P&WV Coal Jimmies

Yesterday I finished up 7 coal jimmies for the layout. They are lettered for the Pittsburgh & West Virginia RR. They are 3D printed kits I purchased from the Train Shop on eBay. I had bought a pair several years ago and decided to order 2 more 2-packs. Because of some order issues, the proprietor was good enough to send me some extra parts. I almost had enough to finish a 7th car. I had to bend my own grab bars for this car from Tichy 0.020 phosphor bronze wire as the spare parts car body did not include these. All of the other 6 cars came with these as an integral part of the 3D printed car body. I also had to go through my parts box to scrounge up 2 coupler pocket lids for this 7th car. They are from MDC/Roundhouse. When decaling, I discovered there was a change in the n/b/w on the cars which necessitated slightly altering decal placement. The wheels are Reboxx 0.99 axle length 33" wheels. The car bodies are painted Tamiya linoleum brown with the journal boxes, brake wheels/staffs, and hardware painted Poly S grimy black to represent cast iron. The decals are from Champ decal set HN-81. I also discovered that Champ actually changed what lettering was included on each decal sheet over the years of production. On eBay, some sets don't include the very small PWV lettering that I used. The lettering was done following an image I have of an early Lehigh Valley RR coal jimmie. The couplers are from San Juan Models On3 part #147 and are a drop in fit to these couplers pockets. When assembling the cars, I discovered I needed to slightly drill out the journal boxes using a #59 drill bit after painting. They roll flawlessly now.