Costa Passenger Coach by yvesvidal - OcCre - 1/32

[yvesvidal]

Folks, after completing the massive 1/48 CAF MODEL Kit HMS Bellona, it was time to take a break in a different direction: Trains !!

 

I bought that Occre kit last summer and was trying to find the time to build it. It is a model of the rare wooden coaches used by the M.Z.A Catalan railroad company. M.Z.A. stands for Madrid-Zaragossa-Alicante and operated these wooden coaches between 1914 and 1930, along the Costa Brava in Spain (Cataluna would say the purists).

 

 

Being born on the French side of Cataluna, I have a natural inclination to depict such a passenger car in its original version. These coaches were made of wood since MZA never used metal coaches as they were considered too hot for their southern lines. The coaches are equipped with open platforms with balconies at each end and two compartments: Second Class and Third Class. Originally these coaches had a steam heating system and gas lighting, which was later replaced by electric lighting. The model depicted by Occre may have been one of the four cars that were built by the New York  American Coach company, because of their very American (and non-European) clerestory type roof. That unique arrangement was used to concentrate hot air to the ceiling and to extract it, provide natural flow of air and as a receptacle for lighting.

The model is at the 1/32nd scale and although my preference goes to 1/48th, I have started accumulating a couple of 1/32nd train models.

 

Yves

[king derelict]

This is a great subject Yves. I’m looking forward to it.

Alan

[yvesvidal]

Following is a quick presentation of the kit, offered by Occre:

 

 

The box is rather heavy due to the large number of metal parts.

 

 

Instructions are beautiful with all pages printed in color over glossy paper. The text is in Spanish but that does not bother me, as I can understand it to a certain extent (reading is easy). There are translations offered in English, Italian, German and French in the box. I have also purchased some wheels/axles from KADEE to replace the toy like wheels provided with the kit.

 

 

 

KADEE couplers (American style) have also been purchased, as I plan to modify the model to make it compatible with both types of couplers. We will see about that in the future....

 

Yves

 

[gsdpic]

Very attractive prototype.  Interesting that it is a train car but there are a bunch of wood strips like you are planking a ship.  I'll follow along despite a general lack of knowledge or much interest in trains.

[yvesvidal]

45 minutes ago, gsdpic said:

Very attractive prototype.  Interesting that it is a train car but there are a bunch of wood strips like you are planking a ship.  I'll follow along despite a general lack of knowledge or much interest in trains.

Yes, you are correct: it is all about planking 🙂 I have already spent a tube of glue, just on the flooring and a little bit of wainscotting on the walls....

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

For the time being, I am just following the instructions and reviewing my Spanish language:

 

 

Building the main floor/platform of the car:

 

 

Stained with Natural and golden oak oils, then a couple of coats of Wipe on Poly, to seal the deal:

 

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

Next is the building of the lavatory. Access to it is done through the outside platform, located on the Second Class end:

 

 

 

All the "tiling" is done with a stick-on plastic film. They could have pushed the kit with using micro tiles, to glue one by one, but that solution is pretty easy and quick.

 

The lavatory room is glued to the main floor and some wainscotting is built along the sides:

 

 

Then, some kind of wall paper or fabric for the Second Class travelers, is glued on the walls:

 

 

It is all coming along nicely and the fitting of the parts, is very precise.

 

Yves

 

 

 

[yvesvidal]

Time to build the main separation, between the Second and Third class sections:

 

 

The fancy side with fabric is for the Second Class passengers, while the Third Class are having to look at wood planks.

 

 

The partition is then glued on the main floor: Third Class perspective....

 

 

and Second Class view:

 

 

As mentioned before, the fitting of the parts is exceptional and everything dovetails perfectly:

 

 

Yves

Edited August 7 by yvesvidal

[wefalck]

Many of the earlier Spanish railway coaches had a definitely American feel to them and they retained wooden panelling for the body much longer than in other parts of Europe, perhaps indeed because it insulated better against the heat than sheet metal.

 

Catalunya (for the time being) is still part of Spain, although the current Spanish president seems to have bought his second term in office by paving the way for them slipping slowly away. Talking about 'nationalist' tendencies in Spain: then one should also say 'Alicant' (in Valenciano) and not 'Alicante' (in Castellano).

