Southern Railway Postwar AAR Box Cars - an extremely interesting quirk

 

As an expansion from my previous post, the Southern purchased 1,000 Postwar design AAR box cars from Pullman-Standard between 1946-1947, Lot 5855. The most visible details were 8-foot door openings, not unheard of at the time, but not all that common, either, and their Superior 7-panel doors or Improved Youngstown doors with 6-6-5 arrangement (top to bottom.) Other details included prominent push pole pockets and specialties as noted in the table below.

Series Start	Series End	Side sheathing	Subsidiary	Hand Brake	Running Board	Doors
330000	330499	Irregular	NO&NE	Miner	Morton Open Grip	Youngstown
23000	23241	Regular	Southern	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Youngstown
23242	23268	Regular	Southern	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Superior
23269	23299	Regular	Southern	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Youngstown
23300	23472	Regular	Southern	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Superior
23473	23486	Regular	Southern	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Youngstown
262000	262049	Regular	CNO&TP	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Youngstown
307025	307027	Regular	AGS	Universal	Morton Open Grip	Youngstown

One interesting quirk that I noticed in photos years ago, but hadn't researched thoroughly was that 500 cars had a highly unusual, if not unique arrangement of side structural posts (zee bars where the side sheathing panels overlapped and were riveted.) On 500 cars, the structural posts were marginally closer together (3'0-1/2" vs. 3'1-7/8" on a standard arrangement) and an additional structural member was added extremely close to the adjacent end, necessitating an additional row of rivets close to the ends and corner posts. I have not seen this feature on any other cars and have no documentation as to why it was done. The only reason for this arrangement that makes sense to me is that four of the panels on either side of the door were generated from tooling for a car with a 7-foot door opening (the edges closest to the car ends were crimped to overlap the next panel) and then the last panel on each side, adjacent to the ends, which did not have a crimp (it was just sheet/plate steel) was made wide enough to span the leftover distance. A plausible (yet thoroughly speculative) reason is availability of such side sheathing panels when the first cars were built beginning in 1946; maybe panels for 7-foot door opening cars were already being cut and pressed for the Nickel Plate order, but presses for 8-foot door opening sides were not tooled yet. This rationale is a weak explanation for the presence of the zee bar structural member 6-7/8" from the corner post. Nonetheless, it results in an extremely cool feature if you're a freight car geek, like I am. Click on the photo to see a larger view

This photo of Southern 23000 illustrates another interesting detail that I have only found on this car. It was equipped with roping staples at each bolster. I am unsure if there were other cars wit hthese, but it is noteworthy. I could find no reference to it in the Southern book*.

There is (was) an incredible reference for Southern box cars, Southern Railway Equipment Drawings and Photographs, Volume 1, Book 1, 40' Steel Box Cars, George Eichelberger, Southern Railway Historical Association, 2004

Good times, great oldies... Forty-foot Postwar AAR Box Cars

 

This Georgia car is a decorated Branchline kit, save for a Southwest Scale Improved Youngstown doors with 6-6-5 (top to bottom) arrangement of corrugations and matching paint on the door and Ksto ASF A-3 trucks

Way back in the early times of Speedwitch over 20 years ago, I had offered several sets of parts to replicate the various details and nuances of forty-foot Postwar AAR box cars, using the fine Branchline kits as fodder. They were a fun way to model the distinctive details of these cars. Anyway, I stumbled across a tote of parts in the barn yesterday and it had various bits for the Santa Fe's Bx-44 cars, with their distinctive interim Improved Youngstown doors. That also got me thinking about the cars in general. What a fun ride they were. Here are some pics of those cars with notes about some of the details.

The Santa Fe's 500 Bx-44 box cars were distinct for their interim Improved Youngstown doors, with wide panel overlaps. The cars also had Pullman-Standard "notched" tabs below the side sill and a flattened area on the end corrugation where the hand brake housing was mounted.

The Wabash continued their use of full-length side sill support sections that spanned the bolsters, as also added to earlier Modified 1937 AAR box cars. They also used pressure head cylinders with integral lever brackets, Superior seven panel doors, and Wine style ladders, among other specialties.

