Manitoulin turkeys were a prized specialty and will always be on my layout. These cars may be a stretch for my Little Current model railway timeline but they are fun to have around. I got a little sidetracked over Christmas while waiting for scenery to dry and testing a few techniques out, I decided to work on these Bachmann cars with some decals, a few quick modifications and a bit of weathering. Photo is obviously not Little Current but its a competed scenery that works for photos. Since the layout is visible on only one side, these cars are loaded on one side and empty on the other – just turn them around and they are loaded with turkeys!
I’m a big believer in stand ins during construction and while these lack detail the let me enjoy some turkey cars and worry about dialing in the realism when I get further along. The stand ins also let me learn more about the building or car or locomotive. There are some really fine models out there for this type of car, I may buy or rework an old ambroid kit or opt to scratch build after the layout is more complete but there is lots to do elsewhere on the layout right now.