[Canute]

I'll follow along, Yves. if this car came from NY State, it was probably American Car and Foundry. a conglomeration of 12 or so smaller car builders. Looks like a beautiful build.

[yvesvidal]

I am now building one of the sides, focusing on the interiors. The outside is done later on, according to the instructions. Overall, it is a lot of planking and is not that different from a boat... 🙂

 

 

 

The wood, after being glued, is treated with an oil made of beeswax and orange oil. I like it for the rich color that it gives to the wood and the slight fragrance.

 

 

Checking that everything dovetail nicely.....

 

 

 

The windows are just stained and I may have to improve a little bit, to harmonize the color.

 

 

The heaters are glued on the wall:

 

 

 

Next on the list, are the lavatory and all its details.

 

Yves

 

[yvesvidal]

We are now detailing one of the most important section (if not the most important...) of a passenger car: the lavatory!

 

 

The kit provides all the main parts:

• The toilet bowl
• The seat made of wood and polished round to welcome the user.
• The lid, also made of wood as it was common on these cars, in the early 20th century.
• The overhead tank for flushing
• The sink and faucet
• The mirror to re-adjust your hair and face after the event...
• The toilet paper dispenser.

I have added a piece of soap, the chain to flush, painted holes in the sink and bowl and the infamous brown paper that was used in those times. That paper (for those who never experienced it) was a thinner version of the brown wrapping paper, was not provided in self-cutting squares (you had to tear it with both hands)  and had an incredibly abrasive capability on that part of your anatomy. The drains, as everybody knows, were a direct fall to the ground located between the rails.

 

Overall, that little bathroom is well rendered and provides a nice antique touch to the model.

 

 

Note that seat and lid (at that time) were made of wood, as plastic was introduced much later.

 

 

Sink and bowl were never perfectly clean on a passenger car, even in Second Class....

 

 

 

Now, is the time to start gluing one of the sides.....

 

 

Yves

Edited August 9 by yvesvidal

[wefalck]

Quite spacious actually, so I wonder, why the toilet was set at angle?

[CDW]

Wow, great project, Yves. I love this subject at this scale. I’m in.

[yvesvidal]

Moving along with the gluing of one side wall:

 

 

 

 

It feels warmer to be in Second Class.....

 

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

I am now working on one of the ends, providing access to the Second Class area and to the lavatory:

 

 

 

The planking is composed of 1x4 mm strips, separated by 1 mm in between planks. Then the frame is glued to the main floor:

 

 

Oops... a protuberance under the wall paper.... I will have to find a nice drawing or a map to glue there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a change of pace, I am feeling compelled to start working on the Second Class compartment, at least on the side behind the lavatory. We will see.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

I just finished the assembly of three Second Class seats. Each seat is composed of 6 parts, wood and metal.

 

 

I have to say that for a little commuter snaking along the Costa Brava in 1920, this accommodation was rather nice:

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are enjoying the ride.

Yves

[king derelict]

Some of those photos look entirely real. Wonderful work Yves.

alan

[Jack12477]

Nice work ! And great photography!  Alan is right, they look like a real train car.

[yvesvidal]

Continuing with the side walls: 

 

 

As you can see, it is a lot of very precise and small planking....

 

 

Ready to be glued to the mainframe.

 

 

 

 

I placed some B/W pictures of the Costa Brava, on the walls. Old trains used to have these, as a distraction for the passengers.

 

 

 

The Third Class area: 

 

 

Yves

 

Edited August 14 by yvesvidal

[Canute]

Second Class compartment looks great. Third Class looks pretty dingy comparatively speaking.

[yvesvidal]

6 hours ago, Canute said:

Second Class compartment looks great. Third Class looks pretty dingy comparatively speaking.

Yeah, I am just going to spread some hay on the floor and have passengers just lay down on it 🙂

 

Yves

[bricklayer]

Is it the compartment for transportation of domestic animals? Then go and get some 1/32 chickens, pigs and sheep.

I don`t see any first class compartment. Do first class passengers find accomodation on the roof of the car?

