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I wrote the following well before John's passing in Aug 2020. John was a dear friend: John is back in his native Missouri after a career in the US Navy. We're both fans of San Diego -- with fond memories of the Kansas City Barbeque in the middle of downtown (before it, in turn, got barbequed by a kitchen fire), but I digress. He's a Mizzou fan and I'm a Jayhawker. I let him email me anyway. More to the point, John is a big fan of the AFT and runs the American Freedom Train Facebook Group that has become the online crossroads for anyone interested in the 1976 AFT or the 1947 Freedom Train. Check it out.
-- Todd Schannuth
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John's model on a test run. This is how it started... |
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Soaking
some Lionel cars to remove the old paint.
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Stripping
paint.
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Paint
masks.
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Car ends painted black. |
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Roof
goes silver.
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Future
PNWC76 and Display Cars 101 & 102
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Display cars 101 & 102 get decals. |
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Another
view.
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American
Freedom Train Car 101 with decals, new window graphics and new trucks/couplers.
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AFT Display Car 102. |
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AFT Display Cars 101 & 102. |
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Car
end of the refurbished 102.
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AFT Display Car 102. |
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Car
end of the refurbished 101.
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The assembly line ramps-up. |
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Paint
hood/platform.
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Ready
for decals.
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Batch
of six.
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Decals
applied.
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More
decals.
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The
AFT factory.
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Painting
wagons. The models are based on standard 20' intermodal containers.
The real wagons were not intermodal containers, but had nearly the
same dimensions -- and smooth sides.
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Mass
production.
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Works
in progress.
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The
test track.
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Just
another day at the office.
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Decaling.
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Progress
check.
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