Spring Mills Depot announces CF, CG, CH, C2, C-10, C-10a, C-30, and C-30a...

[NW Modeling List]

Fellow N&W, VGN modelers and more, here is more information on what is
planned to come from the recent Spring Mills Depot product announcement for
the following classes of cabooses: CF, CG, CH, C2, C-10, C-10a, C-30, and
C-30a.



I’ve attached two images showing the front and back of the Spring Mills
Depot new product announcement flyer that was available at the NWHS
convention. I presented the project scope on behalf of Spring Mills Depot
at the NWHS convention and Bill Carl of Spring Mills Depot discussed the
scope of work to be covered with focus on project related details and
offering timeline for the product and delivery forecast, followed by a
question and answer session.



The Geneses behind this project falls on two people Fred Boettner, and I
(Steve Smith) who after extended discussions about the need for products in
the modeling community and what we fill is an unrepresented area in the
market took it upon ourselves to investigate various options to solve our
need for cabooses on our model railroads. After some time we decided that
no manufacturer had plans to bring what we were interested in to market
anytime in the near future, so we discussed taking it on ourselves to
locate a suitable manufacturer to approach and see if N&W and related
cabooses could be produced. We looked at the market and picked Spring Mills
Depot hands down due to the quality and attention to details as well as the
ability to deliver class and era specific details for each caboose and road
name being produced. They are a very limited run company though we feel
they offer a painted and  Ready to Run product that’s better than brass in
detail at a fraction of the cost. We originally thought of producing the
N&W CF Wood Caboose and the various Steel classes of caboose in two
different productions, though after talking with Spring Mills Depot we have
decided to combine the two projects into one and produce all the variations
together.



The Project as mentioned above will cover the *N&W Wood CF *caboose in both
Tongue and Groove as well as Plywood sides with attention given to road and
era specific details. Great pains have been taken to consider and focus on
as many of the following details on the CF-Class as can be done based on
era:



   - Hand Brake Style
   - Air Brake Style and Location K, AB, other
   - Cut Lever Style
   - Platform style & material
   - Platform step style
   - Platform Rock Guards
   - End Sill Style (Wood or Steel)
   - Car Body Corner Grab Iron Styles
   - Additional Marker Light Brackets
   - Roof Type, raised metal or tar paper
   - Roof Walk, wood or metal
   - Ladder landings, wood or metal
   - Window frames wood or metal
   - Gutters
   - Cupola Braces
   - Cupola ends, Wood or steel
   - Smoke Stack style
   - Tool Box, small, large, none, double
   - Underframe style Cushioned or Rigid
   - KarTrak ACI Labels Yes, No, Location
   - Cupola Corner Grab Iron Styles
   - Yellow Dot Yes No Location
   - Body Bolts (Car Body Primary)
   - Roof Seams (Center Ridge and covers)
   - Correct trucks per Prototype (N&W Style Andrews Truck)
   - Truck details (Casting details)
   - Window Screens yes no and location
   - Window Awnings
   - Electric Pusher Buffer
   - Bathroom Window Yes, No
   - Roof with No Cupola
   - Body End Windows (Interstate RR)
   - Roof Line under side cupola windows
   - Re-railer & Air reservoir in lue of tool box
   - Toilet Tank Hopper Yes, No
   - End Railing Style and details
   - End Door & Window Style Wood or Steel
   - And more…



Also the Scope of Railroads being considered for all the classes of
production are the following:



   - Akron Canton & Youngstown RR (CG-Class)
   - Atlanta & Saint Andrews Bay RR (CF-Class)
   - Atlantic & Danville Ry (CF-Class)
   - Atlantic & Western Ry (CF-Class)
   - Atlantic & Yadkin Ry (*Still awaiting enough data to produce CF-Class,
   Photographs?)*
   - Chesapeake Western Ry (CF & CG Classes)
   - Chicago & Illinois Midland Ry (Steel Sheeted CF-Class, Not a t this
   time)
   - Georgia RR (CF-Class)
   - Highpoint Thomasville & Denton RR (CF-Class T&G and Plywood) (Steel
   Sheeted CF-Class, Not a t this time)
   - Interstate RR (CF-Class)
   - Mariana & Blountstown RR (Not at this time)
   - New Jersey Indiana & Illinois RR (CF-Class T&G No Cupola)
   - Norfolk Franklin & Danville Ry (CF-Class Plywood and CG-Class)
   - Norfolk Portsmouth Belt line RR (*Still awaiting enough data to
   produce CF-Class, Photographs?)*
   - Norfolk & Western Railway (CF-Class T&G and Plywood with and without
   Cupola, CG, CH, C2, C30 & C-30a)
   - Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation (CF-Class)
   - Oregon & Northwestern RR (CF-Class)
   - Seaboard Air Line RR (CF-Class T&G and Plywood)
   - Sharon Steel Corporation (Not at this time)
   - Southern Ry (CF-Class)
   - Tennessee Alabama & Georgia Ry (CF-Class)
   - United States Navy (*Still awaiting enough data to produce CF-Class,
   Photographs?)*
   - Virginian Ry (C-10 & C-10a Classes)
   - Wabash RR (CF-Class T&G with and without Cupola, and Plywood with and
   without Cupola)
   - Winston Salem Southbound Ry (CF-Class)



