A few things from St. Louis

New York Central System Historical Society

I brought home a few things from the St. Louis RPM. The first is a Sunshine Models kit of a Northern Pacific fifty-foot heavy insulation refrigerator car. I missed these when originally offered and managed to find one at the Resourced Rails table at the meet. The prototypes were built by the Despatch Shops in East Rochester, New York in 1946. At the time they were unusual for their length as well as the extra insulation for frozen food shipments. The kit looks like a fun project. I will create my own decals with NYC-style typeface stenciling to match that of the prototype. PS - you can order high res scans for $5 each of these cars at the NYCSHS site (links here and here) A more thorough post about these prototypes will follow at some point.

The next of the loot is a Monon container gondola offered by Forbes Train Models (Doug Forbes.) It's a 3D print of the prototype. Doug also offers a few other versions of the cars. The modeler adds the details such as grabs, wire, trucks, couplers, etc. The first page of the instructions, including Doug's email is included below. These are well-rendered straightforward kits, but are designed to allow varying levels of detailing, from basic up to completely tricked out. The images above are the 3D-printed body with a shot of Tamiya fine surface primer (aerosol can.)

From Dave Hussey's PBase gallery... link below

Last and out of era for me is the Cannon & Company kit for the Northern Pacific's 5300-series combination door waffle cars from Pacific Car & Foundry, kit FC-5015. I know it's too modern for me. However, I have always liked the premise of these kits (as well as the Modeler's Choice line) and relish the challenge of building one up someday. Link to Dave Hussey's PBase image gallery for the prototype and model.

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.

Pennsylvania Railroad G28 Gondola in HO

 

I recently completed the pilot model for my latest kit, the Pennsylvania Railroad G28 gondola (prototype details can be found via this link.) I am biased, but I think it is one of my finest yet.

Plate C produced some exceptional 70-ton National Malleable Type B trucks to match the prototype's.

I finished it to represent a one year old repaint circa 1952, so the weathering was minimal. I added sparing amounts of Tamiya Brown Panel Line Accent Color at all of the structural members on the side. It is hard to capture photographically, but the effect is convincing. I am especially happy with the Universal lever-type hand brake, the underframe and brake arrangement, and the board-by-board floor inside the car. I did mess up one thing: I installed the drop end doors reversed (the outside should be inside) and don't have the heart to tear things apart, so cut me a little slack on that.

 

The chalkmark decals are from National Scale Car, set D135.

Frisco USRA-design Composite Gondolas

 

There are certain freight car prototypes that just appeal to me, whatever the reason. The Frisco's USRA-design composite gondolas are one such car. When they were built, composite gondolas were commonplace, but by the early 50s, all steel gons were by far the majority. Perhaps that whiff of obsolescence is what draws me. Regardless, I find them interesting and have wanted to model one for years. 

Before discussing modeling options, I will provide what I know about the prototypes. The Frisco had a large number of these cars and seemed to refurbish and rebuild them into an incalculable number of flavors. There was a group of true USRA composite gondolas, built in 1919 by Standard Steel Car Co., in series 85000-85999 (782 cars in the Official Railway Equipment Register, October, 1951.) These were rebuilt into a number of different configurations:

• largely as built, but with wood floors and no drop doors and either original Perfection lever-type hand brake or Ajax power hand brake and AB brakes with 1712 cu. ft. capacity, like 85825 shown below (389 cars, Official Railway Equipment Register, October, 1951)
• rebuilt in 1934, 1935 and 1937 with paneled steel sides, wood floors and no drop doors, new side steel structural members, and either 1842 or 1862 cu. ft. capacity (4 and 138 cars, respectively)
• rebuilt in 1936, 1937 and 1938 with paneled steel sides including three side doors per side, wood floors and no drop doors, Dreadnaught ends, new side steel structural members, and 1856 cu. ft. capacity, like 85012 shown below (151 cars)
• rebuilt in 1940, retaining composite sides, but adding three doors per side, Dreadnaught ends, wood floors and no drop doors, Ajax power hand brakes, and 1726 cu. ft. capacity, like 85885 shown below (100 cars)

There was also a large group of cars in the series 50000-50398 (359 cars,) 50399-51927 (838,) 52000-52499 (495,) 52500-53099 (533,) 53100-53647 (491) and 53650-54349 (682) for a total of 3,398 cars. All had solid wood floors and (like the USRA cars) 1712 cu. ft. capacity. They were built by Pullman Car Manufacturing Co. in 1925 and 1930 and refurbished as needed, most notably with Dreadnaught ends. These were like 53395 shown directly above. The number series and data are from the Official Railway Equipment Register, October, 1951 issue.