The Southern and subsidiaries purchased postwar AAR box cars with eight-foot door openings with either Superior seven-panel doors (shown) or Improved Youngstown doors with the 6-6-5 corrugation arrangement as well as Pullman-Standard "notched" tabs below the side sill. PS - the washout on the Southern medallion is what happens when you accidentally use solvent cement as a decal softener!

The Pittsburgh & West Virginia cars had Improved Dreadnaught ends with an "abbreviated" (shortened) top main rib and prewar-style Youngstown doors plus Wine-style ladders. The repainted version above was modeled by the late Paul Lyons and the model below shows an as-built car

The Erie purchased 1,200 cars that also had an abbreviated top rib on the ends and prewar-style Youngstown doors, plus Universal Rotary Type brake adjusters and a variety of hand brakes, trucks and running boards

The Louisville & Nashville has distinctive cars with three door styles (prewar Youngstown, 6-6-5 Improved Youngstown and seven-panel Superior) and ends without any lower corner additions below the end sills

These were a lot of fun to create and are highly illustrative of how different "standard" cars can be

J'accuse!

Okay... this post is nothing so serious as the original "J'accuse!" when Émile Zola penned a letter about the French government's role in/handling of the Alfred Dreyfus affair (google if you're curious.) At any rate, my accusation is towards Model Railroader ("MR") and is not nearly so weighty, but it's been gnawing at me for awhile so I thought I would get it off my chest. Like many of you out there, I came of age in the era when Model Railroader was the publication in the hobby. However, by the late 80s and into the 90s, Railroad Model Craftsman was publishing some excellent modeling content,* Mainline Modeler was well on its way to becoming the serious mainstream publication and Model Railroading and Railmodel Journal also had a stable of talented modelers writing for them, with the last three publishing longer form detailed modeling articles with greater photo coverage than MR. 

Two things occurred over the intervening decades: the internet and social media became outlets for serious material through blogs and other avenues for sharing content and MR chose to become mainstream to the point of publishing banal, armchair content. If there is a specific moment when MR tacked in a different direction, I trace it to when Andy Sperandeo was replaced as editor.

Since Andy's departure, MR has, actively or passively, become a publication of its mantra that "Model Railroading is Fun" and not much more, morphing into a rather vanilla shell of its former self. Gone are the days of multiple scale drawings in an issue, scratchbuilding and kitbashing taking center stage, and regular articles with detailed coverage of the skills required for serious modeling. I am not saying that these things don't appear any longer in the pages of MR, but they are far less frequent compared to more "fluffy" content or "reviews" of RTR products. Interestingly, the page count has had a corresponding decrease, much of that due to fewer ads, but also a lot less content like that noted above.

For me and many others, the act of reading publications devoted to our passions is inspirational and aspirational. We don't crave to read about the mundane and easily achieved; we want to be dazzled and challenged by content that throws down a gauntlet to learn and practice new and difficult techniques and skills. Even if you do not actively pursue all of these things, the mental thought process when reading about them is far more engaging than a series about yet another project layout. Sadly, since Andy's departure, there has been too little of the former and too much material that looks pretty from a presentation perspective, but does little to nothing to stimulate the modeling juices. While I don't have visibility into the business affairs of MR, I would bet that publishing more aspirational content would help stem what I am sure is a decline in the hobby's flagship title, although that moniker may have already shifted to Railroad Model Craftsman.

I type this not to be hypercritical or a troll. I do so because I ardently believe that content that is stimulating and challenging can drive sales and subscriptions. However, I doubt that the powers at MR and Firecrown are tuned in to what I say, but I care enough and thought about it enough to put these thoughts down in digital form. I want to see MR succeed. We all benefit if MR is strong. Comments and opinions pro and con are always welcome via the form below.

Postscript... I do occasionally buy MR and did buy the recent June 2026 issue with a cover photo from Jim Dufour's stunning B&M layout. There is some promising content, including the scratchbuilding articles by Dean Deis and Nelson Moyer, the bridge building piece by some of the staff and Mont Switzer's kitbash of an ex-kitchen troop car turned caboose. However, the most recent issue of RMC that I have, May 2026, had just as much modeling content plus a prototype profile with drawings of a Pullman-Standard 4650 cu. ft. covered hopper. This issue is standard content for RMC while for MR this much modeling fodder was more than normal.

