Periodically I turn to a group of cars I have that were built by Jimi Trout, the artist and Disney illustrator. (There is a bio of Trout in my book, but some basic info here.) As I worked on a recent tank car upgrade project these three tank cars were very helpful to examine closer.

Two of the Trout models are Lionel, and one is Scale-Craft. This first one looks like it is the stock Lionel model, but it is considerably updated. He clearly felt there were some missing, key details. In this case, those details included an upgrade of the model to AB brakes and additional straps to hold down the tank. But before looking at the bottom, take a closer look at the “decals,” one side of this end does have decals, he repainted the familiar lettering on by hand! My guess is that his decals must have flaked off while handling the model doing the upgrades.

The brake details are very simple but visually effective. The parts are bigger than typical HO parts — if he made these or found some oversized HO parts I don’t know. I’ll also mention Trout added hand painted end lettering as well.

The next model is Scale-Craft. It is lettered with decals for SDRX, which is Sinclair, but without the big “SINCLAIR” on the car side typically seen on models. Compared to the stock version of this car, the extra straps (near the dome) are a great upgrade. It is also not very visible, but he used a different type of handrail post than was supplied by Scale-Craft.

The bottom is again a simple arrangement, but a big upgrade over the stock (and fanciful looking) Scale-Craft K type cylinder.

The Union Pacific tank car is the best of the group. It is Lionel again, but he used fresh HO decals and updated several things significantly. First, notice that instead of adding straps he added cables that are the tie downs. There are hazardous materials placards too, but check out the bottom.

This time he not only added (slightly different) brake details, but also added the rods and air pipes. This is the overall arrangement I followed in my models seen in part II, using 3D printed parts, but simplified with no rods and air pipes. More on those when the series continues.

Continue to Part II