The Reading Tug Schuylkill By: Barry Hensel

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August Blake
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The Reading Tug Schuylkill By: Barry Hensel My Reading Lines Central Division layout has needed a tug boat for the Port Richmond coal dock scene for some

I am not trying to model a Reading Tug precisely, but make this model enough of a Reading Tug to be recognized as a Reading Tug.

1 The Reading Tug Schuylkill By: Barry Hensel My Reading Lines Central Division layout has needed a tug boat for the Port Richmond coal dock scene for some time. I finally found a Walthers Tug kit for a reasonable price at a local train show. And that has started this journey and clinic. I am not trying to model a Reading Tug precisely, but make this model enough of a Reading Tug to be recognized as a Reading Tug. Here is the kit which is the starting point. The Reading Railroad had a tug fleet of 6 tugs in two different classes. This kit closely matches the first class, of which the Schuylkill is also a class 1 Reading Tug.

2 Some specifications of the Schuylkill, a class 1 Reading Tug.

Class 2 bottom photo has an extended pilot house with stairs on both sides to a side door.

5 Here are two pictures of the different classes Note the differences in the upper deck and pilot house areas. Class 1 top photo is very much like the model with a pilot house in the front only. Class 2 bottom photo has an extended pilot house with stairs on both sides to a side door. I m also taking a bit of modelers/layout owner license, as the Schuylkill tug did not operate in the Port Richmond area, but it will be stationed there on my layout. Now that some basic research has been done (Thanks to the members of the Reading Modeler web-forum!) we can get started with the build.

The right side of the hull gets glued to the bottom after some supports are glued

6 Here s some of the basic kit components these are the hull parts, which is built first. The right side of the hull gets glued to the bottom after some supports are glued in. The bottom edge between the hull and bottom does not have tabs so be careful when aligning these parts. I used some ACC to hold them together more quickly.

7 One would think you glue the left hull to this assembly NO!! the deck must now be glued to the right side and bottom. This is because the hull sides are wrapped over the decking and you would never get the deck installed if the hull was glued together. BE VERY careful lining up the deck with the hull side!! (don t ask me how I know ) The deck is curved so some weights were added to help hold it down while the glue dried. My mistake was not being careful when aligning the desk and it was too far forward See how I did not get the front lined-up properly!

One possible solution would have been to trim the deck to a new point to match the right side hull

But I figured that tug boats would not need a sharp hull point, plus when you add the fender (the

I proceeded to fill the gap with some strip styrene and putty - Gluing the left side hull on I again

Now when you try to glue the left side hull on, you end up with a gap at the front - Again, it doesn

8 One possible solution would have been to trim the deck to a new point to match the right side hull piece. But I figured that tug boats would not need a sharp hull point, plus when you add the fender (the large mass at the front of a tug that it uses to push with) it would help hide my mistake. I proceeded to fill the gap with some strip styrene and putty - Gluing the left side hull on I again used ACC to tack it in place, as you have to line it up and there are no good tabs to do that. Now when you try to glue the left side hull on, you end up with a gap at the front - Again, it doesn t look too bad and most will be covered anyway. It was my mistake, just didn't take the extra minute to be sure it was lined-up correctly. It looks OK at the rear, but you have to double check the front... as I found out!

I then turned to the lower cabin construction. I decided to deviate from the instructions and build the lower cabin onto the upper deck instead of gluing everything to the lower deck.

9 I then turned to the lower cabin construction. I decided to deviate from the instructions and build the lower cabin onto the upper deck instead of gluing everything to the lower deck. I believe this will help with painting later on. Looking at many pictures I noticed that the lower cabin is not rounded like the kit, but more square. I cut some off of the upper deck and squared the corners with a file to get a good straight cut I measured from a feature, drew a line and cut with an xacto knife.

10 Next, also realized through photos, the Reading Tugs did not have the inside stairways to the upper deck as on the model. Thus the holes in the deck were filled and the stairs not installed, but I did install the walls. To help in a bit less trimming, I installed the two side walls on the opposite sides, so the stairway support would be on the inside. Thus the wall showing through the open doors will be flat.

