Phantom IIIphantom (n) 1. something
elusive or visionary. 2. a representation of something abstract, ideal
or incorporeal. (adj.) fictitious
The third in my Phantom series was suggested by an article
in an issue of Classic Toy Trains (Mar. 1993, p.91) The article
showed how an inexpensive gondola (made by the Other Guys) could be lengthened
by piecing two bodies together to for a more prototypical length car.
Our, however, are already close to the correct length, but a longer version
would be useful for longer loads.
I started with a crushed gondola body which had an intact center
section. A second junk body was cut in half and the center panel
of the body along with the air tank underneath was removed.
The crushed body’s three center sections were carefully grafted in (see
photo 2) along the top of the ribs to hide the seams. The car was
painted, assigned a plausible Gilbert number and fitted with repro trucks
and couplers. Since Gilbert gondolas measure almost exactly 42 scale
feet in length, they look pretty good, but the extension gives almost exactly
49 scale feet which looks even better and adds variety to a train.
Jerry Poniatowski <poniajXXX@mail.wcresa.k12.mi.us> (Remove XXX before use)
