Details-Round House Products 3 in 1 Kits

Some time ago I made several posts on Roundhouse 3-in 1 kits. These kits include components  and bits and pieces from the Model Rectifier’s line of products. These kits include detailed instructions and tips on how to use these kits for kit-bashing. Although these kits include a variety of components  you will need to add other materials  to complete these projects.

Kit Number & Name	Description
1500 Channel Frame Log/ Lumber Car Set	The kit features three complete 26’ metal log car kits. Includes couplers, trucks, and some detail parts.
1501 Wood Chip Car Kit Set	Includes three molded bodies, trucks, and couplers, plus detail parts. Instructions explain how to kit-bash the three ore cars into wood chip cars.
1502 Shorty Flat Car Project Kit	Features three 30’ metal style flat cars with gondola sides, trucks, coupler, roof, tender body. Kit-bash instructions on how to build three logging camp cars,
1503 Maintenance Of Way Workers Kit	Include materials to build three different MOW cars: Supply car, Bunk car, and Repair car
1504 Yard Office / Wayside Station	Features two complete 36’ wood style box car kits, and molded single story brick fright station
1505 Section Gang House/ Gandy Dancers Quarters	Kit includes one Overton coach body; 36’ refer car kit, and a single-story stone building.
1506 Telegraph Office and Service Facility	Kit features a26’ tank car, a Shorty flat car, and a molded single story brick telegraph office
1507 Maintenance of Way Fire Fighting Train	Kit includes materials for the construction of three different MOW cars: Water Tank car, Chemical Tank car, and Tower car
1508 Ore Jimmy Car Set	Materials for three complete cars, including trucks, couplers, and some detail parts.
1509 “Battle Mountain” Log and Mine Timber Car Set	Kit features three complete 36’ metal log cars, and a single-story Assay Building
1510 “Battle Mt.” Climax mine Locomotive-dummy kit	The kit features a molded body. Complete detailing parts. HO and HOn3 trucks, and 30’ flat car
1511 Restaurant / Passenger Station	The kit includes a molded single story brick station, one metal style box car and one modern style caboose kit.
1512 Cable Car Powerhouse & Passenger Car Kit	This includes two molded bodies, detailing parts, HO trucks, detailing parts and a single story building kit.
1513 Cable Car Shop and Car Barn	Kit features molded two-story brick building
1514 “Battle Mountain” Old time saloon and office kit.	Kit includes a molded two-story stone building
1515 Rotary Snowplow & Tender Project Kit	Kit features 34” side door caboose, a rotary front, molded tender, under-frames, and trucks
1516 Jordan Spreader/Snow Crab & Tool Car Kit	Includes one side door caboose, two metal under frames, couplers, and some detailing parts
1517 Snow Dozer, Flanger & Snowplow Kit	Kit features a 34’ side door caboose, flat car body and detail parts, a channel frame, and three sets of trucks
1518 “Battle Mountain” Non-Powered Galloping Goose	Includes a dummy diesel body, 34’ box car body and detail parts
1519 Unpowered Snowplow	Features Vanderbilt tender body and die-cast underframe, modern caboose cupola, tank car body, sheet plastic, trucks, and other components
1521 Moms Family Diner	Painted and printed diner body and roof. Platform, railing, walkway, porch, roof, ad stair materials.
1524 Storage Shed	Includes a decorated body. Roof, platform material, tank, ladders, rails, and stair material
1550 “Moose Jaws” Non-Powered 0-8-0T Logging Engine Kit	Dummy Steam Saddle Tank Body, with details. One metal underframe, drivers and lead truck

MDC Kit#1512, A Kit-basher’s Dream

This kit comes with a wealth of parts which includes a HO gauge 34’ Overton Coach and brick wall sections for a Power House. Like all of MDC’s 3-in1 kits, detail parts, scratch building supplies and parts from your scrap bin are required.

Like the other kits in this series, there are instructions for the basic assembly, inspirational images, and ideas for kit-bashing a cable car out of the 34’ Overton kit.

