SLC 232 at Quattrocchi's

Even though I wouldn't consider this a model railway blog, it is definitely a blog about a model railway. So a specific model build, while unusual, is certainly within the scope of what you might find published herein. 

Bearing that in mind, it all began on a sunny Saturday in April, 1979. My Dad and I were making the morning rounds downtown, hoping to snag the CP Smiths Falls switcher without luck. Heading down Montreal Street, the lighting and the timing must have been right for me to snap San Luis Central refrigerator car 232 spotted at Quattrocchi's. Based on the tackboard signs, as well as a CN switchlist fading and found that May 5, SLC 232 was loaded with spuds a week earlier in Bath, NB for furtherance to Quattrocchi via CP and CN. Kris Seaboyer kindly shared this: Bath, NB, on the CPR Shogomoc Subdivision extending from McAdam to Aroostook. Typical motive power in those days were RS18s, RS10s, and the remaining RS3s. It later would be served by RS23s.

I didn't know as I pressed the button on my Kodak Hawkeye 110-format camera that this would be my one-and-only Hanley Spur photo. In the back of my mind, it's one I've thought of recreating ever since:

With a gravy-covered serving of synchronicity, Montreal's Mark Charlebois kindly gifted me with Walthers Railway Express Agency REX 7847, nearly two years ago. Once it arrived in Kingston, the pickle-green present spent a lot of time languishing in the railway room. Here it is still in Mark's collection:

It's exaclty the same type of car that ended up on the prototype SLC once the railway express business went largely to trucks in the U.S. While not needed for refrigerated lading, these cars were ideal for temperature-dependent loads like potatoes. San Luis Central rostered at least 350 of them. I had no proper decals, and a quick online search showed K4 Decals' set, which with shipping and exchange would probably cost $20! Way above my price point.

Fortunately, in my decal box, I found an ample set of Walthers black decal lettering that matched that of the SLC. Perhaps I'd bought them decades ago for just this project! I broke out the hobby paint and got to work, brush painting the car with grey primer then orange sides, black roof and ends. Now the fun began - probably the most protracted, prolonged and technically painful decalling job I'd ever done. The decals were splintering from age, and had to be applied individually. I had a lot on my plate, literally:

That looks like a ransom note (above)! I was a prisoner of positioning, convicted of consecutiveness, an in-line inmate. But I persevered:

Paint touch-up, application of an ACI label, and light weathering completed the job. Or so I thought. The track-level photo (top) made it obvious that I still need to add some door stencilling and right-side dimensional data. That's the value of looking at layout views with a critical eye. 

I owe Mark many a merci for enabling this project. Coming full circle, bringing a teenager's snapshot that had become a distant memory to life, in scale!