While this is not an NWHS project, Fred and I have worked with the folks in
the Archives for well over a year locating and purchasing the required data
to support our project with Spring Mills Depot. Fred and I have put
together and continue to pull together supporting data for this project and
supply it to Spring Mills Depot for their production consideration and
requirements. The folks in the Archives have been very supportive in our
efforts in purchasing what data we have needed, and likewise have been very
good to keep our project confidential till being announced at this year’s
2017 Convention, while the entire announcement isn’t quite ready on Spring
Mills Depot’s web page just yet, we really wanted to get something out to
you all by the convention. Likewise the folks putting together the 2017
NWHS convention were very accommodating in allowing us and our N&W/VGN
related announcement to be part of it, with their help we were able to show
and tell about our project and what’s soon coming to market at the
convention.



>From the very beginning Spring Mills has been focused on the details and
having the proof and data to support any car considered for production,
which is why some of the above cars are on the list but not yet available
due to lack of enough supporting data to source modeling data from.
Pictures are important; eras, paint schemes and lettering are as well. As
mentioned above we are still lacking data to produce the following cars:



   - Atlantic & Yadkin Ry
   - Norfolk Portsmouth Belt line RR
   - United States Navy



Other prototypes on the list above are to obscure or different in design to
justify in production, which is why they are marked with “Not at this
time”. We did though also want to share with you that the prototype does
exist out there with undoubtedly more yet to be discovered.



After looking through the above details for the CF-Class cabooses we are
also looking at but not limited to the following details for the *various
Steel Cabooses, CG, CH, C2, C-10, C-10a, C-30, and C-30a * :



   - Hand Brake Style
   - Cut Lever Style
   - Window Screen Yes, No
   - Body Windows Wood or Metal
   - Platforms Wood or Metal
   - Corner Grab Iron Styles
   - Roof Walk Style Wood, steel or Open Grate
   - Cupola End Windows Open or Sealed
   - Smoke Stack Style
   - Tool Box Quantity and style
   - End Light, Style and location
   - Underframe Style, with or without buffer plate
   - Kartrak Style and location
   - COT&S Style and Location
   - Truck style with appropriate markings
   - LPG Gas Tank Style and Location
   - And more…



As you can see we are excited to bring to the table the opportunity to
offer very detailed Ready to Run Cabooses not only for the N&W and
Virginian Modelers but also to the other roads that operated the CF and CG
classes of caboose with Road specific details. The Focus is to offer
prototypically accurate cabooses at a very reasonable price compared to
what else is on the market, which is very limited.  We did not want
something that was just “close to looking right” and worse something only
“close” with a bunch of road names slapped on them to sell more cabooses.
We want these cabooses to be right and based on what we have seen Spring
Mills depot produce we are confident we picked the right manufacturer,
Quality and Details take time, just as this project will take time be
patient! Additionally we did see the opportunity to reach out to modelers
of other roads who operated these classes of caboose with accurate details
specific for those roads that make them unique and most importantly
correct! I continue to collect data for the project and while it has been
announced there is still time to fit in a road not yet represented and more
data to one already listed to ensure each road is correct, do you have a
detail not listed above that is important to you that you feel contributes
to that caboose being unique if so speak up and let me know, I’m then one
providing the build sheet and class specific details.



 I hope this message and the attached images of the flyer help answer some
questions about what’s to be produced and what’s coming. The Spring Mills
Depot Web page will be up for orders by the end of the month with more
details and images to support what’s been discussed above. Know that
pre-order/ordering direct from Spring Mills Depot is the Primary way to
purchase their products.



Thank you

Steve Smith

(Pullmanpolo at hotmail.com)




*Moderator:*

http://www.nwhs.org/mailinglist/2017/20170721.SMD%20Flyer%20V1%20(Front).pdf

http://www.nwhs.org/mailinglist/2017/20170721.SMD%20Flyer%20V1%20(Back).pdf
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