 1930-1931 for Union Refrigerator Transit Lines who leased them to the M&StL and other Mid-Western roads as the Milwaukee Road and Soo Line.

URTX 4975 Tim O'Connor Collection
(Click on this or any image to enlarge)

URTX 4684 My collection. No photo data.

I began the assembly and upgrade of this car on the underbody by installing the kit fish belly center sill followed by couplers and trucks. The kit provides plastic pins to install the trucks and molded on pins on coupler pocket covers to attach them to coupler pockets. I used neither. I cut the molded on pins from the back of the coupler pocket covers and used the remaining spot to drill and tap a 2-56 hole for mounting with screws. Next the truck bolster center plates were drilled and tapped for 2-56 screws. Kadee #148 “whisker” couplers were installed in the coupler pockets and Fastenal, 2-56 x 3/16” screws were used to attach the covers. InterMountain 33 inch metal wheels were inserted into kit provided Accurail trucks that after removing the brake shoes were installed with Fastenal, 2-56 x 1/4” round head screws. A Kadee #208, .015 fiber washer had to be installed on center plate bolster to obtain proper coupler height.

Now the kit brake components, after drilling them with a #79 drill for piping to be added later, were installed. The brake cylinder molded on mount was cut at an 45 degree angle to make for a prototype looking mounting bracket. And, for the air reservoir mounts, a piece of strip styrene from bits box was glued from side sill to center sill. Brake levers were cut from Evergreen strip styrene. The brake cylinder lever was cut from Evergreen #8108, 1 x 8 and the floating lever from #8106, 1 x 6. The kit provided car weigh, attached with Permatex adhesive sealant clear RTV Silicone, weighted the car to 4 ounces. With these tasks complete, I glued the underbody to the car body.

Brake components installed.

On the B end of the car the brake shaft step as molded is not an open step. Therefore, I used a drill and broach to open the brake shaft step.

Brake shaft step with molded material removed.

After opening the brake shaft step I carved off all the molded on grab irons. Next I carved off all ladder rungs leaving only the ladder stiles. If you are interested in what tools I use for removing the molded on grab irons please go to “labels” in the side bar and click on “carving off parts.”

Molded on grab irons and ladder rungs
carved off.

Now the upgrade of the roof was done including running board milling, making distinctive hatch hardware, and grab iron install. The running board was milled thinner, from .040” to .025”, using a Dennis Storzek technique described in his article, “5 boxcar improvements”, in April 1982, Railroad Model Craftsman, on page 84. Once milling was done, the milled area was scraped with a single edge razor blade to get it smooth. You could sand it rather than using the scraping method to get it smooth. When the back was finished it was installed. With the running board installed, new running board extension support brackets on the car ends were made from Evergreen #8102, 1 x 2” strip styrene and MEK Goop was used to make fasteners.

Running board being milled.

Running board back scraped.

The upgrade of ice hatch hardware was next. After ice hatches and hatch levers, Plano #12079, provided in the kit, were installed, the remainder of the distinctive hatch design hardware was made. To match the prototype hinges, a URTX General American Car Company refrigerator car diagram was used to make the hatch hardware. URTX General American Car Company refrigerator 35-Ton car diagram for the C. M. St. St. P. & P (MILW) appears in the 1931 Car Builders’ Cyclopedia (Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company, 1931). The diagram showing the leased MILW refrigerator is the same used to build refrigerator car URTX 4682 leased to the M&STL.

URTX General American Car Diagram

For the hatch hinges, to make the metal hatch hardware, a scale 22 inch grab iron and brackets were bent for each hatch cover using Tichy Train Group (Tichy) #1101, .010 diameter PBW and installed. To finish the roof, roof grab irons bent from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW with Yarmouth Model Works eye bolt without shoulder for corner leg were installed in new #79 drilled holes.

Roof with hatch hardware and grab irons installed.

With the roof finished, I continued the car body upgrade by drilling new holes using a #79 drill to receive grab irons on sides and ends and ladder rungs. The molded on rung fasteners on the molded on ladder stiles were used as a guide to drill holes for wire ladder rungs. Ladder side rails were shortened to better match prototype photo. Next I bent straight grab irons from Tichy, #1101, .010” diameter PBW ( see “grab iron bending” under labels on side bar on this blog) and installed them. After install of straight grab irons was complete, I bent the ladder rungs from Tichy #1101, .010 diameter PBW and installed them.

