> As usual, John knows what he's talking about. However, it should be > added that the Rodger-Hart design changed rapidly from the turn of > the century, when the cars were 34' long with wood bodies and truss > rod underframes, through the early 1920s. In 1902 they were 36' long > with steel center sills and truss rods under the side sills. By > 1906, they had become 40' cars with fishbelly steel side sills, and > later in that same year, further improvement of the design introduced > all steel body framing with wood sheathing and floors.
And it may be even more complex than he wrote. For example, the B&M purchased 100 34' IL Hart gondolas from AC&F in 1907.
Joel Homes asked:
Does anyone have a plan or photo of the Hart 34' wood gondola?
I have attached a copy of the B&M class diagram for the 8900-8999 cars I mentioned above. Yahoo will strip it off, but Joel should receive it. Anyone is welcome to request a copy off list.
Why scratch build? The Protowest resin model is a replica of the 34-foot car.
I checked the Protowest website and found an image of a seven panel DL&W car. The B&M 34' car had only 6 panels, adding yet more variety to this category of car.
