Review
by Michael J. Pratt
Model photos by Mike Lindsay
Prototype photos provided by Railway Express Miniatures
N Scale Maintenance of Way Gondola Crane
#2081 Retail Price $11.95 |
enough
clearance so that the crane will slide freely along the frame rails
after they are painted.
To make the crane easier to paint, I skipped ahead to step #6, and
super glued the crane boom to the crane body. I washed the body-platform-boom
assembly, as well |
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Railway
Express Miniatures, a divisionof JL Innovative Design Models, has
a number of cast metal model kits of N scale Maintenance of Way
equipment. Among those is a model of a Gondola Crane.
Maintenance of Way equipment is sometimes an overlooked aspect of
model railroading, but prototype examples are an everyday part of
the railroads. Those who do model MOW usually place the equipment
on a siding, out of the way of mainline traffic. This only makes
sense because you can't operate your trains with a rail grinder
sitting on the tracks!
A gondola crane has one distinct advantage over other MOW models
- it rides on the back of a gondola. This allows it to be pulled
around the layout just like any other piece of rolling stock.
REM's gondola crane model consists of metal parts, which, the company
states, are cast from lead free alloys. The kit includes eleven
cast metal parts, an eight step instruction sheet for the crane,
and general instructions for working with cast metal kits.
Once you get past step # 1, the rest of the kit is a breeze. In
order for the crane to rotate, a small pin cast in the bottom of
the crane body needs to be mushroomed after passing through a hole
in the crane platform.
This secures the body to the platform. Of course you can glue the
crane body to the platform, you just need to be certain you won't
want to change its position in the future.
Care must be taken when flattening the end of this pin; you can
warp the crane body. Be sure you support the crane body directly
on the opposite side of the pin before you begin hammering away
on it.
The instructions do not include any type of diagram showing where
the different parts go. This is the only shortcoming of this kit.
You must rely on the small photograph of an assembled kit for parts
placement. Thankfully there are not that many pieces to figure out.
Four pieces look similar to one another. Two of these are the end
frame supports. The other two attach to the crane platform and when
assembled, create an opening for the crane's frame rails to pass.
This allows the crane to slide back and forth on the frame rails.
After super gluing the pieces to the platform, it took considerable
filing to gain sufficient clearance for the frame rails to slide
easily through the openings. Be sure to provide
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as
the remaining parts. I then applied three coats of Modelflex Rail
Box yellow (#16-54) to all but the two halves of the tie grapple.
After the paint had dried, I checked the clearance of the frame rails
and the openings under the platform. After a wee bit more filing to
the bottom of the rails, they passed through without scraping any
paint away. I touched up the paint with more Rail Box yellow and a
brush.
After sliding the frame rails under the platform, I super glued the
two end frame supports to the ends of the frame rails. This is a critical
step if you want the crane to rest properly on the sides of the gondola.
Set the crane on a 
smooth surface and slide the frame rails through the openings under
the crane platform. Center the frame under the crane, making sure
the frame rails are level. Next, glue the two end supports to both
ends of the frame rails simultaneously. Keep the frame rails level,
and its ends centered in the supports. You can actually use a gondola
as an assembly jig.
There are no painting instructions other than the photo on the instructions.
Using prototype photos as a guide, I painted the operators seat, the
boom's hydraulic cylinders, the lower portions of each frame rail
support, the access ladder, and the crane leveling cylinders on the
end of each support gloss black. All hydraulic pistons were merely
cleaned of paint to let the natural metal show through.
I attached the cab to the crane body, then glued the two halves of
the tie grapple together. The grapple was painted with Modelfler Caboose
red (#16-8). After the paint was dry, the grapple was super glued
to the end of the boom. I filed down the small tab on the end of the
boom in order to provide a larger gluing surface for the grapple.
I don't have prototype measurements for this crane. When assembled,
the crane body and boom measure a scale 40' long. The finished model
adds slightly more than one half ounce to an N scale gondola.
REM's Gondola Crane goes together very easily and quickly, especially
if you don't care to make it positionable and simply glue all the
parts together. The castings in my kit were free of flash, and parting
lines were small or nonexistent.
The model is a real good starting point for super-detailing. I plan
to add window glazing to the cab and hydraulic lines to the boom.
Various safety placards and warning stencils can also be added.
When riding on a gondola, this little model is definitely an eye catcher.
And it's one piece of Maintenance of Way equipment you don't have
to place on a dead section of track. |
