Kitbashing a Conrail-CNJ fire car From an HO tender to a fire car much like the prototype/M.R. Snell
MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
models. However, every once in a while the railroads offer us their own kit- bashed rolling stock. One such exam- ple is the CNJ-Conrail fire car. Erected from a retired 1931 M3 steam tender, the fire car was a 1:1 scale kitbash designed for use in fire service on the railroad. While the ten- der was a natural starting point equipped to hold large quantities of water, it also received a roof and fire- fighting equipment, including a roof- mounted fire nozzle with a 2,000 gallon per minute Model 750 Hale fire pump. The fire car was painted into a
A
scheme featuring a bright red body with a black underframe, giving it the appearance of a fire truck on flanged wheels. Under the CNJ, it wore CNJ No. 92971 and had the large CNJ Stat- ue of Liberty herald. Then after Con- rail’s formation in 1976, the car was re- painted and renumbered B-1 and was adorned with a large Maltese Fire Cross bearing “Conrail Fire Dept. NJ Div.” on the sides.
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s prototype modelers, we have become very familiar with kit- bashing to produce needed
Although the prototype fire car was not a very active piece of non-revenue equipment, it provides the opportunity for an interesting display model on ei-
RMC/Dremel Kitbashing Award........
A minimum of $100 and a Dremel Rotary Tool Kit with a variable-speed Dremel 3000 rotary tool and acces- sories are awarded to the monthly winners of the RMC/DREMEL KITBASHING AWARD. Entries must consist of at least two photos (high-resolution digital pic- tures should be at least 3,000 pixels wide; color slides or 5″×7″ or 8″×10″ prints are also acceptable) and a short text. Models must use at least 50% commercial compo- nents; unused entries may be held future editorial use.
ther a layout’s yard track or a shelf. Constructing the car also gives some insight into how the prototype idea was conceived and then executed. Constructing the fire car will be done as a kitbash, similar to the way the CNJ bashed the prototype car. The first step in the kitbash is to find a suitable tender to begin with, such as a Ri- varossi or IHC six-wheel tender. The IHC tender will serve as the starting point in this project since it is still com- mercially available. To begin, disassemble the tender body from the floor by removing the truck sideframe castings, then remove the three screws on the underside (includ- ing the screw hidden under the rear truck). Pull the body upward at an an- gle to release the pressure clips at the rear. Once the tender body has been re- moved, cut all the wires and remove them, as there will be no need for power running through the completed model. The tender’s rear deck may be re- moved from the body by pressing up- ward from the inside of the tender body. Once the deck has been removed, all of the factory-installed handhold parts
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