TSG MOW Flatcars
A few years ago when I set out to paint some N scale equipment for our fictitious Tuscany & Sabine Grove railroad, I wanted to create some maintenance-of-way (MOW) equipment. The T&SG is a small but prosperous and well-maintained shortline operating somewhere in California. Keeping things running smoothly requires some specialized maintenance equipment.
MOW flatcars can haul just about anything. I chose to create two different types of MOW flatcars for the T&SG. I used models from Micro-Trains and Atlas.
Tuscany & Sabine Grove
TSG 107 and 108 MW (MOW Flatcars)
Both of these cars are from Micro-Trains. They are 50 foot fishbelly-side flatcars. The main modification I made was to glue pieces of code 40 rail to the deck. These are cars designed to carry other rail equipment. Real cars like this often carry shop trucks, small portable cranes, and just about any other type of equipment than can run on rails.
The cars were painted in the standard T&SG MOW gray. The reporting marks are custom printed decals that I made with a laser printer and Walthers decal paper. The car data, COTS stencils, reflector stripes, and other markings are from various Microscale sheets.
TSG 107 MW is the only car that currently has a load. I found a pair of surplus trucks to use for shop trucks. I sprayed them with aluminum oxide particles from a hobby sandblaster to prep the plastic for painting. I’ve found that doing this helps paint adhere better to certain types of slick plastic. I painted one truck pale yellow and the other pale green. The wheels are plastic and painted a rust color. I glued the trucks to the rails on one end of the flatcar.
The speeder is an old white metal kit that I built many years ago. Unfortunately I don’t remember the brand. I have a pair of these. I used one and glued it to the rails on top of the MOW flatcar.
Both cars have Fox Valley wheels installed in the original Micro-Trains trucks.
TSG 133 MW (Bulkhead Flatcar)
This car is a stock Atlas pulpwood car with open ends. I bought it undecorated and painted it in TSG MOW gray. The markings were done as described above.
The only modification I made to this car was to substitute Micro-Trains trucks and Fox Valley wheels for the originals. I did not install the pulpwood load that came with the car. My intent with this car is to create a load of wood ties and install that between the bulkheads.
TSG 134 MW and 135 MW (Bulkhead Flatcars)
These are two more Atlas pulpwood cars. These both have closed ends with a solid bulkhead. Otherwise they are identical to TSG 133MW. I will probably use at least one of these as a panel track car. I want to cut some short lengths of old track and stack them between the bulkheads.
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