*ironically enough under the leadership of Tony Koester, who eventually moved to Kalmbach (now Firecrown,) publisher of MR

Pennsylvania Railroad X43A AAR-design Welded Box Cars and Model Underframe

 

The Pennsy received 1,500 X43A welded box cars based upon the AAR design of the late 40s/early 50s (car nos. 602000-603499.) The "standard" design of the era primarily used riveting for construction, but these cars, built by American Car & Foundry, employed welding for the sides and underframe. Each side had 12 panels, compared to the typical 10 of most riveted cars. Other specialties included R+3/4 Improved Dreadnaught ends, Murphy diagonal panel roofs, postwar Youngstown corrugated steel doors, Ajax power hand brakes, Apex Tri-Lok running boards, and National C-1 50-ton trucks.

As delivered, the cars were painted in the familiar circle keystone scheme, with one highly unusual twist, at least by Pennsy standards: the roofs were painted/coated with black car cement. In mid-1954, the PRR briefly adopted the "Calendar" scheme, and at least one (and likely more) of the X43A class was repainted in this scheme, PRR 603116 shown above. 

By mid-1954 to the late 50s, the scheme was changed to the "shadow Keystone" scheme shown above, including its various nuances and iterations over the remainder of the 50s.

By the 60s, the "plain Keystone" scheme and its iterations were used until the Penn Central merger, as illustrated by PRR 602469. Note that there were other changes as well, including removal of the running boards, shortened ladders on the A end (and B end on some, if not all, cars) and strengthening of the side sill support and lower door post/side/side sill support junction, as shown above.

Some of the X43A class made it into the fleets of other roads. Western Maryland 461213 is an ex-PRR car with reinforced side sill support and lower door post/side/side sill support junction, albeit different than the PRR solution. Also note that the hand brake (and ladders) on the B end remained at the original high-mounted location.

B&O 463529 is another example of a secondhand X43A.

The kits for these can be found at the Speedwitch Models page. All versions of PRR lettering, Penn Central, Western Maryland, and Baltimore & Ohio are planned. The welded underframe features many of the nuances of the prototype, including the non-linear shape of the flanges of the crossbearers and crossties (if you look, you will notice that the flanges are not straight-edged, but rather wider and narrower at various points, as on the prototype,) the "perforated" bottom crossbearer cover plates (the perforations allowed the surfaces inside the "cutouts" to be welded, too, increasing the surface area of the welded surfaces,) Wright pipe hanger, the stringers that were riveted and welded on those closest to the center sills and welded only on the outer stringers, the accurate "teardrop" openings in the bolster cover plates, plus the bulb angle side sill supports and channel bolster tabs, shaped exactly as on the prototype. The brake arrangement also accurately replicates the prototype, down to the welded "grab iron" rod hangers and complex dead lever assembly.

There will be a follow-on post showing the finished model coming in the next week (or so.)

PFE R-40-25 Completed

 

I recently completed the final weathering and detailing on the PFE R-40-25 pilot model for the Speedwitch parts set [previous post linked here.] I am extremely pleased with the outcome. The details turned out almost exactly as I envisioned, particularly the hatch cover supports, the ladders, and the underframe. I doubt I will ever look at another car with Equipco hatch covers the same way again. It's fun to see the details "pop" under some weathering.

Regarding weathering, I used a variety of dilute washes, beginning with Tamiya Brown Panel Line Accent Color on the roof, panel lines on the sides, and overall on the ends and underframe. I added Tamiya black paint to the fan shaft detail on the car sides and then removed most of it with a cotton swab. I used mineral spirits to slightly dilute the panel line wash on the sides. I sealed everything with a flat coat and added washes of artists' oils, including a dilute grey mix overall and a few heavier light grey streaks on the sides, especially under the hatch areas, as well as on the ends to simulate spray from the wheels of adjacent cars. I applied another flat coat and then used Bragdon powders on the sides (a light grey) and PanPastel Paynes grey on the roof, ends, and underframe. 