Wire grab irons and ladder rungs installed.

To finish the sides molded on sill steps were cut off. New sill steps, A-Line #29000, were installed.

A-Line sill steps installed.

To complete the car body, B end upgrade work was done. I began by cutting off the molded on brake step brackets. New brake step support brackets, Tichy brackets from set #3013, were installed. A Tichy retainer valve from AB set #3013 was installed followed by installing a retainer line and brackets made with Tichy #1100, .008” diameter PBW. A brake shaft, Tichy #1102, .015” diameter PBW was installed to replace the kit provided brake shaft with a .020 diameter. On the brake shaft a Tichy brake wheel, AB set #3013, was installed to replace the thicker kit provided one. A brake shaft bracket was made with scrap wire and installed. Uncoupling levers bent from Tichy #1106, .0125” diameter PBW were installed with eye bolts I bent from .010” diameter brass wire ( for bending ucoupling levers go to "labels" on side bar and click on "uncoupling levers").

B end details installed.

With car body details added, the remaining underbody details were done. Piping from air reservoir to control valve, Tichy #1101, .010" diameter PBW and pipe from back of brake cylinder to control valve, Tichy #1106, .0125” diameter PBW wire were installed. Next a train line using Tichy #1103, .020" diameter PBW was installed. The train line holes were drilled in bolsters and cross ties with a drill made from .032 diameter hard (piano) wire. A dirt collector, Tichy Set #3013, was now installed connecting its molded on pipe to the train line with a connecting tee made from MEK Goop. Brake rods, Tichy #1106, .0125" diameter PBW, where glued to brake levers was covered with MEK Goop to simulate a clevis connection. Chain installed between brake cylinder and brake rod is Tichy #8334, black 40 links per inch. Ice bunker drains cut from Kadee bracket grab iron sprues were installed.

Ice bunker drains installed.

Upon finishing the underbody work URTX refrigerator leased to the M&STL was ready for paint and lettering. The underbody was hand painted Vallejo Model Color #70.862, Black Grey.

Underbody painted.

To match the yellow-orange prototype paint match used by Accurail, the URTX refrigerator car body new wire grab irons and ladder rungs were hand painted Vallejo Model Color Light Orange, #70.911, on sides and Mahogany Brown , #70.846, on ends and roof. When paint was dry, car body was airbrushed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish, #70.510 to provide a gloss surface for decals.

I used photo of URTX 4975 as a guide to apply kit provided number decals for sides and ends. Decals were soaked off in distilled water and applied to the car body where MicroScale Micro Set had been applied with a brush. After the decal was applied in the Micro Set and positioned the edges had MicroScale Micro Sol applied. Any excess solution was sucked away with the torn edge of a paper towel. Once dry, the decals were cut on board lines with a single edge razor blade and MicroScale Micro Sol applied again to get decal cuts to settle in board grooves.

After setting overnight to air dry, car body was airbrushed with Vallejo Gloss Varnish, 70.510, to better hide edges of decals and protect decals during handling. Again after air drying, the car body was airbrushed with Model Master Acryl Flat Clear, #4636, to protect decals and provide a flat finish for weathering when applied.

Decals, number only, applied.

Decals, reporting marks and number, applied.

One more step before putting URTX 4682 in service was to weather the car with Pan Pastels. Pan Pastels Neutral Grey #820.5 was applied over entire car body with a medium size model paint brush. Next Paynes Grey Extra Dark 840.1 was used lightly over car body and roof with a makeup brush. Finally, Raw Umber Tint 780.8 was used to make light spots on areas among ladder rungs. The Raw Umber Tint was applied with a micro applicator. After each color application a makeup brush was used using vertical strokes over the entire car to soften and blend color. A cotton swab was also used to blend colors.

URTX 4682 weathered with Pan Pastels.

Union Refrigerator Transit Lines 4682 leased to M&STL was ready for service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company, The Lakeland Route, “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.” A car card was made for URTX 4682, the final step to put the a car in service on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company Railroad. The car went into service with URTX 4685 also leased to the M&TL. URTX 4685 has been in service on the M&N since 2018.

URTX reefers 4682 and 4685 being moved
to CNW Interchange in Little Chicago, Minn.

I want to say, “Thank You”, to Tim O’Connor for sharing photo of URTX 4975 for this build. A "Thank You" to Rev. Douglas Harding for providing help with prototype data he believes he got from Gene Green.

Lester Breuer