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June 2023-Slots
Carnivale on the Green: A Railcar Based Traveling Carnival Railcar# 123
SLOTS
Many of the traveling carnivals in the early 30’s would quietly or openly offer illegal gambling. The advance man came to town to secure permits, a location to set up and do advertising, and would also approach the local Constable to arrange security for the carnival and to offer a ‘donation’ of a cash filled envelope for his favorite charity to overlook some particular attractions.
The slot machines are shaped pieces of wood wrapped with printed slot machine images. Handles are brass rods with a proper size bead. The people are my castings. Do you see any missing mice?
BASIC RAILCAR CONSTRUCTION PARTS
I partially described the railcar construction parts in the May article but did not complete it and include a photo. Here is the complete description:
The car deck is made of ¼” MDF board. On an open car, it is either covered with strip wood or laser engraved 1/16” basswood plywood with a facing added to the deck edges. Due to the large number of cars being made, I decided to make my own truck assemblies to save on cost. They include mold cast wheels and spring assemblies in resin, laser cut coupling arms and hooks in acrylic and their center supports fashioned in wood. Axles are cut from 10D 3” common nails. After being assembled, they are mounted with screws to the deck, which will allow for possible future removal for replacement or repair.
The second photo shows the materials and molds for the truck assembly parts. I use Micro-Mark resins and mold rubber but other brands are also available such as from Sacramento’s local Tap Plastics store.
Note: Since being guided into 3D printing by Dick Friedman, I have found some print files on line that will make various types of truck assemblies. Printing them would easier, quicker and make a more accurate assembly, but it would also require a complete remake and retrofit to all my rolling stock along with adjustments to the engine couplings. So I’ll pass on that project for now and stay with my current production method.
