Modeling Project: Second Cull Lemon Load In A Gondola

An article on prototype gondolas for transporting lemons was posted on the Railroad Citrus Industry Modeling Group in 2018:

https://tinyurl.com/3m7yr5p2

The article kindled my interest in building an HO scale gondola with a cull lemon load. I reported on this project last year:

https://tinyurl.com/bddpf3dx

I followed up that project with a second gondola from Red Caboose/Intermountain. Model photos of the HO scale gondola:

https://tinyurl.com/y4b42btj

http://www.owlmtmodels.com/lumber/OMM3004SP150143-D.jpg

Data, photos and a drawing of this car appeared in the February 1984 issue of Mainline Modeler on Page 54.

I followed the same steps as with the first model, which were to detail and weather the model. Unlike the first model (Accurail), this was an R-T-R model.

I prepared the gondola as usual: Cleaned the truck journals with a reamer, painted the truck frames and faces of the wheels, lubricated the journals with Teflon, sprayed the gondola body with Tamiya TS-80 Flat-Clear and weathered the car body and trucks with various PanPastel media.

The next step was to make a raised styrene base for the load. This base was primed, painted yellow and given a coat of Tamiya TS-80 Flat-Clear.

For lemons I used my original stock of JTT Scenery Products #92124 miniature fruit, which included a packet of lemons. JTT now is owned by Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC), who markets this product as JTT #0592124.

Be advised that these may be the only lemons available in HO scale. Woodland Scenics did not offer scale lemons and neither did Alpine Division Scale Models. Both of these companies no longer offer scale fruit of any kind. In fact, Alpine Division Scale Models no longer is in business.

For lemons your best source is E-Bay for the old JTT stock or MRC.

I coated the base with Pacer Technology's Formula 560 Canopy Glue and sprinkled on some lemons. Adhesion was good. When dry I gave the first layer another coat of Canopy Glue and added more lemons. I added a third coat just for insurance. This produced a good, built-up layer of lemons with no bare spots showing through to the base.

When this was dry, I shook off the excess. The load looked fine so it was placed in the car. Done.

The photo below is the finished model temporarily parked on a siding next to a scratch-built shallow relief model of the Corona Citrus Association Packing House, which still stands. This packing house would not have processed cull lemons so this car is awaiting transfer to the nearby Exchange Lemon Products Plant, which on my railroad probably never will be modeled.