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South Jersey S Scale Modelers

 

Conrail N5c 23018

 

 

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This is an Overland PRR N5c ”Cabin Car” imported in 1987. I have been off in a “modern modeling” mode for over 2 years. This sad N5c came to me with a very wrong PRR paint job – cheap and perfect for stripping.

 

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Having recently made a Conrail N8  - this N5c was another perfect small project for Conrail. Most former PRR Cabins were significantly modified by Conrail with welding covers over windows and removing roofwalks. Conrail really made them ugly.

 

 

 

 

In a very similar project to the Conrail N8 this was not going to be a long involved thing. Just a bit more than a new paint job – a good enough effort not meant to be the most accurate Conrail N5c model ever. Not all projects have to be huge and months long.  Still I am reasonably sure this is the only Conrail N5c in S Scale.

 

I might have gotten this completed sooner after a June 2024 purchase but of course I was working on other projects. But further I was waiting/hoping for Scalecoat to return after a March 2024 announcement it is reopening. As of 12-31-24 it is not open for business yet. I wound up trying a new to me paint MCW Finishes which is known for the plastic car kit hobby. It sprayed on very well but I was slightly disappointed in the durability. There was repeated touch up from handling as I did the decaling. There are not a lot of decals on this model.

 

S Scale Serendipity

I can be very obsessive spending hours trying to pick out a number for the latest project. This time it was extremely easy. Searching around on the internet train photo sites, I chose 23018 because it was still mostly original not modified much at all from PRR/Penn Central days including still having roofwalks. 5 seconds after choosing 23018 I searched “Conrail 23018” on eBay and got bought this awesome photo. If that was not enough 23018 was in the random numbers in the K4 Conrail caboose decals I bought for this - almost as if it was a custom decal set! This was a lucky project. 

 

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New Trucks & Steps

With the above photo I saw the trucks and steps were changed by Conrail. I found out that changing the steps was related to the trucks. The new trucks were Barber Bettendorf Swing Motion which had a longer wheelbase than the original PRR trucks. The new trucks may have hit the PRR steps so new steps were added. I might have made at least new steps but very low production brass casting is now not available to me because Shapeways closed in June 2024. So the PRR “bell bottom” steps remain. In August 2024 I got back into 3D printing. I had the idea of maybe 3D printing a new bolster with a partial leaf spring showing. But I settled on something faster and simpler. The first photo is a screen shot from Solidworks. I then 3D printed a partial leaf spring showing. I did some grinding on the bolster end to make it flat. The leaf spring had a SHORT piece of wire in it to glue and “pin” it on. Maybe a bit cheesy but again – it is good enough!

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Completed 12-29-24

Just a few minor things to point out. I used my first ever brass draft gear and cut lever. I also added the kick plate that seems to be the standard for Conrail cabooses. After the N8 weathering did not go as planned I skipped the weathering here.

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Conrail Through My Years

These are 4 brass cars I have painted. The N5c and N8 I painted in 2024. The other 2 as Conrail N-7 and N-20 I painted for my freind Don Thompson in the 1990s. I bought them from Don as he thinned his collection.

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Updated 12-31-24

All photos and content © Lanes Trains 2005-2025