MOW Shed

[ossie]

Not wanting to further sidetrack Bernard's work thread with comments and videos about beaten up old MOW sheds, I thought I'd start my own. Fred's question and my own fascination with rusty and decrepit machines and structures gave me a bit of a push. I've got this old container and I thought I'd have a go at replacing the door (if it is a door.... to my clueless eye it looks like it has hinges on both sides??) with something that looks like it might open rather than fall off and try adding a roller door and/or window. I'll stick it on a flatcar and for anyone that doesn't mind the "fictional" nature of it, you can either trundle it round or use it as a scenery item.

Before I get that far though, I'm just wondering if anyone knows what the other side of one of these typically looks like? Do they leave the other side as is or add a window or two etc? Duplicating the sides is easy if they actually put doors on both sides, but I'm guessing they don't. Any help/suggestions will be gratefully accepted!


Open Rails 2024-08-21 08-14-46.png

[ossie]

I've had a bit of a play around with it tonight. Do the doors like a bit too wide? Roof and ends are done so if anyone has any thoughts about what the other side might look like, it'll be pretty much done.



Open Rails 2024-08-21 09-54-00.png

[wwhall]

In the U.S., the entry door would likely by a 36" wide or maybe even a 42" wide door to accommodate wider items being carried or rolled in and out of that door. As for the service door, "standard" roll-up doors, like the one pictured in the model, are typically 8'-8.5' wide, though they are offered in many other "non-standard" widths. A container modified as this one is by a railroad would likely use fairly standard door widths, as the railroad would want "off the shelf" replacements readily available. Railroaders can be hard on equipment--as the saying goes, a railroader can wreck an anvil with a rubber mallet! Some oil and grease stains, with a patina of dust on the stains would be a good addition to the roll-up door, along with some dirty hand and glove prints around the handle on the bottom of the roll-up door. Oh, and while it might not be possible with the model, the doors are typically only on one side of these type MOW containers.

Thank you for tackling these. There is nowhere near enough MOW equipment for OR--tampers, ballast regulators, tie spikers, large hi-rail trucks, more hirail pickups, etc.

[ossie]

Thanks Wade! I pinched the doors from SBD 976075 (http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/sho...spx?id=5881016) on the assumption that what was right for a 40ft boxcar should be right for a 40ft container, but sometimes the more you stare, the worse it starts to look. I can certainly add a bit more grime to the door though! And MUCH appreciated for the info on the back. This is one of Andrey's containers so I can go with a "solid" wall for the reverse side. I couldn't agree more about the need for some more MOW equipment either. It would be great to be able to fill up a siding with MOW gear or put a bunch of flatcar loads together. I'll aim to have my little contribution finished up tomorrow night and uploaded in the next few days. Thanks again!

[yellowdog]

I have these.

NSmowcamp.jpg

I have no idea when I picked them up. They don't appear to be in the file library; readme says they come from Eastern Seaboard Locomotive Works, and can only be distributed by their (now apparently defunct) website of www.eslw.org. Creator names are all familiar: Keith Getter, Ted Curphey, Chris Denbow, and Cyndi Richards. Not sure if they're still available (didn't check wayback machine), but they reference the Fallen Flags website for photos of the prototype. That might be useful:

https://rr-fallenflags.org/ns/ns994971asb.jpg

[Timbit]

Hello,
Streamlines has a MOW set that might be helpful?
Tim
Screenshot 2024-08-21 092500.png

[yellowdog]

Oh, yeah. I forgot about those

[Timbit]

And they even come on a flat car you can paint and change the number and name?

[qballbandit]

Pete - AMAZING work, old friend!!!

[eric]

That's the type of clutter I'm always looking for....

In the 1960's-1980's it was repurposed baggage cars and the occasional sleeper that got used for MOW, but those eventually got too old to keep around on wheels. Of course the odd boxcar off wheels is still found in shop areas.

Having things like this for modern modeling? Perfect.

[ossie]

Thanks guys, if it can be of some use that's great! I'll get it finished up and uploaded asap.

[wwhall]

Years ago, railroads used former Pullman WWII "troop sleepers" (converted boxcars) for MOW bunk cars. They were double-deck bunk cars. A friend of mine worked on a railroad "steel gang" in the 1970's and spent many a (miserable) night in those out on the Utah desert on the D&RGW. They used evaporative coolers (swamp coolers) for cooling and always stunk of dirt and sweat. The MOW crews called the bunk cars "Roach Motels." He related that the guys sleeping in the upper bunks had their ears right at horn and exhaust level of locomotives passing by on the mainline next to the siding where the bunk cars would be parked. No one shed a tear when those bunk cars were scrapped and the railroads went to just giving MOW gangs per diems to stay in motels or in their own RVs. The flatcar "container" versions of those cars are likely only used now where crews are working far from road access to their worksites. There are quite a few places like that on the Canadian mainlines, so the TS offering of that type of car for the Canadian Pacific makes sense.

[ossie]

My night's work done, plus something to drag it around, very overpowered or not. I'll hopefully have them uploaded tomorrow night.

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[wwhall]

^They look great!

[qballbandit]

Thanks Pete! Is that shed also a separate object that can be placed on the ground along the ROW or in yards?

EDIT: Eric answered this for me in Bernard's thread. Latest version of TSRE rather eliminates the need for me to create a .ref file entry. I can just drop the shape/textures into the route folder for the shed, and create a placement along the route where I choose.