Detailing W&A Passenger Cars

The Tyco or Mantua 1860 passenger car is a shortened version of the prototype measuring in at about 34'.

It requires 3 cars to create two into their period length, about 42'. Below is a view of the splicing. Tricky part is lining up the widows which is visible at the seem.

Here is the side view. The seem stands out which now requires some sanding and in some cases some fill. Fortunately the latter was not required. The idea is to cut the sections about 2-3" scale inches longer then sand them for the final fit. I believe my friend Gerry Daub used a Zona razor saw.

The challenge with this project was to slice off the molded hand rails since the car was already painted. Tedious  but worth it for the results. Moving ever so slow and gently pivoting the blade left to right making incremental headway to avoid chipping the paint, there are eight hand rails in all to remove.

The molded handrail removed:

 Drilling with a #77 bit for .019" brass wire:

These curved pliers have one tip slightly larger than the other for a larger bend or smaller bend as is your preference.

The results:

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Once painted, although not the clearest photo, a much improved prototypical look. You will notice, looking closely, louvers in the windows. Saw these after watching Disney's Great Locomotive Chase for the 100th time.