Modeling the cars was relatively easy as Sunshine offered several different versions of them. Sadly, I did not ever manage to pick up a kit and now they do not appear on the secondhand market as much as other Sunshine kits seem to. However, I believe my modeling skills to be sharp enough to find a way to scratch the itch by modifying an Intermountain USRA composite gondola. 

Martin Lofton wrote "Frisco's rebuilt USRA gondolas," Railroad Model Craftsman, October 1990. This article covered many of the variations, as well as how Martin modeled them in HO scale. His article predated the Intermountain and Walthers (ex-Proto1000) USRA-design composite gondolas

The image above is of the side of Sunshine kit 92.6. These were part of the re-release of Frisco USRA-design gons. I assume that the patterns were Martin's work as no one is credited for them in the Sunshine PDS (Prototype Data Sheet) and Martin did do occasional pattern work, especially for his "pet" roads, of which the Frisco was one. The cars included detail on the interior, as well, including "cutouts" for the side discharge doors, wood boards, and detail on the inside of the Dreadnaught ends.

NOTE: Where I have info on the prototype images, I have begun to embed/watermark that in the image, along with my last name rather prominently in the car body. I hate to take this step, but I have grown increasingly angry at the proliferation of internet and social media "experts" downloading images and then reposting them elsewhere with no information about the date, location or photographer or where they pirated the images from in the first place. Yes, it detracts from the images, but it also deters the pirates from wanton theft without attribution.

Coming over the horizon, metaphorically

 

If you market just about anything these days, you are only as good or relevant as your last offering. With the Milwaukee car in production, I have been transitioning to the next car to be released, the PRR G28 mill gondola*. Now that I am casting parts, too, that is a natural part of the thought and design process as well as a source of potential angst! This car is one where I was worried about how I would be able to cast the body. The person who cast most of my kits in the past did not view it as a huge obstacle. However, given that the sides and floor are 0.020" thick, getting resin to flow through that thin a profile over a fifty+ foot car body made me nervous. Turns out, it is actually proving to be far easier to cast than the Milwaukee auto car bodies have been. Thus far, I have cast several bodies, with little in the way of issues. I can also report that they look really good, too. I am very excited to build up the pilot model for this one. It should be a lot easier than the previous few builds, but be no less attractive a model when finished. Coming soon!

*the G28 was a 52'6" drop end mill gondola, similar in concept (but not design!) to the other prevalent mill gons of the era, including the Erie/Greenville design (think Proto 2000,) the LV/Bethlehem design (Tangent Scale Models) plus the Pennsy's "other" one, the G27 class. The G28 class was 1,900 cars built in 1940-1941 (car nos. 342600-344499.) It had a trait common to many PRR-design gons, with side structural members of two different sizes, with some being markedly "beefier" than the others. It also featured a welded underframe with some unusual crossties, making it an extremely cool modeling opportunity (for those of us who care about underframes.) 

Some cars were equipped with racks for auto frame loading, like shown above and a small group also received roofs, making them covered gondolas. Jack Consoli covered the making of the these roofs in The Keystone Modeler issue 57.

We have also made a spectacular (we may be biased) replica of the Universal lever style power hand brake shown here, including an amazing etched lever that is as gorgeous as it is durable.

Where we are at...

 

I am typing this from an almost horizontal position. I was supposed to be arriving at Naperville today, but my balky back made other plans. So, I type this from home. It's been a couple months or so since I started things back up in earnest, including casting. As the "RPM season" sets in, I thought it a good time to share a little bit about what's coming over the next few months.

Some old Speedwitch stuff turned up: DT&I gondola, MEC ARA box car parts, NYC stock car roof and 50' combination rectangular and diagonal panel roof (some prototype details here.)

Parts sets have proven to be a good way to dip my toes in the casting pool. I mostly learned a few things about what shape of mold works best for me and how I like a few varieties of silicone. I am adding a couple wrinkles to the existing offerings. First, for the ATSF Bx-34 parts I have added the 1959-1970s scheme, illustrated in the photo at the top of the page. In addition, I have added Shadow Keystone decals covering 1950s+ schemes for the PRR X32A parts. 

This and the following three photos are of the R-40-25 parts

On the parts front, there are also a couple other offerings nearing release. The first is the PFE R-40-25. This set is intended for an undecorated Intermountain R-40-23 kit or any Amarillo/Intermountain PFE R-40-25 that is NOT the delivery scheme as the UP medallions on those cars are incorrect (I will share info on that when these parts are released.) The sets include correct resin ends and etched parts to correct/upgrade the underframe, side sill details, ladders, hatch cover supports, steps, etc. [there is a companion set for the R-40-26 that is in the works, as well; see undeframe photo below.] The other parts release is for the ITC 1937 AAR box cars with AC&F Carbuilder's ends and also includes resin details, etchings, and decals.

R-40-26 underframe floor casting... board-by-board!