I took the wall and blasted it with a hair dryer on HOT and pushed down on the wall piece to try to flatten it.

11 Back to the cabin sides, glued them in place and again, used weights to hold them together because the walls are curved to match the main deck. Had to modify the front wall remember, the kit is quite curved and we ve flattened the deck contour to be more straight. I took the wall and blasted it with a hair dryer on HOT and pushed down on the wall piece to try to flatten it. This worked fairly well and the wall was flatter but still had a bit of curve. Next, since we flattened the wall it grew in length, so it had to be trimmed to match the side wall opening. I trimmed about 1/8 or so, trial and error is best here. Below you can see the wall glued on and the pieces I trimmed off. You can also see the squared off deck here too.

stock walls, so we trim them short so the modified wall fits.

12 With the lower cabin basics completed, we return to the main deck and modify the ribbing, which was curved to match the stock walls, so we trim them short so the modified wall fits. Then also on the upper deck, trim off some of the stack ribbing.

13 Using plain styrene I fashioned the upper deck extension. I drilled holes for the port-holes, but did not do the best job I could... It will due.

14 Adding a piece of stairway to the front and placing the pieces together to get a preview of the tug! I had also built the stack and used a roof vent from my scrap box to make the stack top vent. I filed it to shape as best as possible looking at photos for guidance. Because of the paint scheme, I have not glued many of these pieces together yet.

15 Here s my attempt to do the hand rails, per kit instructions. They are supposed to simply bend in place right!! I also tried a hair dryer and melted a few spots. Not happy, I stripped these off of the model and sought out some Central Valley railings.

Using a pot of hot water, it was easy to bend the railings

Then I bent one railing piece for the entire back.

16 Using a pot of hot water, it was easy to bend the railings to near perfect size! In the upper right photo is one railing that has been bent, the other waiting to be bent. Then I bent one railing piece for the entire back. This left a gap on each side which was filled with extra railing pieces. Here s the railings completed. And I added the stairway railings.

The BIG questions is... Do I modify the railings to be like the prototype? The Central Valley railings are in thirds, as opposed to the real railings that are in half s.

17 The BIG questions is... Do I modify the railings to be like the prototype? The Central Valley railings are in thirds, as opposed to the real railings that are in half s. So do I cut out the middle railings? The overall height of the railings is correct, as seen in the pictures. Not sure at this time which way I ll go cut or leave as is...

18 Starting on the pilot house. The rear wall needs modifications. Again referring to pictures, there are four windows, not the two that are in the model. I cut out the wall window space and glued strips in place to create the four windows. Then I glued the walls to the roof.

The mast on the rear of the upper deck is different than the kit. A base was made from styrene. The mast will be glued to the new base support and then to the upper deck.

19 The mast on the rear of the upper deck is different than the kit. A base was made from styrene. The mast will be glued to the new base support and then to the upper deck. Added more details to the roof of the pilot house per the kit instructions and referring to photos. I trimmed back the widow awnings to match the photos. Railings will be added soon.

20 Here s the pilot house with the railing attached. Noting in the ref pictures that the railing has only one cross bar. Thus I cut off the top and bottom bars to get the result on the right. Noticing that the tall pilot house is see-through! Time to build a floor and some interior details.

The cut-out in the corner will be for a ladder access. Primed the whole thing and then did a little detail painting. BTW the Capt.

21 Here s the pilot house interior... based on the floor plan shown on slide 4. A control stand with wheel, Capt. seat, benches or cabinets and a desk. I also added a dresser that I m calling a cabinet of some sort. The cut-out in the corner will be for a ladder access. Primed the whole thing and then did a little detail painting. BTW the Capt. seat is a seat from a coach interior, just cut apart. Yes... The wheel is a brake wheel...! The notch on the rounded part is to clear a protrusion on the pilot house inside. Here s the interior, all painted and with the Capt. at the helm.

22 Most everything is now built... Time for primer!! Did the application from a standard spray can, outdoors and let dry for a few days.