The chalk marks are from National Scale Car

J-B Weld as a Filler

 

One of the things that has sometimes stymied me is the right filler for resin. Putty-type fillers like the old green Squadron stuff, 3M for auto body work, the tube fillers from Tamiya and the like, as well as the "liquid" fillers like Mr. Surfacer and Tamiya Surface Primer (which acts as a liquid putty directly from the jar) all flake off of resin because they are not able to bond with the surface like they can with styrene. I have used ACC/super glue as a filler in the past, but you have to sand it at just the right time... too soon and it can "ball up" and come off as you sand and too late and it is harder than the resin, meaning that the materials are removed at different rates by sandpaper, leading to surface defects of a different order, which is what you are trying to eliminate by filling and sanding.

I recently mixed up some of the J-B Weld (pictured above) to use as a bonding agent. It mixes like a two-part epoxy, where you stir equal amounts and then apply. While it worked for the bonding task, I also noticed that the dried leftover material (I mixed it in the underside of the bottle cap) was hard enough to sand, but not rock hard after 24 hours. When the right opportunity presented itself, I mixed up a little bit and applied some to a resin surface that needed a little touchup. It worked exactly as intended. It is now in the arsenal of filling and sanding solutions and is a good choice for resin.

Pacific Fruit Express R-40-23/-25/-26 from NERPM

 

Mostly completed weathered R-40-25

I presented a discussion about the PFE's 10,000 strong postwar reefers in the R-40-23, -25, and -26 classes at the recent NERPM. The presentation can be accessed via the Speedwitch Files page.

The State of Westerfield and Resin

 

One of my favorite Westerfield builds ever, even with the loathsome Evergreen scribed siding for the boards...

With the announcement by Andrew Dahm that he has suspended Westerfield, there were many of the usual comments hoping someone will "step up" to acquire the business and keep it going. Given my still recent dive into the casting pool, I want to provide some (valuable... I hope) context about what is involved in the business. 

Another of the scribed boards brigade, but I loved building this one too

First, a going concern like Westerfield generates residual income in the form of sales of items already in the product line/catalog. However, the vast majority of income for resin kits is in new releases, by multiples. In other words, if you're not releasing new stuff, you're treading water, at best, or sinking.

One of Westerfield's great offerings... you need more than one

Second, people may presume that you make some castings, add details and wire, and throw it all in a box, and sell it. Simple, right? 20+ years ago, that model worked. There were tons of purveyors of ladders, sill steps, brake parts, running boards, etc., to help make these kits a reality. That is no longer the case. If you've been paying attention, you know that Detail Associates is gone, Proto Power West/Details West (A-Line sill steps, anyone?) is a shell of its former self, Plano parts are unavailable at present... there are others, but if you depend upon a good variety and supply of parts, in bulk, things are bleak. Even stuff that is "active" may not be in stock or rerun any time soon, affecting your ability to generate revenue. A good example of the current state of things is the simple ladder. It used to be that you could get sprues of ladders, in bulk, from Detail Associates, Details West, Branchline, Intermountain, Tichy, Red Caboose, and perhaps one or two others I'm forgetting and the ladders were different (number of rungs and spacing) so you could usually find a ladder to match your project's needs. Today, Tichy is it, severely limiting your options... which leads me to another point...

Another classic

What passed muster 20+ years ago doesn't cut it any longer. Back then, there was a small mafia of people who had or knew where to get the drawings needed to produce accurate patterns for models. The prototype had a fishbelly center sill underframe and so does your model... awesome! Today, if you did that, someone would order the drawing(s) to aid in their build of the kit and then post on groups.io, facebook and six other places, that on your kit's underframe, the stringers are missing, the diagonal braces aren't the right shape, the fishbelly sections aren't deep enough and your crossties are in the wrong location. We are collectively better informed and more sophisticated and the models need to reflect that. Some people view them as standalone models, not parts of scenes and they expect them to hold up to such scrutiny.

and last, but by no means least... one of the finest resin offerings ever. A tour de force 