Illinois Terminal AC&F Carbuilder's end for 1937 AAR box car (pre-production before changes)

Photo illustrating the extremely subtle ripples in the side sheathing of the PRR X43A

I am also charging ahead with some full kit offerings. The first is the Milwaukee 50' single sheathed auto cars that I teased awhile back. It will be released November 1st via the Speedwitch site (all decals, etchings, trucks, and other parts are already in house so they will ship immediately!) Another project is the Pullman-Standard-built Central of Georgia 10'0" inside height Emergency box car (PS if you have National Scale Car's set for the A&WP/WofA/Georgia, those decals will work on this model, as well.) If the CofGa offering proves popular, I will add Birmingham Southern, as well. I also have three PRR cars in the hopper: the G28, X43A and X45. The G28 is a project that I started years back. It will be a showstopper, with full underframe detail... and the underframe was a unique welded design with very interesting crossmembers so it bears full attention! The X43A was a 40', mostly postwar AAR design car, with welded sides. I have created patterns with extremely subtle waviness to the sides that I am extremely pleased with and they were unusual in the PRR universe in that they were delivered with black roofs. The last of these three is the X45, a proprietary PRR design for a 50' welded box car. I again added waviness to the sides and the Pennsy proprietary details, including the underframe, are really cool. 

The last of the full kits, but by no means least, and listed in its own paragraph, is a Western Pacific flat car built by AC&F in 1942 that is a fully 3D printed offering. It is spectacular. More details to follow on this gem...

A final tease... several years back I presented a clinic including details about scratchbuilding board-by-board patterns for single sheathed cars. I have been fruitlessly looking for those patterns for over a year. I thought they were lost in the past year's move. Well, a few weeks back, they were presented to me. Turns out I had sent them to someone along with a bunch of other stuff and they were returned! Here is the end for the car in question. IYKYK 

Clearing Up a Misperception

Santa Fe Caswell design GS gondola ATSF 171033 from class Ga- 5, Reading Yards, Rutherford, Pennsylvania,  June 19. 1947, Bob Charles Collection, Kalmbach Memorial Library 

There is a perception that GS gondolas (GS = "An Open Top Car, having fixed sides and ends and drop bottom, consisting of doors hinged at center sills to dump outside of rails," per the Official Railway Equipment Register) were West Coast cars and if you model the Northeast, Southeast, mid-Atlantic, etc., you don't have need for these on your layout*. I understand that notion. However, it is not correct. Granted, if you model western Massachusetts, for example, you should not have a gondola fleet comprised of 50% GS gons. That said, in a roster of solid bottom ("GB") gondolas, you could and would see GS gondolas from a variety of roads and should have a few in your fleet to mix into operating sessions. I have included some photos of GS gons in locales that support my contention (one shared by Richard Hendrickson and that I discussed with him on more than one occasion.)

C&EI 90108 was also of Caswell design, although it had received steel sheathing in place of the wood by the time it was photographed on February 10, 1952 in Columbus, Ohio, by Col. Chet McCoid. The doors were held in the "up" position using Wine door locks. Bob's Photo

Numerous fine models of GS gons have been offered over the years in both styrene and resin. The reason for and timing of this post is that I am working on a new pilot model for a styrene offering that one, is a GS-type gon like described in the previous paragraph, e.g. "western" GS gon, and two, is a fine example of contemporary HO scale technology, with fine tooling and separate details. Stay tuned for more about this model in the coming days...

Chicago & Illinois Western 1247 (ex-IC gon) was photographed in Aberdeen, North Carolina on October 30, 1951 by Col. Chet McCoid. Bob's Photo

The Burlington had a large fleet of composite GS gons that employed composite, Murphy or Dreadnaught ends. They also used Wine door locks. Note that there were not doors in all locations; from left, panels 2 and 4 had doors in the corresponding floor locations. Reading Yards, Rutherford, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1947, Bob Charles Collection, Kalmbach Memorial Library

*one caveat is that I am referring to and advocating for GS gons of the upper Midwest, Northwest, Mountain West, Southwest and West Coast; if you model western Massachusetts as the example I cited, you would quite likely see GS gons from the B&M, MEC or CN, as well, as they (and not too many other Eastern roads) did have modest fleets of GS gons 

Enterprise Gondolas

 

Note the Murphy-type corrugated steel ends. Ralston Steel Car Co. photo, from Columbus Railroads web site (although I cannot find the exact citation at present)

One of the most visually distinctive cars of the Steam and Transition Eras was the GS (General Service) gondola with drop doors and appliances to allow the doors to be locked or deployed to release the cargo. These cars are generally associated with Western roads, although there were small quantities on roads like the Boston & Maine, Maine Central, and New Haven (note that I am not including the more traditional-looking gons of the N&W, C&O, etc., with full length straight side sills and more simple drop doors, usually four in total, as they are quite different in appearance and operation.)

