Plate C Pennsylvania Railroad G32 family Gondolas

 

The "ghost" lines on the model from printing are only visible from certain lighting angles (barely at that) and should disappear under paint, lettering, and weathering

One of the highlights of the PRRT&HS annual meeting (for me) was seeing the new PRR G32 family of gons from Plate C. Adam from Plate C brought along a handful of each type to sell and I snapped up a G32 (the only one suitable for my late 1952 modeling era.) Adam also created 70-ton versions of the Scullin L-V trucks that some of these cars had. The kits are available from 3D Central

PRR G32 370600 with 70-ton Scullin L-V trucks, Collection of Tom Martorano

The kits are extremely simple, with a 3D printed body with almost all details integral to it, a bag with hand wheels and screws, another bag with wire and grabs, a separate floor print representing the welded floor of the prototype, plus a weight that nests between the floor and underframe members. The G32 and G32A had tiedown loops in different locations and the different kits for each accurately capture this as well as the trust plate data. There are also kits for the rebuilds that had corrugated sides.

My model from these pictures was given a quick shot of Tamiya red fine surface primer from an aerosol can to "fix" the print before adding the details. Like I always seem to do, I plan to make a few deviations from the kit. I am going to replace the ladder "treads" with etched ones and I also will replace the Ajax hand brake housing printed on the model with a Kadee Champion Peacock housing and wheel. For trucks, Adam may produce a 70-ton National C-1 that some of these cars had. For the time being, I am using a set of Tahoe 70-ton ASF A-3s as placeholders.

I will write up my full build, including prototype and model photos and submit it to The Keystone Modeler. Congrats to Adam on a fine replica.