SCRATCHBUILD A D&RGW STYLE FLANGER
By Mac McCalla
RAILROADS USE FLANGERS to clear the right-of-way of weeds, rocks, and other debris. On model railroads they serve no real function but they do make great looking maintenance-of-way models. I loosely based my model on the Denver & Rio Grande Western's narrow gauge wood frame flangers but, as with most of my models, it is really freelance.
The simplest way to build the car is to start with the framework, then mount the trucks. I cut my own 3/8- by 1/4-inch lumber for the heavy frame members (bolsters and endbeams), used popsicle sticks for everything else, and assembled the pieces into a basic rectangle. The dimensions were arbitrary. I made the decking from popsicle sticks but glued them on after I had installed the blade.
The blade is the most difficult part of the model. I referred to photos of a prototype, tried to approximate a size and shape appropriate to my wood frame, and drew a pattern on heavy paper (a carton from a six-pack of soft drinks). Then I used the pattern to cut out a piece of sheet metal (a tin can would work well) and bent the blade in the middle to achieve the swept-back angle. I secured it to the frame with pieces of brass wire and epoxy. Be sure the blade is neither too low nor too wide, otherwise it will foul on switch machines or other trackside objects.
The rest is easy. You may add clutter, build up a box and set it on a base of wood, metal, or scrap styrene. The compressor is an Ozark Miniatures brake cylinder casting. I cut a circle from an old tin can and soldered it to a piece of wire to make a switch target. I used commercial stirrup step, brakewheel, ratchet and pawl, nut-bolt-washer, and airhose castings, large paper clips for the handrails, brass rod for the grab irons, and twine for the rope.
You may use a spraycan to paint the model but an airbrush comes in very handy for final painting and weathering.
Refer to the parts list; the model will just fall into place.
I do want to point out one thing: My rolling stock is far from scale. It is an example of what anyone may build as an "artist's impression" model for reliable operation or just for display. But when you have finished, you will always remember its most important quality: You built it!
PARTS LIST
3/8- x 1/4-inch wood strips
Wooden popsicle sticks
2 x 4 inch sheet wood for the box
Stir sticks (for trim on box)
USA Trains couplers
USA Trains, Bachmann, or LGB trucks
Dean Lowe metal wheels
Tin or sheet metal for flanger blade
Large paper clips for handrails and coupler release levers
Wood dowel for post
Ozark Miniatures castings:
Air reservoir
Nuts and bolts
Stirrup steps
Airhoses
Brakewheel
Chain
Shackles
