Lanes Trains Cabin Cars

Some of my N5 and N6 Cabin cars were completed in the early 1990s, before I became so detail oriented. Part of me wants to do these cars over. I was using mostly Floquil Grimy Black only for the weathering. I started using real glass for the windows from the N5c until now.

PRSL N5 200

Added 11-19-17

PRSL N5 227

This PRSL N5 was the first Cabin Car that I ever painted in about 1991. It is right out of the box with no modifications. I was trying to simulate the white streaking under the lettering, as best as I could with the “Binks” airbrush I was using at that time. Even though PRSL 227 was my first Cabin Car paint job it might be up for a strip and redo at some point.

Compare the old and new below.

Added 7-27-12

PRSL N5 239

Added 1-7-24

PRR N5 477185

This was a 4AM eBay purchase in December 2023. I got it because I painted my 3 other N5 for PRSL. It is stock out of the box, no extra details added. This had pretty straight decals. The paint job was pretty nice and more correct than most I have seen. But no good deed goes unpunished. Both the seller and I missed that a step was missing. A corner post went missing that I luckily found but I was prepared to use a spare I had from another N5 project. The step was recycled from a Omnicon L1 tender. The new step is close but not perfect. You really would have to stare to notice though. I got really lucky and found a near perfect matching paint – Tru Color Rich Oxide Brown.

Added 7-27-12

PRR N5b 477819

PRR N5c

477880

By the time I painted these 2 N5c I was becoming more aware of details. I added marker lights, cut levers, and pull chains for the air hoses and cut levers. Making the small piece of flat bar for the cut lever chain was interesting. I made a small fixture to cut them to length and drill the holes.

477789

This N5c was modeled after a photo in Don Ball’s book “The Pennsylvania Railroad 1940 – 1950s.” The photo is on page 98 showing Centipedes pushing an ore train with this N5c on the rear. It was taken by Frank Tatnall. I was lucky enough to get a copy of that photo from the original slide from Frank. I added the same details as 477880 above, but I had to put the man in the cupola. I soldered a piece of angle on the inside wall. I cut a figure in half and screwed it to the angle looking out the window. I could not figure out how to put the “3” on the front of the cupola. What does it mean anyway? I consider these 2 models to be the turning point in the detail level of all of my future modeling.

PRR N6b

I traded away the 2 Lines West N6a I had after I learned that they were all converted to N6b by my modeling period of 1956-57.

Added 7-27-12

PRR N6b 981519

Added 9-8-12

PRR N6b 980920

Conrail N8 23317

Added 5-26-23

Completed 3-30-24

PRR N8

The N8 has slightly edged out the N5c as my favorite PRR Cabin Car. As Pennsy’s last group of new Cabins, they were modern yet have the distinctive PRR style of previous classes.

I am particularly proud of these N8 Cabin Cars. There are at least 30 hours of reworking and superdetailing to each of them. I made the master patterns for the draft gear and cut lever brackets from measurements I took from a real N8. I have the only S Scale N8 without antennas that are correct for the PRR. Southwind Models imported 10 pieces without roofwalks for Penn Central and Conrail. I bought 3 of them. The ladders were also cut short. I put the roofwalks back ON and replaced the ladders. Other work included adding marker lamps, air hose and cut lever chains, replacing Trainphone receivers, adding junctions boxes and conduit for the Trainphone receivers, Trust Plates, the generator drive belt and simulated the connection of the Trainphone system to the truck sideframes. I applied the silver trim around the windows with Microscale silver decal stock. Doing this to 2 cars was all that even I could stand!

I got all of my model car numbers to correctly correspond to the real N8 that did and did not have antennas. I learned after the Circle Keystone cars were completed that it is an equipment box for the Trainphone system, not a tool box, under the center of the car. All of the model cars were made with this box attached to the floor. I was very relieved when they did put up a fight when I snapped them off of the cars without antennas.

Circle Keystone

Car 478021

I made a new Smokestack for this car.

Car 478081

Car 478119

Shadow Keystone

Car 478041

Car 478202

How could I not do car 478202 since I have the Builders photo? I just could not figure out how to make the generator and generator shaft drive and still run the model.

The Cabin Car track is getting full!

Details

It’s ALL about the details!

Added 10-17-12

On October 2 2012, I had a momentous occasion. I completed all of my Cabins Cars! This is the first rolling stock “category” that is done!

I also got both of my SD9 out to run for the first time on this layout.

Updated 3-30-24