CN NSC and Hawker Siddeley 66'6" gondolas

CN 157188 eastbound through Roblin Manitoba in 1993.  Marc Simpson Photo
CN 157064 in it's almost finished form.  This is a car that is going to need a repaint soon.
CN 156053 is a less weathered car that was recently shopped.

CN ordered 700 65'6" IL gondolas from Hawker Siddeley and NSC between 1966 and 1972.  These cars were used in general service with some receiving a removable roof.  These were often seen in steel service, scrap metal and hauling hydro poles among many things.  

These have been on my build list for many years.  Originally I planned to scratchbuild these cars but Kaslo Shops (https://www.kasloshops.com/) has made this task much easier by releasing a 3D printed version of both the HST and NSC cars.  Each type has a number of differences that only become obvious when you look at the cars in detail.  

The kit comes with a mix of etched parts and 3D printed parts.  Everything is nicely rendered.  

The kits went together very well with minimal issues.  The small parts are nicely rendered, although I would recommend attaching the stirrup steps and uncoupling levers after you have painted, decalled and weathered the cars.  I managed to damage these parts on my cars over the course of finishing them.  I replaced the parts with spares from my stash but others may not have the required parts.  

Vallejo Game Effects Dry Rust for surface rust on the car sides.  I love this stuff
Early in the weathering on the car, the ribs get some washes on the edges and Dry Rust everywhere.  I masked a couple of fresh patches on the car sides as well.

I weathered one car to reflect a well used car with oil washes and my go to for surface rust Vallejo Game Effects 72.136 Dry Rust.  I dabbed the dry rust with a sponge on the car sides, and followed this with various oil paint washes to give a dark weathered finish that is common on CN boxcar red cars that are later in their service lives.  

Whoops... I didn't wait long enough before applying the oil weathering.  I had to do some cleanup so the car wasn't an oily mess.

One problem I created was not waiting long enough for the linseed oil to wick out of the oil paint.  I normally put a dab of oil paint on cardboard and let the oil wick out before using it.  I was in a rush so didn't wait long enough and got a oily film on the car sides from one application.  I had to clean the car with a Q-Tip dipped in thinner, gently cleaning the sides using a couple of passes.  This removed the oily film, and I applied another few coats of oil washes to even out the weathering.  

On the other car I wanted a newer appearance so only put a light coat of road grime along the bottom of the car sides.  This gives a nice contrast between the two ends of the weathering spectrum.

Rust, scrapes and gouges.  And a pool of water on one end of the car.  Still a work in progress.  
A less banged up interior in this one.  More work to do.
  

To the best of my knowledge CN did not paint the interiors of their gondolas, so I painted the inside of the gondolas with a base rust colour.  This was followed with a series of washes along with rusty scratches on the bottom and sides of the interior.  On one end of the heavily weathered car I added a small puddle of water that I have seen in some gondolas.  I still need to figure out how to add more crud and grunge to the car, including some gravel, dust and dunnage remnants.  

These are a nice addition to my car fleet as you can never have enough gondolas.  I plan to buy a few more of these cars for hydro pole and scrap metal service.  



October 3, 2022 Update

I added crud in the gondolas consisting of fine sand/silt from a ballast pit on the HBR along with scrap wood and scrap brass etchings as detritus.  I fixed everything in place with matt varnish with some PanPastel powders to blend everything.  I added the detritus in such a way that it (hopefully) won't interfere with future removable loads. 

CN 157064 has a puddle at one end, a feature that is seen on occasion in prototype gondolas.  I wouldn't use this water for drinking however






I need to add a few more of these cars for scrap metal and hydro pole service on the layout. They are nice kits and I would recommend these for anyone interested in a prototypical CN car.




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