Friday, 10 July 2026

2-Bay Covered Hopper

I haven't spent much time at the model railroad for a little while, not intentionally, but it's just sort of worked out that way.  And no, not "taking a break" from it, as some might say.  It's just that the nice summer weather has provided opportunities to do some other things.  

Anyway, I've weathered this DT&I 2-bay covered hopper for Brian over the past week or so.That orange sure is bright.  I thought that the irregular spacing of the numbers on the car was a little unusual looking.

Faded and flattened, and with a few rusty scars.  And some rust along the edges of the ribs.

And the other side. Added a light touch of silver at the tip of the Kadee trip pin to try to suggest a glad hand.  Wheels and trucks done with Vallejo Rust Texture.

A view of the top of the car.

Looks pretty good here, as it's out on the rails of the JSSX

And I made a trip down to Broughdale Hobby in London this morning.  I haven't been there for quite a long while, so it was real nice to see Jason (owner) and to go through the shop looking for to see what I might find.  Here's the few items I came away with:
Couplers, rail joiners, Microscale clear flat, and Vallejo Dark Brown and White Gray, and a pre-owned 65 foot mill gondola.  Hoping to use that White Gray for paint fading.

The Walthers 65' Mill Gondola came with a load of what looks like coal.  I'll be cleaning that out though, as I don't have anywhere on the layout that coal would be headed for.

So that's about all for now.  Have a good week.