Which leads me to that same thing that is always important: moola. I know that I am charging (for kits that have trucks and wheelsets, Kadee couplers, "rubber" angle cock/air hoses, plus all the other stuff, including extensive etching sheets) mid $80. That is "too much" for some and that's fine. My kits aren't for everyone, but if you think I'm gouging, you're pretty far off the mark... the days of runs of 400 of a specific resin kit offering are long gone; 150 is a great success these days. However, I also know that mid $80 no longer works for kits with all those things. Etchings take a lot of time (= money) to design and engineer and the best value provider (quality and cost) is in Scotland. That wasn't an issue, but now, I not only have to pay the cost of the goods, but with the elimination of de minumus imports, I have to pay an additional ~40% for duties plus the filing fees that couriers charge. Trucks with wheelsets are a significant outlay of $8-$10+ and the days of 40% discounts from providers of those things are gone. Kadee couplers are expensive, too. Resin is petroleum-based and we know what has happened to oil prices twice in the past several years. On things like resin, those prices creep up, but don't usually retreat when oil goes down. All of these things add up. Then there is my time. I have no choice, but to procure drawings and/or photos, draw the artwork for the decals, design the etchings, make the patterns, duplicate the parts, build up one-piece bodies, make molds, cast parts, write instructions, fill bags, stuff boxes, print labels, and mail things (which is also more expensive as of April 26.) None of this intended to be a "woe is me" sob story; it's intended to provide context about what is involved.

To circle back to the original idea of finding someone to "step up" and buy Westerfield to keep it going, that's a huge ask and would take a very special person. There are a lot of hats to be worn in this business... designer, modelmaker, caster, office manager, and a half dozen other roles. Stepping up is what Jeff Hostetler and Tom Brady did. However, they were already professionals specializing in exactly what they were being asked to do. The person who buys Westerfield would be doing a lot more than stepping up in all likelihood; they'd probably be learning many new skills on the fly

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.

PRR Early Welded Box & Auto Cars from PRRT&HS Annual Meeting

 

I attended the PRRT&HS's annual meeting in Gettysburg, PA this past weekend and had the pleasure of presenting a clinic, as well. I discussed the Pennsy's early welded box and auto cars, an interesting topic given the PRR's fairly large scale efforts at welding for freight car construction. It's also personally on point as I have been working on upgrading a Sunshine X41B box car and also preparing kits of the X43A and X45 for release. I will keep updating progress on the X41B here and the release of the X43A and X45 kits will be announced in all the usual places. 

Here is a link to my presentation file in pdf format. Thanks to the PRRT&HS for allowing me to participate.

PFE R-40-25 off to the paint shop

 

The steps, ladders, and side sill and bolster support tabs match the prototype

I posted about the prototype PFE R-40-25 class a little while back. Here are some photos of the model that I snapped before it went off to the paint shop...

The goal with this parts set is to not only fix the issues of the Amarillo/Intermountain offering, but to bring the rest of the model up to 2026 standards. The Intermountain R-40-23 tooling is almost 32 years old!

Ordering is open for these and for once, I actually have more than just a handful ready to go!

Look at those "open" hatch supports and straps that prevented damage to the hatches when fully open

The ladders mount to the edge of the roof, just like on the prototype

The rests to support the hatches when fully open are etchings added to the roof seam caps, as per the prototype

The brake gear arrangement is modeled exactly after the prototype, right down to the brackets and manual "pin" adjuster

The crossbearers are "open" and crossties have the channel shape of the as on the prototype's welded underframe 

Pacific Fruit Express R-40-25 Refrigerator Cars

 

The placard held by the gentleman at center reads, "Here she is boss. She looks mighty fine and so will the other 499.The crew that built her." This is presumably the Colton, Calif. PFE shop crew

For modelers, the PFE R-40-25 class has taken a back seat to the more numerous R-40-23 and different, e.g. visually interesting, R-40-26, with flush mounting ("plug") doors. The R-40-25 class was 3,000 cars total, nos., 2001-5000, built in 1949 at the PFE's Los Angeles (2001-3350,) Colton (3351-4000,) and Roseville (4001-5000,) shops. The Intermountain models of the R-40-23 went a long way toward filling the needs of postwar Transition era modelers. In cooperation with Intermountain, the Amarillo Railroad Museum offered R-40-25 kits based upon the R-40-23. While this is certainly a good path to follow, it resulted in models that incorporated several errors, both large and small, that make these kits stand-ins for discerning freight modelers.