Now let`s get serious. I like that topic in general and your build log in particular.

Did you know that the track gauge in Spain, Portugal, Russia and some other countries is wider than in Central Europe and North America?

You can take that into account if you want to build a true to scale miniature.

 

Michael

[yvesvidal]

14 hours ago, bricklayer said:

Did you know that the track gauge in Spain, Portugal, Russia and some other countries is wider than in Central Europe and North America?

You can take that into account if you want to build a true to scale miniature.

Yes, I am aware of this. Having been living not too far from the French/Spanish border, I know that passengers (and freight) had to be transferred from French/European cars to Spanish equipment. Everybody was disembarking in the station to re-embark on the other side. Same thing for freight.

Spain has been since then retrofitting all their railroad tracks and it has cost them a lot of money and efforts. The good thing is that they now have a network which is very nice and much better than the American railroad for instance, which with India, may be one of the worst in the world (due to Political decisions to murder the American railroad companies and to funnel all  the money into trucking and airline traffic).

 

I am not planning to replicate the odd Spanish gauge of that time, as I want this car to possibly run on a Gauge 1 layout. We will talk more of that aspect when the time to build the trucks, comes around.

 

Yves

[wefalck]

... just a few weeks ago I have been to Canfranc-Estación, one of the transshipment stations in the middle of the Pyrenees. The station building in the middle (which is no reopened after many years of disuse as a hotel again) and on one side the trains arrive from Madrid, while on the other side those for Paris leave (or vice versa). The station had two separate shunting yards and service yard for the engines for each gauge. A huge station in the middle of nowhere.

[yvesvidal]

Some progress on the end and side of the car:

 

 

 

The bulkhead is now glued to the rest of the car body:

 

 

I started working on one side:

 

 

Sides are done with small strips of 1 x 4 mm, separated by about 1 mm each. After gluing and light sanding, the sides are treated with the Oil that I am using for this project. It provides a nice shine and rich color that is very enjoyable.

 

 

 

Because of the large amount of small pieces of strip to cut, your best friend is "The Chopper":

 

 

I am not sure that model would be so enjoyable, without that tool.

 

Yves

 

[king derelict]

Great progress Yves. The gaps between the strips makes the build much harder but you have it very exact and neat.

Alan

[Old Collingwood]

I have just realized the  size of this  at  1:32nd    bet its  Huge.

 

OC.

[Canute]

Good looking build, Yves. Color and finish are well done.

 

In smaller scales, manufacturers use scribed sheet for the side panels. Achieving a tight joint where 2 sheets abut is a mark of good construction technique. Your fitting is spot on.

[yvesvidal]

I think it is time to move away from the instructions and work on the chassis of the car, before going any further.

 

I want this model to be able to roll on tracks, which is a little bit in contradiction to the Occre kit, that takes a very static approach. I may never get a chance to use that car outside, on G gauge tracks, but it is always re-assuring to know that it may be capable of doing that, if the opportunity shows up.

 

The original kit calls for some rather fragile trucks with a brass axle spinning on wood brackets. I have an issue with that approach, for multiple reasons.

 

 

Again, the Occre solution is perfect for a static model, but not for a potentially running car, on an outside track as are most Gauge 1 layouts. I am also not too enthused by the toy like wheels provided in the kit and decided to go with some Kadee Gauge 1 axles which are so much better and spin true.

 

 

For train enthusiasts, it is no need to present KADEE. Others should look at the incredible portfolio of couplers, wheels and cars they offer for trains in N-scale (1/160) all the way to Gauge 1 scale (1/32). They have become the absolute reference for trains enthusiasts.

 

 

The KADEE axles are made of stainless steel as seen on the picture above.

 

Using some parts of the original OCCRE trucks, I ended up drilling precisely in the truck flanges, provided in the kit.

 

 

Using some small washers, I am limiting the side motions and after trying that truck on a piece of track, I am quite happy with the smooth running qualities.

 

 

 

Once painted in black, they should be acceptable. OCCRE in my humble opinion, created a truck that is a little too large for that kind of cars. But we will have to do with it.

 

Yves