IMPROVE LGB'S BAGGAGE CAR
GOING FROM GOOD TO EXCELLENT
BY JOHN T. DERR
LGB'S BAGGAGE CAR number 3074 is one of the company's most authentic American prototypes. It appears to represent Denver & Rio Grande Western number 126, the car in the photo, but it scales a little shorter than the original. On the other hand, the model captures the prototype's rounded corners at the car ends and side doors, the proper number of glass panes, and its overall appearance is closer to correct than any other passenger car LGB has so far produced.
Baggage Car number 126, incidentally, was the last of a large fleet of such cars and served on the Silverton train for many years. Unfortunately, just before the Rio Grande sold the line to the Durango & Silverton, the railroad completely rebuilt number 126 into a passenger car. We can recreate the car as it used to be, in model form.
FIRST MODIFICATIONS
To make the car even more correct, replace the hook and loop couplers with a knuckle type such as Kadee®. Then, since baggage cars had only one stove (if any) and it sat in the center of the car, remove both of the model's smokejacks. Plug the holes with scrap plastic and carefully remove the molded boss on the roof. I use a model knife for that job, carefully shaving off the plastic in small bits to avoid marking the roof paint. Touch up the bare spots with matching paint.
Drill a hole the proper size for the stove smokejack on one side of the car in the same lateral position as the original vents but 7/8-inch from the left edge of the side door opening. Correct smokejacks are available from a few sources; I used Ozark Miniatures number OM-30.
Before you install the smokejack permanently, make up a heat shield to prevent broken windows in the clerestory. The shield is a Z section 3/4-inch wide and 15/32-inch high with legs approximately 1/16-inch wide. One leg fits over the clerestory roof and the other sits on the main roof. Center the shield over the fourth window from the left end of the car and, of course, it should match the location of the stack. Refer to the photo. Paint the shield and the stack flat black. After the paint has dried thoroughly, cement both in place.
DETAILS
A water fill stack adds interest to the roof even though only some cars had them. I used a number 4 brass fillister head wood screw. I chucked it in a drill press, used a file to taper the head slightly toward the slotted end, filled the slot with solder, and neatly cleaned up the solder. Paint the fill stack black, too. Then mount it on the main roof, 3/4-inch to the right of the side door post. It should protrude about 3/8-inch above the roof.
End doors on baggage cars always have solid panels. Paint over the "glass" with Floquil D&RGW Yellow; it is a good match for the LGB paint. It will take several coats to produce a solid color.
Why LGB failed to center the word "WESTERN" is anybody's guess but it is a trivial matter and I can live with it.
With the minor alterations I have just described, the baggage car model is now terrific!
