Product Review
The SEC 3-Board Gondola

At last, after almost 15 months, I found enough time to finish Hartford's 3-board gondola kit. It was a very enjoyable kit to build and is a nice looking car now that it's done. I made a few modifications to make the car a little more rugged and add some play value.

First, the museum quality brake gear was modified. It did work, however it was a little too delicate for my clumsy outdoor use. The brake levers with their clevises, chains and eyelets were returned to the parts box. The eyelets and chains on each of the brake beams were replaced with a couple of pieces of sturdy brake rod, drilled and glued in place. The rods were cut short enough to raise the brake beam parallel with the axle, to keep it and its brake shoes out of harm's way. The rods were then glued into new holes drilled in the brake hanger beams in the frame. These new holes allowed the brake shoes to clear the wheels and the rods to hang straight down. The handsome brake wheel and its hardware were then glued in place.

The kit included four L-shaped castings with bolt details that were to hold the gondola sides and ends together. Unfortunately this would eliminate being able to remove either the end or sideboards for easier unloading. Instead, I glued a brass channel inside the sideboards at each of the stakes. Now the end boards can slide in and out of the channels. The sideboards and their stakes can also be removed from their stake pockets to facilitate easier cargo transfer.

The kit included 80 plastic NBW castings. 80 holes were to be drilled in a zigzag pattern in the stakes and end board corner posts opposite the four L-shaped castings. Since the castings were not being used, I didn't feel obligated to drill 9 holes in a zigzag pattern in every stake and corner post. Instead I chose to have two bolts for each board all set straight in a row. However, this still meant 6 holes in each stake and corner post. The channels replaced the L-shaped casting that held the sideboard together, but now I needed something for the end boards. A brass strip (1/32 x1/4) and tiny brass nails with round heads were selected. The brass strip would represent an iron strap and the heads of the nails, the bolts holding the end boards together. 24 tiny brass nails were cut to ¼ inch long. The strip was cut into four pieces all the height of the end wall. The bolt pattern was marked on one piece, which was drilled and used as a template. The template was used to drill 6 holes in each side stake and end post. 48 NBW castings were glued in place. Then the template was used to drill the three remaining brass strips and holes on the inside of the end boards. The strips and nails were then glued in place and painted. The straps, bolt heads and NBWs added a lot of detail and character to the car.

The kit also included two grab iron castings.

They were mounted horizontally on the outside of each end wall, so the ends could be readily removed. I'll have to find four more suitable grab irons for the sidewalls as well. If you have considered purchasing one of these fine kits, I highly recommend them. The drawings and instructions are clear and concise. Both the metal and wood parts are of good quality and fit together precisely to form a car you can be justly proud of. Unless you suffer from extreme time poverty like I do, you should have no trouble completing this kit before the northern snows melt. Even if it does take you a while, you will enjoy every minute of it. I know I did!

Paul Norton

Editor's Note - Paul's photos did not reproduce well so I contacted Gary Watkins and he supplied the above photo from his files, which, unfortunately, does not show Paul's modifications to the kit.

Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. I want to thank Stan Zdonick for agreeing to host the newsletter on his web site.

The next step is to develop the mailing list for our friends and fellow modelers who are not on the internet and to determine how much it will cost to print and mail each issue. From this, I can determine what the annual cost will be.

I need your help with articles, product reviews, photo studies of layouts, etc. Please let me know if you find any errors or omissions in this issue. I can be contacted at jim@massfeller.com or by snail mail at:

Jim Massfeller 1898 Hayword Lane Fort Mill, South Carolina 29715 USA