Caterpillar dozers and logging tractors

I have several kits of Caterpillar cast metal dozers by Cannon Scale Models, and decided to build one according to the directions. I have to say building cast metal kits is not one of my favorite projects.  The cast metal parts are usually quite good, but the instructions in my experience are usually quite poor.  The recommended means of assembling these is to use some form of cyanoacrylate glue (CA).  While it holds well for joints that have little flex, it is a pain for small surface areas and can be tricky to get the parts in the correct orientation during assembly.  That is my rant of the day.  Below is the model that I built and will be installing on my layout.

As usual I added some weathering.  While I have a dozer blade I have not attached it as I am not yet sure how I will employ the dozer.

Now I have two other sets of parts and am pondering how I will use them but it will definitely not be as intended.  Over the years there have been an incredible variety of crawler tread style machines built.  I have numerous books and photos with examples.

Below is a 1939 version of a Caterpiller dozer with a cab and some kind of rack on the front.  The dozer is hauling several Athey trailer wagons carrying supplies to a mining camp far from roads or railroads.

A variety of crawler tread machines were used in logging operations in the early 1900s.  An interesting example is shown in the photos below.

These are just a few of the possibilities for my other kits.

Frigicar mechanical refrigeration car model

Over the past many years I have accumulated a fairly large quantity of card stock wood style billboard reefer car sides.  For the most part I have no intention of using them, but there was one set that intrigued me.  It was a North American Dispatch Frigicar set with the designation "Mechanical Transit Refrigeration".   I did a serious amount of Google searches to find out something about these cars.  I am reasonably competent in these kind of searches but information was hard to find.  What I did find was a gazillion ads for a Missouri Pacific Frigicar poster and mentions of a Train Miniatures kit that is apparently not accurate.  I also found mention that a book I once owned (The Great Yellow Fleet) had a little info.

So - here is what I have come up with.  Apparently the Frigicar company created these mechanical refrigeration cars starting in the late 1920's and were gone by WW II.  The cars used a drive off of a car axle to operate an ammonia based refrigeration system, possibly with an internal brine tank, a condenser on the roof, and no ice bunkers, thus likely had no ice hatches on the roof.  Using this sketchy information I built a model which is my best guess of what the cars looked like.

I used an old style wood block roof, ends and floor.  Since I had no information on the ends I decided to make wood ends as it suited what I was doing.  I put an end access hatch on the refrigeration unit end with a plastic corrugated scrap piece on the roof for the condenser.  I put two roof end walks on since there were no reefer roof hatches.  I added some 3-D door hinges on the sides.  After the model was complete I added some chalk weathering as I cannot stand shiny new cars ( or structures).  Below are a few more views.

Although it is a little dark you can see the access hatch on the lower right of the end.

Wether this is accurate or not, I am pleased with it.  You may note that I clip off the Kadee coupler uncoupling pins as they look awful and I do not use them.

As a side note, apparently one of the Frigicar executives installed one of these mechanical refrigeration systems in the trunk of a Packard automobile.  That was not real successful as the cost was really high.  There was also an issue with the freight cars as ammonia gas is poisonous and leaks were dicey.

Freight truck 1922 - a use for old freight car bodies

This is an interesting photo from a 1922 industrial book.  An easy build using a vintage truck cab unit and an old wood boxcar.  I am thinking of doing one of these.

An SS Ltd truck unit would be a good solution for the front power.

Steam box factory installed on layout

The steam box factory is now installed on the layout at the aisle edge.  My facia is painted black so I installed a short piece of rock wall under the factory edge to hopefully improve the visual effect.  The wall is commercial printed embossed  rock wall which I sprayed with a dull flat spray, then dusted with gray chalk.

I kit-bashed a small truck from an old Selley cast metal automobile and placed it near the door.  Just above the truck you can see a bit of a man sitting on the dock of the factory.

This view shows the other end of the factory.  There is a small coal bin for fuel for the boiler, and various detritus around the structure including a sawdust pile, a wood refuse pile, and discarded machinery parts.

I have no idea what I will do next.

Box factory update 5 - completed

I have finally finished my steam box factory model - at least all I am doing before it is installed on the layout.  I did install lights in the main machinery room which is good as I find it a little dark with the roof installed, even though the front side is removable.  I used two 12v Miniatronics lights that included metal shades.  I attached them to the beams that hold the line shafts.  The wires were strung to the back and down through a hole in the bottom of the box storage shed.  You can see the wires a bit in some of these photos as the model is just sitting on my workbench.

The photo above shows the removable front wall installed.

And here is the front view with the wall removed.

Here is a rear view showing the box storage shed with a corrugated iron roof, and the rail side loading dock.  The red wire at the back is just lying on the workbench.

I used three types of roofing - the main building is shingled, the boiler and engine shop has tar paper, and the box shed metal roofs.

The next step is installation of the box factory on the layout and scenicing around it.  This was an enjoyable project.