Below are some little projects to make interesting vehicles for your Chessie or 70-80's era layout.
| Easy | Kind of Easy | So-So | More Difficult | Advanced |
| 45 foot Trailers | ||||
| 40 foot Trailers | ||||
Vehicle Gallery:
Below are a few shots of two Trident work trucks in Chessie
markings. Chessie work trucks came in
two paint schemes. This is the more common yellow with black logo. They also came in a medium blue with yellow logo, as seen
below. I painted these UP
armor yellow, added custom decals,
detailed and weathered
them. Based on prototype photos the
stake bed had black grill, bumpers and
wheels. The other truck had silver in those same places. Each
has a typical load,
as well.
Below is a
shot of my yellow Chessie System
hi-rail truck. Details West
makes the metal kit for the front
and rear bumpers. I painted
them and added them to a Trident
Utility Truck. The second pic
is a blue Trident Utility
truck. This paint scheme was
more rare than the yellow on the
East End, but was seen on
occassion. The door decals are
from Steel Valley Models MofW decal
sheet. That sheet also
includes the ones for yellow and
white Chessie vehicles. Last
is a metal kit from Custom
Finishes. It is a hi-rail air
compressor that is usually towed
behind a speeder or other piece of
powered MofW equipment. I used
spare decals to make it into a
Chessie compressor.
Below is a shot of my collection of Trident vans, Trident Utility truck and Fresh Cherries Ford Escort decorated with custom decals for C&P Telphone Company. These are vehicles that were very common on the road in the early 1980's, but are not available on the market.
Below is a shot of a
common over the road semi-trailer from the early 80's.
This trailer would not travel on the railroad (note lack of
reporting marks to do so), it is therefore listed here in the
vehicles section. I believe it is an old Athearn
trailer. I painted the silver trim and weathered it
lightly. Don't forget to add this sort of common
non-railroad trailer on your highways. Modelers tend to
forget about other-than-railroad vehicles when the do train
layouts.
Below is a pic of a pulpwood loader I plan on
having at the Berkley Springs pulpwood yard. It is a GHQ
IT18F Log Loader metal kit and it weighs a ton. It sells
for about $20. Non-railroad industrial vehicles are a must
on any model train layout. In particular the vehicles used
at your on line industries add great detail.
Below is a pic of 5 semi trucks I have
finished. The two on the left are Athearn's new
trucks. They are very nice and have very 70's sort of
striped paint jobs. The other three are rather old models
and I don't know the manufacturer, but are 70's era
vehicles. I added license plate decals and weathered them
with a black wash and dull coat.
Below is a pic of 9 Trident vechicles I have completed.
Each has been weathered lightly and detailed with colored
lights, wipers, wheels, etc.
Below is a photo of some of my Fresh Cherries Motormax
cars. They offer cars in common 1970s and early 1980s
cars. The best part of their line of vehicles is they are
common cars. Nothing rare, everything is common.
These cars are perfect for establishing the feel of a early
1980s parking lot. In the front row is a blue AMC Gremlin,
a yellow AMC Pacer and a red Ford Maverick. The back row
is a white Honda Accord, a black Mercury Bobcat and a white Ford
Tempo. They also offer other models. Every model is
offered in several colors as well. The best part about
these metal cars is that they are cheap. They originally
sold at Wal-Mart for $3 a piece. I bought tons of
them. They are usually $8-10 a piece now. These have
to be the best value in buying vehicles for your HO scale
layout.
Below is a photo of three Atlas 1978 Ford Fairmonts. I
can't explain the popularity of this car. They are no
longer built, and on eBay, they go for ridiculous money. I
have seen one sell for over $75! I paid $9 each for
mine. They come in sedans and wagons. Each type
comes in five or six colors.
Below is another truck I bought for about $2 and
have yet to do anything with. What you need to remember
when buying vehicles is to buy ones in the right era. For
the Chessie Era (1972-1986) buy about 90% vehicles from the late
60's up to the mid 80's. Only buy about 10% vehicles from
the 50's. Basically there should be no Model Ts on a
modern layout. This is one of those trucks that is on the
fringe of the time period I model. It is a late 50's
truck. I will need to weather it to make it look
older. I have discovered that there are very few 70's
vehicles offered, so it may take some looking.