The B end of R-40-25 no. 2001. Of note are the uppermost main rib, with flat bottom, the narrow pressed rib at the top, and the arrangement of the side ladder, attached to the sill step at the bottom, which is in turn attached to the bottom of the side sill as well as the attachment of the ladder stiles at the top, using curved pieces of metal connected to the roof. The side ladders are not actually attached to the car sides at all.

End from an R-40-25 kit

Resin end from Speedwitch

Incorrect (and poorly rendered) lettering on Intermountain/Amarillo R-40-25

The largest of the errors are in the ends and the as-delivered lettering. The ends of the -25 class were an iteration of the improved Dreadnaught end and different than those of the -23 class. Changes included the incorporation of a small, rectangular stiffener bulge at the top of the end and revision to the main top rib, making it straight across its bottom and shallower in relief from the surface of the end, compared to the other five main ribs. The Amarillo ends tooled by Intermountain ignored the change to the top main rib and the small rectangular rib appears too proud from the surface of the end and not wide enough from top to bottom.

PFE R-40-25 no. 4246 as it appeared soon after repainting at Tucson, Ariz., in May, 1953

The other major error is the lettering on the as-delivered cars. In 1948, the Union Pacific medallion was changed from red, white and blue to black and white. This change was missed for years by researchers and modelers alike. It was only after I started to see the medallion in color photos and then shared that info and consulted with Dick Harley that the error was revealed. There is no blame in this, but it doesn't change the fact that the models are incorrect on that detail. Fortunately, there are now decals that correct that issue, from National Scale Car.

This image was recorded at a time of day when the sun's light was low, affording a great view of numerous details, especially the underframe.

The other issues are more nuanced and involve finer points of detail. Here they are in no particular order:

• the side ladders should be integrated with the lower sill steps and attached to the edge of the roof via a trapezoidal, curved piece of plate (the Amarillo/IM -25 cars took a half-stab at this issue)
• the side sill supports ("tabs") should be shaped differently; additionally, the Intermountain long tabs under the doors do not have a flat surface, but a wavy one due to the molding process
• the welded underframe is quite distinctive (on the -23, -25 and -26) and the Intermountain underframe is rather simple
• the drains for the bunkers are very crude on the IM kit

This is a stop frame screen shot from a video on the PeriscopeFilm channel on youtube... that I cannot find now to provide the title! [if I do, I will update this post.] However, it is a great illustration of the black & white '1948' Union Pacific medallion.

A little more about the '1948' PFE painting and lettering... in 1948, the word "VENTILATED" was dropped from the stenciling between the two medallions. If looking at a black & white photo, that change is a fairly good yardstick to determine if the UP medallion is red/white/blue (VENTILATED REFRIGERATOR) or black & white (only stenciled with REFRIGERATOR.) However, that is not a hard and fast rule, as I have found a few examples of cars stenciled with "VENTILATED REFRIGERATOR" and having black & white UP medallions. These examples are likely artifacts of errors immediately after the change was implemented. [note: what I have never encountered in photos, and I have closely examined a LOT of color photos, is a single instance of a car with only REFRIGERATOR and a red/white/blue UP medallion... if you have a color photo illustrating this, I would love to see it.]

While PE 1614 was the focus of this image, the PFE reefer behind it and to the right is adorned with the scheme used on PFE reefers between 1948 and the beginning of 1950. The reefer visible at left carries the scheme introduced in 1950, the included "RAILROAD" in the UP medallion.

What I can state definitively is that the UP medallion used between 1948 and 1950 with the words "UNION PACIFIC" was black and white and NOT red/white/blue.

This image, while cropped, shows three cars with the 1946-1948 scheme (red, white & blue UP medallion on middle car,) 1948-1950 scheme (black & white UP medallion on right car [which also has "VENTILATED," likely a stenciling error by the painting and lettering crew]) and the post-1950 UP medallion, with "RAILROAD," on the car at left.

The timing of this post is because I am currently at work on the pilot model for a parts set to correctly model the PFE's R-40-25 class of cars. Details about that will follow in a separate post covering the models.

Again, apologies for the watermarks in the images, but the pirates get me down so this is my only recourse