Those who have followed my adventures with modelling the Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway in S scale know that several years ago, I acquired a number of photo etches and other parts to model the NS&T’s freight motors. The source of those was William Flatt, an extraordinary modeller and fine gentleman. Along with the freight motors, I also picked up William’s collection of photos, drawings, and other paperwork about the railway – plus this model of Canadian National Railways express car 8549.
The car sat in my rolling stock drawer for a while – and then we moved and trains were less of a priority. But earlier this year, I organized my S scale stuff and put this car on the “to be prepped for the layout” pile. That’s now done and it’s ready for the layout.
I don’t know all the details of William’s model. I know he built it and it’s lovely, and that’s all that counts. For my layout, I swapped in my preferred couplers and wheelsets (I’ve standardized on Kadee brown S scale couplers and Northwest Shortline semi-scale wheels). I also adjusted the ride height to lower the car a bit, and adjusted the draft gear to ensure the couplers remained at the proper height. Finally, I gave it a coat of weathering – primarily some dust – to lighten up the paint and bring out the details.
I didn’t really need this model, but William was downsizing and offered it to me at a fair price, and I thought I’d help him out. I’m glad I did.
The Model Railway Show 