Round House 3 in 1 Kit #1502

Basic Assemble

The #1502 kit offers a wealth of kit-bashing parts and ideas. The basic premise here is kit-bash the three ‘old time’ 26’ flat cars into a lumber companies work cars. Supplied are three flat cars with gondola sides, and a locomotive tender body. The kit will need a caboose or another type or car body. The body will be cut down to a third. Its roof prepared to accept a smoke pipe. Using readily available detail parts for boiler and engine one could create a vertical steam donkey.

Alternative Assemble and Ideas

MDC 3 in 1 Kits

What I always liked about Model Die Casting’s 3 in 1 kits were the abundance of parts and their “Idea Starter” plans that accompanied these kits. You will note the typical plans on one side of the sheet and alternate/”starter” plans on the back of the sheet. As you can see here the starter plans call for some kit bashing. The resulting structure has a lot more character than the typical building.

I would use the door and window castings that came with the kit for most of these openings, but would “board”-up one or two of the windows for a unique look. I will also use corrugated material on the roof of the utility room instead of the material supplied for roofing.

Round House Victoria Square Themed 3 in 1 Kits

When Round House Products was producing their line of 3 in 1 kits they produced several “themed” kits, one of which was named Victoria Square. The Victoria Square theme included three of their 3 in 1 kits, kits #1511, 1512, and 1513.

Victoria Square was supposed to represent a “mythical place in American history”. These kits were appropriate on layouts depicting America from 1900 on-wards.

Kit #1511 Restaurant and Station

Kit #1511 contained two car kits, a modern steel 40’ boxcar, and steal sheathed, 2-window caboose. The kit also included polystyrene roof, brick wall sections, and windows and door castings for the restaurant.

Kit #1512 Cable Car and Power House

Kit #1512 utilizes a 34’ Overton Passenger car and polystyrene roof, brick wall sections, and windows and door castings. I do have an instruction sheet for this kit which I will be summarizing in an upcoming post.

Kit #1513 Cable Car Barn and Repair Shop

Kit #1513 includes polystyrene roof, wall, and window and door castings. This kit as the others also included detailed instructions on how to best make use of the supplied parts.

Old Round House 3 in 1 Kits

These old Round House 3 in 1 kits were a great resource to the HO model railroader. When these kits were available I purchased several of these kits. The kits included parts from several of Round House kits, extra parts, and an instruction sheet on how to build the basic kit. Also within the notes were ideas on how to take the supplied parts and kit-bash them into something out of the ordinary. Ordinarily, scratch building supplies, like styrene or wood sheet were required. In addition, the kit required the purchase of parts from other manufacturers.

1500 Channel Frame Log/Lumber Car Set
1501 Wood Chip Car Kit Set
1502 Shorty Flat Car Project Kit
1503 Maintenance of Way Workers Kit
1504 Yard Office/ Wayside Station
1505 Section Gang House/Gandy Dancers' Quarters
1506 Telegraph Office/Service Facility
1507 Maintenance of Way Fire Fighting Train
1508 Ore Jimmy Car Set
1509 "Battle Mountain" Log & Mine Timber Car Set
1510 "Battle Mountain" Climax mine locomotive dummy kit
1511 Restaurant/Passenger Station
1512 Cable Car Power House & Passenger Car Kit
1513 Cable Car Shop & Car Barn
1514 "Battle Mountain" Old Time Saloon and Office kit
1515 Rotary Snow Plow & Tender Project kit
1516 Jordan Spreader/Snow Crab & Tool Car
1517 Snow Dozer, Flanger & Snow Plow kit
1518 "Battle Mountain" Galloping Goose dummy
1519 Snow Plow dummy
1521 Mom's Family Diner
1524 Storage Shed
1550 "Moose Jaws" 0-8-0T Logging Engine kit dummy
It is a shame that when I started to collect these kits they were already out of production and many of the kits could no longer not be found.