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Roof Detail Next on was the roof detail. The roof walk is peel and stick, it's supports are roughly "T" shaped items that were in my case were tight enough to simply be pressed into the slots seen in one of the earlier photos. The end platforms were also peel and stick, as were it's supports...

Interesting - though I may not quite be following. The lacquer thinner was used to soften up the styrene enough to allow the tissue to adhere?

These cabooses, when originally built, had wooden roofs covered by canvas coated with an asphalt based water proofing material. Later they were replaced with metal roofs. I chose to try to imitate the canvas using some type of tissue paper. And was pleasantly pleased with the outcome. As I...

For anyone who may need this, I've found that this offset is set by an FRA regulation at 3.5" Fluesheet

What is the typical (real life) distance between a grab rail and the carbody that it's attached to? Maybe 4" ?

Roof is on! This caboose, as most do, had an arched roof. The AMB kit has a fairly clever way of accommodating this feature. Each section is a single piece of wood, with lengthwise scribing that penetrates about halfway through the wood. The result is a single piece of wood that can be...

Sgtcarl, I forgot to comment on this earlier. I was at the museum this past summer and got some pictures of the inside of the CF caboose they have on display, but only detail shots of the outside! If you have any good photos of the exterior, let me know. fluesheet

Thanks! Depending on how visible the details are, I may or may not include them in other cabooses (I need at least one more). My father has just completed the same kit (though no interior) and did an outstanding job - so I've got a good target to shoot for as far as external detail is concerned.

I next manufactured the beds. Mattresses are .040" styrene, support is scribed, painted and washed balsa. The prototype, as built, had six beds; a pair of bunk beds in the "B" end and a single bunk bed in the "A" end along with the domestic area and toilet. Though not yet in place in this...

Interior The interior is where having glued the carbody to the floor (mentioned in the first post) hurt me. The model actually comes with a very thin sheet of paper on the back of the window glazing, giving them a "frosted" look when a light is put behind them. I decided to remove this for...

Convenient, yes. I've always hedged away from the cork because my railroad doesn't have the capital to put that much ballast under the ties! :) I'll have to give this a try to see if it suits my needs. Currently I'm simply taking cork sheet from Hobby Lobby and cutting it in strips. Just a...

Thanks for the comments! The jury is still out for me on the grab detail kit. I've just started applying the grabs and have bent my own so far. I'll probably use the cupola top grabs from the kit, though I'm not sure if any rebending will be needed.

Can someone expand on this? Intuitively, the cork would be far too narrow unless you're leaving a gap between the two sides? Sorry to hijack, but this may interest more than myself (and my apologies if already answered, I didn't see it)

Internal Wiring and Decoder As mentioned in the first post, I'd decided to put a decoder into the caboose so I could control the "lamps" as my 1:87 conductor / brakeman got their ride ready at the start of their run. After scratching my head for a bit, I decided the best location would be on...

Thanks for the feedback dw and sgt! I don't know if fiber optics are practical as I didn't look into that. There are a couple of vendors that supply lighted marker lights (and the decoder I used could have supported two more outputs), but that was a level of complexity that I didn't want to...

Not installed yet, but yes. That part of the circuit has not yet been tested, but from the truck mounting screw to the lights has been, and works well!

TrainNut makes a good point re: DC engines and dual throttle knobs. I have owned both a Digitrax and (now) and NCE system, and while I didn't find much use for the DC engine option (DC motors run on DCC make a terrible racket), the dual throttles were nice. In addition, it's generally easier...

Electrical Stuff Next was getting power to the interior. After some consideration, I decided that I did NOT want a "hard wired" connection between the trucks and the carbody. I know the way I work, and I would definitely have found reason to remove the trucks moments after the solder...

The next step was to assemble the trucks: Prior to assembly Assembly complete. Getting all four springs in square and consistent was a little more difficult than I expected (I made it harder than it should have been), otherwise, the Eastern Car Works trucks went together pretty easily...

This is the earliest image I took. The siding is peel and stick plywood, the structure itself (the wood to which the siding is peeled and stuck) is about 1/8" thick. A couple things worth noting here: First, the paint. The shop I bought this from was owned by an old hand who counciled me to...