23 After a week of letting the primer dry (and no time to get back to this) I finally got everything painted! I had a couple of bottles of PolyScale Reading Green perfect! Here s everything done and drying.

I was temped to use the lit boat, but decided to stay true to the real thing.

24 For the life boat, I noticed that the Schuylkill did not have the standard boat like in the kit. Instead, it had a more oval life raft, located on the rear upper deck. I was temped to use the lit boat, but decided to stay true to the real thing. Taking some styrene strips, glued together and then shaped it on a bench grinder. Used alum foil to make the cover and pained it all white and mounted it on a few strips.

Had another opps moment as I was painting the white stripe on the hull, there was

25 While not the best putty job, it did the trick and now the rear of the hull is flat. Some side details, like tires and rope, will help hide the roughness. Had another opps moment as I was painting the white stripe on the hull, there was a bump molded in, while the Reading Tugs were flat. Thus I puttied the rear to smooth it out.

Started to install the top railing to the main hull,

I took a 7/64 drill and cleaned out the holes in the

26 Started to install the top railing to the main hull, which is held on my several pilings posts. But, noticed they were too tight to fit and not positive if it was the paint. I took a 7/64 drill and cleaned out the holes in the hull and the railing. Now everything fit much better. I glued from the front and moved toward the rear.

27 OH.. Another OOPS! The rear of the top rail is short! This could be due to that error I had at the start. No matter, need to fix it. I cut the railing and glued it on, then filled the gaps with styrene. When painted, almost invisible.

Here we can see the main cabin, pilot house and top deck painted, with windows and the pilot house

28 Detail painting didn t take as long as I expected and went well. I was able to achieve the red trim on all the windows, using a micro-brush! Here we can see the main cabin, pilot house and top deck painted, with windows and the pilot house interior. In the portholes, I used the kit s window parts as they fit into the holes and appear flush. For the pilot house, I cut sheet acetate and it curved right into place.

On the upper deck, main cabin and pilot house, I applied gloss coat, as I

29 I decided (with some advice from others) that the main deck would have been a marine gray color, so after two coats of paint, it s time for some dull coat. On the upper deck, main cabin and pilot house, I applied gloss coat, as I expect that these tugs were maintained very well and would be a bit shinier, longer.

The text is Bookman Old Style in bold in a dark green and a gold. Text size 12 pt.

The name for the end of the hull was done in word-art to a curve with the same format/color as the

30 SCHUYLKILL Here are the decals I made for the lettering and stack logo. These were printed on standard paper and glued on with Elmers. The text is Bookman Old Style in bold in a dark green and a gold. Text size 12 pt. The gold goes on the pilot house sides, the green on the hull sides. The name for the end of the hull was done in word-art to a curve with the same format/color as the gold lettering. Text size is 14 pt and I added a space between each letter. The Reading logo was taken from the internet and simply sized to be approx. 1 across. I tried some locomotive decals, but they were too old and broke apart.

31 After installing a fire line on the starboard side (right) I glued the pilot house and top deck to the main cabin, finishing half of the tug. Also added the rigging and flag!

32 Time to detail the hull tires on the side, some extra rope, crates, barrels and crew on deck. Also the large fender, the large mass on the front of the tug for pushing other ships. More on that in a second...

I coated that with Elmers glue to bind it together. After it had dried for awhile, I strung the length through the crocheted pieces, forming the basic mass.

33 Here is the fender! Made of craft twine/string, my wife crocheted several strings of the twine. I cut them in sections approx. 4 inches in length and then folded them. I took a long length of string and folded it several times to a total length of 4. I coated that with Elmers glue to bind it together. After it had dried for awhile, I strung the length through the crocheted pieces, forming the basic mass. I did a second string as well. I then coated the entire mass with Elmers glue and water, to bind it all together. After it had dried for awhile, I mounted it on the hull. Notice it hides that first mistake I made in construction!

34 OK... We re done!! Here s some pictures of the finished tug SCHUYLKILL!

36 Here s a couple of views of the Reading tug Schuylkill in action on the Reading Lines Central Division

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