Re: Intro Dates for C&BT, IMWX, and InterMountain 1937 Modified Kits
|
suvcworr <SUVCWORR@...>
To add to the C&BT Dick was talked into the cast on ladders and grabs by two well known often published model railroaders. Prior to the recutting of the dies the cars came with grandt line ladders and iirc Tichy grabs. The issue with theses cars were the in-house trucks with split axle. As for the SFRD reefers test shots were provided to ATSF experts who "okayed" the model and then tossed Dick under the bus when they were released. It was the X29B that was planned. The problem was the die cutter who had done the original dies for the boxcar passed away. His son took over the business and his skills to be kind were wanting. Dick never found an acceptable die cutter who would cut steel dies at an acceptable price. So the project was in limbo and eventually Dick's health became an issue. Rich Orr Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: "Tim O'Connor timboconnor@... [STMFC]" <STMFC@...> Date: 9/2/17 14:09 (GMT-05:00) To: STMFC@... Subject: Re: [STMFC] Intro Dates for C&BT, IMWX, and InterMountain 1937 Modified Kits > Directly from the source C&BT announced 1988 NMRA convention > Rich Orr I restarted in the hobby in the summer of 1988, and IIRC George Bishop got the first stocks of C&BT kits in 1989. C&BT had been started in 1986 to make East Broad Top models. The C&BT 100 through 3700 series all came out at about the same time. The 4100 to 4700 series (with later style DN ends) were introduced shortly before C&BT decided to go to cast on ladders and grabs, so I only got a couple of those kits before there were no more. In 1991 I went to the NMRA convention in Denver and saw Intermountain for the first time - they made only O scale freight car models at that time. In 1993 I went to the NMRA convention train show in Valley Forge and spoke to Dick Schweiger and he was talking about one of the X29 rebuilds as the next project and I think this was around the time he modified the box car tooling to use cast on grabs and ladders. I think IMWX was new then, or they appeared very shortly after that. I also met a young Ken Patterson at that show, tending to his spectacular modular layout display. IMWX was only around for a couple of years - Intermountain's blast in their direction in the form of the PFE R-40-23 was rushed into production to torpedo the IMWX R-40-23. That was the end for IMWX. Intermountain's next successful U-boat attack was to go after C&BT with the Santa Fe reefers. Severely damaged and taking on water, C&BT limped into drydock. You may be able to pin down the introduction of the IMWX kit by going back a year or two from the IRC R-40-23. In the MEANTIME, after IMWX but before Intermountain's version of the 1937 AAR box car, Red Caboose acquired the IMWX tooling. A year or two afer that the Front Range 40 foot box cars tooling also went to Red Caboose. I think they were first released by Red Caboose in either 1996 or 1997. I think 1996 or 1997 is also when Intermountain released their first 10'6" AAR box car, the "modified 1937" car. Finally IIRC the first IRC 1937 kits came after 2000, but AFTER IRC had done the postwar 10 foot inside height box cars for the GN and SP&S (about 1998?). The body was the same for both cars, as only the ends, roofs and underframes were different. Tim O'Connor Can someone here recall please the precise years that the following styrene kits were introduced to the market for sale: |
|
|