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The N8 Class Cabin Cars were built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1950 and 1951. There were a total of 199 built. Road Numbers assigned to these Cabins were 478020-478219. These were the last of the Cabin Cars built by the Pennsy. Many lasted long enough to see service under Penn Central and then on into the Conrail era. The late 1980's saw the end of regular mainline service for the N8 as well as all of the remaining ex-PRR Cabins, the N5c and N5b Classes.
The N8 is a favorite among many Pennsy Railfans and Modelers. So I decide to try to model each of the 4 major classes of Cabin Cars found on the PRR Roster, the N5b, N6b, N5c and the N8. To date, the N5b and N6b are complete. Photos can be seen below. I chose to build these not in HO or O scale, but in G Scale, (1:29). The Class N8 was chosen next to be duplicated in "large" miniature. Here is a photo of a restored PRR N8 Cabin Car. PRR Class N8 Cabin Car (I am hoping that my model will capture this same appearance)
I had the basic drawings of the N8 so I was off to a good start. I also had several Brass Models o hand of this car in different scales. This was a help as it was a guide in construction. I first transfered the dimensions of the car onto paper. I then relayed the line drawings onto Sheet Styrene. In construction of this car, 95% of the material used is styrene. Once the major pieces were cut to size I then marked the spots for all the rivits. There are alot so this took time. It took even longer drilling for them and installing the Rivits (tiny brass brads and a short length of the shaft) into these holes. After these sub assemblies were completed they were glued together to form the basic body of the N8. The first photo below shows one of the first steps in the construction.
The part of the N8 that I was afraid to try to duplicate, and to do it properly, was the Streamlined Cupola. Getting sheet styrene to look something more than just a flat piece of sheet styrene isn't easy. After several attempts I was satified with the outcome. Next came the Roof, Floor, Underneath Details, End Railings, Ladders etc. Again, this is mostly scratch built but some parts needed to be purchased. Most purchased parts (Trucks, Air Tank, Triple Release Valve, Brake parts, Air Hoses) were from Aristo Craft. Also purchased was the #1 Scale Kadee Couplers. That concluded the basic construction of the N8.
I then concentrated on specific details found on many steel PRR Cabin Cars, the unique Induction Train Phone communicating system. These are easily spotted on the roof (the Masts, the Piping and Recieving Discs. The pipe is Brass Rod and the masts and discs are Cast Resin parts I had made. Late in the project I needed to add the Battery Box located on the underbody. This would have held the wet cell batteries for powering the radio equipment.
Once the car construction was completed I had to decide on a paint scheme this would wear. I decided on the "as delivered" version with the Cirle Keystone logo. To me it just looks good on this particular cabin.
So that is about it with this N8 project. The floor is removable if I ever decide to construct the interior. Next up though is my next cabin car project, the N5c. Enjoy the pics below. Photos of the finished N8 will appear when the project is completed..(click on the thumbnails)
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