Description
For Sale: The All Nation 100 Year Anniversary Challenge Model
Union Pacific Concrete Tie Flat Car Scratch Build Kit PN#Unique24
Please read below statement in its entirety.
Every so often All Nation will come out with a “One of Kind” kit for the free lance 2 Rail O Scale model builder. For the upcoming year, 2023, All Nation Line will celebrate its 100th anniversary. We wanted to create a one of a kind kit in celebration of the many people who have put their love into this company which was started in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois.
The selection of the flat car in this scenario is simple yet still fairly complex to offer the modeler a challenge and we will explain why.
I am a person, and maybe you are too, that rarely buys ready to run model railroad equipment, rather I build my own rolling stock, passenger cars or locomotives that are operable when I am finished. This approach gives me more pride and satisfaction to know that no one else has the same or comparable model when completed.
If you find yourself in a transition period between building kits and going to be a full fledged scratch builder, then this kit is for you. In addition, you will know that it is a one of a kind kit that will not be reproduced.
There are no instructions to tell you how to proceed. A couple of photos and that is it because in my scratch building practice, I do all the research and leg work prior to starting a scratch building project – and there are no assembly instructions. Therefore, this kit is not for the faint of heart as it requires a fairly robust skill level to complete and it might just help you win a model contest or achieve an NMRA Master Model Railroader credential.
With more advanced skills one usually has the tools in the model shop to develop, create, and innovate solutions as the pieces come together. And if I was not subtle enough, you will have to do your own research and homework such as locating drawings, view videos or photographs to take this project on and make it a master piece.
The Modern Union Pacific Concrete Tie Flat Car is a specialized piece of Maintenance Of Way (MOW) equipment for rapidly transporting ties from the factory to the location site where unloading takes place on the fly along a right of way that will undergo upgrading of mainline track. MOW hardware, machines and associated tools used by the railroads to keep the trains running has to be some of the most unusual equipment and perhaps the most complex in order to model the detail well. But it sure looks cool on the layout when done right.
The kit is semi-started with the brass floor and body components and is a mix of materials including wood, plastic, solder, glue and a few screws. We will not give away any solutions to the build problems. A multitude of problems to think about in the decision space such as, which side of the floor is the top or the underside?
We supply most of the raw materials that might or might not go into building the flat car. I explored and foraged around the shop for parts that I would typically pull together such as the brass components like the center sill and trimmed the angles on the shear for this kit. However, you are the modeler extraordinaire and may prefer to build the sill from wood which I think was the case for the old Quality Craft Trailer Train TTX flat car kits. When my Grandfather built these, he hid the lead weight he cast to fit in the center sill to keep the center of gravity lower and the cars ran great together.
The concrete tie load is the hint in terms of centering and location but the automated gantry crane that may also be known as a stacker has to straddle the load to move the ties one layer at a time to where another machine off loads them along the right of way. Consequently, it also runs on some type of track rail and bridges to the next flat car. The gantry crane is not supplied with this model nor are any decals.
Supplied are plastic model bulkheads for the ends of the load and between the 2 stacked tie loads. These are simply a suggestion for building the same out of brass if so desired. Each layer of ties is separated by 2 lengths of timber. The purpose of 3D printing a component such as a bulkhead is to give me a model that shows a close representation of what it might look like when I construct it out of brass. This promotes the saying “right the first time” meaning few if any defects as you go about creating the component in brass where one is looking to avoid making any mistakes.
The kit comes with a load of over 220 of our 3D Printed concrete ties, 1 pair of #742 Kadee Couplers and our 100 ton truck kit. We included in the model challenge kit what we think is most of the raw materials to complete the fabrication and assembly of the kit without having to source much else.
The trick is to go slow, plan ahead, sketch out your work detail and keep your work area clean. Like an iron chef contest, you have to figure out how best all the ingredients in the box go together without the time restrictions, of course. Most parts are not marked, labeled or described (see photos), thus the modeler has to envision how to utilize all the puzzle pieces, the perfect reason this is a challenge kit. If you do not have the intermediate to advance skills to build this kit, then partner up with someone who does. Potentially, a club would like to team up and build this together. A great project to do with a master modeler.
The floor of this car measures approximately 21 9/32” in length. The location of the king pins are 12 scale feet from the end of the car. We recommend both a resistance soldering and a standard solder iron be on hand for construction of brass parts.
To help you get a fast start on this project, there are many good search terms you can use on the Internet to find photos and action videos. Some of these may include the following search terms:
“YouTube Union Pacific concrete ties”
“YouTube off loading concrete ties”
“Union Pacific Concrete Tie Photos”
Link where photos maybe viewed or obtained:
https://www.up.com/heritage/history/photos/index.htm
https://archives.dcl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/253/
In order to see the UP Concrete Tie Flat Car in action, you may spend more time looking to study these videos than it takes to build the kit.
An All Nation Line Unique Original Kit.
Note: Trucks are a kit. Assembled trucks are for illustration only.