The SP gons used a flat end with two braces. Ralston Steel Car Co. photo, from Columbus Railroads web site (although I cannot find the exact citation at present)

Even more distinctive-looking were the "Enterprise" gondolas of the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific. They incorporated small sloped sections at the bottom of the interior of the sides, that made them look "short" compared to other gons. Besides the small sloped section of the sides, the distinguishing feature, and what made these "Enterprise" gondolas, was the mechanism that allowed the doors to be lowered. It consisted of "links" that when the rod on which they were threaded was turned, they "unfolded" until the doors were lowered and the links, fully extended, held the doors in an open position. In reverse, the links efficiently folded up. It was an ingenious design. The photo of SP 46954, from class G-50-9, illustrates how the links appeared when the doors were in the dropped and open position.

Road	Series Begin	Series End	Qty	Built	Builder	Class
UP	62000	62999	1000	1920	RSC	G-50-7
UP	63000	63999	1000	1920	PC&M	G-50-7
AE	4000	4025	26	1923	GATC	G-50-9
PE	5700	5899	200	1923	GATC	G-50-9
PE	5900	5999	100	1923	GATC	G-50-9
PE	6000	6099	100	1923	RSC	G-50-9
SP	46155	46604	450	1923	GATC	G-50-9
SP	46605	47079	475	1923	RSC	G-50-9
PE	20000	20599	600	1924	GATC	G-50-9
SP	91400	92399	1000	1925	TCI&RR	G-50-10
SP	92400	92899	500	1926	PSC	G-50-11
SP	92900	93899	1000	1927	SSC	G-50-12

GATC - General American Transportation

PC&M - Pullman Car & Manufacturing

PSC - Pressed Steel Car

RSC - Ralston Steel Car

SSC - Standard Steel Car

TCI&RR - Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad

UP diagram states series 63000-63999 built 1920, but photo evidence indicates majority of cars built in 1921

The cars were rated at a respectable cubic capacity of 1776 cu. ft. with an inside length of 41 ft. 6 in. (for comparison, the SP's steel and composite GS gons built in the 40s had listed cubic capacities between 1776 and 1948 cu. ft.) The accompanying table lists the information for both roads' cars. They represented significant groups of cars for both, especially the SP, where they were a signature car from the 20s into the 50s. The SP/PE cars were shuffled around a bit and were then renumbered entirely in 1956 as part of the systemwide renumbering. The accompanying table traces those changes.

Reporting	Series Start	Series End	Built	Qty.	Class	1956 Series	Notes
SP	14112	14442	1924	331	G-50-9	360002-360304	1
SP	44160	44359	1923-4	200	G-50-9	360305-360457	2
SP	44361	44428	1923	69	G-50-9	360458-360511	3
SP	46155	46604	1923	450	G-50-9	360512-360789
SP	46605	47079	1923	475	G-50-9	360790-361054
SP	91301	91325	1923	25	G-50-9	361055-361068	4
T&NO	42250	42449	1923-4	200	G-50-9	---	5
SP	91400	92399	1925	1000	G-50-10	361098-361993
SP	92400	92899	1926	500	G-50-11	361994-362376
SP	92900	93899	1927	1000	G-50-12	362377-363024

1 - transferred from PE 20000-series in 1951

2 - transferred from PE 5900- [100 cars], 6000- [16] and 20000-series [84]

3 - transferred from PE 6000-series

4 - ex-Arizona Eastern; transferred to SP in 1924

5 - transferred from PE 20000-series in 1929 [100 cars]; Dec 1940 from PE 6000-series [15] and 20000-series [85]

The three cars shown in this photo are all UP G-50-7s and clearly illustrate the Murphy-style corrugated ends. "Council Bluffs Iowa Railroad Strike,"Feb 6, 1951, Robert Paskach photo, Robert Paskach Collection, The Durham Museum

Many of the SP cars from classes -9 and -10 had the lower side sections and slope sheets replaced by welding new steel in place, as illustrated in this photo of G-50-10, with its palindromic number 361163 (some cars also included a relatively small number of rivets, as well.) This was because the side and slope sheet sections were a single piece. On the G-50-11 and G-50-12 classes the side sheets and slope sheets were separate sections, with the top of the slope sections overlapping the bottom of the side sheets, creating an "edge" inside the carbody where the two met, Bob's Photo

SP 92622, a G-50-11, shows the separate side sheets, riveted along the bottom edge of the side sheet sections. Given that the side and slope sheets were distinct parts, repairs presumably involved only the component requiring maintenance as opposed to the entire side and slope sheet section, unless both required work, of course. Indio, California, Mar 11, 1956, Col. Chet McCoid photo, Bob's Photo